The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1891-12-05

Tie leader of the young men spok
to Egan: Egan, be war chief But
taio Horn is dead, white man kille
him. The Shoshones are mad. Th,
war path is full.
Egan answered 9rinly: l hav
fought the white man. 1t is no good
My word is given to him. Th
Shoshones will be destroyed.
Thus the brave Egan answered
But the old prophet cried shrilly
EgaD is no coward Oke- Oke sun
Egan will lead his people.
The young Shoshone spok'
again: Egan come to the council a
Stein Mountain. The old chief 0
the Piutes will be there, and The
young men, the klamaths, tht
Cavuses, the Columbias and Walk
Wallas. Egan, come to the council
The chief could not resist a cal
to conference, he promised to go
Oeetah, hearing that her husband
and his father, the old Piute chief
were to be at Stein Mountain, askec
to accompany her uncle.
The excitement in camp wa:
great. Egan took the wild Sho
shones to the Indian agent OF Nal
heur and asked rations for hi:
guests. The agent refused the food
This was unfortunate, for it made
Egan suddenly and deeply angry.
for hospitality is sacred thing II
Indian eyes. Quickly all was stir
confusion, clamor. The young Sho'
shones were telling their tales o
successful murders and robberies o
the white men in arms, of the
soldiers who must come from fal
separate posts the Too at vas
wildly prophesying and urging and
the angry Egan forbidding nothing
the whole camp was on the swift
move to catch and saddle the ponies,
the women gathering up the stuff to
pack on the animals.
Oeetah had her own white pony.
She caught him by seizing his long.
dragging lariat, and in an instant
had him saddled and bridled; throw
ing her red blanket across the
saddle, and tying her small bundle
fast behind it, she sprang into place.
The now quiet cavalcade pulled
out of camp in good order. Egan
made Oeetah ride with the women
following on, while he and the men
pressed forward in the direction OF
the appointed meeting place.
They found assembled already be-
tween two and three thousand
Indian people. The old chief Of the
Plutes, Leigh's father, f2tly opposed
the war. So did Leigh and his
brother. Egan hesitated. He hated
white men Had not they killed his
brother, his early comrades. The
new agent never had suited him,
and now had refused rations to his
guests yet Egan did rot like to
break a promise.
Oeetah watched her friends
anxiously. Her husband, his father
and brothers we're for peace; the
Too at and the younger Piutes were
for war, and Egan sullen and silent.
She bravely ventured to his side.
Egan, she said gently, let us go
away from this place. We want no
part in war, none of our family.
The old Too-at cried out, as he
caught the sound and substance of
her pleading Has Egan become a
woman? Egan leads his people
The day has come
Now Sarah, Leigh's sister, who
had gained much respect and i'm
portance as an interpreter, was pass
Ing at this time in a wagon from
some place in Oregon toward her
home in Nevadt. The citizens, full
of alarm and suspicion, seized her
and put her under arrest as a spy.
She entreated her captors TO take
her to the nearest soldier station.
The day she was arrested l was at
Boise City. The colonel in COM
mand at the front telegraphed the
facts to me there, and then asked
permission to send Sarah to the
Indians known to be at Stein Noun
tain. Sarah had confidently de,
clared that her father. the Old chief,
her brothers and Egan would not go
to war, and that she could and
would bring them and her people
straight to us.
| replied, "Let her 90 and try"
So, Sarah, woman as she was, and
for long time more accustomed to
civilized than to savage life, took for
companions two friendly Piutes, our
trusty guides, and set out with them
on horseback for a ride of over 100
miles through an uninhabtable, des-
olate, lava country, to reach the
famous Indian camp.
In three days she returned, bring
ing only Oeetah and one of the
Piute guides. At first she wept
hysterlcally, sobbing that her heart
was broken, and that everything,
everything, was lost
Later, refreshed by supper and
a cup of coffee, she told her story to
the officer in command:
You know, colonel, when l left
you three days ago-welI, rode on
without resting at all till came to
the foot of the mountain. | kept
the guides back and went myself to
the steep path. Then l saw one Of
my people, Piute boy, one | could