The Sully County watchman. (Clifton, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1894, 1891-11-14
Wonderful Craft Of the Cree Indians
In Brewing Pois0ns in Mysteri
Ous MANNER.
Death Invariably Follows Their Use,
Often Swiftly and with Terri
BILE Agony.
They Possess the Secret of Drugs Pro.
ducing Results Unknown to Medi.
cal Science.

Among the Cree and Salteuax Indians
the administration of deadly poisons has
been reduced to an exact science. These
tribes never go on the war path. They
have not learned the uses Of the scalping
knife and tom lhawk. Such thing as
shooting from ambush never occurs. When
Cree or Salteaux Indian gets really to
dispose of an enemy or a rival he consults
the conjurer of the tribe, and that individ-
ual deals out poisons that are not known
in any other place on earth. These poisons
battle the most skilful doctors and chem
lists.
British army surgeons who have exam
ined victims of the Cree and Salteaux
poisoners say that the deadly mixtures
used by them are absolutely unknown to
science. Missionaries and trappers who
came to WinDepeg with stories of the fatal
liquids were not believed. The only way
they convinced the doctors was by taking
several victims before board of examin-
ing surgeons. These poisons are brtwed
, in the most mysterious manner by the old
conjurers Of the tribes. That is their
clief occupation. They 60 into the forests
| alone and come back to their wigwams
with strange herbs and barks, which are
converted into liquids that work terrible
execution among the bucks singled out for
! death. No remedy mas ever been found to
operate against the drugs. Death in.
| variably follows, sometimes swiftly and
| with awful agony, but more frequently
after the lapse of months oil dreadful suf-
fering. Fourteen braves have been sent
to the good trapping grounds by this
hand, !" said one old conJurer. shaking his
J hand in a threatening sesture to Rev.
! Egerton X. Young, mis- s,ionary who lived
twenty years with the tribes.
LIFE AMONG THE sAvAeEs.
Rev. Mr.. Young tells u thrilling story
| of his life among these s4vages. The mis-.
| sionary is man OF powerful physique and
| athletic proportions. II lived with two
of the tribes so long that they all called
me their little brother" he said. They
are powerful race. The men are large
and very strong. As you may know, the
Cree and Salteaux indians are the last
tribes we find on this continent before
reaching the Esquimeaux. My work as a
missionary was In a country about 700 tc
900 miles north of Winnipeg. The line
| that separates the Indians from the Es
! auimeaux is not marked, and, while theiI
hunting grounds are not far apart In some
places, the customs of the people are very
different. The Cree and Salteaux lndian:
are not bloodthirsty, but if once their anger
or envy is aroused, death more terribl;
than that inflicted by the scalping knife
or tomahawk awaits the victim. Thei
knowledge Of poiscps is extraordinary.
saw many victims of the deadly drugs nd
ministered by old conjurers, and durin.
my twenty years experience with tn
tribes had frequent occasion to administe
to the victims, for | was doctor, magis
rate, preacher and leacher for them
Many is the time have been called from
my bed to go and stitch up some poo
fellow who had been clawed almost Z
death by bear Some of these poison
operate in the most mysterious manner
One of the drugs in con mon use VIXEN
first went among the Indians caused grea
sores To appear on the face and body OF tn
victim. No matter what season OF th
year this poison was given, its effects wer
not visible until spring. Then the sore
would appear. After while these sore
would apparently dry up and scales wou
appear When these scales dropped oi
great tufts of hair sprung from the sores
Then death followed. told some arm,
surgeons at Winnipeg Of these remark
able drugs and their fleets, but my stor
was not believed Such things are nc
known to medical science, the doctor
replied. When | went back to Winnipe
again took one of the afflicted Indian
with me. U The surgeons spent nearly 1
week in examining him. This is Ger
tainly the FIRST case of the kind that ha
ever been reported to the medical pro
fession' was teeir verdict when they finish
ed the examination.
ARE REMARKABLE ATHLETES.
1.-The only means of travel in tina
country" Rev. Mr.. Young continued, ~