Morning journal and courier., 1892-03-31
INDIAN PUHRIT,s REVENGE.
wafting Twenty Years TO Take Aw-
full Vengeance His Rival In


full Vengeance on His Rival In
Love.
tFrom the San Francisco Chronicle
News was received here this morning of
peculiar tragedy which took place last
Friday in Burrough Valley, in the foot
hills of the Sierra Nevadas, fifty or sixty
miles east of Fresno. 1t resulted in the
death of Indian Maze, a Digger, about for
ty years old. This is the consummatiop
of feud of nearly twenty years standing
and the working out of revenge by an In
dian who all this time had been supposed
dead by the members of his tribe, and had
been almost forgotten by his people.
The story, as told here this morning, is
that some twenty years ago two Indians,
at that time savages, named Maze and Pur-
rit, were smItten with the charms of a
dusky maiden of their own tribe, and in
asmuch as they were unable to settle the
matter in the ordinary ways of court-hip,
they decided to settle il in combat. With
out any seconds or witnesses to take note
of the affray, they met one day in Syca-
more Valley, a small canon which is still
unsettled by white men, Their weapons
and at its close Indian Purrit lay like one
dead, and his antagonist went away victo-
rious from the scene of the conflict. He
supposed he had killed his foe, but the
PROSTATE Indian was only stunned by the
blows of the club. Whether Indian MAJ.
won the hand of the dusky maiden who
was the cause of this battle is not stated
II may be supposed that he did, and that
for the succeeding years she was queen of
his wigwam.
Purrit, the defeated Indian, after he re-
gained consciousness, made off, no one
knows where. His antagonist spread the
report that Purrit was sleeping with his
fathers, and il was so believed. That end
ID the first chapter of the story. Nearly
twenty years elapsed before anything else
was heard of the affair.
Last Friday some csttlemen who were
passing through Sycamore canon were hor-
rified to fluid the dead body of old Indian
Maze tied hand and foot to a log. His
death was due TO very small wound in
the jugular vein made by the point of a
knife, or, as there is reason TO believe, by
"A horseshoe nail ground down to a sharp
point. The surroundings showed that a
terrible struggle had taken place, and it
was evident that old Maze had been over
powered, tied firmly to the log, and then
the shsrpened nail driven into the vein of
his neck and he allowed to bleed slowly to
death. The deed had evidently been done
that day.
The Indians, and there are many of
them in that locality, gathered from all
sides and set up their dismal howls and
horrible lamentations, preparatory to
burying the dead brother. Gradually the
affair began to receive light from the COM
biued memories of the old sachems of the
Diggers. Additional light was thrown on
the matter by some one, and then another
and another of the assembly recalled that
II strange Indian had been several times
seen of late skulking about the hills and
hiding in the thickets of msuZanita. The
death of old Mae and the strange appear
ance of the skulking Indian began to be
associated, and when the former tragedy
was recalled. the fight between Maze and
Purrit, the Indians remembered that the
stranger who had been skulking about the
hills and hiding in the thickers was none
other than Purrit. They thought he had
come from the spirit world TO avenge him
self on his adversary, and well had he
done it, as the cold body of poor old Maze,
lashed to the log, was ampl. evidence.
The defeated lover had planned well
that revenge which is sweet to the child of
the forest He had waited long and had
uursed his hate through almost twenty
which should balance accounts between
himself and his mortal foe, according to
the Indian style of book keeping.
By what means he had decoyed old Maze
into that glen, to the very spot where the
duel of years before had taken place, is
not known. Probably he lay in wait and
uverpowered the old man by sheer strength,
bound him fast and then killed him.
Neither is it known where he had remained
all those years No tidinGs of him had
ever come back to his kindred, and they
had long ago given him up as among the
dead. But they did not reckon rightly, as
the tragedy of last Friday will show.
No trace of Purrit has been found since
The Indians have searched for him
through all the thickets, but in vain.
Perhaps he has gone back to the land
where he had hidden and hAd found a
home during all the years in which he had
been nursing his revenge, aud was waiting
for the day when he would settle scores
with old Maze