The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1892-10-07
A NIGHT ATTACK.
An Adventure with Hungry Beasts
in the Rockies.

Lieut.. Henderson, late of our regu-
lar army and who was one of the rescu-
ing party with my brother, has asked
me to put on record the experience of
that fearful night. l undertake the
task with reluctance, because in the
first place there is little or no instruc-
ton or moral weight in such work,
and IN the second place recall that in
cident only with a feeling of horror
and an unpleasant beating of the
heart However, by noting one or two
peculiar phenomena of nature a thing
or two may be set down worth remem-
berlng, and by fastening over the
horrible part much of the latter may be
avoided
The winter of 1862, in which Idaho
and Montana were born, was the most
terrible that has ever been experienced
west of the Rocky mountains for forty
years. There has been but one winter
that at all approached it in length and
breadth and awful battling of the ele-
ments. That was the winter of 1857
when the Indians. made desperate by
hunger, rose up one night in Pitt river
valley, butchered all the white people
and then helped themselves to the cat
tie.
But the winter of 60! 1t simply tore
down mountains. To this day as you
sail up the Oregon coast you see great
gray and white blotches on the face of
the black mountains fronting the ocean,
where the forest was melted loose and
was sent plunNing by sections down
into the sea.
They call them the buffalo wolves;
why, don't know. l never saw this
gaunt and hungry black phantom in
the buffalo lands. l think he belongs
entirely to the snow and only crosses
the Canada line when driven down by
such terrible winters as the one re-
fcrred to. My notion is that the IA
nous buffalo wolf was or is but little
better than the coyote; better bred, be-
cause better fed. perhaps: stronger in
limb and lung; but at best only dog
OF a wolf Anyhow, it is an insult to
the whole wolf family to call a coyote
wolf. He is only an Indian dog He
is no more a wolf than is prairie dog
a canine.
But there is gray wolf with us that
WIN VIC AOoOCI ulOLikcT OI hOWuluS ana
Rcmus would not have been ashamed
to acknowledge as of kin. lie is born
and bred Of the woods Yes, l know
you may find him in the midst of the
PLAIN, miles, hundreds of miles, away
from his habitat. He will calmly sit
by and let the Indian dog, the coyote,
chase down deer, elk or buffalo, and
then step in and preside, master of the
feast.
The snow had blocked the wheels of
the world. The civil war was booming
and raging along the whole line of the
eastern states, and the boys in the
mines, showed in, frozen up, they
wanted to know: they must know,
don't you see. l had spent winters in
the SHOWS of Mount Shasta. Yes,
could and would walk from Walla
Nalla to Millersville in Idaho, with a
load of letters and papers on my back
tor the snow bound boys. Over two
hundred miles. Ike Mossman, my
partner, now in Oakland, walked with
me the first one hundred miles, Go
Lewiston, and could go no further. A
lot Of men were waiting there to go
with the express, as usual. They
dropped behind, in fragments, and
when night fell and l still kept on, the
last two of the lot touched match to q
rcsnous bark of tamarack that stood
by the cleaning, glittering trail of
snow on the mountain side, and shook
their hats and shouted in manly admir-
alton, though they could go not foot
farther.
You see, l had to cross Camas prairie
that night eighteen miles, while the
SHOWS crust was like steel An hour
of sun on this vast and cleaning sea of
trackleSS snow-it is great wheat
field now-and you would sink in the
snow to your knees
made it without mishap or strug-
gle of any sort; came up to the noun
tain station at the base of Mount Idaho
with the morning star and awakened
the men buried down there in the lit
tie cabin ten feet under the snow with
the Modoc warwhoop.
Only twenty miles more and l would
be with the boys in the mines. They
had been good to me, and thanked
God that l had strength and skill to
serve them now. What welcome /
should receive. / was more than gold
to them, as they otter used to say.
They had only gold for me, but for
they | had the world-letters; love.
The fellows at the station took the
greatest care. No should eat moth
ing at all at first; only coffee, then a
crust, then beef broth and onions.
meat at last; and by the great roaring
fire fell asleep as | ate, and an Indian
with open palms rubbed my swollen
feet and legs.
Hours and hours and hours Of sleep, |
ard then, half awake, lying full length |
with feet to the fire on the bearsbins |
Half awake? aye, more than wide |
awaEc. and the sun settled his account |
with the world and went his way. !. |
too, must be off. My big leather bag !
of letters fitted me like huge jacket: |
good armor against cold, bullets, wind !
and-wolves?
! had a siX-shooter in my left hard. |
and small derringer nestled down in |
each flank. had encountered nothing |
IL l. l.