Waterbury evening Democrat., 1892-07-12
SQUIRE MACK'S ESCAPE.
A Story of Adventure on the
Western Frontier.

In the town in which live there is
an old frontiersman whom everyone
calls Squire Mack" In the early
days he went to California, and had
many curious adventures there which
he delights in recounting.
At the breaking out of the civil war
he was making shingles near some
mining town in the Sierra Nevada.
The news from home filled him with
patriotic fire, and, with several COM
rades, he turned his face eastward,
and travelled as rapidly as possible to-
ward the states"
Arriving at Salt Lake City, he
learned that Indians had been raiding
the trail ahead, firing upon wagon
trains, and burning express and stage
stations This news disheartcned his
companions, who resolved to stop at
Salt Lake City until the trouble was
over
Not SO with Mack. He was of the.
sort of men who are bound to go
through when they have begun a
thing. He pressed on, taking his
chances, on the Cherokee Trail"
Mack had been 4 wagon-master along
this trail, and knew the ground we'll.
raiding about Green river, but he
knew that at the crossing of the trail
over this stream he had a good friend
in the person of Bat Lavigne, an old
French Canadian trader who lived here.
Lavigne had great deal of influence
among the surrounding tribes of Utes,
Uintahs, Cheyennes and Arapahoes.
He was married to an Arapaho woman,
and was reckoned member of that
tribe He must be aware of the move
ment of the Indians.
So Mack, riding an excellent cayuse
and leading a good-sized pack mule,
pushed boldly on to Green River
| Crossing, and brought up at Bat
Lavigne's abode dwelling one evening
at shutdown. Lavigne made him well
come heartily.
The trader told him that big war
party of Arapahoes had "mixed
medicine" at Green River two days be-
fore, and had set out from there upon
an expedition to the east He had
been with them during the powwow,
but did not know whether they had
excepted white blood in mixing their
medicine or not If they had not, the
trail would be extremely dangerous.
| But there were no other Indians to
be feared at present, he said, if one
| kept straight upon the old Cherokee
trail, which passed over u line OF
neutral ground between the mountain
tribes. If the Arapahoes were again
to go plundering and killing whites, as
they had done a few weeks before,
they would keep to- this trail to avoid
other enemies.
Mack's strong desire to get forward
upon the way home got the better OF
his prudence, and he again took the
trail eastward.
AT about noon on the third day he
came upon the smouldering ruins of ar
old freight or ''way" station.
Mack knew very well, from certain
signs which he saw in the neighbor
hood, that the building had been free
be Indians If people had been living
in it, they had probably been killed OIL
taken prisoners.
Whether the Indians had gone Macl
could not determine. The ground wa:
hard and baked, and no tracks of any
sort could be discovered; but the party
could not be far distant
Mack picketed his animals among
some sage bush near at hand, and ate hi
noon lunch while considering whether
it was best to go back or go ahead HI
had now no doubt that the building
had been burned by the Arapchoes
and that they had not excepted white
blood" in making up their protective
medicine.
AS he sat in this me itative mood
the traveller, happening 10 cast his eye
back upon the trail over which he hao
come, saw two horsemen leading pacl
animals, and riding toward him at
gallop.
They proved to he young men VIII,
were on their way homo to Tennessee
They had heard of Mack at Lavigne'
three days before, and had been tryinI
to overtake him.
They, too, were on their way east
ward to take part in the great strug
gle then going forward; but they in
tended to join the southern army
while he was going to join the unio
1 tcrees.