The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-14
sURRENpEREp TO DEATH.
An Old Indian Relates a Tragedy OF
Early Erontisr Times.
From Tho Philadelphia Times.

''AttH AA tAAN NttnN W tllAN lAlits "a party OF
prospectors recently found a melancholy
record OF one of the countless Indian
tragedies that have stained every hill,
plain and river bank of this region with
the white mans blood. This record is
craven with a knife on the soft sandstone
comprising the sides of a natural basin
in the valley of the Antietam, a small
tributary OF the Yellowstone, as it flows
northward to join the Missouri and the
inscription reads:
Here, May 10, 1860, three whites, sur
rounded by 200 Indians, dying of thirst
and hunger, killed chief and thirty braves
since driven here. Signed David Black
Luce Hartman, Dick Craig.
Search was made for some sign of the
men who died thus, and under several
feet of the loose soil that had become
heaped up over Them by the wind were
discovered the bones Of several creatures,
but in every instance the skull was miss
ing, and it is probable that the Indians
took the heads as trophies of their deadly
work, or that they were carried away by
wild animals, but the former supposition
Is the more likely of the two. OF the de-
tails of this unwritten tragedy little is
known, though an old chief of the Black
feet on being questioned as to his knowl-
edge, told Of an incident that he said
came from a northern branch of his
tribe
1t seems that Hartman, Craig and
Black were traders, who in some way in
Cured the enmiJy of these people, who
pursued them until they reached the
Little Belt Mountains, where most Of
them turned back. But Joined by the
tlatheads, who were on the warpath
at the time, the remnant of the pursuing
| party drove the white men before them
! down to the basin referred to where they
| surrounded them. The first day charge
was made on the whites, but concealed
among the rocks they contrived to kill
five or six Of the redskins, who then
| withdrew.
A council was held almost in sight of
| the trapped men, and it was decided to
! lay siege to the hated whites, and to sub
! lect them to the torture of thirst and
! hunger, as food and water were impossi-
! bic TO procure with that deadly Gordon
| drawn about them. The river lay within
a few hundred yards OF the doomed men,
but they could not reach it except
through a rain of bullets. But though
| the majority decided on this slow course
of starving out the prisoners, some of the
younger and more fiery Of the band kept
| making sallieS toward the natural pen
into which the whites had run, only to
fall under the resOlute fire of this prison
ers, who were conscious that vigilance
alone meant hope, and trusting to some
turn OF events to give them chance of
their lives.
AS the Indians learned afterwards
every clump of grass, every blade ST vege-
tatiOn within reach of the traders was de
vOured by them, but the spot being nearly
| barren, this furnished but scanty nutri
| ment for the three and soon the pangS OF
| hunger began to grow almost unbearab BILE
while the torture of thirst finally drove
one of them, Black it was thought, tC
face the dangers of trip to the river
II c Crawled on his stomach, at intervals
on night when the moon was partially
ObScured by clouds, resting and hiding
behind hillOCks of sand, rocks and any
thing that could afford him the slightes
shelter from the observations of the In
dams, and going on again whenever thu
sky would cloud over once more.
Fortunately he found the sentry put OF
gurrd at the river asleep and succeeded
in filling a tin pail with water withou
arousing the slumbering man, but on go
ing back to the little glen where he haC
i left his companions, having loyalty re
fused to desert them, he ran into a part,
of braves returning from a night hunt
and was discovered by them. The
opened fire on him, but, bending low Il
the earth, he managed to get to the shell
ter of the rocks and was then protected
by the guns of his friends. But he haC
lost the greater part of his dearly pur
chased water, and by the following nigh
the condition Of the three was scarcely
better than it had been previously.
1t was then decided to make a deter
mined break for liberty and life, and tina
night was chosen for the attempt. The
Indians had built camp fires on all knoll;
and high points about them and patrOleC
the spot every night, but it was resolved
to TRY and slip past these watch-tires and
! sentries. Covering themselves with The
loose sand so as to appear as nearly as
possible as one with the ground Ovel
which they would have to pass, they
started on this perilOus journey and had
nearly reached the shelter of the thicket
lying back of the river about 200 yards
where they could have been hidden from
| the eyes of their enemies, when one Of
them ran full tilt into q squaw.
She raised a yell, which was stifed by
| Black drawing his knife across her
throat and throwing her to one side fol
dead Then, fearing that her shrek ha c
been heard, they hid in the sand. The
woman, though badly cut, was not dead
however, and crawling on all fours a few
feet, awOke sleeping warrior and by
signs made him understand what haC
occurred, while all the time the BLOOD
was pouring from her throat.
The concealed men seeing what she wa:
about, and knowing that all chance of es
cape was at an end, made break back x
their original position, but as he turned
to run Black drew a bead on the squav
and dropped her with ball through he
breast BY this time the entire camp wa
thoroughly aroused and in full chase afte
the whites, but the latter having a Sigh
advantage of them gained the shelter o
the rocks once more, and killed the chic
as he came on ahead of his men. Tina
night was spent by the Indians in rite
and ceremonies over the remains of tn
dead chief, accompanied by the singin!
of the torture song, which warned tn
captives Of the fate awaiting them evel
should they survive another day the pri
vatiOns and suffering of their position, ant
weak from want of nourishment anC
despairing of rescue they resolved to xii
| them selves rather than submit to the In
dams or to endure further pain.
And in the midst of their wild choruse'
and dancing, three shots told the redskin
of the escape of their prisoners from thei
clutches into the arms of death. On TIL
following ddy the scouts Of the part.
came in telling of the presence Of a well
armed body Of projectors heading tina
way, and though superior in number, tn'
Indians not daring to face the indignation
of the white men, fell back to their owl
territory in the lands lying further north
the Flatheads among them dispensing
along the Missouri.
yNb;1a ii il i,uuOsSiblp tn fullV aSta bli 81