Blackfoot news. (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1891-1902, 1894-08-18
HE HATED INDIANS
A PIONEER TELLS OF A BACK
o WOODS TRAGEDY.
his Hoy Was Taken Prisoner by the Rec.
skins-The Father strikes the tran
ana Escapes With HIS SOFA Rattle
snakes Fatal Bite.

/ OF trading, and for year or Two ulu
pretty well. My beat lay between
Forts Laramie aud Bridger, and !
came and went In little gig ! had
One day | got letter from hone
saying that my wife had died and
that my half brother as mean a man
as ever lived, had sent my Chris on
| on to me.
Wyoming in those days was no
place for children. scarcely for white
men at all. and | was naturally an.
noyed at the boys being sent OF
without consulting me as 70 what
disposition / wished made OF him |
made calculation based on what
Henry had written as 10 when they
would arrive. and, knowing the
route they must travel | went down
a hundred miles 10 meet them
but | waited and waited fer that
emigrant train and it did not come
After q while there came news that
the train had been attacked by the
Indians and everybody killed was
pretty wild, can tell you. and made
up my mind TO 20 back to Ohio and
murder my half brother But IN a
day or two there rode into tho fort
a half-breed that said he hal seen a
white boy with band Of Cheyeunes
travelling toward Dakota. and by
questioning him closely I gathered
that this boy must be Chris, my son
Il presently foil Ia with another
trader named Burns. brave and
good fellow who had some friends
among the Chcyeuncs and offered %
20 on with me. as no was on his say
TO DAKOTA anyhow We pot On Then
very Well for u while, meeting plenty
OF Indians who gave US such .ufor-
nation rs they possessed, and we
learned that the band with wADn che
boy was lay in camp III what rs
called the Plateau du Coqteau. near
the northern part ol the TERRITORY
1--WE had gotten wltaln twenty
miles 81 the plateau and were eating
dinner about noon ono nay on tho
banks OF tho Missouri, when oil AZ
once there was war.whoop ringing
IN our ears, and about twenty Ia.
dians rushed out from a heap Of
rocks behind which they had crept
upon US Burns held up his hand
and called How 10 show that ws
were friendly. but even as he did
so. ball struck him In the broas. 10
leaped four or five feet Into the air.
the blood fairly squirting from the
hole over his heart At the same
time | fell with a broken leg. and
Burns dead body struck mo AZ hs
rolled down. Tho Indians thinking
they had killed us both, came run
ming and seized our horses. but the
chief bent over mo TO scalp me. ~ hen
he perceived that was stilt alive
lilo drew his knife almost across nv
throat then looked more closely AZ
me aud recognized mo flo had been
In Fort Laramie tho year before and
had been quite friendly with me.
He ordered me bound. though. and
tied to horse beside which no rode
as we went back TO their camp.
I'VE got there early the following
morning and my first look abou, the
camp showed me nothing Of the
white prisoner. But toward even.
ing another portion OF the band came
In from a hunting expedition. and
with them was Chris. whom had
left child OF 3. but who was nov
about IL ! dared not approach him
then. but eyed him as lndiHorcntly
as he had ne.
when dark came the chief called
mo to his side for .pow-wov
which. after lasting an hour or al.
was ended by NY being Dismissed N
my tent without a guard ana I
strolled over to where the boy at
pounding corn for a squaw. How
| said 20 him. but he did not rniso
his head until laid my hand on mia.
Then he glanced up at mo with that
same terrible lack lustre look and
saw that tho poor child's mind had
given way under his sufTeringa
81 had TO wait some weeks for tho
soughtfor opportunity to escape bnt
all the time was busy secrsting
provisions and such articles ma 90
would need on our long and hard
journey that we had before "a Al
last the night came. had pretend.
ed to sprain my ankle. as an excuse
not TO join party that went out on
an elk hunt Of several days, and onlv
squaws were left TO guard us and tho
camp There was no moon and tbe
stars even were obscured be- tho
clouds when we started We had
gone nearly forty miles when. one
evening a few black specks appeared
on tho horizon, and know that our
foes were on our trail.
] descended and we left IN a hurrv
making for a little shallow stream
flowing toward the Big Muddy. and
down this We waded for several hun.
dred yards TO throw these human
blood hounds off the track. Tben
we went toward the timber. and 40.
lecting a tall, hollow tree mottoned
Chris TO climb In and up, while /
took my position near tho hole near.
er down. where. II the worst came IN
the worst, ] could at least sell INV
ne as dearly as possible. On came
the Indians, and soon made ont
from their actions that they were
not IN pursuit Of us, but were merely
seeking uiaoa "a n.,,.. ~ -