The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1897-12-13

in the attitude of prayer, was a squaW
frozen to death. Which had first sue
cumbed, the wounded chief or the de-
voted wife in the awful cold of that
winter prairie, will never be known,
but it proved her love for the man who
had perhaps beaten her hundred
times. Such tender and sympathetic
affection is characteristic OF the sex
everywhere, no less with the poor saw
age than in the dominant white race.
~ g g
Indians make smoking part of their
religion. The red sandstone quarries in
Minnesota are the source from which
for untold centuries the Indians from
all sections. of the country obtained the
material for their pipes: Because Of
the veneration in which these quarries
were held, no battles could possibly oc-
cur in those sacred precincts, and all
hid their weapons on approaching the
holy ground. Before digging for the
Nstone, the Indian made humble suppl
cation OF the guardian spirits for per-
mission. The author quotes this legend
OF the Knis-te-neu's tribe (Crees), q
very small band in the British possess
slonS, in relation to the quarry:
In the time of a great freshet that
occurred years ago and destroyed all
the nations of the earth, every tribe of
indians assembled on the top of the
Coteau des Prairies to set out of the
way OF the rushing and seething waters
When they had arrived there from all
parts of the world, the water contin-
ued to rise until it covered them COM
pletely, forming one solid mass of
drowned Indians, and their flesh was
converted by the Great Spirit into red
pipe stone; therefore, it was always
considered neutral ground, belonging to
all tribes alike and all were to make
loi7 1air Of
Sether. While they were drowning to-
gether a young woman, Kwaptan, a
virgin, caught hold of the foot of a
very large bird that was flying over
at the time, and was carried to the top
of a hill that was not far away and
above the water There she had twins
their father being the war eagle that
had carried her off, and her children
have since peopled the earth. The
pipe stone, which is the flesh of their
ancestors, is smoked by them as the
symbol Of peace, and the eagle quills
decorate the heads Of their warriors.
Uncle John Smith was one of the most
famous trapperS and traders in history
In 1926, as a boy, he ran away from st.
Louis, where he was apprenticed to a
tailor, with a party Of Santa Fe trad
ers, and was so fascinated with the life
He was famous story teller, and the
author relates several that were told
about the army camp fires during a
campaign in 1863 Uncle John would not
eat quail. One of them had saved his
life some 20 years before and the old
trapper had taken an oath to starve
before he would partake of one of the
birds. He and a party were returning
from trapping expedition and were
IN Do hnf
Pawnee Rock, where so many bloody
encounters took place in early days.
They were in want of meat, and one
morning four butfaloS were seen graz
| ing about half mile from camp.
Uncle John and two others started af-
ter the animals, crawling through the
tall grass to get in range.
THE buffalo was now between me
and Thorp and Boyd, and they was
John. II could see them over the top
of the grass kind o. edging up to the
bull, and [ kept a-crawling on my hands
and knees toward the COW. and when
got about $50 yards Of her l pulled up
my rifle and draWed a bead.
Just as 1 was running my eyes along
the bar'l darned little quail flew right
out from under my feet and lit exactly
on my front sight, and, of course, cut
l
those days; every shot had to tell, or a
man was the laughing stock for a
month if he missed his game.
4 shook the little critter off and
brought up my rifle again, when, durn
my skim if the bird didn't light right
onto the same place; at the same time
my eyes crowd kind O. hazy like, and in
| a minute didn't know nothing.
when [ come to, the quail was
r -f CHI
right in front of where the bull had
stood and close to Thorp and Boyd,
half dozen Ingins jumped out G.
the tall grass, and. firing into the
two men. killed Thorp instantly and
wounded Boyd.
HE and me got to campaigning
off the Ingins, who knowed 1 was load
ed-when we, with the rest of the outfit,
drove the red devils away.
"They was Apaches, and the fellow
that shot Thorp was half breed mig
ger and Apache. He scalped Thorp
and carried off the whole upper part of
his skull with it. He got Thorps rife
and bullet pouch, too, and his knife.
I'VE buried Thorp in the bottom
there, and some of the party cut their
names on the stones that they covered
his body up with, to keep the coyotes
from eating up his bones.
I
right, and I never herd of him after
we separated at BoonvilIe. We pulled
out soon after the Indians left, but we
didn't set no buffalo meat.
You see boys, if I'd fired into that
cow, the devils would a had me before
I could got a patch on my bali
didn't have no breech leaders in them
| days and it took as much judgment to
know how to load q rifle properly as to
shoot it, Them Ingins lZnowed all that
/ they knowed 1 hadn't fred, so they
kept a respectable distance. [ would
fired. but the quail saved my life by
I interfering with my sight-and that's
J the reason don't eat no quail hahn
/ superstitious but I don't believe they
was meant to eat
I Uncle John could never be disabused
( of the idea that the quail lighting on
! his rifle was not a direct intervention
OF Providence.
Jim Bridger was another of the ia
! st. Louis and had many admirable
| traits. He was also a great romancer.
He once told Colonel Inman that in
/ the winteh of 1880 it began to snow in
J the valley OF the Great Salt Lake and
continued 20 days without cessation.
/ The whole county was covered to a
depth of 70 feet, and all the vast herds
! of buffalo were caught in the storm
and died, but their carcasses were per-
! fectly preserved. when spring came
/ on" declared this old fable-maker, "aIl
/ I 70 VOC 10 tumble ,a7,3 inf