The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1897-06-05
PIRATES or THE MISSOURI.
A Narrative of the Early Days of the
Fur Trade

not the only enemies encountered bS tHS
boatmen in the early days of the fur traf-
tic along the Missouri.
AS in every Indian-infested region, there
were desperadoes and renegades of the
white race occasionally ready to turn their
hands against their fellows. And once, at
least, within the recollection of Jean
Gaspin, a band of these carried on Sc
ries of successful boat robberies, covering
a period of more than two years.
1t was before the day of steamers, when
small blockhouses and trading stations
were scattered along the river at iso-
lated points, where companies of trappers
and Indian traders-the latter mostly
French Canadians-had their headquar-
ters From these remote posts furs were
carried to and supplies brought from the
towns on the lower river and the Missis-
sippi. The small flatboat or bateau-
manned by often less than half a dozen
men, because wages were high and prof
its must be made-dared the peril of these
journeys with a hardihood such as pioneer
enterprise has exhibited ever since the
days of the Jesuits and the Pilgrims.
These boats had always to run the
gauntlet OF the Sioux and other tribes, and
often met with exciting and perlous ad-
ventures, and not infrequently with dis
aster. But the Indians, armed almost en-
tircly at this period with the bow and ar
row, were cautious and bushwhacking in
their attacks, and, though boatmen were
shot from the cOVerts of the bank in ev-
cry season of the water, the craft might
usually be relied upon TO reach its desti-
nation and land its freight unframed.
But when a gang of river pirates as
sailed one Of these boats the outcome was
usually the capture of its cargo and the
loss of some, if not all. of its defenders.
1t was about the year 1919 or 1929 that
the notorious Bill Harke who had been
driven out of Missouri (Missouri was adj
United IN 1920 for laWlessness, and who
had lived for some years a vagrant, rene
gade life among the Sioux, gathered a
band of white and half-breed desperadoes
and began TO prey upon the boats OF the
traders.
This gang of outlaws numbered, at diff
ferent times from a dozen to eighteen
or twenty of as Villainous cutthroats as
We're gathered upon our frontier. Their
headquarters, if they had any, were never
discovered, but that they were harbored
by the different tribes of the Sioux scat
tered along the river seems evident. Arm
ed to the teeth and supplied with Indian
canoes, they bounced upon the up or
down going boat in the dead of night,
when half of the crew were wrapped in
their blankets. If resistance was made
the men were shot down merciessly; if
not, the crew were tied hand and foot,
the boat relieved of it's freight, and its
men left to free themselves Of their bonds
as best they could. These depredations
occurred at different points along the
whole stretch of the river from the mouth
of the Platte to the Yellowstone. In these
attacks the robbers were invariably dis
guised as Indians painted and befeather-
ed, and the identity OF some of them was
never established. Several of them We're
known, however, and among them the
leader, Harke, or 1.-TWO Fingers" as the
Sioux called him, through the reports of
Indians friendly at different trading sta
tions.
This gang of river pirates, or most of
them, at least, met a terrible and richly
deserved fate at the hands of a few trap
pers, who, through the leadership and
strategy of Sim BATHS, blew them to
kingdom come" as yankees have it.
A company Of trappers had built for
their headquarters, defence and storage
of furs a block house, with the usual safe
barbados, at the mouth of the river Mo
brara. This station they occupied when
Two Fingers" and his men infested the
river. Twice in each season of open wa
ter their bateau descended the river with
the annual catch of furs The craft was
manned by five or six of their number,
who, with the exception of Simon BATHS,
an experienced young boatman and pilot,
took turns In making the trip. BATHS,
reared on the extreme frontier, the SON
of a trader trained to the river from the
time he could handle an oar, was one of
the safest and most wary boatmen OF
the Missouri.
He usually made his runs through dan
gerous territory in the daytime, putting
his boat into the cover of secluded and
easily defended nook upon some island
selected in advance, where his men spent
. .,srr ~, al 70 tch
He had never lost bale of fur.
Up to the time of the incident here re-
lated his goings and comings had appar-
entity escaped the outlook of Bill Harke's
marauders. II was just after the going
out of the ice, and after a winter of sue
cessful trapping in the vicinity of the sta
ton, that one morning white man and
a number of Indians-Hunk-pa-pa Sioux
came to the block-house with furs, beav-
er and otter 70 exchange for ammunition
and blankets.
BATHS, with two or three of the men
who were going down the river with him,
was busy at the time overhauling, caulk-
ing and putting the bateau in repair. NO
suspicion would have been aroused
against the trading party, perhaps, nut
while the Indians were bantering with the
blockhouse trader the white man saunter-
ed down to the boat and hung around the
workmen lie talked carelessly giving
information freely Of himself and his
companions, the Hunk-pa-pas; said he
had put in the winter at their village on
the Bad river. that he had made good
catch Of beaver and otter, and had more
buffalo pelts at the Hunk-pa-pa town
than the Indians had ponies TO pack in.
He then asked when the boat would
start down the river, whether the shift
would be mostly beaver, how many men
would be at the oars; said he would like
TO go along II he did not have TO go back
10 Bad river to gather ponies to bring in
his buffalo pelts, which the squaws were
now tanning; said he would bring down
in June the biggest and finest lot Of In
jun tans" ever carried by that boat. Bat
It's listened shrewdly TO this talk, aud
when the man finally returned TO the
station and rode off up the river with the
Indians told his fellows that the pretend
ed trapper was one of Harke's men.
lie was so sure Of the fact that coun-
eli was held among the men-there were
a dozen or more--at the station, and he
succeeded in convincing his comrades that
his suspicious were correct. lie then
proposed a bold scheme. which he would
undertake with the help OF four Of his fel.
lows to carry out This, too, was agreed
TO.