The Anaconda standard., 1898-02-06

days ago, near GlennS Ferry. Idaho of
| Bruneau John removed one of the most
| interesting characters of the bloody Ban
| mock Indian war of 1878. the record of
which forms one of the darkest biotches
| on the pages of Idaho's history. Bruneau
| John was a member of the Bannock tribe
| but during that memorable contest he left
| the camp fires of his fathers and arrayed
| himself on the side of the whites, to ex-
| terminate whom the war was waged. And
| it was his Paul Revere ride to save the
| lives of the settlers of the Bruneau valley
| that won for him fame and made his
name household word in many an Ida
no home.
The Bannock uprising was not unex-
pected in some parts of the state, but,
strange to relate, where the Indians were
best known, where they had daily met
the white people and traded their game
and skins for food. the people secuted
the idea of their dusky friends going on
the warpath. They could not bring them
selves to believe that these Indians, many
of whom they had frequently befriended.
and most of whom were exceedingly mild
hammered, would ever dream of massacre,
and when Bruneau John, some time be-
fore the redskins went on the trail which
they blazed with skeletons and the en-
bers of ruined homes, told them there
was imminent danger of an outbreak,
they laughed at him and assigned to i'm
aginatfon his solemn words of warning.
For the most part the people living about
the old-time haunts of the Indians made
no preparations to resist attack, and
when the savages donned their war paint
and went forth to kill and plunder and
burn these whites found themselves in a
position of ptiful heiplessness.
The first blood was shed by the Ban
nocks on the Snake river, near the mouth
of the Bruneau. Their plan was to swoop
down upon the settlers of the Bruneau
valley and kill them all. When they
reached Snake river the Indians found
large freighting outfit, which they pro-
ceeded to plunder, butchering the freight
ers in most diabolical manner. 1t was
here that John Bascombe and James Fur
geson fell after brilliant fight against
overwhelming odds. Their bodies and
those of the other freighters were re-
voltngly mutiated and left to rot in the
sagebrush. After the savages had reveled
in the blood of their victims until their
minds had become thoroughly nfiamed.
they attacked the contents of the wagons
and were gleefully scattering the articles
about when Bruneau John arrived on the
scene for the ostensble purpose of join
ing i'll the terrible slaughter the pitiless
redskins had planned.
Some time before his death Bruneau
John gave the writer d description of the
scenes about the ruins of the freighters
outfits. The wagons were loaded with
merchandise and the Indians were SO
pleased in their plunder that they post
poned for day the contemplated Bru-
neau valley raid in order that they might
thoroughly exploit the contents of the
wagons and hold high carnival as pre-
lude to the bloody work ahead. Bruneau
John said the night after the freighters
had been killed immense bonfireS We're
lighted the flames darting high into the
air. illuminating spectre-like the sur
roundings. About the edge of the circle
lay the bodies of the freighters ghastly
relics of the days terrible work. AS
party of the Indians. who, all told, num-
bered about 300 strong, went through the
wagons. throwing out the boxes and
bursting them open, flinging thenr con-
tents about in their wild recklessness, the
remainder of the reds circled about in a
weird war dance, chanting their uncanny
death song, some of them darting out oc-
casionally to plunge knives into the bodies
of the freighters or deal crushing blows
on their skulls with tomahawks, emitting
unearthly yells of triumph as their ghoul-
ish work proceeded. Finally, exhausted
from their vigorous dancing, they turned
in and were soon wrapped in slumber.
So confident were they that their deviltry
was not known they did not take the pre-
caution to post sentries. Wrapped in their
blankets they slept soundly-all but Bru-
neau John. While not an active partici-
pant in the orgies, owing to pretended
injury to his leg, he had uttered no word
of remonstrance, realizing that his life
would pay the forfeit of such rashness.
But the information that the redskins
intended to massacre the people of the
Bruneau valley filled his soul with horror
and his mind was deluged with schemes
10 save these friends, who but a. short
time ago, has turned a deaf ear To his
warnings.
All night he tossed about feverishly in
an endeavor to evolve plan to get the
news to them, Several times he had start
ed to escape from the camp, but each
time the barking of the dogs aroused
some of the other Indians and he was
forced to retire again with the excuse
that he had gotten up to relieve the pain
in his leg. So, when morning dawned, he
had found no way to give warning to the
innocent settlers, above whose heads was
suspended worse than Damocean
sword.
As soon as the redskins had satisfied
their hunger in the morning they re-
newed the work of plundering the con-
tents of the wagons, and to their great
joy they discovered several large bottles
of alcohol consigned to the firm of DAN
skin Bros. of Boise They were soon en-
gagged in mixing a brew. which they
drank rayenously. This Bruneau John en-
couraged, in the belief that he might slip
away If his dusky brethren could be in
duced to drink to excess. The Indians be-
came wildly hilarious and Bruneau John
described their antics as both ludicrous
and terrible. Some of the young bucks
exuberant from the effects of the liquor
mounted their horses. and, catching the
ends of bolts of cloth. started the animals
on d dead run, spreading the bright cali
cos and spotless muslins in wavy profu-
sion over the tops of the sagebrush. This
form of sport was indulged in until all
the cloth was exhausted and the plain in
that vicinity assumed Kaleidoscope ap-
pearance. The drinking was continued
the Indians further mutilating the dead
bodies between drinks. until the entire
party was maudln. Paralyzed by the
strong stimulant. one after the other they
rolled over on the ground. beasty into2i-
Gated, and evening found nearly the en-
tire party laying around like logs. those
not absolutely prostrated being suffi-
ciently dazed to render them harmless.
Bruneau John said three men could at
thai time have kiIIad LIZ, on+iro r,ar-.-