The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-12-25
t GIEzTEgG OFF Of
INDIAN BOB
BY A. i. LOUDER, NEpHI.)

fore the cheerful blaze that cracked
and glowed upon the open hearth in
| the comfortable home of one of the
old pioneers of this town, when the
conversation turned upon the early
days of the settlement, and the wonder
| ful change that civilization had
wrought within the four decades since
! the first emigrants landed here upon
! the tuhr-lined banks OF Big Salt Creek
| TO build themselves homes My host
| delighted in recounting the dangers and
! privations, and thrilling adventures of
the early settlers. I was an attentive
listner, and he in a, particularly remin-
scent mood He passed on from one
interesting incident to another, until
| he finally remarked: ut was about
this time of the year that the Indian
! Bob affair occurred. 1t was in 1857;
about two weeks before Christmas. The
settlement was yet in its infancy, and
| we had no county organization, no
regularly constituted courts or any
thing of that kind, but the people got
together and appointed judge and
! jury when occasion required such a
step, which, however, was not as fire.
quent the case as one might suppose
! under the circumstances. In those
times of constant danger from the IN
dams, we had built a strong wall
around what is now city block, and
erected a tall pole with a lanyard and
made a signal by covering a frame
about the size of a nail key with black
j glazed muslin which in time OF peril
was 10 be run to the top of the pole
and the danger horn vigorously blown.
This meant that every one should
! gather within the walls.
Late ON that particular afternoon,
the horn was blown and the black
signal went up. We all rushed pell-
nell within the fort anxious to know
the cause and prepared for the worst.
| 1t was a motley crowd, as 1 can we'll
remember, men and boys from their
work, women carrying and leading
along little barefoot children over
rough frozen ground, with clothing
better suited for July than December;
! the men and boys armed after
fashion; with guns, scythe-blades
butcher knives, pitchforks and CLUBS.
: When we got into the fort we learned
| that one of our leading citizens had
| been shot at and narrowly escaped be-
ing killed by an Indian while out after
salt at a small spring he had taken
! up a couple of miles east of the settle
ment Although the man shot at was
! not lacking in courage, he covered the
distance from that spring to the fort
! in the shortest space of time ever re-
| corded before or since, and he didn't
bring any salt along either. He got
glimpse of his would-be slayer, how
ever, and recognized him as an In
dian he knew very well named Bob,
! who was known throughout the settle
ment as a bad man.
After considering the matter it was
not considered advisable to go in
search of the murdereus redskin, for
| it was not known how many of the
| cft,1
up the canyon, might be implicated and
concealed among the rocks ready to
| open fire upon any who might ap-
| proach But strong guard was
! placed on the outskirts of the settle
/ ment behind stacks and brush fences
and a vigilant watch was maintained
! for couple of days. All appeared
quiet at the Indian village and the
! sauaws and bucks come into the settle
rnent as usual but Bob didn't put in
| an appearance for more than week.
Evidently he had been in hiding out in
| the hills, but a deep snow had in the
meantime fallen which no doubt drove
him in from his refuge among the
| rocks, and one morning Bob came into
the settlement as of old, but his every
action betrayed him as guilty of the
attempt to commit the murder at the
spring. In place of his usual insolence
and swagger, he was timid and quiet,
but this conduct was so unlike BOb's
nature that it did not last long and
he soon began to assert himself and
went so far as to make threats against
any one who went to that spring for
salt without his permission, intimat-
ing that he proposed to go into the
salt business slightly himself, and if
any one wanted salt, he had that COM
modify to swap. He made himself so
obnoxious that it was decided there
was but one course left and that was
to arrest him and give him a trial not
only for the crime of attempted muir
der but as being a menace to the
peace and safety of the community.
I'm due course Bob was arrested and
taken into the fort without the knowl-
edge of the other Indians, who were
! then told of what was done and what
he was accused of, and that he would
have to be tried and punished if found
guilty OF attempting to commit a cold
bIooded murder. A runner was sent up
20 the Indian village for Chief Sanpitch
to come down. He was told that Bob
was accused of an attempt to Kill a
peaceable citizen and he would have
to stand trial The old chief strongly
objected to this, claiming nobody was
hurt and that we had no right to take
the salt without paying his people fol
it. anyway, and for a time it looked as
though we would have serious trouble
and the Indians would make an effort
to rescue the prisoner, but Sanpitch
was given to understand that he him
self had committed crimes enough to
Justify his being shot, and that no
more of that kind OF business would
be tolerated. The willy old rascal
finally quieted down and a judge and
three jurors were selected by lot from
a dozen names of our then leading men
and the trial began.
1.-THE main witness, who for many
years after was a well known govern
! ment official here, and who had SO
narrowly escaped the deadly bullet
fully identified Bob as the indian who
shot at him. Other witnesses testified
to threats Bob had made and various
crimes and depredations of which he
no doubt was the perpetrator. The
accused did not deny that he did the
shooting, but said it was his spring and
his salt. The jury quickly found Bob
guilty of attempting to commit MUIR
der. and the judge solemnly passed the
death sentence upon the would-be muir
derer and the jury that had found
him guilty was ordered to execute the
sentence without unnecessary delay.
Night had now come on and the con-
denned savage was being escorted
| under an armed guard to the log cabin
fused as a Jail; when a short distance
out of the fort the condemned redskin
gave a whoop that echoed away in the
hills and made a sudden dash off into
the darkness, several shots were fired
after the fleeing fugitive, but if they
! took effect it was never known. Dill
gent search was made, but not trace
was found of the escaped criminal and
pursuit was abandoned for the night
'The next morning was Christmas