The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-07-01
BLOODY LEAF FROM THE EARLY
HISTORY OF MONTANA.

"A Brave Man Who Was a DereIfct
of the Frontier-The Fight, SIM
E1e-Handed, With Indians That
Gave Briny Standing In the COM
munity-Fnte OF the Woman Who
Caused His Death ana of the MUIR
4 derer-"1 Can't Pray Tor You"
None of us ever knew where he came
from Or anything of his past; he just
dT1fted in among us as a log lis left by, the
receding current on a sandy bar. There
he was, and no questions were asked, for
in those days 1T wasn't considered good
form to be inquisitive. Some men didn't
care to have their antecedents partic-
ularly inquired into, ana one who per-
sisted in looking up the records of peo-
pie he met sooner or later found himself
, looking into something different-the muz-
zle of a six-shooter.
He had evidently come from some min
Ing country out onto the plains, for we
noticed that one of his horses carried a
pick, shovel and a goldpan, and other i'm
PIGMENTS of the prospector. But he
wasn't broke like the majority of those
wanderers of the earth, for he carried a
little sack of gold coin, and after sitting
around the saloons a few days, listening
to the boys and getting the lay of the
land, he purchased a wagon and trading
outfit of the company and became an
Indian trader on a small SCALE On the
eompanys books his name appeared as
Obrien Osborne. Perhaps it was his right
name and perhaps it wasn't. The boys
called him Briny. He was thin, round
shouldered man of medium height, black
haired and black bearded, says Kipp
lMont.) letter to the New York Sun. He
had very peculiar eyes; they were deep
set, behind great buShy eyebrows and hao
an appealing, supplicating expression In
their gray depths like that seen in certain
timid animals at bay. The Indians, quick
to note any little regularity Of a man,
named him Ko-pop-in-e; Afraid Eyes.
. When Briny came into the fort with a
load OF furs he would at once buy new
outfit Of trade goods and then spend his
surplus capital among the boys. Driuha
In those days cost 25 cents EACH beer 81
bottle, and assisted by the crowd, which
he always asked to drink when he did,
the few hundred dollars he made on a
trip disappeared like snow before a Chi
nook wind. The last dollar expended, he
would hitch up his team and drive out
over the great plains to the Indian camp,
wherever 1t might be located at the time,
to trade for another load of robes and
furs
Briny was always SO quiet and appar.
entity OF so timid a nature that the boye
used to make fun-5of him. and speak ia
him In that half-cont ernptuous, half
patronlzing way, in which rough men
will address one whom they consider their
inferior mentally and physically. But if
ever these men made a mistake they
yHut,nv ,s.~
way they did. When they found out their
error, however, they acknowledged their
fault, and from that time on treated him
like the man he was up to the hour OF
his untinle1y death. ::.''
One winter ,Briny made a successful
trade With the Piegan Indians, who were
hunting and camping along the Missouri
river in the vicinity of Cow island The
ice being very thick and strong. he con.
Guided to drive. up the river with his
load of furs to the fort, instead Of travel.
ing over the cold, barren prairie, where
neither wood nor shelter was to be found
In those times men not inaptly called
WoodhaWks were strung along the river
at convenient points-generally the foot
or long rapid-and made livelihood
by selling fuel to the steamers which
piled up and down the stream during the
nigh water of spring and early summer.
The woodhaWks were a rough, brave set
of men, and their occupation hazardous
in the extreme, for they were constantly
exposed to the attacks of war parties
from the surrounding tribes, especially
the Sioux, Assinniboines, Cheyennes and
Crees. Wood cost $50 a cord and more
and where money is to be made men are
always to be found to make it. regard
less of the risks involved It was a very
common occurrence for a steamer to land
at woodward and find the owners
scalped and dead by the smouldering ru.
ms OF their cabin. Travelling along on
the ice. then, Briny reached the yard of
couple or acquaintance one afternoon
and camped with them for the night
The woodlands were glad to see him
for not living soul had they met since
the preceding summer. Moreover, Briny
had been at the fort two months before
and could give them many bit of news
It was late when they retired, after eat.
ing second supper Of buffalo ribs roast.
ed in front of the wide fireplace. .s,
The Woodhawks arose at an early hour
the next morning, Briny remaining in his
bed until breakfast should be ready. One
OF the men went to the river for a pail
OF water while the other began to chop
some splinters from a dry log some fifty
yards from the cabin with which to start
the morning fire. In the early light of
dawn, or perhaps some time during the
night, war party of six or seven Assini-
boins had discovered the lonely little
cabin and laid plans to kill it's occupants
without any risk to themselves. Choosine
places in the dense brush within short
range, they lay concealed and patiently
waited for the men to appear. Every
thing happened as they wished. When
one OF the men reached the river and
the other the log, they opened fire and
poor Joe Hines fell dead on the ice.
Briny was aroused by the shooting. and
rushed out of the door, Winchester in
hand. just in time to see three Assinis
boins rushing toward the other wood.
hawk. Arnold, whose leg had been broken
by the volley. In a second or two more
they would have been upon the unfortu-
nate man, but before they realized what
was UP, Briny dropped two Of them. and
the third ran off into the brush east of
the cabin. Briny then ran down the path
toward the river and saw the other In
dian gathered about poor Hines, whom
they were proceeding to scalp and dis
member. Two of them fell at his first
shot, and the rest ran across the ice
toward the other shore, but only one of
them reached it, for at the fourth shot
Briny managed to hit the other and he
t,lmbled over with wailing YELL Not
knowing how many more Indians might
be concealed in the brush or in the vicin-
ity Briny went 1lielzly back to where
Arnold was lying and packed him into
the cabin He knew Hines was dead, and
that there was no use in risking a shot
from the Indians by going after his body
then. Closing the door and fastening it
securely. he got Arnold into q. hannax-
stanched the flow OF blood from his
wound, and temporarily bandaged the
broken limb He next proceeded to knock
the mud chiElking out on the three sides
7 of the cabin where there was no door or
window, and from the small openings
there made watched carefully for any
signs of the enemy. Hours passed. and