The Cook County herald. [volume] (Grand Marais, Minn.) 1893-1909, 1899-06-03
WAS A GREAT INDIAN FIGHTER
jackson Farley Of California one Of the
Few That Arc Loft.

tsss rev That Are. Left. i555 $s--
from the San Francisco CALI
The great American Indian fighter,
famed in history and dime novel, is
rapidly becoming a memory Of the
past. With the tanning and the thin
ming out OF the Indian his occupation
Is vanished, and if you discover one
to-day, he Is either a very old man
or else a very untruthful one, espe-
cially in California, where the hostile
savage has not been seen in many
years. One of the few authenticated
Indian fighters of California is old
Jackson Farley, commonly known as
Uncle jack who lives on his ranch
high up in the mountains of Mendo-
clno county. Uncle Jack has passed
MS nlnety-second birthday, and will
modestly admit the killing of 100 In
d1ans. Only he will not say that he
KILLED them; "stopped'' is his favor
tie expresslon-an expression, by the
way, that originated with him in the
early 50's and subsequently became Of
nclal vernacular among scouts and cat
tlemen. Between the years 1S49 and
1860 Uncle Jack was engaged in al
most constant warfare with the IN
dams of Mendocino, Trinity and Hum
boldt counties. He came to California
from Virginia with the early settlers
in search of adventure and fortune,
and IN search of revenge, too, for dur
ing the journey across the plains his
best friend died from an Indians ar
row, and Uncle Jack fell easily into
the then common belief that the only
good Indian was dead one. Trophies
galore of the balance of that bloody
journey he showed to the Call re-
porter. Scalps by the. dozen, chairs
bottomed with Indian hide, razor
strops of the same grewsome material,
and countless bows, arrows. toma-
hawks and firearms. With neither wife
nor child, only the comradeship Of a
big mastif, Uncle Jack arrived here in
l849, and settled down to the business
OF stock raising on the lonely noun
tain ranges of Mendocino. From 1850
to 1856 there were no Indian agencies
established, and the advent of a white
man was an invitation to the treacher-
GUS instincts of the Indian. Murder.
arson, and cattle and horse stealing
ran riot. Farley went out one morn
ing to inspect his stock, and found that
70 horses and 100 head of cattle had
been stolen and that his favorite sad
die horse had been killed and mutt
lated, its name and tail hanging de-
hantly on the gate posts of the cor
raj. Uncle Jack FASTENED back to his
cabin, where he secured extra ammu-
milton and another brace of six-shoot-
ers. Three friendly prospectors, with
an extra horse, were in the neighbor-
hood, and they and Uncle Jack set
forth in pursuit of the thieves. Reach
ing a deep canyon where one of the
Eel river tributaries came cascading
down the mountain, they were about
to water their horses when thew were
struck by the peculiar color of the
water. 1t was blood red. This was
enough to tell Uncle Jack that the
Indians were hutcherinQ his cattIa un
the river and washing the carcasses in
the stream. In flash he and his COM
panions were riding up the trail, where
they soon met a shower of arrows.
This was in the day of the muzzle-
loading rifle, and every one of the re-
turn shots had to tell. Uncle Jack
and his friends dismounted and broke
for cover. In the shelter of trees and
bushes they poured slow, deadly fire
on the attacking red men. AS fast
as the savages could reorganize and
surround, the rifles of the white men
would cut gaps in the savage circle.
Time after time the Indians were re-
pulsed, their supply of arrows gave
out, and they beat a retreat. Uncle
Jack recovered only remnant of his
band of cattle and none of the horses
but exactly forty Indians, good and
Dead" marked the quantity of his ven
! geance. This was one of Uncle Jacks
most successful days. 1t soon became
historic, and was instrumental in Sc
curing him government scoutship
when the first Indian post was estab-
lished, in 1856.