Daily inter mountain. [volume] (Butte, Mont.) 1881-1901, 1899-05-12
BETRAYED.

Grand Falls (Maine) Cor. New York
Sun: The annual scalp feast of the
Tobique and Micmac Indians is held dur
ing the week following the new moon of
April, at which time the braves, squaWs,
and papooses of both tribes, together
with invited guests from the Abenaki
and Passarnaquoddy tribes assemble on
the Tobique reservation and celebrate
the anniversary of the day when more
than 1000 dead bodies of Mohawk war;
riors came to the surface of the ST. John
river. below Grand Falls, thereby fur
nishing scalps enough to keep both tribes
in powder III rum for two years.. His
tory and indian tradition both agree that
the Mohawks were the dominant tribe in
eastern North America for more than
200 years. They met with few setbacks
in their wars with other tribes, but when
ever they got real mad and started out
to conquer an adjoining nation they did
it so thoroughly that nobody but the VIC
tors were left to tell the tale of the en-
gagement. The early part of the
eighteenth century was marked by fire.
Quent wars " the Mohawks and
| the tribes of the east. The great tribe
from New York state had overrun Mas
sachusetts, Vermont and New Hamp-
shire. 1t had raided the %IroquOis of
Canada and eXtern,inated the NOrridg-
wocks of Central Maine, but whenever it
encountered the tribes along the St. John
| river the issue was a doubtful one. Every
autumn the Mohawks made raids into
| the territory Of their old foes, and after
, fighting for a few weeks returned home,
leaving fully as many scalps behind as
they carried away in their belts.
The last great invasion was under
| taken in September, 1884, when more than
3. 900 warriors embarked in canoes for
the purpose of sweeping the last hostile
Indian from New Brunswick and Nova
| Scotia. When neal the head of lake
IChamplain the Iroquois ambushed the
invaders and killed more than 300, in
Guiding the son of the chief. Fromfhere
they made Easy journeys to the head
waters of the St. John, reaching the
junction of the Aroostook river about
November l.. The St. John was swollen
by heavy autumn rains, compelling the
! party to use gerat care. When 30 miles
| south of Fort Kent a party of six Mic
macs, three braves and three squaws,
was o~vertaken. The men We're scalped
and the women pressed into service, as
guides down the river. Is 4
For two days and two nights the in
yading army drifted down the river with
out seeing a person on the shores. On
the third night the river drew into a. mar
row channel and began to rush and roar.
The Nohawks asked their Micmac guides
4 lIlt NGuSN, tii' - i NH~s
! there was no occasion for fear, as it was
an old habit of the St. John river to roar
! and rush at that place. Ten minutes later
the sauaws had jumped overheard and
were swimming for the shore under a
storm of arrows. The pursuing Indians
were so anxious to catch their prisoners
hat they did not notice the rushing
storm and did not hear the roar Of the
waters below. Shooting around a bend
of the river at great risk of upsetting
thev came to the brink of Grand Falls,
over which nearly all of the anoes Were
swept. The next morning when the sur
yivors were mustered there We're less
! than 400 braves AS they We're too few
to think of battle. the Mohawks turned
back, losing half their number on the
way home.
The women made their way to Tobique
village. bringing the glad tidings that the
Nohawks had persisted In the river. TIT