The Anaconda standard. [volume] (Anaconda, Mont.) 1889-1970, 1899-01-11
LAST OF THE INDIAN FIGHTERS.
Uncle Jack" Farley Has One Hundred
Redskins On His Record.

Uncle Jack" Farley Has One Hundred
Redskins On His Record.
The great American Indian fighter
famed in history and dime novel; is
rapidly becoming memory of the past
With the tanning and the thinning out
of the Indian, his occupation has van
| shed, and if you discover one to-day
he is either very old man or else a
very untruthful one, especially in Cali
fornia, where the hostile savage has
not been seen in many years.
One of the few authenticated lndian
fighters Of California is Old Jack Far
ley, commonly known as Uncle Jack,
who lives on his ranch up high in the
mountains of Mendocino county.
Uncle Jack has passed his 92nd birth
day and will modestly admit the Kill
say that he killed" them; stopped"
is his favorite expression-an express
sion, by the way, that originated with
him in the early fifties and subsequent
ly became official vernacular among
scouts and cattlemen
Between the years 1S49 and 1866 In
Gle Jack was engaged in almost con-
slant warfare with the Indians of Men
docino, Trinity and Humboldt counties.
He came to California from Virginia
with the early settlers in search OF ad-
venture and fortune: and in search of
revenge. too, for during the journey
across the plains his best friend died
Jack fell easily into the then common.
belief that the only good Indian was
a dead one.
Trophies galore of the balance of that
bloody journey he Showed to the eau
representative. Scalps by the dozen.
chairs bottomed with Indian hide, razor
strops of the same grewsome material,
and the countless bows, arrows, toma-
hawks and firearms.
With neither wife nor child, only the
comradeship of a big mastiff, Uncle
Jack arrived here in 1S49 and settled
down to the business of stock raising
on the lonely mountain ranges of Men
docino.
From 1850 to 1856 there were no IN
dian agencies established and the ad-
vent of white man was an invitation
to the treacherous instincts of the In
dian. Murder arson, and cattle and
horse stealing ran riot.
Farley went out one morning to in
spect his stock. and found that 25 head
of horses and 100 head of cattle had
been stolen, and that his favorite sad
die horse had been killed and mutilat-
ed, it's main and tail hanging defiant
ly on the gate posts of the corral.
Uncle Jack fastened back to his cab
in, where he secured extra ammunition
and another brace of siX-shooters.
Three friendly prospectors with an eN-
ira horse We're in the neighbolnood
and they and Uncle Jack set forth IN
the pursuit of the thieves. Reaching a
deep canyon where one of the Eel river
tributaries came cascading down the
mountain they were about to water
their horses when they were struck by
the peculiar color of the water. 1t was
blood red. t& :.
This was enough to tell Uncle Jack
that the Indians were butchering his
ca tile up the river and washing the car
| casses in the stream.
In flash he and his companions
were riding up the trail, where they
soon met shower Of arrows. This
| was in the day of the Misunderstanding
rifle, and every one of their return
| shots had to tell.
Uncle Jack and his friends dismount-
ed and broke for cover. In the shelter
of trees and bushes they poured a slow
| but 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 In
dams We're repulsed. and finally after
five hours of bitter fighting, their sup
ply of arrows gave out and they beat
| a retreat.
Uncle Jack recovered only a remnant
of his band of cattle and none of the
| horses: but exactly 40 Indians, good
and dead" marked the quantity of his
| vengeance. This was one of Uncle
Jacks most successful days; it soon
became historic and was instrumental
| in securing him a governmental scout
ship when the first Indian post was
established in 1856.