Crawford avalanche. (Grayling, Mich.) 1879-19??, 1899-04-27
A FRONTIER HEROINE.
MRS. LARIMERs THRILLING ADVENTURES
DURING THE SIOUX WARS.

band, . Lieutenant IN the Union Army,
She aad Her Infant Child were Captured
BY Isdlaas--Hsr Remarkable Escape.
The other day there came out Of the
Department OF Justice, ut Washing
ton, woman of attractive appearance,
a little past fifty years old. As she
paused moment on the steps end
looked with bright, observant eyes
over at the White House and along
Pennsylvania avenue, she presented a
| picture of comfortable, placid middle
age. One Of the attorneys from the
Indian Depreciation Claims Depart
ment accompanied her to the door, and
after she babe him good-by he said:
'"That woman is Mrs. Sarah l.. Lari-
mer Of Nebraska and she Is making
her yearly visit to Washington. When
at the capital she always calls on her
friends in the Department of Justice.
The files of Indian depreciation claims
contain no more romantic and thrilling
Incidents than those which relate to
the early life of Mrs. Larimer. Those
who meet her now as a woman of
the present day, quite abreast of the
| times In which she lives, interested in
all public questions and full Of kindly
sympathies, can scarcely realize that
in her youth she was the heroine of a
regular dime novel; story Of the
plains.
I'm 1864 Lieutenant Larimer, who
had just been honorably discharged
from the Union army, left his home in
Kansas, accompanied by his young
wife and little child, to cross the plains
| for the restoration Of his health, which
had given out through hard service in
the war. They were in company with
several other travellers, and had with
them valuable personal belongings,
consisting of several wagons and
horses, expensive clothing family jew
els, complete Photographic outfit
and nearly $4,000 in money. When in
Wyoming Territory they were sur
prised by band of Sioux Indians,
who murdered three Of the party,
wounded two, Lieutenant Larimer be-
ing one of the wounded, and captured
Mrs. Larimer and her child The In
dams took the woman and child to
their camp, about seventy miles from
the spot where they had attacked the
travellers.
"A day or two after the attack news
came to the Eleventh Cavalry, sta
toned at Fort Laramie, Wyoming,
that the Sioux had attacked travellers
Mrs. Larimer and her child into cap
tivity. Lieutenant Larimer had been
found, nearly dead from arrow
wounds, and distracted at the fate
which had befalleu his wife and baby.
The officers of the Eleventh immedi
ately moved part of their command up
the Platte river, and obtained further.
information as to where the raid had
taken place. They were about to move
against the Indians with a force of
two companies, when Mrs. Larimre
came crawling into camp, carrying her
child in her arms. Their condition was
deplorable. She and the child were
nearly famished. AS soon as Mrs.
Larimer was able she gave a detailed
account of the position of the Indians,
their plans and movements, their de-
knew would be moving against them,
their numbers and the ambuscades
which they had prepared. Her in
formation was SO valuable that the
officers were able to thwart the de-
signs of the Indians not only against
the pursuing troops, but against the
exposed points and trains that were
on the emigrant road.
THE officers found the information
Mrs. Larimer gave as to the position
and movements of the Indians to be
exactly as she had said, and marveled
at the powers of observation and
clearness Of memory which had en-
dured through the hours of torture she
had gone through. The accuracy of
her statements was particularly veri-
fed by the fact that one of the Lieu
tenants and n few Of his men who dis
obeyed orders and followed trail
apart from the command, fell into an
ambuscade described by Mrs. Larimer
and were killed.
Mrs. Larimer was never quite clear
as to how many hours she had passed
with the Indians. From the moment
of captivity, when they had started off
with her child and herself i'm their
train, she had concentrated every fac
ulty on watching for an opportunity
of escape. She had seen her husband
struck down by arrows, killed, as she
supposed; had seen the wagons fired
and her friends killed and wounded.
She had read of the tortures inflicted
by Indians upon women captives,
never imagining that one day she
would be their wretched victim. She
was determined ii possible to get her
self and child away from their clutches
and die in some other way than by
their tortures. She had always been
n girl of fearless disposition, quick in
her movements, and very observant.
She pretended to be bodily in Ian
guild and almost immovable state.
After hours Of waiting and watching
their dances and listening to their
plans for further depredations, when
they had ceased to observe her, she
found a chance to slip away beyond
the fires into the dark bush. For
hours, through two days and nights,
she struggled on, faint, nearly dead,
until she fell exhausted in the camp
of the cavalry.
ut was happy time, of course,
when she found her young husband