The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1899-04-29

In the spring Of 1850 went to Fort
Kearney for the purpose Of plotting a
train across the plains. Just what time
in the month I got there do not remem-
Der, but it was early in May, and the
train was waiting there for guide when
I arrived. made contract with the
emigrants that evening to go with them
to tho foot Of tho Sierra Nevada noun
tains.
In this OUTFIT Of ennigrants was Henry
Gordon, whose homo was in Christian
county, Illinois. I got intimately &C.
quainted with him before we got through.
He had his own saddle horse and very
often he would ride with me for hours
when was on duty. He told me he was
not going to California to dig gold, but
was looking for 4 better climate than his
homo in Illinois. and If tho California
country suited him he calculated to move
his family to the Western coast.
Instead of taking his family West at
once, as Gordon had intended to do, he
rem eined In Christian county until the
fall Of 1852, having been elected sheriff
of the county. After serving out his term
of office he sold his farm and stock and
persuaded some of his neighbors to &C
company him West. About this time a
man Of the name of Myers made his ap-
pearance in Mr. Gordon's neighborhood
and pretended to fall desperately in love
with Miss Mary Gordon. the oldest daugh-
ter. She rejected him from the start A
day or two before Mr.. Gordon got ready
to start this man Myers called on Miss
Gordon and insisted that she become his
Wnfe. She gave him a, pointblank re-
fusal and told him positively that she
would have nothing to do with him. He
then told her he would meet her in the
wilds of the Rocky mountains, where she
would crawl on her knees and beg to be-
come his wife,
After making all arrangements Mr. Cor
don, his family and friends pulled out for
California by way of New Mexico, known
at that time as the Butteraeld route. I
was In Nevada working as govern
ment scout, Our quarters were in the
southeastern part Of Nevada and we were
camped on the north side Of the Clover
Valley mountains
When I returned to quarters early one
morning Col. Elliott told me that James
Davis, my first assistant, had been on
top of the mountain about o'clock that
night, and had seen what he supposed to
be an emigrant train on fire In Choke
Cherry canyon; that he also imagined he
had heard a number Of gunshots
l had Davis call another scout named
Maloney, and 1t was not long before the
three of us were IN our saddles and on our
way to Choke Cherry canyon. We rode
along together until daylight, when I
matted and gave each man his route to
take, also telling them the road I would
take. 49,
Before I had got to the station where
We were all to meet ran into a. band of
!rdlans having, a scalp dance. I dashed
into them and succeeded in getting two
scalps, which found to have been freshly
taken. One scalp was from the head Of
man, the other from a woman Soon
Devils came to me. He had heard shoot
ing, and knowing that it was on my route,
he supposed had got into trouble,
He said to me: Captain, I have seen
the track of a No. 9 boot this morning,
made by a white man, and he is with a
| band of Indians who have a barefooted
prisoner with them The man wearing
| the boots Is not a prisoner, though he is
white" ~ -"
myself had crossed and recrossed this
| same boot track during the morning, but
l had not seen anything of the track of q
bare foot. told Davis that the man EVIL
IDENTIFY was some scoundrel assisting the
Indians in their depredations.
III you come on to this man and he Is
not prisoner I said, ''treat him as you
would an INDIAN; don't ask him to sur
render but once, and do not allow him
to take any advantage Of you"
We now went on, arriving at the sta
ton half4hour behind time. While won-
dering what had become of Maloney, we
heard two pistol shots in the direction
that Maloney should be coming. We be-
lieved that Maloney was in trouble, and
we went to his relief as quickly as pos
sitle. Maloney had struck the track Of
bare foot, made by white woman, and
had dismounted his horse in order to trail
better, when the Indians sprang on him
from ambush and took his pistols away
from him. When we got to him he was
tied fast, and the Indians had begun to
build a fire around him.
We had a fight with the Indians, but
finally drove them away from Maloney,
taking two scalps. After Maloney was
released we mounted our horses and
started to trail this lone bare foot. This
was Wednesday evening, the next after
the burning Of the train. We followed
the track until dark and went into camp
on the trail. sent Davis off to the
! northwest, and when about six miles
away he found an Indian encampment
so situated he could not crawl into it
to see just what was there. The next
| morning, as soon as 1t was light enough
to see a trail, we took up. the track of
this lone person again. One man would
play back and forth between the trail
we were following and the trail that the
boot-track was making. My idea was to
keep track Of both parties at the same
| time We were not strong enough to
| follow up both tracks separately, and
managed it this way, SO that would not
weaken my force
! We trailed all day Thursday Late
Thursday evening we were satisfied we
! were close to the tradlmakers, particular
| ly the lady, as there were many places
| where I could trail her by the blood from
| her feet, and this without getting off my
horse. The country abOunded In the
prickly pear and various species OF cactus,
| which made 1t very bad to walk over,
even with moccasins, or thin shoes. When
night came the trail was leading up to
Sagebrush mountain, where there was no
timber to be seen.
| took the center, with q scout on either
a! side of me- It was near II o'clock when
| I heard a faint call near by I sprang
| from my hourse, and with a pistol in
each hand began to look for the person
who had called. There, under a chaparral
bush, found young woman, more dead
| than alive
She told me that the emigrants in the
| train had all gone to bed on Tuesday
| night before and that she and her sis
| ter had on nothing butetheir night clothes
and stockings when the massacre oc-
CURED. There was scarcely any skin
| left on the bottom of her feet, and her
clothes were almost entirely torn off her.
1t was there and then she told me OF
this man Myers; that he had caused their
entire train to be burned, and that all
had been murdered with the exception
of herself, her sister and colored ser.
want.
| Miss Mary told me, also, that when he1
! father was in California he was a witness
in a murder case, and it was his testi
mony that hanged the murderer, who was
a brother Of Myers. She told me that
she and her sister were taken prisoners