The times., 1899-05-07
MASSACRE OF qHE
GORDON FAMILY
Perils of Emigrants in Early
Pioneer Periods.
Burning of a Train in the Choke
Cherry Region.
Awful Treatment of n Woman by n
Renegade White, Who're Suit
She Rejected.

In the spring of 1850 l went to For
kearney for the purpose of plotting g
train across the plains. Just what time ir
the month got there do not remember
but it was early in May. and the train was
waiting there for a guide when l arrived
l made contract with the emigrants that
evening to go with them to the foot of ths
Sierra Nevada Mountains
In this outfit of emigrants was Henry
Gordon, whose home was in Christian
County, Illinois. / got intimately ac-
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 better climate than his
home in Illinois, and if the California
country suited him, he calculated to move
his family to the Western coast.
Instead of taking his family Vest 1T
once, as Gordon had intended to do he re-
mained in Christian county until the fail
of 1852, having been elected sheriff of the
county. After serving out his term of Of
! fice, he sold his farm and stock and per-
suaded some of his neighbors to accompa-
ny him West. About this time man of
the name OF Myers made his appearance
in MIR. Gordon's neighborhood and pretend
! ed TO fall desperately in love with Miss
Mary Gordon, the oldest daughter. 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 in
| sisted that she become his wife. She gave
him pointblank refusal and told him posi-
| lively that she would have nothing to do
/ with him. He then told har ha mould
meet her in the wilds of the Rocky Noun
tains. where she would crawl on her
knees and beg to become 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 Butterfield route. l
was in Nevada, working as Government
scout. Our quarters were in the south
eastern part of Nevada, and we were
camped on the north side OF the Glover
Valley Mountains.
When l returned to quarters early one
morning Colonel Elliott told me that
James Davis, my first assistant. had been
on top OF the mountain about 8 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 number of gunshots.
! had Davis call another scout named
-"o'o'Ssr ~ Hot IOuS before the
three of us were in our saddles and on our
way to Choke Cherry Canyon. We rode
along together until daylight, fwhsn | ha t.
ed and gave each man his route to take,
also telling them the road l would take
Before had got 10 the station where we
were all TO meet ran into band of In
dians having scalp dance | 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 woman. Soon Davis came to
me. He had heard shooting, and knowing
that 1t was on my route, he supposed had
got into trouble.
Trailing No. o boot
He said to me: Captain. i have seen
the track of No boot this morning
made by white man, and he is with a
band of Indians who have a barefooted
prisoner with them. The man wearing the
boots Is not prisoner, though he is
white"
myself had crossed and recrossed this
same boot track during the morning, but
| had not seen anything OF the track of a
bare foot. l told Davis that the man evil
IDENTIFY was some scoundrel assisting the
Indians in their depredations
If you come to this man and he is mn.
prisoner l said, treat him as YOU
would an Indian; don't ask him to surren-
der but once, and do not allow him TO
take any advantage of YOU
we now went on, arriving at the station
a half hour behind time. While wondering
what had become of Maloney, we heard
two pistol shots in the direction that Ma
loney should be coming. We believed that
Maloney was in trouble, and we went to his
relief as quickly as possible. Maloney had
struck the track of a bare foot, made by a
white woman. and had dismounted his
horse in order TO trail better when the
Indians sprang upon him from ambush and
took his pistols away from him. When we
got to him he was tied fast, and the In
dians had begun to build fire around him.
We had fight with the Indians, but
finally drove them away from Maloney.
taking two scalps. After Maloney was re-
leased we mounted our horses and started
to trail this lone barefoot. 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 of to the north
west 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 be-
tween the trail We were following and the
trail that the boot track was making. NV
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 1 would not
weaken my force.
Following a Bare Foot.
We trailed all day Thursday Late
Thursday evening we were satisfied we
were close to the trailmakers, particularly
the lady as there were many places where
could trail her by the blood from her
feet, and this without getting off my
horse. The country abounded In The prick
ly 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
Sagebush Mountain, where there was no
timber to be seen.
took the centre. with scout on either
side of me. 1t was near II O'Clock when
heard faint call near by. / sprang from
my horse, 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 the Tuesday
hieht Deioit, anu tHat she anu ner sister
had on nothing but their night clothes and
stockings when the massacre occurred.
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 ths lntire train to BE-
burned, and that all lad been murdered
with the exception of herself her sister,
and q colored servant
Miss Mary told me. $40. that when her