Evening star., 1899-04-14
GruesOme Relic of an Indian Raid i'm
the Northwest Territory.
From the Philadelphia Times.

From the Philadelphia Times.
OF all the Indian relics in the possession
of various collectors throughout the coun-
try there is probably none more striking
more ghastly. more horrible than the one
which is owned and priced by an old Indian
chief in Minnesota. He lives in the Wauat-
chez valley, in the Upper Columbia valley,
In a little hut which he has built for him
self. Before his door the gruesome relic
hangs, a lariat, fifty feet of rope. made
from human hair, wrested from the heads
of women who fell before the knife and
tOmahawk OF the northwestern Indians
quarter of century ago. when their cruel
barbarity against the encrOachments of the
settlers of the northwestern states Mortified
the states.
There is 10 other lasso like this one in all
the world. 1t is a braided rope, three
quarters of inch thick. 1t shows the
dark tresses of the brunette woman min
gied with the brown and auburn. and in
half a dozen places. yellow There are
traces of gray and white twisted here and
there in the strange lariat. and it is esti-
mated that about thirty women were
scalped to make this fearful relic, nearly
all Of whom were supposed to be the wives
and daughters of settlers of the Blackfoot
valley.
This. however, is questioned. Old lie Pier
has told the story of how he became pos
sessed of the lasso. and it is the generally
accepted story. although many of the set
tiers of the Blackfoot valley have good
reason for believing they are correct in say
ing that this hair was taken from their
own flesh and blood.
Mrs. Candy, an old woman now living
with brother in this valley, says that she
saw. about 1866. the Indian chief. La Pier.
raiding the settlement where she lived, and
that she saw him scalpng only women
She was herself a prisoner. having been
captured several days prior to the general
massacre which followed. She SAYS she
firEf 1r1 Of 6ai,-
years later. and firmly believes it was made
Of hair taken from the women killed at the
time. of whom her daughter and her sister
were victims
tained the material from which the lasso
was made a few years before the WASH
ington massacre. party of Mormon con-
vertS from the New England states num-
bering about +OO. he says. had crossed the
Missouri river and were far north of the
usual route. hoping to escape the Indians
who were then infesting the overland trail.
These immigrants had camped near the
foot of the Black Hills range, as IL is his
tOrically known. They were attacked by
the Indians and We're all massacred except
two girls; who afterward escaped to Fort
Sully. Old lie Pier says that his tribe of
Blackfeet were at war with the Sioux who
raided the MOrmons and when his people,
who were out looking for trouble. learned
OF the raid and the rich treasure their
rivals had acquired. they resolved TO pay
the Sioux a lung-deferred visit.
The fight was long and bloody and while
the Blackfeet were victorious, they left
many dead upon the field They secured all
the booty including horses. wagons cloth
ing. and, in fact, all that the Mormons pos
sessed- Among the things recovered were
the scalDs of the men and women of the
party who had been killed Each scalp was
intact, and lie Pier appropriated the scaIps
OF the white women to his own use, be-
cause the hair was long and could be work
ed into ornaments
This is how, so he says. he came into pos.
session of the most wonderful collection oi
human hair ever brought together 1t is
evident from the workmanship on the laSsC
that II was not done by the Sioux or Black
feet but rather by some Pacific coast In
dian many Of whom are especially skilled
in hair work.
There IS little doubt that the lasso was
made from the hair of the women belong.
ing to the Mormon caravan. a majority oi
whom came from the New England states
although the middle and southern Atlantic
states were well represented. This is tn.
overland party that so mysteriously dsap
peared in the early '60s and of which NJ
trace was obtained for nearly five years
when two girls. one about sixteen and ont
about seven. were rescued from the Sioux
or rather exchanged for prisoners by Gen
eraI Sully in 1866.