Lyon County times. [volume] (Silver City, Nev.) 1874-1907, 1900-06-16
A GOOD ONE MADE OUT OF A BAD ONE.
Piute Jack Higgins Runs AmuCk Among the
Sauaws and Is Tracked and Killed.

o'clock, P1ute lnd1an, known as
Jack Higgins, started in on what he
evidently intended to be wholesale
slaughter of squaws in a campoody
this side of Virginia City. Higgins
began by slashing his wife with a
knife, and after inflicting about a
dozen horrible wounds upon her, he
left her for dead and went to another
campoody, where some of her rela-
tives lived, and fired three shots
from single-barrel breech-loading
shotgun into the place, wounding
three squaws and one buck. Hig-
gins then came to Dayton, crossed
the river to the Indian settlement,
and shot squaw by the name OF
Susan in the breast. He then stated
that he was going to Mason Valley to
kill some man on the Higgins ranch.
Sunday morning Sheriff Ouirk, of
Virginia City, accompanied by Dep
uty Kenney and Chief Holmes, also
Sheriff Randall, of this place, organ
lied posse and started to hunt for
Higgins. They trailed him across
the flat from the Indian village to
the Sutro picnic grounds, and there
the trail was lost. Higgins had on
no shoes nor hat and his trail was
easily followed until hard ground
was struck.
kilograms had been sent to sur
rounding towns, and Monday morn
ing Higgins was seen on the G. 4 G.
road near Wabuska, still carrying
his gun. Constable McNeeley, of
Mason Valley, was notified, as were
the authorities on the Walker Lake
Reservation. Both organized posses
and began a search for Higgins, the
Mason Valley crowd following his
trail towards the Reservation, and
the posse from the Reservation COM
ing this way. About o'clock Mon
day night the posse from the Reser-
walton, headed by Mr.. Pugh, the
teacher at the Reservation, sighted
Higgins and ordered him to throw
down his gun. This he refused to
do, and Pugh and an Indian police
man shot him dead. This occurred
about five miles this side of the Res
ervation, and the Mason Valley posse
came up just in time to witness the
tragedy from a short distance. Hig-
gins lived about ten minutes after
being shot, and said he was on his
way to the Reservation to see his
father, after which he intended to
commit suicide by eating wild par
SHIPS. He was buried where he was
killed.
Jack Higgins was a well-known
Indian hereabouts. He was raised
OH the Higgins ranch in Mason Val
ley, and was large and powerful
man, good worker in the hay field,
but mean and treacherous when he
had drink or two of liquor. Some
years ago he served "a term in the
State Prison for stealing horses. He
was married and had two children.
His wife has been living in Virginia
City, for some time, where Jack said
she was consorting with disrepu
table white men who furnished
her all the whiskey she wanted
a week ago yesterday Jack went tc
Virginia and tried to get her to go tC
Mason Valley with him, where he
had job haying. She refused to go
and Jack proceeded to get drunk and
clean-out her whole family, which
he said was no good. Strange to say
none of the six persons he cut and
shot will die. His wife is in the hos
pital in Virginia, recovering. Susan
cousin of his wife's had 2S shot
picked out of her breasts by Piute
doctor Tuesday, and is now on the
high road to recovery. She is being
looked after by the white women OF
this place. She is a pretty well edu
Gated squaw, but of rather dissolute
habits. All the Piutes about this
place showed themselves to be rank
towards until they heard Higgins
was dead; then they We're willing to
fight tigers.
The Health prohIem