Corvallis gazette. [volume] (Corvallis, Benton County, Or.) 1900-1909, 1900-10-16
nELp THE FORT.
John BarIeycorn Proved FOO Much for
Band of Hostile Indians.

Band of Hostile Indians.
An adventure with hostile Indians,
seldom surpassed in critical peril and
exciting situation, was that Of a French
Canadian some years ago at Fort Pierre
au Calumet, on Lake AthabaSea. One
day, when the chief trader was absent
on a visit to York factory. and the
other men employed in the station were
playing lacrosse upon the ice, this man
and an 1riShman named McTaggart
were the only persons left in the fort.
Just then forty Chippewa braves"
who had pretended to have furs to sell,
but who had really been watching an
opportunity to plunder, came up to the
fort and poured inside the stockade.
Pierre, the Frenchman, had barely
time to bar the main door when they
rushed against it, showing plainly their
unfriendly purpose. A parley with the
chief, through small side-trap. re-
suited in the withdrawal of the Indians
outside the stockade and an agreement
to admit the chief alone, with the furs.
Pierre thus relates what followed:
1 instructed my man, McTaggart, to
watch when the Indians were well out
of the yard and when the chief came
in to make dash and fasten the outer
gate. l then opened the door. Nc
Taggart slipped out, but had not made
one step when the chief struck him
with his tomahawk, killing him in
stantIy. The savage then darted
through the half-open door, and, parry
ing blow l aimed at him. he seized
the bar which fastened the door and
threw it outside.
l had by this time got hold of one
of my pistols and pulled it at him as
he came toward me, fiourishing his
bloody tomahawk. The bullet took eff
feet, for the savage, with a frightful
yell, staggered through the doorway,
where his cries soon gathered his band
about him.
Before l could fasten the door the
whole gang had burst into the fort.
l sprang behind some casks and hid
myself there, feeling, however, sure
that they would find and kill me.
There can be no doubt about my fate
If the savages had not been more eager
for plunder and whisky than they were
for vengeance.
AS it was, one of them at once rushed
to cask of whisky, the head of which
he stove in with his hatchet. and with
the greatest eagerness the whole
crowd began to help themselves to the
contents.
That they would drink themselves
drunk was now my only hope and op-
portunity, and l quietly kept out of
sight behind the empty barrels to await
events.
The idiotic abandon and general
'cutting up" of the savages as they
came under the influence of the whisky
was very ludicrous; but you may be
sure | kept my laughter to myself. In
an hour all were hopelessly intoxicated,
except one big fellow who seemed to
have stronger head than the rest.
l now felt that with my pistol in my
hand I could fight at least on equal
terms, if fight was necessary; but the
rascal precipitated matters by turning
over the cask of whisky while climbing
to reach some plunder that he wanted
on an upper shelf. In doing this a
live coal was Jared out of the stove
into the liquor on the floor and the
room was Immediately In flames. The
Indian who had caused the catastrophe
sprang toward the door, but my pistol
ended his career.
The whisky was soon consumed, as
there was but little left, and the fire
was put out without doing large dam
age, but many of the drunken savages
on the floor were fatally burned. When
the men came back from the lake and
found so many dead Indians and saw
the general ruin they were amazed,
and supposed 1 deserved all the credit
of the capture of the assailants, etc.,
when it was merely an accident that
had accomplished it.