Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1902-03-20
MADE A FAMOUS RIDE.
Hootana Woman Who Rode Many
Miles and Warned stockmen OF
Expected Indian Raid.

Living on a ranch near Lima, Mont,
is a woman, old and gray, who quar-
Ter of a century ago performed deed
Of heroism seldom paralleled in his
tory. Alone and unprotected she rode
on horseback through country in
tested with Indians on the warpath,
that not one in a hundred of the young
men or women of Montana would at
tempt to-day. The name of this wom-
an is Mrs. Mary j. Wadams, and all
the old settlers in the vicinity know her
we'll and take delight in recountlng
her achievement, says the Chicago
Chronicle. 1t was in 1877, when the
Nez Perez Indians were on the warpath
and made their memorable march
from Oregon through Idaho and Mon
tana to near the British possessions,
that Mrs. Wadams won celebrity on the
frontier.
From all parts of Beaverhead coun-
ty the residents fed, either for Vir-
GINA City, Sheridan or Bannack, for
protection. In the latter place the
women and children were assembled
in the courthouse and two strong
blockhouses were built above the
courthouse in order to protect them.
Day after day the alarm increased
and all sorts of rumors of murders
were afioat. Finally it was remem-
bered that many of the stockmen of
the prairie were at the cattle camp on
Sheep creek, turning over lot of cat
tie to Barney Hunter, who at that time
bought up nearly all the surplus cat
tie of Montana each year and shipped
them to market.
Mrs. Wadams WAS among the peo-
pie who had assembled in Bannack,
but never for minute did she forget
that her little boy was among those
stoelmen and that they were all in inn
minent danger of being surprised and
massacred by the bloodthirsty saw
ages, who were more than a little sore
in mind and body as the result of the
battle with Gibbons command.
It was not deemed possible to spare
a man from Bannaok. No one knew
what minute all the available men
would be called upon to defend the
ones near and dear to them who had
sought the shelter of the courthouse.
Somebody had TO 60, and Mrs. Wadams,
fearless and brave, like so many of the
pioneer women, and with the mother
love uppermost in her heart, decided
that she would ride to warn the men
at the stock camp of their peril.
1t was little after midnight when
she rode out Of Bannack all alone, but
with the best prayers of all the resi-
dents of the town for her safety. The
ride was long one-60 miles--oyer a
prairie that was trackless, and every
foot of the way beset with unknown
dangers. Her pony was tough little
brute and he easily made the trip with
out a mishap and the COW camp was
reached just at dusk with neither the
rider nor the pony much the worse for
the long trip.
Mrs. Wadams lost little time in telling
her story and it created more than a
little CONSERVATION among the ranch.
ers present. They did not like the idea
of leaving their cattle at the mercy of
the Nez Perces, but the thought that
they could buy other cattle some day,
but that they could not buy another
scalp should the Indians deprive them
Of the one they had, decided the balance
and with but one or two exceptions the
found them all on their way
to Bannack, where the safety found in
numbers was assured.