The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1902-02-08

The Union Pacific roalroad was then
completed to North Platte. a distance
of 295 miles. The journey from Omaha
to that point was without special in
terest. Buffalo herds were often Wis
| ible. and for nearly 100 miles not IL
sign of habitation was seen beyond the
| little shanties needed for railroad pur-
poses. The pretty and curious antelope
! often came up within gunshot of the
train, and the prairie dog, with his in
separable companion, the owl, gave us
| welcome.
| At North Platte 1 first made the ac-
| uuaintance of the mountain stage coach
| for a Journey of 290 miles to Denver.
! The Indian question had become some
! what serious, as they We're raiding
stage lines periodically, but we did not
I come into uncomfortably close quarters
with them until we reached Julesburg,
where Fort Sedgwick had nearly 1000
! troops under the command of Colonel
| Dodge. We arrived there little aft r
sunrise and learned that seventy five
| cavalrymen had just been driven in
! along our route westward by the In
dams, and that the telegraph lines
were cut L called upon Colonel Dodge
! to consider the situation, and he in
sisted that the coach must not go out
without a large military escort. l had
| learned that the men of the clearest
| judgment and safest in council were
the stage drivers They We're re-
markable class. They never touched
a horse except to drive. and continued
to drive from fifty to sixty miles de-
voting their attention exclusively to
| the passengers. mails and treasure in
| their charge, while others cared for
! the horses. They We're paid high
wages and chosen entirely because of
! their intelligence, courage and discre-
! ton.
1 first sought the advice of Long
! john" our driver, with whom l had
ridden in the boot for several hours
in the morning. / told him the stu
alton as reported by Colonel Dodge, and
said that we could have any number
of troops to escort us if deemed pru-
/ dent for us to go. ] have never forgot
ten the curl of disgust that spread over
Long Johns" face as he answered:
AN escort? He'll we have trouble
enough to take care of ourselves.
When I asked his meaning he answered
very coolly: The Indians are there,
but they don't want our band boxes
nor trunks; they want our horses. We
have nine Well-armed men to protect
six horses, but with fifty or 100 caval-
rymen and a horse to every chump,
the Indians would attack the cavalry
men for the horses and involve us in
danger If you will go with me and
obey my directions l will take you
safely through.
There were two ladies in the party.
and after a consultation they decided
that Long Johns" advice should be
accepted, and we started out on the
same route over which seventy-fiVe
cavalrymen had been driven in by the
Indians only few hours before. The
Indians were secreted in O'Fallon's
bluffs, and at one point the bluffs were
so close to the river that we were com
PEELED to come within rifle range, but
Long John understood the Indian,
and he disposed of his nine men on the
top of the coach, in the boot ana IN
side, with their rifles pointing TO the
bluffs with instructions not to ire un-
less an Indian head was uncovered we
thus passed for nearly half mile with
in range of the Indians without seeing
them. and the danger was over When
some miles beyond on hill that gave
us a view of the rear of the bluffs, we
saw a large body of Indians that we
had passed within range of their guns.
We heard q very interesting story oil
Indian raids while we tarried an hour
to sup with Holland Godfrey. better
known as "OId Wicked, the only
ranchman who had saved his home
from the torch and rifle of the savage
as they swept the Platte in 1866. me
Rocky mountains finally came in view
as their snoW-clad tops api'eale cd
Gradually their hugs cliffs doomed up,
and as Denver Mas approached the I'M
mense peaks presented themselves II
all their imperial grandeur.
mining
camp with a fitful population of some
4 900 or 5000. The most pretenttous
building was the Pacific hotel, SIM
pie frame structure with only board
partitions and guiltless of plaster. EV-
erybody seemed happy and hopeful OF
gathering millions, as the mountains
were known to be studded with pre-
cious metals, but the obstinate gold
and silver ores defed reduction by or
binary process. and many elegantly
mills. with the finest ma
chinerv. were abandoned because of
the difficulty in mastering the ores. l
dining in a little cottage on
the outskirts of the city, with Land
Officer Pierce. to meet Mr.. HILL who
had Just arrived there, prepared, as he
believed. to master the obstinate ores
nv a new process. Few had faith in
him at the time. but he attained great
success, because multi-mlllionalre
and a United States senator.
. I expected TO remain two or three
DAYS in Denver, and then proceed
westward to the land of the Mormons,
but the Indian troubles increased in
both front and rear, and 1 was COM
PEELED to wait three weeks, much in
the position, as to the Indians, as was
Hooker'S bull. fast on the renee, I'M |
able to either hook in front or kick |
behind After waiting until June 5 |
our party of seven including Mrs. Nc
Clure, started westward to try our |
fortunes with the dusky sons of the |
forest. We were fortunate in having |
Mr.. Perry of Missouri, an old noun |
taineer of ripe experience, who was as
and brave as he was unas- !
suming. We reached Virginia Dale, |
nearly 100 miles westward, without in |
,ident, where we received the disturb |
ing information that the Indians had |
lust captured a mule team near that |
place. and that the Black hills, beyond !
our route had many Indians on the |
war path.
But we passed the Black hills in safe
". every precaution being taken by |
out skirmish lines at any dan
yerous pass or bluff, and finally
,eached Cooper's creek to learn that
he tOdCI llOl oNo iitiu Juob OSSAA up
.ured by the Indians after scalping one
If the herders. and after giving our
cam a rest until IL o'clock next day
We started with an escort for the
North Platte, a distance of sixty miles.
The escort was changed at each sta
ion. The guards at Rock creek. Med
cine Bow, and Wagon Hound sta
ions had all been unsuccessfully at
acked by Indians, and at Elk Noun
ain (old Fort Halloek) we were in
ormed that the Indians were en-
a few miles from the bluff in
strong force. and had stolen the horses
here the evening before.
This was regarded as the most merrill