The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1902-04-15

him and almost within touch. He
cautiously folded up his blankets
and silently shit the trail" for
Custer. He had not proceeded
far until he met two acquaint.
ances on horseback going into
Thunder mountain. He related
his experience with the bear, and
they proposed that he return and
show them his bruinship, and
they would take him in for his
hide and tallow. They found the
bear as he was left, apparently
sick or knocked out by old age,
and at once dispatched him with
q bullet through the brain. II
was found that he was toothless
and 100 years of age (estimated)
On taking off the skin a move.
ment was observed in the bears
stomach, and ripping it open
with a knife to learn the cause,
to their establishment out jumped
the lost dog, shook himself, roll
ed over a few times on the grass
and shifted the air for a fresh trail.
"Do you know, my truthful
friend, | remarked as he finish.
ed this miraculous story of i'm.
prisonment and escape, chat il
this bear episode of yours should
ever happen to find it's way into
print that it would make awfully
tough reading ?"
why, no it wouldn't" he ans
wered Indignantly, lit isn't half
as tough as the story of Jonah
and the whale, for Jonah was in
the whale for three days and
three nights and got out all right,
and my little dog was in the bear
only one night; but of course if
the bears teeth had been good
my dog would have been chawed
up !"
left this man to his thoughts
and to his destiny, feeling that it
was a pity he could not have re-
manned at Thunder mountain, but
the meanwhile congratulating
myself that | had at last found a
man who is a bigger liar than
your correspondent.
This is an historical route-this
airline route of ours. This re-
gion of the mountains has furn-
ished many an interesting leaf in
the make up of the history of the
Great West. The old men of the
Thunder mountain tribe of In.
dams, whose word was never
disputed, said that the Lewis &
Clarke expedition to the Pacific
in 1905 took this famous cutoff
(via. Thunder mountain) to the
Columbia. and recommended it
as the only safe and easy way
through the Great Unexplored.
[See Lewis & Clarke Expedition
to the Pacific" Vol. II, page 121:
Harper Brothers..
1t was on this historically in
teresting route that the great
placer camp of Loon Creek was
discovered over 80 years ago, and
where the beautiful little inter-
mountain city of Orc Grande,
with a population of thousands
of busy and thrifty people -four
ished for number of years as the
metropolis of a vast wilderness
of unfathomed solitudes. 1t was
here also that the Thunder noun
tain branch of the Sheepeater
Indians bequeathed a very large
and bloody page of history to
future generations. AS the facts
have never yet smelled of print
.r's ink, and as the writer of this
mountain contribution
was around and about in this
and bloody country
about those days, it may be we'll
enough for him to give what he
knows about it for the benefit
anu entertainment OF the thOuS-
ands of people who will soon pass
over this route on their way to
mountain and to easy
fortune. 1t is briefly as follows:
The rich gravel mines of Loon
creek were well-nigh worked out
and the small white population
Of Orc Grande went out to visit
and winter elsewhere and to dis
pose of their hoardes of gold dust
and left the Chinese population
look after the town and sup
of the mines. 1t was the
winter of '78-9. It was a cold
winter and monotonous to the
Chinese residents until along
about the time of their New Year
middle of February '79.) The
Thunder Mountain Indians had
1ot visited them to beg and gath
&c up the old clothes as was their
custom in the summertime. But
The wolves had discovered the
reserve caches of dried Salmon
ind s~pNstn4otn rL@A- 49,