Sunday Washington globe., 1902-04-06

Recently Pendleton has been enliveued
by the presence Of William Walker and
his two daughters, MaTcialette and Susie,
who hail from near Dale. on the north
fork of the John Day river, in Una
tilia county, Oregon William Walker, the
father. Is So years of age, was born in Ken
tucky, whence he removed to Stoddard
county, Missouri. where he served as a Con-
federate guerrilla during the Civil War
under the celebrated Chief Quantrell. AT
the close of the war Missouri was not
very safe place for a rebel guerrilla, as
Union troops had an unpleasant habit of
hanging them when captured. Conse-
quently, William Walker lit out, as he
expresses it, for a more salubrious region
and crossed the plain alone, on horseback,
in 1865. He stopped a year or two in
Idaho where he supported himself in trap
ping and hunting, and he became famous
as a killer of bears. In 1867 he went
further west and settled in Morrow
county, where he engaged in stock raising.
About twenty years ago he removed TO his
present location in Umatilla county, where
he has been engaged in the raising of
horses, sheep and cattle About this time
he married Maggie Barker, a daughter of
John Barker, who was killed at Hoppner
by Bill Jones in a brawl The mother of
Walkers wife was a Pitt River California;
Indian, and therefore Walkers children
are now quarter breeds, the strain of Indian
blood being very apparent in the girls.
Walkers marriage was blessed by eight
children, all girls, the eldest being about
IS years of age and the youngest ? years.
During the Bannock Indian War of 1873
his services were secured as scout for the
whites by Thomas Ayers, of Heppner,
father of Thomas Ayers. of Pendleton, Ore.
He performed valuable services in this ca
pacity, serving under Colonel Brown.
While on scouting duty he discovered
very dangerous ambuscade prepared by the
Indians in a narrow canyon, where they had
gathered great masses of rock to roll down
upon the troops when passing through,
hoping in the confusion to cut them to
pieces Walker was surrounded by the In
dians for two days on this trip and escaped
only by crawling through the brush like a
snake. When he reported the ambuscade
the troops marched against the hostiles by
a different route and surprised them, iuhict-
ing great damage For this service he was
presented with 500 in addition to his wages.
He and Bud Thompson, on one occasion
in the early days, started in pursuit of a
was lurking somewhere in the region of
Stein Mountains. They camped in little
open place near a large rock. In the morn
ing Walker went to a spring near the rock
10 get some water, when he noticed a man
coming from the brush. Walker instantly
stepped behind a rock and from this place
of concealment awaited developments The
stranger approached the spring, and when
about a rod from where Walker was con-
cealed, the latter panhandled" him as he
describes it. When asked by the writer to
explain what he meant by "panhandling"
he replied: IF you were looking into my
rife barrel at the distance of about sixteen
feet, with the gun cooked at my shoulder
aud fine sight on you and l said pan
handle, you would probably guess what
meant, and put up your arms as high as you
could reach. "The prisoner was taken to Pen
dleton and hanged being the first person
executed in Umatilla County under process
of law For this achievement he and
Thompson were paid $500, the reward
which was offered for the arrest of the
murderer
Walker had very interesting bear fight
in 1884, near his home on the John Day. He
discovered a cave in a canyon and saw evi.
dences that it was occupied by bear. II
being winter and the weather being very
cold, he took it for granted that the bear
was alternating and in a torpid condition.
Leaving his gun outside, he crept into the
cave and was Immediately confronted with
a very active and wideawake cinnamon
bear, which rushed upon him with a savage
growl. AS the bear arose, Walker seized
him by both ears, while the bear cawed
him viciously, both standing up. Then
Walker let go one ear, got out his knife and
proceeded to prod the bear behind the fore
shoulder. By few well directed thrusts
the bear was slain, but Walkers clothes
were in ribbons, as was also his skin. A
few days afterward he explored another
cave that looked as if it might be occupied
by some animal and received very severe
shock. The cave was dark and the animal
rushed at him with vicious snarl. Think.
ing it another bear, he beat a hasty retreat,
but when he had just reached the mouth of
the cave he discovered, with sigh Of re-
lief that his antagonist was not bear, but
a coon, which was making q frantic effort
to escape. Walker said his nerves did not
get steady for two or three days after this
scare.
Walker is six feet one inch high, weighs
100 pounds, straight as an Indian has
regular features, calm blue eyes, heavy
mustache and chin whiskers, slightly
touched with gray, and when in Pendleton
wore a coarse woolen cap, typical buckskin
hunting shirt and was armed with six
shooter, strapped on the horn OF his saddle.
1t was TO be expected that a man of his ante
cedents married to a half-breed Indian
woman would raise family OF bold, adven-
turous character and the expectation is more
than realized. When he came to Pendleton
about week ago he brought with him his
two oldest girls, Marcialette, familiarly
known as Babe, " aged eighteen and who
tips the scales at 100 pounds, and Susie,
aged sixteen, weight r45 pounds. The girls
were in charge Of a band of horses, which
they had driven from John Day River,
distance Of nearly 100 miles, The arrival
Of this party with their horses produced a
great sensation in Pendleton. The girls,
who rode asiride and managed their ponies
with the utmost grace and dexterity, wore
cowboy hats, mems coats, Dolly Warden
calico dresses, heavy shoes, thick wooden
stockings loosely tied handkerchiefs about
49,.