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

III ruins and still burning. IL was sur
rounded by thickets, and we had 10
skirmish them before driving up to
the station. Soon after we stopped to
lunch and feed our jaded houses. and
by the time we were ready to star
again a binding snowsrorm was upon
us. We could not .jrota3t ourselves
from the storm, as eve.'y man had 20
keep his rife in hand and SHARP
lookout for the Indians. We nOp9i
to find relief at Bridger's pass. but
when we came in sight Of it we found
it in flames. When We arrived at the
station there were fresh tracks of the
Indian ponies in the snow. While
warming ourselves at the fire the criti-
cal situation was carefully discussed.
1t was some twelve miles distant to
Sulphur springs, beyond which the In
dams were not likely to be trouble
some; our teams were exhausted, and
the pitiless snowstorm made it impos-
sibIe for anyone to see forty rods in
any direction. Fortunately. We could
track the Indians. who had gone
toward Sulphur springs, and we were
compelled to follow them. Big Dick
was our master driver. and he was en-
tirely equal to the occasion. He said
that we would overtake the Indians,
as they Travelled very slowly when not
pursued and notified us when we
started not to worry about the red
skins, as we would know when we
were close to them by the freshness of
| their tracks. After going some five
miles Dick pulled up and said: Fresh
tracks, boys, lots of 'em. They're not
half a mile ahead of us" y dozen men
sprang out of the wagons with their
rifles but the serious question was
what to do with the lady of the party.
Mr.. Perry, the grizzled mountaineer,
was with us, and, like all of his class,
as gentle as a mother with woman
or child. He emptied out the mail
bags, made a good bed of the robes
and blankets, and when ready to put
her into the wagon he asked whether
she had arms. She had an elegant
brace of pistols, and was a
good shot He examined them
carefully, handed them back to her. and
in gentle but tremulous voice said:
Madam if we are killed or captured
you will take your own life" To
which she answered, L understand. 8"
She was then covered up, mail bags
thrown over her, and the men started
in advance of the teams.
In less than an hour we came upon
them in their camp as we emerged
from a canyon that brought us within
short rife range before we could see
them. The moment they saw or heard
us their lights went out, they mounted
their ponies and started eastward
down a little stream. while our course
was westward Some of the party
raised their rifles the moment they saw
the Indians but Dick yelled: mo
shootin boys; no shootin'. We
promptly obeyed, and after leaving an
entirely wornout horse by the wayside
we finally reached Sulphur Springs late
at night, where thirty passengers were
corralled by the interruption of the
stage line, and but one woman in the
entire party. The Indians were in the
bluffs close to the station, but there
was no danger of them attacking thir-
ty armed men in a station house that
had all the qualities of an improvised
fort. Water was obtained from a
spring near the bluffs and close to the
station house and when any went for
water the guard covered the bluffs
with their rifles. AS hunting was i'm
possible, another movement was neces-
saTy, and two stages were started out
westward the next day. When we
reached the top of the bluff few
miles west of the station a number of
Indians were visible, and all of them
mounted but we had passed them in
safety, and we soon breathed freely as
we struck an open wide plain extending
fifteen miles and our Indian troubles
We're ended.
Having escaped from the savageS. we
had a delightful Sunday at Fort
Bridger, where Judge Carter welcomed
us with generous hospitality. After
fa1 oct
we renewed our journey and at mid
night crossed the Quaking Asp sum-
nit, 5000 feet above the sea and the
greatest altitude attained crossing the
continent / shall never forget the de-
lightful drive we had down Echo can
yon, a narrow valley of nearly twenty
miles, where every sound is distinctly
echoed. 1t was Hank Connors' drive,
the most noted of the stage whips of
the mountains, but he had been thrown
off his regular beat by the general dis
turbance of the system. The horses
were superb and obedient to the word
as we whirled down the beautiful can
yon at the rate of twelve miles an hour
and finally landed at Weber station,
where we had our first introduction to
the Mormons We started to climb the
Wasatch range before midnight, and
when near it's summit had a jolly upset
in six feet of drifted snow, but we were
soon righted again, and after delight
full moonlight drive through Parley's
canyon we arrived at Salt Lake City
and breakfasted on a profusion of eX-
cellent strawberries.
1t required eight days and nights to
enable us TO reach Salt Lake City from
Denver, constantly threatened by the
savages during half the journey and
II i,
with insufficient food much of the
time. Such were the experiences of
those who crossed the Rocky noun
tains only generation ago; and as I
crossed the same mountains,
clear to the Pacific, with almost every
comfort enjoyed in my own home, l
was well prepared to appreciate the
progress that has been made
in the civilization of the west. | spent |
eight months in the mountains, enjoy
ing excellent health, and greatly en-
joyed the generous hospitality and sub
lime manhood of the western pioneers. |
The vigilantes ruled in Colorado, Ida |
no and Montana. The courts performed |
their duties, but the man charged with |
burglary, highway robbery or
go into the hands of the civil authori-
lies was certain of acquittal. If |
guilty, the vigilantes ended his
,areer before the Jurisdiction of |
he civil courts attached. All |
knew that the vigilantes admin
stored justice with the strictest impair |
.iality. and their supremacy was then
| necessity to maintain order and to !
protect person and property. 1t is |
safe to say that in no single instance |
lid the vigilantes Of the western terri
ories execute an innocent person, and |
hat is record that could not be |
claimed by our most enlightened tri-
ounals of the east. During my stay
crossed the Rocky Mountains six |
lines from base to base over four diff
erent passes. and when finally it be-