The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1903-05-12
Sh66D-Edt6r Indians.
Mysterious Disappearance.

the Bannacks and help kill all of
the whites in Idaho. Two days
before a runner arrived at the
Sheep Eater camp to inquire why
the bucks had not kept their
promise. He was told that the
bucks had lief the camp with the
intention of going to Camas two
weeks before and that they had
never returned. Some of the
squaws then took the trail Of the
war party and had followed it to
the top of the Yankee Fork di-
vide and there had lost all signs
of their masters. While hunting
for it one of the squaws found
the partly decomposed leg of an
Indian and had brought il to
camp. All of the squaws claim
ed it as part of her man, and
the wailing which aroused the
people of Bonanza was the death
songs the squaws were singing
over the remains of the lone leg
of the buck that was found. And
and this was the only trace ever
discovered of that band of Sheep
Eaters which wanted to drive the
white men from Idaho.
Since that time there has been
more or less talk among the
camps of Idaho as to just what
fate this band of Sheep Eaters
met. The men who formed the
posse we're close mouthed and
never let a word fall which would
indicate that the Indians had met
violent deaths. A few years ago
one of these old-t time miners let
the cat out of the bag, and the
mystery of the disappearance of
this war party has been cleared
up. He said that before the
Sheep Eaters had gotten to the
top of the Yankee Fork divide
they had turned off toward Camas
meadow. When dark came, the
day they followed them, the In
dams were but a few hours ahead
of them. Knowing the sneaking
habits of the men they were
pursuing, the miners, fearing an
ambush, did not travel any fur
Their, and put out scouts for the
night. Now it happened that the
Indians were closer than the
white men thought, and they also
had put out scouts for the night.
There was common ridge which
both scouting parties coveted,
and the result was that the In
dian and white man men met on
its top. Shooting began in an
instant, and the Indians were
crowded back. Before the Ind
ians could reach the camp the
rest of the white men were on
top of the ridge, and the camp of
the Indians was rushed almost
before they realized that they
were being attacked. The result
was that not an Indian escaped,
many of them being killed before
they could secure their arms and
offer a defense.
Morning came, and it showed
more than 80 dead Indians, all
lying within short distance of
one another. The little herd of
ponies had stampeded into the
mountains, and there they re-
NAMED until they were showed
in the next winter, when they all
persisted. The problem of what
to do with the Indian carcasses
was hard one to deal with, but
these men were all hard rock
miners, and happy thought
soon came to one of them. In
his hurry to start he had forgot
ten to take half a dozen sticks of
giant powder out of his saddle
pockets, and he proposed to use
this as means of concealing the
dead. A short distance away
was an immense cliff of shelly
rock. He explained his project
to his comrades and in a few min
utes every man was busy with
| picket rope and saddle horse
shaking the dead Indians under
the cliff. When all the bodies
had been piled in q heap hole
was gouged in the rock and the
powder placed in such a position
that the force of the explosion
was downward. When the ex-
plosion came nearly thousand
ton of shelly rock was hurled
upon the bodies of the Sheer
Eaters, and their burial place
was forever concealed. The lone
leg found by the squaws was the
only trace of the Indians thai
has ever since been revealed.