The silver messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1890-1912, 1903-05-12
DILLON Examiner.)

L.
mysterious disappearances, but
it is seldom that an entire com
pany of people will disappear
and leave no trace or mark be-
hind them to tell where they
have gone. But this happened
in Idaho in 1873, when q band of
80 Sheep Eater Indians disap-
peared on the Yankee Fork
range, and it was not until the
past few years that any track
has been secured of them and
the story was told at the last
meeting of the Dillon Pipe
Dreamers.
AT the time they disappeared
from the sight of mortal the Ban
mack Indians were on the war
path in Idaho and they had made
several trips through Montana
on horse stealing expeditions.
The Sheep Eaters had been camp
ed at the mining camp of Bonan-
"a, which was then in its boom
days, for several weeks, and
were barely tolerated by the resi-
dents of that section of Idaho,
for a Sheep Eater is very little
above garter snake in intellect,
and for sneaking habits the coy
ote is no comparison,
When the Bannacks started
out on the warpath they buried
their tomahawks in the skulls of
several freighters in the Salmon
river country. For a while it
was feared that the uprising
would extend to every tribe of
Indians in Idaho. 1t was not
long until runners were sent to
this band of Sheep Eaters, camp
ed near the slaughter houses of
Bonanza, telling them to make
medicine" and make their hearts
: brave, for the whites were soon
TO be driven from the land, and
the redmen must dig up the toma-
hawk and prepare for war.
AS soon as the Sheep Eaters
received the summons they be-
gan making medicine" They
would dance for hours around an
old scalp that had been taken
many years ago from a Bannack
buck who died of old age. They
would lash themselves into a
frenzy as they danced around the
time-worn scalp, and when ex-
hausted they would fall into a
heap and sleep off its effects. All
this time the squaws were gath
ering the offal from the slaugh-
ter houses and all the scraps of
meat they could beg or steal and
were drying it in the Indian fash
ion by spreading it over willow
tepees and building little fire
under it.
When considerable quantity
of this grub had been prepared
the Great Spirit whispered to
the Sheep Eaters that the time
for action had come. When the
residents of Bonanza awoke one
morning there was nothing in
the Sheep Eater camp but the
squaws and papooses. The Bon
ANA residents were for the most
part old timers and they had
kept close tab on the bucks and
they knew that some deviltry
was afoot. There was not very
much said about the matter, but
a number of the miners, who
were possessed of rifles and sad
die horses, suggested that it
would be a good thing to follow
up the Sheep Eaters and see
what mission they were out on.
Just about noon that same day
about so mounted and well arm
ed men started out from Bonanza
and took the trail which led to
Yankee Fork. Tho trail turned
off before it reached the Yankee
Fork side, and the miners fol-
lowed it. They were gone for
"a hours, and they returned to
Bonanza with the report that
the Indians could not be found
that they had evidently gotten
well out of the country.
No further attention was paid
to the Sheep Eater squaws and
papooses camped by the slaugh-
ter pens until one night the en-
tire town of Bonanza was arous-
ed by the most unearthly weep
ing and wailings from the camp.
No one cared to bother about the
noise that night, but it Vas con-
tinued all night long. The fol
lowing morning some of the Bon
ANA miners went up to camp to
find out what the racket was all
about. The Indians did not want
to understand what the visitors
wanted; they suddenly had for
gotten all of the English thew