Weekly Arizona journal-miner. [volume] (Prescott, Ariz.) 1903-1908, 1903-06-03
THE TRAVELS Of
"BUCKSKIN GUS
Thrilling Experiences
on Trip to Montana.

on Trip to Montana.
In IS three of us left Utah for
Montana With me was Red Dave
Murdic, my partner, and S. c. Andy.
What Andy's other name was never
asked. In the parts of Wyoming, Ne
vada and Utah l had visited | was
called, and went by the name of Oma-
ha, and if / had been killed, it would
have been Omaha cashed in, and no
one would have beent he wiser. On
this trip | asked the boys to call me
Gus. my boyhood name. We were all
we'll armed, besides an extra shot gun
loaded with buckshOt for close quar-
ters. We made camp one evening
under a willow tree, near a spring.
| was sitting on the ground leaning
against the blankets, watching the
boys get supper, when an Indian rode
into camp and squatted near the fire.
l saw that he noted everything.
After supper, we gave him what was
left when he gave a grunt. mounted
his pony and rode away. / told the
boys it would not do for US to stay
there, so as soon as it was dark we
packed up and went about three miles
farther, turned off the road to our
left for half mile and camped. Two
teams with twelve men came into our
camp after we left and found our fire
still burning They were attacked by
Indians the next morning. l saw
them in Deer Lodge; one had been
shot through the arm, and another
showed me where a bullet had split
his scalp for about three inches on
the top of his head Two days before
we reached Portnif Canyon. the stage
had been attacked. all of the passen-
ers and the driver were killed. The
stage lay turned over on the right of
the road, arrows sticking in it and it
was riddled with bullets and covered
with blood.
As one of the packs was getting
light [ concluded to ride the mule,
and try TO cure an old sore ON my
horses back. He was so attached to
the horse, that 1 could go on run
and he would keep up. When l drop
ped behind he would rear and plunge,
eager to get to the horse. 1t was hard
work to mount and one day 1 landed
on the back of the saddle. 1t hurt
me and got angry and spurred him
and rode him through the sage brush
to my left, away from the horse and
l saw an object between me and the
road. When [ turned to come back |
rode by it. 1t was the body of a man
stripped naked. The Indians had
staked him over a red ant hill The
arms we're stretched out straight, and
at each wrist there was a stake to
which they were tied. The ankles
were staked and tied in the same way.
In his mouth they had tied a gag.
His mouth had been placed over the
center of the ant hill The only thing
he could have moved was his head.
He had worn the flesh off his face.
and had almost leveIed the ant hill.
| called the boys, who came back and
we cut him loose, rolled him away
from the ants and covered him with
brush and rock. He had only been
dead four or five days We found no
wound, only his scalp had been taken.
We camped one noon on Snake
river. and | went up the river TO fish,
to a place where the water rushed
over bOulders, below which the big
fish always lay. l had caught big
salmon trout, and was doing up my
line when an Indian rode up to the
bank. l understood him to say my
fish. He said it in a threatening man
ner, and he had hardly spoken, before
l had him covered with my revolver.
He leaned over on the side of his
horse away from me, and rode as fast
as the horse could go up the road. l
noticed that he had several packages
tied on his saddle, and when | reach
ed camp | saw that there was some
thing wrong. | asked the boys and
they told me that that Indian rode
into camp, pulled out his revolver,
and made them give him a little of
every thing we had to eat. These were
the packages l saw tied on the saddle.
! was mad clean through. 1t all be-
longed to me. They saw him coming
for fully half mile. and there lay the
shot gun for just such emergencies.
Had l known it he would have been
my Indian, and you would have miss
ed this part of the trip.
We camped a few days at Silver
Bow. l knew of those lodges that
have made Butte and several million
aires. | was asked to make a location,
but as they were silver lodges. we
could do nothing with them In Deer
Lodge, | bought suit of buckskin.
wore long hair, two six shooters and
a knife. 1t was not long before l
was called Buckskin Gus c. \. b.
r. A. Talbot for house, sign and
carriage painting. 7-l9-tf