The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-01-15
NARROW ESCAPE
FROM INDIANS
Mrs. Sutherland, Wife of Next
Senator, Had Experience.
INCIDENT TN EARLY LIFE
BROTHER SECURED AID IN THE
NICK OF TIME.
INCIDENT IN EARLY LIFE

When child of less than , years, Mrs
George Sutherland. wife of the man who
Will &c elected senator from Utah next
Tuesday. passed through one of the most
exciting incidents of the Black Hawk war
OF Utah. Mrs Sutherlands father. John
PercivaI Lee, had established a ranch on
South creek, eight miles southeast of
Beaver. where he lived with his wife and
The story of the siege of the Lee home
is graphically told in Bishop O. F. Whit
ney's History of Utah, and is well re
IRE nbered by many oid-timers.
Ths attack was made on Oct .. 1856
At the time the mousse contained, IN au-
ottion to tie Lee family a hired EIrt l.
years of age. and d bird man, Joseph
I1IliNwhite, HnoWn as an expert rlIIe
shot
light by about twenty Ute Indians Dur
ing the night the family watch dog hao
manifested the presence OF something IN
usual by occasional barks. ana the emil
dren We're several times awakened oS
what seemed to be the bowls of wolves,
but which were later learned TO nave
been cries of Indians.
Man Is Shot First.
The Indians had always been friendly
/ toward the family. and. although the war
had been raging all about that section,
Mr.. Lee was not anticipating danger for
his family. The first intimatiOn that the
| house mad been singled out for attack
came when Mr. Lee and Mr. I-illywhite
stepped out doors jlst after daybreak.
The Indians, aware of Lillywhite's su-
perior marksmanship. had singled him
for the first victim. and centered their
through his breast. hut was able TO drag
himself inside the house.
Lee was armed with "A muSket loaded
with revolver bullets says Bishop Whit
ney. and Is he retreated toward the
house he fired Uoon q too venturesome
house. where his loved ones were. the
doors and windows having been barred
/ by his heroic wife. he prepared for a
fight 70 the death. To one of the assall-
ants who advanced with a pltchtork 10
pry open the door, ne gave the contents
OF his gun. which Mrs Lee had reloaded.
and 10 another sent Well-alTned bullet
from his pistol. As the third Indian or
whatever other implements they cou'4
again, they began to collect poles ana
brush. by means OF which they were aD!e
TO set fire 70 the roof Of the house. rms
iguiUed slowly. owing to dampnesS from
recent storms. but dense clouds of smoke
rolled into the room. threatenlnS the
eIFfocation Of the inmates. and throwing
ba by in the cradle into commissions
Girl Gets the Water
Gradually the fire made headwav. and
as the desperate father tore off the
burning boards tho flames seemed but to
/ spread the faster. The spring was only
a short distance away. but TO venture
outside. the door seemed only TO invite
the enemy's craftsmanship. Yet some
v "A
were unwilling that the father should
expose himself-in his preservation lay
their only hope of defense. The 11-year-
old daughter bravely volunteered to bring
wa1er-she had previously. gone out for
the crOwbar with which TO strip off the
/ blazing slabs-and the flames were soon
subdued."
This daughter was Miss Emma Lee.
who is now Mrs. ]. O. Sutherland Of Salt
Lake. j. @. Sutherland and George Suth-
erland are not related.
Bishop Whitney'S account continues
= asla1 Tho
between dressing the CHASTITY wound of
the sufferer and loading the gun for her
husband had still time to picture tho
horrors that seemed to be awaiting them
was approached by her little son with a
petition that must have made her blood
chill. He begged to be allowed to run
to town for help. urging with childish
eIoquence that he would take the short
cut down the gap and along the creek.
destrian much less . mounted man. TO
make his way; and that he would thus
perhaps would not harm him. anyway, If
they were hiding to kill his father. lie
finally declared in desperation that he
would rather be shot than die in the
smoke ike a rat in a trap. and he asked
this one chance for his life. The par
ents' consent was tearfully given. and
girl. who. however. took the main road.
while the boy adopted the shorter route
down the gap by which Beaver was only
about four miles distant.
Boy Secures Aid
'Barefooted, half-clothed painting and
held up the arm of the wounded man n
order to lessen the bleeding-the boy
dians,' when he met the first white man
in the Beaver fieldst The alarm was
were riding as fast as horses could carry
| them toward the ranch. So accurately