The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1906-12-03
STORY OF STAMPEDE
TO THE RESERVATION
Graphic Description Given of
Famous Rush Into the
Indian Region.

The Walker Lake Indian reservation
is at last opened to tue mineral seeker.
What for years mas been forbidden
land is now public ground and what
soever of treasure Is lying concealed
under it's hills is to be dragged forth
into the light of day by tho untlrinG
efforts of the prospector, says l.. u,
Hmm. IN the Nevada Mining Ine
restor. For weeks pTIor To the hour
of the official opening excitement and
interest in the various adjacent places
where parties were uutf!Lting for the
rush was intense. AZ Nina. at Hazcn,
at Hawthorne. Mt Reno, ard as far west
as San Francisco no other subject pro,
vokcd half the discussion rs that called
up by the mere mention Of the
reservation. In Goldfcd ard in Tono,
pah il seemed that every second
man was bound for the lake coun.
try. Various rumors uf the wealth Of
the region were afoat In the opinion
Of many deposits of gold, silver and
copper would be found. the like Of
which was never seen leforc. Others
shrewdly held that the country was
without doubt mineraijZed in "A de-
gree TO compare favorably with the rest
of Nevada, but held ;hat the same
amount Of hard work and consistent
prospecting would he nccc ssary here as
chance afforded by the opening would
a man s time be better applied hero
than in the thousands oi square miles
of unprospected Nevada.
The bucks of the Putc tribe had
been constituted deputy United States
marshals and heavily armed with re-
volvers, shotguns and Winchesters.
reservation to guard against the at
tcmpts to enter before the appointed
hour. At Schurz. inside Of the rcser-
walton line, about 800 men were
camped under the close surveillance of
the Indians, ready tn rush into the
hills northwest of the lake. At the
northwestern con6ne, naar Yeringjon, n
great crowd of men were lying with
the fleetost horses from the nearby
ranches. All along the border to the
west were other and smaller camps.
The line here was along the summit of
the range, and at night the camp fires
showed like red fiyeAies in n continuous
line along hills. Along Cat creek,
the nearest point 10 the southwest.
a tented city had sprung up. Prepared
TO rush along the west short of the
famed Dutch Creek, with it's old
workings and arastra, the prospectOrs
were there with all nanne- of outfits.
Race horses were there. mule teams,
burro trains, the dwarfe1 wild horses
OF the section, men with packs on
their backs, and several Of the more
atfluent had automobiles.
OF at Thorne several rude boats had
been constructed, and were at the edge
of the lake. Along the eastern shore
four gasoline launches were lying at
the water edge. ready TO slip from
the ways at the SQUAD of the signal
blast. The party Of which the writer
was q member entered the reserva-
tion by crossing the lake. A boat con
structed especially for the purpose was
built in Reno and brought in on the
night freight from HaZcn. The writer
travelled on the train with the boat.
and during the ride through the reser-
walton sat aloft in the tower of the
cabooso watching in the moonlight
varied activity along the way. On
the train, riding and hiding in coal
cars, .on the brake beams, living fat
on the tops of the box cars we're
scores of men, desperate in their de-
sire TO secure some of the much priced
mineral ground. Along The track at
frequent intervals appeared the dark
forms of the Indian police. and in the
light of the moon their guns ginted
from a long way Off. When on a
hard piece of track the speed of
the train would diminish slightly, the
dark forms on the cars would slip
silently to the track side and lie with.
out moving until gathering courage
they would rise to their feet and.
sink off into the hills. At Schurz
the train had no sooner stopped than
it was surrounded by swarm of In
dlans watching every mm on board.