The Salt Lake herald-Republican. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1909-1918, 1910-06-05

home was in Mosquito Creek. Ida. and
1 came ahead Of my parents, in COM
pany with Levi Savage, in whose fam
lily l lived until February, 1S4S. Then
because 1 was starved out. or thought
was, with a boys appetite" and the
old man chuckled, Il told Savage that
I couldn't and wouldn't stand IL any
longer. and he said that II 1 felt that
way there was nothing for me to do
but get out That was a hard alter
native in a desert country, but he
opened up his heart and gave me one
peck OF wheat to last me from Febru-
airy until harvest Two or three men
I knew were fixing to go to California.
and they offered to board me II I
would drive for them I turned my
peck of wheat and rifle into the gem
eral store, and we set out At Fort
Hall on the Snake river in Idaho. they
were afraid to go further alone. and
settled down to wait for a larger party.
Fort Hall was an English trading post
of the Hudson Bay company, in charge
OF an agent named Grant. I fell out
with Pollock. the leader of our COM
pany. because he wanted me to look
after his cattle, and / told him that
was not in the agreement. Decided
to quit and demanded my peck OF
wheat. They would not give me that
nor my rifle, and 1 was compelled TO
set out for Fort Bridger, 200 miles
away, without supplies of any kind.
My whole store of food consisted of
three hard tack biscuits and half a
pound of dried beef. the gift of an old
man almost as poor as myself"
The trip to Fort Bridger, where he
hoped to fall in with party returning
east, was made by Mr.. Terry under al
most incOnceivable difficulties. Il had
no blanket nor rifle" he continued,
but slept on the bare, frozen ground,
many times on a bed followed out in
the snow. L had learned from the In
dams TO dig for sego and thistle roots.
on which l lived except for occasional
nsrnr, f.
met on the way. I stopped two days
with an old trapper. Peg-leg Smith,
and he fed me and gave me a small
store of provisions when I started on
When I reached Fort Bridger I found
the party from Salt Lake had not yet
passed. and Bridger let me stay on
with him. In the ten days I waited.
we worked on the log fort, which was
not yet finished When my people
came they were anxious to have me
go with them, as their company was
too small for safety"
$40 n Month and Board.
Then James Bridger made young
Terry a proposition. He needed hts
help, he said, and offered him $40 a
month and his board. 1t was accepted.
and in that way Terry became the COM
panion Of the famous old trapper and
guide, He trapped and hunted and
traded with the Indians until 1850,
when he came to Salt Lake on a peril-
Gus winter journey, in which he and
MS three companions nearly lost their
lives. In the meantime. Terry's family
had come west and settled at Draper
where their descendants still live.
For nine years Terry lived In the
mountains among the Indians He
traded with them and learned their
language so that IL is as familiar to
him today as his own tongue. He had
an Indian wife and two half-breed
children, one of whom, George Terry,
had an eventful career in government
employ as worker among the In
dams. When Mr.. Terry married his
present wife in 1857, she took the chill
dren OF this dead Indian mother and
raised them with her own family.
Tears came to the old woman's eyes
when she related the tragic tale Of the
death OF George Terry, who was killed
by the Indians and his body sent to
her in the midst of festivities in cele-
bration of her wedding anniversary.
That shock and the loss of six of her
own children in the space Of eleven
months are blows from which Mrs
Terry has never fully recovered.
Throughout the narrative Mr.. Terry
steadfastly refused to embellish his
tale with incidents that would reflect
credit upon himself or in any way
distort the truth 1t became evident
that this stern adherence to truth IS
a lifelong habit and. one of the finest
characteristics OF the brave old noun
taineer- His Incorporating nature
and extraordinary courage In the face
Of difficulties. together with a hardy
physique, have brought him at Sc to
an old age OF prosperity and venera-
ton among his people.