The Superior times. [volume] (Superior, Wis.) 1870-1912, 1910-04-02

Still Capt. Bill could not believe it a gen
uine Indian ncursion. Hall county In
the second tier from the Territory line and
the Indians would have had to cross Childress
county to get to It. He did not believe that
they would undertake to do this or that they
could have undertaken 1t without previous
alarms. Still 1t was his duty to investigate.
He got special train. loaded In men, horses
and pack mules, and set out hunt for In.
dians 1t was about a hundred miles to Sails
bury and they reached there early in the day
Not soul was In sight anywhere. The IN
habitants were hidden, some in dugouts some
In haystacks, some In the tall grass. Here and
there, as the train pulled in, Mcdonald saw
head stick out from sod house far out on
the prairie, then suddenly disappear like
prairie dog dropping into his hole He set out
to interview some Of these wary settlers and
learned that the Indian alarm had been given
by a mana new settler Just arrived in the
countrywide had ridden his horse to death
and lost one OF his children-having left him
far behind somewhere-in his wild eagerness
to escape the savages who, he declared were
burning and Scaptng not far away. Capt. Bill
found this man and after little talk with him
was convinced that what he had seen was
nothing more nor less than some COWBOYS on
a roundup, dispOrting themselves around their
campfire at night, as cowboys withdrawing
and capering in the mad manner of young
plainsmen whose ideas of amusement are ele-
mental and whose opportunities for social di.
versions are few. The man and the neghbor-
mood remained unconvinced. so It was decided
10 visit the scene of the disturbance
Horses, men and pack RULES unloaded
themselves from the f. eight car and went "a.
cling over the rrspie the pack mules. as usual
plunging and brayfeS with tail in air their
unWare catter'Lg In 4 manner calculated to
put whole tribe Of Indians into a panic and
send them capering across the eastern hori.
Zon INTO their own domain. But there were no
Indians 1t was as Capt BIZ had Thought. q
gans OF cowboys, the night before. had round
ed up some cattle, killed a beef carried il to
theIr camp nearby. where they had built
great hTe and roasted it, doing a wild v. r
dance Of celebration and shooting of their SIX
shooters in their prodgal expression of iov
Viewed from little distance. through SORT
or mirage condition which had EXAGGERATED
the Whole effect, the scene to the newcomers
was horrttyng picture Of savages about
burning home with the inhabitants fleeing for
their lives
The man who had Just moved in had STAN.
peaed Tor his own safety and started a gen
efaI alarm, which did not subside even when
'Ae cowboys themselves came in and testified
10 the truth, The panic spread throuphort
mat section Of the country and other renorte
OF indian outbreaks were circulated becoming
masnihed until It was believed that IN. In.
dams had broken out and were making sen.
efaI raid on the Panhandle The Inhabitants
OF one town, south Of Amarillo. threw nm
oreastWorks, got behind them and put out
plehets IN preparation for the arrival of tho
indlans Every man seen Looping across tho
prairie was reported as an Indian. and all this |
happened as late as 1891. when there had
ueeh ~ lhdlan outbreaks for years and when
VS. scarcely possibility Of anything Of
the sort. II was a big Joke az corrso as,,.
ward but it seemed no Joke at he Tine ana
II was 81! McDonald's Initiation as captain