Webster City freeman. [volume] (Webster City, Hamilton County, Iowa) 1884-1946, 1913-04-08

About two o'clock we struck East
Okobcii lake on the southeast shore.
The first cabin we came to was that
of Mr., Thatcher. Here We found
the yard and prairie covered with
feathers. Two dead men were lying
at the rear of the house, both bodies
being badly shot in the breast. They
evidently had been unarmed and ev-
erything indicated that they had
been surprised The rest Of the fam
ilv had been killed in the house or
taken prisoners, and everything in
dicated that there had been no de-
fence. From here we went to Mr..
Howes, where we found seven dead
bodies. There was one old and one
middle-aged woman, one man and
four children-a1l brutally murder
ed. 1t seemed that the man had
been killed by placing the muzzle Of
a gun against his nose and blowing
his head to pieces. The other adults
had been simply shot. The children
had been knocked in the head. We
divided into two parties to bury the
dead, camping for the night near the
residence OF the Howe family. Old
Mr.. Howe was found on the Sd of
April some distance from the house,
on the ice, shot through the head.
We buried him on bluff southwest
of the place some eighty rods from
the house. The neXt~place was Mr..
Mattock's. Here we found eleven
dead bodies and buried them all in
one grave, men, women and chill
dren. The ground was frozen and
we could only make the grave about
eighteen inches deep. 1t was "a
CHASTITY sight. The adults had been
shot, but the children's brains had
been knocked out, apparently by
striking them across their foreheads
with heavy clubs or sticks of wood.
The brains of one boy about ten
years of age had been completely let
out Of his head and lay upon the
ground. Every one else shrank
from touching them. l was in COM
mand, and feeling that | would not
ask another to do thing at which
I myself revolted, I gathered up the
poor scattered fragments upon the
spade and placed them all together
in the grave. About forty head of
cattle had been shot at this place,
the carcasses split open in the back
and the tenderloins removed-all
that the Indians cared to carry off.
The house had been burned with one
dead body in it at the time. At this
place it seems to me that The only
man who fought the Indians was DR..
Harriott who had formerly lived at
Waterloo. He made a heroic defense,
probably killing and wounding two
or three Indians. He was falling
back toward Changers. evidently de-
Tending the women and children
when he finally shot himself. He
still grasped his Sharps rife, which
was empty and broken off at the
breech, showing that he had fallen
in a hand to hand fight. l have lit
tie idea that any other man about
the lakes fired a gun at the Indians.
1t was simply surprise and butchery
From here we went to the Grang.
ers' and found the dead body Of one
OF the brothers of that name. He
had been first shot and his head hac
been split open with a broad axe. He
and his brother had kept small
store, and the Indians had taker
everything away excepting dozer
bottles of strychnine. We buried
him near his own house. The mex
house was Gardeners. Here were
the bodies Of Mr.. and Mrs. Gardiner
one grown-up daughter and two
small children in the yard and
baby in the house. We buried Thu
family all in one grave about two
| rods from the house. Tired ant
| hungry, we went into camp in
small grove at the rear of the hous
with nothing to eat but potatoes.
Some of our party had visited tn
lake in the fall and had seen Mr.
Gardiner bury two bushels of pota
toes in a box under the stove. Thes
we found and roasted in the cam
fire. They lasted two days. On tn
morning OF the 18th we complete
our sad task. and without any food
turned our faces homeward, takin
a southeast course hoping to reacI
the Irish colony the same day. Il
the forenoon, it was quite warm
melting the snow, and consequent
travelling was very difficult. We wer
Obliged to wade sloughs, waist deer
or go miles around and run the ris
OF losing the course. We We're we