The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1914-03-13
Chapter I.

i
Republican by ]. w. Powell, formerly
a resident of Lost river and Black
foot, but now living at 602S forty
seventh street, S. E. Portland, Ore
gon. Mr.. Powell was ono of the
men who built the first house on the
present Powell tract, the rock house
in which the Carey tract was first
offered for sale, operated the stage
line between Blackfoot and Arco in
the nineties, helped conduct the first
Fourth of July celebration on Lost
river in the early eighties, gave us
the first authentic report of just what
there is in the Snake River desert,
southwest of the Cinder Buttes and
made the map we printed in April
1918 that proved correct after all
the explorations of the summer of
1918.
All of Mr.. Powell's articles have
been so reliable that readers of the
Republican will be interested in this
contribution to history. He gives it
Just as he got it from an old trapper
who spent the early part of the pres
ent winter in Portland, and although
he is quite old, he was preparing for
new ventures on the head waters OF
Snake river and may be UP there
now. The parts in parenthesis were
supplied by Mr.. Powell and the edi-
tor to identify the places described
or the characters mentioned.
So YOU want to hear about the
early times on Lost river, do you?
I was always ambitious to be great
hunter, so in the year of 1878, when
J was 21 years old, I decided that
the time was ripe for me to begin
on the job of my own choosing. MY
inseparable companion was a Piute
indian, named Henry. For three
years we had been planning and
working for wages and laying by all
we earned above our expenses CT
living, so that we could buy such an
outfit as we thought we should need,
Henry had quit his job of skinning
mules for Olinghouse in Wadsworth'
Nevada, in order to round up our
horses that were running down on
Pyramid lake. I joined him here
with our camp outfit; tent, traps, etc.
Here bought two IA caliber Win
chester rifles and each one OF US
two "A caliber Colts six-shooters. l
did this so that one size cartridge
would fit both guns and revolvers,
and we desired to go well armed for
the indians were said to be on the
war path. The Piutes wished to join
this outbreak, but their old chief
Winnemucca held them in check.
Some of the young bucks left
Wadsworth and succeeded in reach
ing the seat of trouble but Win
nemucca sent his daughter Sarah
after them and she actually brought
the most of them home with her. We
had IL head of pretty good horses
and among them was our two crack
saddle-horses in fact they could out
run anything on the Piute reserva-
tion. and we were very proud of
them. Finally we had everything
fixed up to suit us and bidding our
friends in Wadsworth good bye, we
hit the trail.
We followed the rail road until we
struck the town of Winnemucca.
Here we left the rail road, striking
north for Idaho. We had few indian
scares, but nothing serious happened
until after we crossed Wood river.
We met an immigrant train, who in
formed us that they had fight with
indians two days before and four of
their men were killed They said
the indians ambushed them on little
stream that flowed into the lava beds,
(Deadman's F1at). This put diff
ferent complexion on our trip. We
now left the wagon road and took to
the hills, travelling generally in sight
of the road. Henry wanted to see
some of the indians moccasin tracks.
By SO doing, he would be able to tell
to what tribe they belonged, so in
order to see their tracks we went to
the place where the fight occurred,
but the tracks were not made by
Piutes, consequently they were our
and W. might expect to lose
our hair If caught by them. We saw
the graves of the immigrants, also
nine graves of indians and knew that
the white men were avenged.
Far Off to the south across the lava
beds, we saw the smoke of large
fire, and would occasionally hear the
distant report of a gun, leading us to
believe that the indians were hunting
in that region, in fact about all the