The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1919-07-17
INDIAN CHIEF
HISTORIC CHARACTER
Continued from Page Onel

tCOntlnueu from rage One
revered the memory OF Truckee and
loved to talk about him, saying he
a beautiful man, a great hunter
and that Truckee had beautiful teeth,
but had broken two out on a bone. He
had no whiskers and no eyebrows,
only a narrow black line.
Dawes father, named Yapahtaka
Root Eater), died about 1874 at Win
emucca mountain. Dave and his
father spoke Shoshone and his moth
er's father was a Shoshone himself.
Dave. who was in Churchill county
during the Piute war, prevented war
with the Washoes. who had been con
quered years before, who had been
barred by the treaty of peace from
ever owning horses and had been
forced to live in the timbered hills.
Old Captain Dave remembered FIRE.
mont, but Fremont, he often sain, was
not the first white man he eyer saw.
Eight camps of Indians were at Mill
City hunting rabbits when a train of
white people came into view. Hide"
hide" called the scouts. They ran to
a canyon carrying brush to wore their
retreat. The white men did not see
them or paid no attention to them.
They had bright tin pans which
shone like stars" said Captain Dave
in ~narrating the incident, land one
man wore a red flannel coat or shirt.
The Indians supposed he wore fire.
He seemed all ablaze to them. The
father said, No fire tonight. No roast
rabbit. No fire tomorrow. Maybe
white men see smoke, come and kill
us ALL Father took a mountain-sheep
skin and went down the canyon. In
the morning he was not in camp and
We thought he was killed. After day
light we saw him across the river
with a bundle on his shoulder. He came
and said he had been to the white
mems camp, six miles away. Men met
him and shook hands. Talked Sho-
shone and said many white men are
coming and many more will come,
many, many men. They are the other
side of Tijupa (Salt Lake,. Do not
fight the white men. The men are
making out the road"
Then his father opened his bundle
and produced a shirt, a caseknife, the
first the Indians had even G bis
cult, bacon, an awl, steel and flint. All
the Indians tasted the bread and bis
cult and pronounced 1t good.
In an interview not long ago Dave
said all the Indians wanted to go to
Washington when there was a treaty
to make or a pow-wow. Natchez went
and saw President Hayes. Lots
of white men made speeches. Natchez
made a speech and said:
MY friends. my brothers, | come
to see you fellows. We have
reservations IN Nevada-Moapa, Walk
or and =, ramic. White men tried 10
buy Indians like slaves. You fellows
fight The south and have black slaves.
We won't be slaves, nor sold to white
men. We Americans in United States
ike you fellows. Want to teach In
iians like by white brothers, no fight,
no bother"
Dave was a consistent peacemaker
md a sober, righteous man. He was
1 good adviser for his people and
them something of value in
aiming, fishing and providing for
He urged the tribe to send
to school and to Stewart in
stitue. He was a well-preserved man.
lot tall but sturdy. with an abundant
,rop Of iron gray hair and a set of
eeth chat anybody might envy. One
If his teeth was crowned with gold.
,ut he declared he rever had tooth
.che in his l.fe lie had the tooth
lied off and crowned because ii would
ook pretty.
His successor has not been elected