Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-05-13

4ldQ Dttl lllItlt6ltQ III I'LL Lnt NOVEL
scenes of the frontier which the voyage
had presented to them; but when the
two rugged woodlands appeared on
board, they became particularly nthusi-
astic. Their curiosity soon led them into
conversation with Beidler and Johnson,
neither of whom took very kindly to
being ~patronized as If they were a pair
OF Sioux, though they maintained their
stoical composure. At length one of the
ladies inquired of X:
Mr.. Beidler, are you married?'
Yes Beidler grunted.
"'Oh. indeed? Do you know. I hardly
thought that. Isis your wife, aha
white woman?'
Indian
"How delightful A native of these
great plains. Where is she now?'
1--we sent her to Rome
ITO Rome? To be educated? Just
think OF such devotion!' she chirruped
to her companions. Mr.. Beidler. do you
mean to Rome, Italy?'
NO responded *, grimly. TO roam
on the prairie
"At this point the conversation ended
abruptly"
"Liver-Eatin'" Johnson
Johnson and Beidler were close friends
and In his memoirs, written some time
before he died. Beidler gave the follow
ing account of Johnson:
"A sailor by occupation, he came from
the Pacific coast to Montana in the sos,
and being exceptionally expert with his
rifle, was soon known as a bad man to
impose on. He followed wolfing and
hunting. with a big sprinkling OF Indian
fighting, for over 20 years. The adven-
lures and hair-breadth escapes of this
man would fill a large luz No man
OF the frontier is better known than
'Liver-Eater.' The manner in which he
| gained his name is as follows:
Hhf thn mouth IF vho hd1tCcnIcha1l rixrar
in 1870. Captain Hawley kept a trading
post, and quite a number OF wolfers
stopped at his place in the summer time,
doing nothing. One hot day in July Mrs.
Jennie Hawley, accompanied by the
squaw belonging to one Of the wolfers,
was about 800 yards from the post, en-
gagged in picking June berries, when they
were fred on by Sioux concealed in the
brush.
Woman Is Shot
Mrs. Hawley fell, shot through the
neck, and the squaw vas shot through
the fieshy portion OF her anatomy. but
was able to skip for the post, yelling at
every jump. The wolfers responded
quickly, but before they could reach the
scene of the shooting. the noble sons of
the prairie had relieved Mrs. Hawley of
her scalp. On examination 1T was found
that the bullet had only creased her
neck. striking the cords and stunning
her. Water dashed in her face soon re-
vived her She was assisted to the house
and the party Of wolfers, consisting of
Johnson. George Grinnel, Jim Deer and
seven others whose names have slipped
my memory. went after the Indians.
"Tne savages kept on the outside of
the timber for about half a mile and
then dropped into a washout, intending
to ambush the whites. Johnson's quick
eye detected the ruse, and the wolfers
came down through the willows and ap-
peared close to the washout-so close, in
fact that the Indians dared not look out
and the wolfers dared not look in. The
washout was about 80 yards long. 10
yards wild and about 10 feet deep.
1.-THE Indians would raise their coup
sticks and the boys would amuse them
selves by shooting them in two. Various
plans were devised for ousting them from
their stronghold. About shutdown two
|of the party went around to the mouth
of the washout, which they found barri-
caded with shields made from the neck
Of buffalo bulls; also blankets were hung
up to keep the whites from taking aim.
1.-THE two men who went to the mouth
OF the washout, being armed with Spen-
Ger rifles tat that time considered a
shields and blankets Offering no resist
ance. the balls came whistling through.
The Bavages Immediately commenced
singing their death song n started to
climb out over the walls OF the washout.
1t offered a splendid chance for the boys
to avenge the injury to Mrs. Hawley.
Thirty-two Of the savages passed in their
checks in almost as many seconds.
Was Johnson's Indian
"One of the Indians was hit through
both hips n was sitting up. Jimmy
Deer approached him, and drawing his
pistol Ia cap and ball affair.", he held 1t
close to the Indians head and snapped.
Tho cora hofnu nayt tho rouo1yc~ could
not be discharged. The Indian lodged,
blinked, n finding himself still alive.
begged for his life. He was told that he
was too good to live in this wicked world,
and that his home was in heaven. After
swapping the remaining five chambers
with the usual amount of lodging, blink
ing and pleading by the Indian, Johnson
stepped up and claimed him as his In
dian. Putting his rifle to the Indians
head, he blew his brains out.
1.-THE boys then quartered the dead In
dams and piled them up in one large
pile, reserving the heads, scalps and
trinkets. johnson picked up the liver OF
an Indian, and holding it up, asked who
would take his liver rare. Several ran
up and Johnson devoured about half a
liver, the other boys backing down. From
that he got the name of Liver-Eating
Johnson. The heads of the Indians were
taken to the post II the flesh boiled
off, and the skulls were placed on a low
platform and labeled. And it proved a
great curiosity to the people aboard the
steamers plying between st. Louis and
Fort Benton.
Mrs. Hawley survived the shock, but
wears a wig"
Peter Koch's Description
Peter Koch, the well known Bozeman
pioneer, who died a few years ago, gives
this description Of Johnson and his hor-
rid trophies:
1.-The settlement and surrounding desc
late, sage-brush covered plains did not
usually offer many points of interest to
the travellers on the steamboats,, except
the usual features of a village on the ex-
treme frontier, here, perhaps, somewhat
exaggerated; but when the steamer Hunt
vile landed there at the time referred to,
a sight met her passengers that was GER
tainly calculated to shock the nerves OF
any eastern tenderfoot. Along the brink
Of the river bank on both sides of the
landing was planted a row Of stakes, and
each stake carried the white, grinning
skull of an Indian They were evidently
the pride of the inhabitants, n a little
to one side, as If guarding them, stood q
trapper, we'll known throughout eastern
Montana by the so~ubriquet Of Liver-Eat-
ing Johnson. He was leaning on q
crutch, with one leg b%andaged, and the
day being hot, his entire dress consisted
of a scant, much-shrunken, red under
shirt reaching Just below his hips. His
matted hair and bushy beard fiuttered in
the breeze, and his giant frame and
limbs. SO freely exposed to view, formed
an exceedingly impressive and character