The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1927-05-05

! y"yS ana nights In the Indian cOun-
( Indians On War Path
Bands Of rowing Indians dissatis-
Tied by the increasing number of
white settlers on their huating
1 grounds which caused the game 10
I move to less thickly settled country,
or made dangerous by the fire wa
| ter easily obtained at any trading
post were to be encountered contin-
ualiy upon the beaten trails or the
! open prairies. by day and by night.
The Spencer home was the victim
Of one of these unprecedented at
eacks because il was convenient at
the moment this desire to kill entered
the hearts Of group of such prowl-
erS.
Between one and two o'clock in the
morning Of August 80, Mrs. Spencer
rose from her bed to care for the
littlest baby. As MIR. Spencer was
! about TO put out the light which had
undoubtedly attracted the attention
Of the wandering Indians. the fatal
shots came through the window
Three guns were fired and two balls
I struck Mrs. Spencer in the upper
chest and came out her back, one 60
ing downward through the lungs.
Although the Tanner family lived
but few rods away the noise of the
shots was not unusual enough to
waken them and the risk was too
great for Mr.. Spencer to venture out
side and there were no telephones.
The tragedy was not discovered till
the morning. Mrs. Spencer lived
nearly three hours after the shooting.
The horror and suffering OF the hep
less family can scarcely be imagined.
The frightened weeping children, the
agonized delirium Of the dying wom-
an and the hopeless helplessness OF
the anguished father. For this fun
eral, James Tanner. the part Indian
native missionary. conducted the SER
vice and Mrs. Spencer was buried By
-the side of Mrs. Bernard. Some
weeks later Mr.. Spencer decided to
take his children to their mothers
home. He found caravan of sew
eral hundred OK carts, loaded with
furs and buffalo skins, was about to
start for st. Paul. The missionary's
family was offered a cart which he
gladly accepted. A young Indian
woman was engaged to care for the
littlest baby till they reached his
grandmother The two little girls
rode with the Indian nurse in the cart
while the baby was suspended in q
swing from the high axle under the
cart and was carried in this fashion
across the 400 miles Of dusty plains
to St. Paul. Imagine that trip-the
dust, the heat Of the MONDAY (late
September), the chill Of the nights.
the screeching and squeaking Of hun
dreds Of unoiled wooden wheels. the
smell Of unwashed human bodies and
the stink of skins and hides-Shades
of health chores and sanitary habits!
The Missionaries Meet
1t was during one Of the pauses on
this trip to st. Paul that MIR. Bernard.
returning to st. Joseph from taking
his motherless children to. their
grandmother, met Mr.. Spencer going
eastward on 2 like errand. Picture
this meeting Of the friends who had
already endured SO much together.
At this time an interesting event is
recorded. Mr.. Bernard baptised the
infant son Of his friend giving the
child his fathers name. This child,
in after years, became q minister of
the Gosl Ell. Mr.. Bernard continued
his journey to st. Joseph but the in
creasing hostility Of the Indians
made it impossible to carry out the
original plans and the point was
abandoned and so closed the second
attempt 10 plant q Protestant mission
in this interesting but unfortunate
locality.
The next year, 1866. the Roman
Catholic mission ut St. Joseph rapid
~ declined and Father Belcourt was
transferred to another field on Prince
Edward Island. In 1873 the build
ings Of St. Joseph's church and school
were removed some eight or ten miles
east to . point already named Leroy
where they are the center Of q pros
nerous mission which today is grow.
ing from the roots planted so many
years ago-And what Of the old site
Of st. Joseph's mission, the Walhalla
Of today? In the oft quoted words
of Mr.. Kipling-"That is another
story"