Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1928-06-01
A FORGOTTEN TRAGEDY OF THE MISSOURI
lM WHICH ia MINERS LOST THEIR LIVES

ST THE0R LIVES
that about 100 lodges OF the Dakotas had
been in the camp on the Knife river. He
said he did not a any part in the
killing of the miners but he knew about
it and had received some of the plumber"
Granville stuart Met Them
In my examination of u records I
find the following in Stuart's Forty
Years on the Frontier" published by the
Arthur II. Clarke Co, in 1925. which will
help our Dakota friends in completing
the story. In the journal of Granville
Stuart Of July 81, 1868. we find the fol-
lowing as transporting in the Deer Lodge
valley.
Thirteen men are here en- route to
Fort Benton. They are from the Flor
ence mines. say that the soldiers had a
fight with the Indians on Snake river.
in which they killed 800 Indians; which
is so big q story that we do not believe it.
They have s25, 900 worth Of gold dust
with them in buckskin sacks; and intend
building a boat at Benton, and going
down the Missouri river to the states in
II. We advised them not to do &c: and
also admonished them against exhibit
ing so much treasure, as there were some
people in the country who were not par
ticular as to how they came Into pos
session of gold dust, just SO they got 1t.
They did not seem to pay much attention
to our warning and went on their way"
In q footnote the editor Of the Stuart
journal gives the following:
Their fate was not known until several
years later, where William Reyes spent
the winter of 1871 on the Missouri river
below Rocky Point, and there married
an Indian woman. Seeing her husband
with gold dust, she told him of a squaw
who had some and related to him the
story of how she came by it. which is as
follows:
"a village OF about 100 lodges of Sioux
Indians were camped on the bank of the
river, and they saw a boat with white
men coming down. The warriors at once
began firing at them. The men in the
boat had a small cannon, which they
loaded and fired at the Indians: but so
heavy was the recoil nat 1t loosened q
plank in the bottom of the boat and it
began TO sink. The men beached 1t on
a sand bar. but On it there was no shell
ter and they were still within reach of
the Indians rifles. The white men had
only the cannon and revolvers. They
did not use the cannon after the first
shot, and the Indians killed them all:
then crossing over to the sand bar, they
stripped them naked. scalped them and
cut them up in a most horrible way; and
then proceeded to plumber the boat.
Find Gold Dust
Finding the buckskin bags filled with
gold dust, and not knowing what 1t was,
they emptied 1t out on the sand and
took the sacks, which they could use
for many things. One squaw. out OF
curiosity, kept one bag of gold and put
it in her parfiash. Reyes wife persuaded
this squaw. to show him the bag of dust;
later she accompanied him to the scene
Of the massacre.
"Keyes tried to find where they had
emptied the gold. In the spring he and
his wife came to Fort Benton and told
their story to 0 Lepley, q wealthy
cattle owner on the range between Shon-
kin and Arrow. creek, whom they per-
suaded to go down the river with them
to make further Investigation. The sands
of the bar had washed and were SO
changed that they found but little OF
the gold: but were convinced that the
party murdered was the men from the
Florence mines" (See footnote and
diary, vol. 2, page 252.)
The William Keyes story was common
knowledge and in the same form but
different details all c~orroborated the mas
sacre Of this party of miners from the
Salmon river mines or Florence, but there
were never any details Of the personnel
Of the party. However, Granville Stuart
met them and cautioned them about
going down the river and the dangers
from hostile Indians, hence we have the
positive n direct evidence as given by
Granville Stuart in his usual careful
manner.
The best and most authentic account
Of this party of gold miners is from the
pen of John j. Healy who published
Of 1877. MIR. Healy was the sheriff o.
Chouteau county in 1877 and was an ex'
perienced frontiersman, q guide ant
scout for an emigrant train on the OLE
Oregon trail and one Of the discoverer!
of the Salmon river mines, particular,
at the famous OWL of Florence. From
there he drifted into Montana as SO man,
of the California miners did. He was
skilled sign talker and well versed In TIN
Indian languages of the northwest ant
northern Montana. He would readil,
separate the wheat from the chaff" II
securing a true story from the Indian
and the current rumors that always sur
round such events. I knew Healy well
in fact he was n of the best know
men of territorial days.
His story, taken from the Benton Rec
ord Of Friday, Sept. 6, 1878, follows:
Tn the month of August, 1868, a part
consisting of 10 miners from the Bots
basin, Idaho, and one woman and a chill
arrived at Benton, en- route to the state!
They were disappointed in not finding
steamer at the head of navigation. n
boats having that year assembled highe
than Snake point, just above Cow islane
They, however, had a mackinaw bull
and in spite of the warnings from resi-
dents Of the town persisted In startin
upon their journey down the river. TIL
miners had with them a large quantit
of gold dust, the value of which has bee
l %variously estimated. but probabl
amounted to sec, 900 or $4,000.
/ Buy small Cannon
II met the party at Benton and !
9 common with theirs who knew the dar
| gers of the river tried to persuade thel
from undertaking the trip. I told thel
e Of my experience on the river the YET
previous, but they laughed at the idea
: Indians attacking SO large Q party, we
!. armed and experienced as they wer
4 They took the p%recaution, however,
u nrovide themselves with a small canno