The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1936-02-10
Squaring
The Circle
With
THE HoOsIER EDITOR

nN March %, 1924, the people OF
~ diana olis were little
jumpy over something that hap
pened near Pendleton. Four adult
Indianapolis male citizens and two
boys journeyed, considerably in
their cups, to the Shawnee camp
and murdered two Shawnee men,
three women, two girls and two
boys.
One Harper, leader of the homi-
eide band, had been angered by the
Shawnees' success in hunting and
trapping in the Fall Greek area
He had been sitting around drink
ing with one Hudson, one Bridges
and his son, and one Sawyer and
his son, brooding over the matter
Finally ne told his companions
that the Shawnees were horse
thieves. Their indignation knew nc
bounds. They all made their way
to the camp, and asked three In
dian men to go with them to hunt
cows.
TINE Indians did, and short
Il distance from the camp Harp
er & Co. shot two of them dead
The third escaped. Harper & Co
returned to the village and made
it shutout by numbering the
women and children, and throwing
their bodies in a pond. Then they
appropriated the Indian property
an incautious step that led to their
detection and arrest. They all con-
fessed.
Later they escaped, but the rec
ords don't say from what. There
were nc jails at the time and people
who had done wrong we're merely
told to stay off certain streets, much
like an untamed urchiu in the
fourth grade is told to stand in the
corner to expiate his paper wads.
Anyway they escaped, and Harper
made for the Ohio line which
turned out to be one of the best
things he ever did in his own be-
half. He went the 80 miles through
the wilderness in "a hours, and
thereafter never so much as killed
one Indian around this city.
bridges and son and SAWYER
- and son and Hudson were
captured in July, again escaped
and were recaptured, when the
game ended. Hudson was brought
to trial il November before Judge
Wick and was convicted. He was
hanged during the winter.
The others were tried in May,
1925, and all but young Sawyer
were convicted of murder and SEN
fenced to hang. Young Sawyer
was convicted of manslaughter
only and no one knows now what
did happen to him.
Old Bridges and Sawyer were
hanged June 3. Young Bridges was
led to the same scaffold some time
later, and stood beside his coffin
with the moose around his neck.
Just when every one thought JUS
tice was about to be done, who
should jump up on to the platform
but Gov. Ray himself, to stop the
hanging. In speech to the as
sembled people he granted you're
Bridges pardon, which was legal
tender and freed the young GRIM
inal.
HISTORIANS of the day say thai
- when the murder was frs
discovered, the uneasy citizen.
fled to the Pendleton mills for safe.
ty. They thought there would be &
border war, with Indians in thei]
scalps and tomahawks in theil
necks.
But the hanging of Bridges pert
and Sawyer pere appeased the ma.
tives and the incident passed with.
out further violence.
1t was only two years later thai
the Federal government negotiated
a treaty with the Indians at For
wayne in which it agreed TO furnish
the natives with certain hogs, COW.
and wagons for certain lands.
Aiic AiilidIlS turned over the lands
IN the fall and the whites were te
furnish them with 200 each of hog:
and cattle and 10 wagons, and builc
them eight brick houses in Ineiar
country in the spring.
One historian disposes with tn,
outcome of the treaty this way:
"The heavy rains of the following
spring prevented delivery of the
wagons and stock and the savage.
were somewhat dissatisfied thereat.'
suppose they were a little rest.
less, what with no old-world cul.
tural philosophy to fall back on.