Montana oil and mining journal., 1942-01-03

/ US and several seconds later the re-
| port of what we thought must be a
I small cannon came reverberating up
/ the river
on the point Of a bluff about 300
yards down the river we could see a
puff Of smoke floating slowly away
on the breeze. While we were watching
this smoke we saw another puff belch
forth from near the top Of the bluff
and about two seconds later another
big bullet whizzed through the air
and we all ducked our heads like a
lot Of geese.
That kept up for an hour. We did
not know what to make Of it and
rather enjoyed it. We could see the
little puff of smoke spring up and
then have plenty Of time to dodge
down into the ditch before the ball
came and then we would jump up and
shout defiance to the red devils before
the report would reach us. I heard
afterwards that the gun was one that
had been built to shoot elephants with
and that Joseph's crew had taken it
from some Englishmen they had cap
tured in the national park They had
got next to how to use it, all right,
for at a distance of 800 yards they
could put bullet into our little circus
ring every time After about an hour
Of that sort of practice the Indians
withdrew and we saw no more of them.
Wagons, Goods Burned
early in the morning Of Sept. %
I had loaded some bull teams for o.
G. Cooper and for Frank Farmer. The
Indians went up Cow creek and over
took these teams. They killed a man
named Bradley, who was with Cooper,
and burnt and destroyed the wagons |
and goods. Cooper and Farmer es-
capped and came back to Cow island, |
being very much surprised to find us |
alive. They went to Fort Benton and |
on the day they left Colonel Clenden-
min came down the creek alone.
"Clendenntn told me that one Of
The Northwest steamboats,, while trying
to get over the shadows at Grand
Island, 20 miles below, got stuck on
\ sandbar. He thought there was
ioctor- on the boat and 1t would be
better to take the two wounded men
iown there where they could be taken
are Of. We had some flatboats and
ikiffs tied up along the shore but
he Indians had turned all loose ex-
;ept one small slziff that we had
ragged up into the brush and which
hey failed to find. After the dusk Of
he evening, the second day after the
light, we put the two wounded men
n the skiff and Colonel Clendennin
nd started down with them. Pretty
oon we were hailed by party from
he bank They turned out to be the
Tort Benton volunteers with Major
lges, Colonel Donnelly and Judge
'attan In the lead.
sThey wanted us to go back and
how them the ford and join them in
he chase after the Indians We ad-
ised them not 10 cross the river.
here were only rs Of them, all told.
nd we told them we could not hope
} do anything with the 300 fighting
ucks with Joseph and if they went
fter them they would only get killed
he volunteers went up to our camp.
'ossed the river and followed the In
ans. The only thing that saved them
as the fact that Joseph thought they
ere the advance guard Of General
oward's command. AS 1t was, one
ian was killed and the volunteers
Ime back to Cow island pell-mell and
ent home.
"A few days after our fight General
oward and staff arrived at Cow
land, camped all night. and the next
'ternoon started down the river to
In General Mics. A few days later
curred the historic capture Of Chiefs
lseph and Looking Glass"