Montana oil and mining journal. [volume] (Great Falls, Mont.) 1931-1953, 1942-01-31
Correspondent of Old Weekly Herald, Related !
Graphic Story of Eurly-Duy Indian Atrocities !

Life was far from being all cakes
and ale on the Montana frontier in
the early days when the Blackfeet and
Sioux were in the hairdressing bust
ness for both pleasure and profit.
Many are the tales which have been
spun of the trials of that strenuous
life led by the advance guard Of civil
ization in stern contest with both ma
ture and savages. They were tales Of
superb daring, of brilliant bravery and
of courage, constituting one of the
most significant chapters in the his
tory Of American conquest.
In the files of an old Montana news
paper, the Weekly Herald, published
at Helena in 1869. there appears sew
eral letters from a correspondent on
the Musselshell, then the site of a
promising town with the magnificent
ambition of becoming the metropolis
of the west
1t was an ambition which was never
to be realized, but the story of its
struggle for existence as told by one
of the actors in the tragedy reads like
a dime novel, and has all the dash
and color Of fresh experience. The ar
ticles are signed Down the River"
and are here given without any change
in wording or correction in grammar
''A1uscleshell, April 81, 1869-An the
sufferers from the late Indian raid,
so far as bodily injury is concerned,
have nearly recovered, excepting the
woman who was scalped. She is
doomed to wear a wig the rest Of the
days while Mr.. 10 noble red man who
the government arms and feeds dances
and shouts his war songs around that
portion of her physical anatomy that
once adorned her upper works. But
such IS life and such will be the con-
dition of things just as long as the
Northwest Fur Co. is allowed to con-
duct Indian affairs and control In
dian agents along the river. When it
comes to protection against the ruth
less Savages we have only our own
nerves and trusty rifles"
May /, 1869-To the Editor: Il
wrote you a communication on the
23d of April and which 1 sent out by
our private mail, but the friendly AS
sinniboines, that recently scalped Jor-
dan, Long and Foster, and wounded
Big Dan at Joe Bushaway's wood yard,
took possession of the letters and
papers destined for Helena and fear !
they must have neglected to forward
them in the right direction.
"On the 18th Of March party Of |
men from Thompson Gulch and Dia- |
mond City arrived here from the Black |
butte where they had been wolfing |
and had been surprised and attacked |
by Major Collins contented, recon- |
structed, friendly Crows. They were |
compelled to fight necessarily for three
days and finally creep away In a dark
night after losing many valuable
horses and several hundred dollars
worth Of valuable furs. They arrived
at this place on foot, worn out and
destitute as Migrants.
Heard
Smith and Andrews were getting
out timber from the Musselshell, en-
ploying four hands In the woods and
three teams in hauling Major Brewer
and Captain Andrews were driving two
of the teams. A white woman and
some squaws had gone to carry dinner
to the men. Brewer had unloaded In
town and was about 500 yards on his
return; Andrews was about a half
mile from town coming, and the
women on the road between the two,
when sudden as unexpected, the dread
ed warwhoop was heard, and so naked,
yelling painted warriors came charg-
ing down the hill and in a moment
were close upon their victims.
Brewer jumped from the wagon,
firing as he went, and after running
a fearful. gauntlet through the storm
Of leaden hail, safely reached the
Stockade. The poor woman ran with
the speed of a frightened deer but
was soon overtaken. One of the squaws
was shot through the thigh and the
white woman stopped to pick her up
but had only got the squaw to her
the neck and fell and the Indians