Browning chief. [volume] (Browning, Mont.) 1941-1953, 1942-02-06

pangs of hunger and it was a question
of hustle or starve. Finally we went
out about a half-mile from the fort
and picked up bear we had poisoned
in December. We had seen the In
dians frequently cook poisoned wolves,
and we tried the same plan. that is
by long boiling which takes the poison
out of the meat. We boiled that bear
and it tasted good to our famished
stomachs and no ill consequences fol-
lowed Had we baked it, it would have
killed us all The Indians were like
wise reduced to the extremity of eat
ing poisoned wolves which we had
killed during the fall.
"Durfee & Peck, the firm for which
we were working, were well aware that
we must be running short of provisions
and supplies. and three times they
started out mule trains to our post
but every time they were driven in
by Sitting Bull. Finally the late Tom
O'Hanlon. who died at Fort Belknap
in 1899, started out with one Sioux
Indian to drive the team. and after
many narrow escapes arrived at the
post one night about 10 o'clock. There
was happy party at the fort that
night, every man sitting up until
morning cooking tlapjacks and eating
them. 1t was our first square meal in
many days.
"One day while Joe Butcher and
we're sitting in one of the blockhouses
an Indian came in and squatting down
beside us after while began to tell
us his troubles with the whites. He
was a Santee Sioux a member of Long
Hairs band and had taken an active
part in the Minnesota massacre. He
told us story of frightful barbarity.
At one house which they entered on
their raid they found all the occupants
dead except baby in the cradle. They
took it and after starting hot fire
in the stove. put the live child in the
| oven and baked it. 1t seemed to me
while the Indian was telling the story
that he was suffering from remorse,
Just as white man would after such
| an act. After he had finished his story
he went to his tepee and brought us
some coffee, which he offered in
| reparation.
soon after OHanlon returned to
Fort Peck the snow disappeared to
some extent. allowing the Indians to
hunt again and relieving the tension
| to a great extent. About this time Lou
Silcott and I quit working by the
month and went to chopping wood on
Trovor's Point for which we would get
SIS a cord when the steamboats, began
running. Although amateurs at the
| work. we averaged two cords day
each. We had been at this about two
weeks when one morning we went to
work as usual near the bank of the
! Missouri Silcott went down to the
river to get a drink. He left his rifle
leaning against a stump and mine was
against another. I was busy Topping
off the branches of the tree I had
felled while he was away. probably
about 10 minutes.
Indian Stole Gun
when he came back he found that
his gun was gone from the stump and
Indignantly accused me of tricking
him. I thought he had mislaid it and
while helping him search for it found
the imprints of moccasins in the soft
ground near the stump. It was evident
that an Indian had stolen it while
I was busy not a hundred feet away.
The fact that it was needle gun,
and unloaded and that had pistol
in my belt probably saved our lives.
We went Immediately to the fort and
got another gun and returned to our
work.
For two days we were not molested
but during the third day we discov-
cred a war party of Sioux crawling
upon us through the timber and it
took us only an instant to drop be-
hind stumps and get ready for them.
Hardly had we done so before firing
began and it was pretty warm while
1t lasted.
Shortly afterwards Mr.. Courtney.
who was engaged as clerk, went across
Pouchette creek to get a dry stock of
fuel, as each man furnished his own
for cooking. He had just cut it and
put it on his shoulder and was in the
art of recr0Ssing the stream when an