Year: 1872

EoUDo Among the Indians


There Is a romance connected with the
young man whose name heads this article,
who was one of the party accompanying
A. j. Simmons down the Missouri to treat
with the hostile Indians, and who went as
an Indian interpreter As the painful
story of the ruthless murder of the party
as related in our paper yesterday has not
been contradicted, and as young Bent was
an employee in the Gazette Office, and known
to many of our citizens, we presume the
following will not be uninteresting to our
readers ..


Early in the fall of 1868 boy about
eighteen years of age, clad in. buckskin,
sunburnt and weatherbeaten, entered the
Gazette job Office and asked for employ
ment, stating that he knew nothing about
the printing business, never saw a printing
office before. but was willing to make him
self useful, as he was s.hard up and wanted
to stay in white settlement long enough
to earn the price of horse, rife and
outfit The boy, despite his greasy
buck skin suit, and tanned and weather
beaten appearance. had bright, hand
some and intelligent countenance, and
employment was given to him in the Office.
where he worked faithfully until spring
opened, when he quit his situation, pur-
chased horse, blankets, rife and ac-
countrements, and bade US all goodbye,
stating that he was going back to his tribe /;
since which time We have never heard of
him until connected with the story of the
massacre of A. j. Simmons and party.
Bent was white boy but knew nothing
of his parents. He was brought up by
old Col. Bent, of Fort Bent. on the Ar
kansas river, who purchased him from the
Cheyennes. Ali that yong Bent knew
of his history was what the Cheyennes re-
lated to Col. Bent, on HE purchase, which
was to the effect that during the California
emigration across the plains, train Was
attacked by band of Cheyennes, and the
whole party was butchered with the exeep-
ton of Billy, who was then a sucking in
FAINT, and be was cared for and brought
up by the Indians who captured him, and
taken with them through all their wander
lngs, from the Arkansas river to the Red
river of the North, and when purchased
by Col. Bent he fully believed he was an
Indian, and could speak no other language
but the Indian dialect. Billy was taught
the English and French language and to
read and write at Fort Bert; but his
rowing disposition led him, when able to
handle rife and ride cayuse, to desert
his benefactor and seek bis old haLnts
among the Indians We never could
learn why he left the Indians and came
to Helena, but from hints surmised that
fatal quarrel between himself and one OF
the Young Indians, in which Billy got the
best of it, and had to fee the camp.
Young Bent was a natural artist. and often
on the cold winter nights of 1868, while
sitting around the stove of the Gazette
composing-room, would the young barbarian
take a pencil and sketch from memory
any mountain scene it would be our pleas
ure to ask for. Among those scenes, he
has given us accurate sketches of the falls
of the Yellowstone, the Upper Falls of
Missouri, Longs Peak. Pixies Peak some
of the wonders of the I Yellowstone which
are now part of our geographical knowl-
edge, but at that time were only regarded
by US as visionary sketches of the boy.
He stated that the squaw taught him how
to paint rude figures of birds ard animals
| upon robes, but one day he found case
of pencils and Hudson Bay receipt book
and on each was picture ola female.
He had never seen anything like 1t before
and having learned the use of the pencils
he soon learned to draw fac simile OF
the cut, and from practice soon became


irst-class sketcher, as related above,
Poor Billy, we hope better fate is reserv.
ed for you and our old friends who accom-
panied the expedition. All who were re


ported killed on the expedition we know
personally, and some we regarded as oul
1 personal friends. Gazette.