OCR Text |
Show Page 18 THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS Volume II, Issue IX 1 May 2000 Indian Battle in Ogden Valley Story told by Mary R. Jessop of one of her childhood experiences as a pioneer settler of Huntsville. We did not worry much about the Indians since we saw them so often. They came to the settlement to beg food and to trade. We soon learned that when the Indian women and children were along there was no danger. But we kept a sharp lookout for the war parties or hunting parties made up entirely of men. Of the Indians, the Blackfoot were most feared. Once a band of them came and stole some cattle, but the men of Huntsville followed and got some of them back. It was during the first summer that we lived in Huntsville, and I was but nine years old when I saw the Indian battle. One day a band of Shoshones came from the south, apparently from Weber Valley, and camped on the south side of the river on a meadow that belonged to father. We saw them when they were still high on the divide, and we observed that they were traveling fast as if they were being pursued. My brother and I ran down across the bottoms nearly to the river and climbed up into the top branches of a high cottonwood tree. There we could look right across the river into the Indian camp. The savages seemed to be very excited. My brother and I estimated that there were between fifty and seventy men and boys old enough to fight, besides women and children. They had a lot of ponies. Some of the men had guns, but most had only spears and bows and arrows. There was a great deal of shouting. Pretty soon we saw another band of Indians riding down the hillside from the south along the same trail the Shoshones had traveled. We learned afterward that they were Cheyennes and that they had already had a fight with the Shoshones earlier in the day. It was about 3:00 in the afternoon. The Cheyennes were all men. Their faces and bodies were gaudily painted and they were wearing war bonnets. As they came nearer, they spread out in single file and came dashing up at full speed to attack the Shoshones. There were approximately fifty mounted savage warriors. Some of the Shoshones jumped on their horses, while others fought on foot. All the men and the bigger boys went out to meet the Cheyennes. At first the attackers seemed to have the best of it, and drove the Shoshones back into their camp. Then some women secured weapons and fought desperately also. But most of the women and children ran screaming and crying and hid themselves in the bushes. A few waded over to our side of the stream and hid themselves in the bushes not far from the tree that we were in. The shouting of the warriors could be heard and the fighting could be seen from Huntsville. Many of the white people were badly scared. My brother and I were foolish enough to look upon the battle as an exciting game. We regarded ourselves as being very lucky in getting reserved seats so close. We enjoyed watching the Indian warriors of both tribes as they rode at full speed and hung on their saddles with one leg, Subscriptions available for out of area residents at $15.00 annually. Send payment with mailing address to: THE OGDEN VALLEY NEWS P O BOX 130 EDEN UT 84310 while they shot arrows from under their horses’ necks. ing, so some of the warriors had been killed in battle. The event that decided the battle was the death of the Cheyenne chief. He was mounted on a fine horse and wore a war bonnet that was fully five feet long. He rode up and down yelling and encouraging his men. In fact, all the warriors on both sides seemed to yell all the time. Suddenly the Cheyenne chief was shot and tumbled off his horse. The fighting centered around the efforts of both sides to get possession of this body. The Shoshones got the chief’s war bonnet. Then the Cheyennes rallied and drove them back. But the loss of their chief had taken the fight out of them, for the Shoshones again captured the body. The next day we slipped away from home and went down to the river again. Everything seemed quiet over in the Indian camp. The natives seemed to be resting. So my brother and I crossed the river. We slipped through the bushes and walked in among the tepees. Leaning against one of the tepees, we saw a willow pole about 10 feet long. Attached to the pole were several bloody objects, which my brother said were scalps. They must have been taken recently, because the flies were buzzing around them. One of the scalps had long gray hair, almost white. While we stood looking, we heard a noise behind us. We turned and there was a big Indian looking very angry. He pointed toward Huntsville and said “Pike-away,” which means get out. Believe me, we got out in a hurry. We had no trouble crossing the river, then running as fast as we could. At that time they stripped him of a beaded coat he was wearing, and I think they took his scalp. Then the Cheyennes charged back again and carried off the body. That ended the fighting. The Cheyennes gathered up their dead and wounded and retreated back up the trail to the south. The Shoshones followed the Cheyennes a short distance but soon returned to camp. The women and children came out of the bushes and busied themselves again in fixing up their camp. My brother and I slipped down from our tree and ran back home. When we returned home, we certainly were scolded. That night the Indians lighted campfires and were dancing in celebration of their victory. We could hear some Indian women crying and mourn- It was generally believed by the settlers that this band of Shoshones had recently attacked an emigrant train because of the scalps they had, and the additional fact of one of the squaws coming to town with a white baby in her arms. My mother made several offers to buy the infant, but the Indian woman refused. There was also a white girl about five years old with the band, but the Indians insisted that she was a half-breed. The red men stayed in camp several weeks, but finally moved up the river and on out of Ogden Valley. Gillespie Construction Mike Gillespie, General Contractor Licensed & Insured Custom Homes Pole Barns / Outer Buildings Metal Roofs Custom Remodeling Additions Free Estimates 745-6106 Professional Quality & Dependable Service C.E.R.T. (Community Emergency Response Team) is still in need of donations in the event of an emergency. If you have supplies you would like to donate please contact Linda Spencer at 399-8417 or 745-0805. |