OCR Text |
Show a wild man and hermit. Niplgan Is a Ute Indian, at one time a great' war chief, whose unnatural existence near tho White Rock agency has attracted the attention of the inhabitants of that section for many years. Mr. Anderson states that Niplgan ptill hovers, naked, over his flickering flro in the shelter of a blanket suspended sus-pended on two slicks, now and then gnawing a bone or discarded remnant of meat brought to him by his Indian relatives. Even in the coldest weather and with two foot of snow upon tho ground, this mad savage persists in hia atonement for some fancied crlmo of his younger life, uttering no sound, and exhibiting his human instincts only when offered a piece ot money by a visitor. This he will accept, but his watchful relatives soon deprive him of the gift which means nothing to him but will provide them with necessities. The accepted story about this Indian has heretofore been to the effect that he murdered his own mother some A') or 40 years ago, and has become insane in-sane from brooding over it. A later tale, however, is told of his stealing a white girl from her two brothers, ' emigrants, en route to California, in tho early days. The brothers alter-1 ward secured possession ot tho girl, for whom tho young chief was passionately pas-sionately fond, and the loss of hl3 ) fair captive wrecked hla mind. Supervisor Anderson relates another tale of the White Rock agency which Is well vouched for by other people of that section. It Is about an Indian who was recently scared to death by a monkey, tho first that he had ever seen. A saloonkeeper bought tho little lit-tle animal in Ogden and took It home with him. Soon after Its arrival it managed to escape and was discovered discov-ered tho following day by the Indian as he was riding toward home. The monkey was seated upon the top of a tall pole and as his red discoverer dis-coverer approached it proceeded to beckon to him and go through a number num-ber of antics much to the eonslerna-I eonslerna-I tlon of the Indian. The latter, who ! had never heard of such a bea3t, immediately im-mediately concluded that it was the spirit of the victim of some previous crime of hi, an 1 ho hastened to the tepee of a brother and borrowed a gun. H'.'fcro loavhi? his relative he con- j fesfod his crime and thou departed on his search for the ghobt. That was the last time he was seen alive, aa j his deal body was round soon arter-I arter-I Wnrd. near the pole and upon a hay-slack hay-slack nearby was the monkey with a Flight gunshot wound In its body. Death had apparently come Irom heart trouble and fright and It Is surmised that after wounding the animal it started toward him gesticulating, a a monkey is known to do when wounded wound-ed by a himter, and the effect was too much for the Indian's nerve. The monkey is still alive and well. 1 SUPERVISOR OF ASHLEY FOREST IN OGDEN ON LIMITED DETAIL AT DISTRICT OFFICES. Relates Story of Niplgan, the Aged Ute Chief, and His Weird, Mysterious Life. Suporvlsor W. M. Anderson, or the Ashley forest at Vernal, Utah. Is In the city on a limited detail at the district dis-trict ofUces of the Forest Service, aud was Interviewed by a re preaentatlve of The Standard regarding the section of the state from whence he came. According to Mr. Andert-on. as well as nijinerona other returned travellers from Vernal and the White IUck country, coun-try, that district la still prolltlc in Its product ion of tho weird and mysterious. mys-terious. By many readers will be rtcalled the famous Nipijrau, 02 years of ase, who. since the com Wis of the white man to ilia native bealh, hus lived the lllc ot |