OCR Text |
Show Early Indian Experiences We old Indian War Veterans are Klad for services rendered by Historian His-torian Peter Gottfredson in col-lecting col-lecting a story on Indian depredations depre-dations in Utah, but. when a Dar-ticipant Dar-ticipant in that war knows that he got his information from the most egotistic men that ever lived it is a wonder that it is as correct as it is. I have heard some of them quarrel for hours on some particular partic-ular skirmish that took place and the conversation ran thus:" I vas dare and you vas not dare. I ran Prove by Brother Gorgensen I vas dare and you vas home etc' Thus they hindered one another from getting their just pensions. " one aid succeed in getting one he hardly ever would sign applications appli-cations for a fellow soldier H would say, "i will lose mine if I do" showing a specie of ignorance ignor-ance unwarranted, and thus tangled tang-led up matters and made it impossible im-possible for those , who deserve recognition most or their widows after their departure. In August, 1912, the Indian War Veterans were guests at Spanish Fork. The late Joseph U. West-wood, West-wood, Commander in Chief, introduced intro-duced us to a veteran who had signed 93 applications for pensions. pen-sions. He did not know some personally, per-sonally, but he said none of those faithful pioneers would take an oath before the Lord if they had not served hence his confidence. What a differenc attitude, what a friend to his fellow men, and he didn't lose his pension either; It would have been better if Brother GottfrecTson had received more of his information from more conservative con-servative men, like the Seelys and others of Mt. Pleasant who said too little. Those kind of people didn't claim to be present everywhere. every-where. But we are still glad for such as the account runs. We boys, who were from 12 to 16 years of age, who were substitutes at many a tight plac&, are entirely left out. If they did herd stock and horses and hunt for them when lost in the 'most dangerous places, the slogan was "Send The Boys! We Have Families." I have no criticism for the late. Nieis O. Anderson of Ephraim. He and Ole Larson were the best shots at target practice we had in the land. Ole did his best to secure se-cure a pension for me. The Pension Pen-sion Bureau required that another man sign with him and this man refused. Brother Niels O. Anderson received re-ceived some of his information from vasent dare people. Hence I want to add my personal experience experi-ence of that terrible day when 7 people- were killed at Ephraim. The late Christian Christiansen, his brother, Parley, late of May-field, May-field, this writer, my brother, Neils, and other boys were in Ot-terstroms Ot-terstroms Canyon getting wood when all at once Captain Peter Isaacson came upon us from over the hill out of the canyon with two Indians in hot pursuit. He had a close call as he had taken his shoes off and as a result had a prickley pear in. his foot. While he was pulling it out the Indians came quite close. We left our oxen ox-en yoked to shift for themselves, and they came out all right. Criss Christensen led us boys home in safety while Isaacson went elsewhere else-where to help. When we reached home ws learned other things were happening. happen-ing. Nine of us boys got on Father Rasmussen's house. We saw Jene , Woods chase Captain Whitlock in to town and saw Black Hawk in ' conversation with Father Willard-sen, Willard-sen, who had his horses staked in a field East of the county road. Willardsen plead tor his three Beautiful Be-autiful horses, but the Hawk wanted them too and he shot an arrow pretty close. Willardsen took the hint and went home gladly. In part anyhow, we saw the Indians In-dians chase the Jorgensen family who were gleaning in the field. The mother, two girls, and a boy crawled into a brick kiln. They came out in safety when the Indians In-dians had gone. We saw Father Pehs Pehrson. who didn't have feet, and his cow herds come home as fast as he could whistle and whip. He showed every indication indi-cation of being in a hurry. At least he left the cows and horses to shift for themselves. The Indians In-dians did the rest. The next terrible sight was the killing oi Kuhre and his wife whe had been out of sight behind a bush where th';7 had been digging potatoes. Four Irdians were chas-in' chas-in' them -ne rid.ng on a white horse; the others looked quite young. Three of them emptied their guns. Brother Kuhre fell on his face in a dead furrow as it is called. His wife then took the baby. ba-by. The girl was shot with arrows, one through the left arm one half protruding each way. One of the Indians shot Sister Kuhre with a gun in the back of the neck, the bullet coming out under the left eye. She screamed, "Help! Help!" I jumped off the house and ran to her. I saw the Indians examine exam-ine the sex of the child and then throw it back onto its mother. I noticed her still breathing. The boy said to me, "Mamma." His blue demming dress had blood on I pulled him off his mother. Soon Buel Anderson, a very splendid Swedish woman, took him away. She and her husband had no children. The next I saw was a wagon and mule team belonging to Fa ther Peter Thompson, driven by a man they, called Niels Posmaster; I don't know his right name. Then came Martin Bensen, Jim Hansen, Alfred Pehrsen and I believe Yarn Dragoon, who loaded the dead into in-to the wagon and took them to the first ward school house with all the dead of that horrible day. The late John Williams of Emery, Em-ery, Utah told me this story when Sister Buel Anderson and I were with the dead rescuing the living. liv-ing. The Indians were returning to wait on us when John Williams grabbed a revolver from Mrs. Soren Nielsen and with it turned. Then talk about excitement! Some had scythes, some pitchforks. The mayor of the city locked his family fam-ily upstairs. There was no trying; a panic was on. The Indians would soon invade the town. In all my experience there is nothing like an Indian scare scalping, burning at the stake, torturing all these are anticipated and looked look-ed for. After this sad event, which 1 can never erase from my memory, we went to the Guard Knoll. We saw the Indians ride in a figure 8, loading guns on the far side, coming com-ing back in turns. White Horse would ride closer than anybody. Some of the men could hear trie bullets spat on his rawhide shield. It was too much for him when the boys began to shoot directly at his white horse. He always felt him self so secure. The two Indians that had chased chas-ed captain Isaacsen were on the highest hill near by on the North, giving all the commands. They assured Black Hawk that no soldiers sol-diers had gone through Kane Valley and Otterstrom Canyon and they felt safe to withdraw from the battle field. If men had gone through Otterstrom Canyon the invaders would have to" switch to Willow Creek Canyon. The squaws were on hand all the time to care for the cattle and horses while the men did the fighting. I make no apology for my version. ver-sion. I saw, heard and understood the commands and signs given, part of the time with a looking-glass looking-glass and the sun throwing glares on the different scenes. They knew if they proceeded up the canyon there would be some dead there, but none alive to encounter. The late John Sorensen, merchant mer-chant of Ephraim., and his aged father, Niels Sorensen, whose son, Jense, was killed in Salina Canyon, Can-yon, were down in the bottom of the field one day. John switched his father over into Cow Lane where he was hurrying for town as fast as he could. John had a myre slue between him and the Indians who were riding Father Willardson's horses. They would not cross the slue, nor would they let the Indians shoot their guns. When the Indians got off to shoot John would lie down flat on the ground. When they finally got across John switched into the lane. His father switched oyer into in-to the other field and both reached reach-ed home. It was a skillful movement. move-ment. The Willardson horses were not broken well enough to ride, especially by Indians. President Brigham Young had told the people to build fences and big pens that would last for 60 years, not something that they would have to rawhide together the next day. The people did this. You would find a post with a cap on and a log on top 60 feet long, dragging behind a wagon as a orake down the steep canyon dug-ways. dug-ways. You could find 100 of them left along the road where the team was unable to pull them any farther. These kind of fences could not be pulled down easily by the Indians. The Sorensen's had : these advantages in their favor, i but it was a trive move on John's part The Lord no doubt h.'Y-ed them as the loss of Jense, who was so horribly mutilated in Salina Canyon was all they could stand. Mav 11th, the year is not given, the Ute Indians staged their last pitched battle. This also fell to the lot of poor afflicted Ephraim. Black Hawk had a brother callea Unk-Um-Bi-Yweri-Wich, meaning small diminuitive dwarf. He was a little ever 5 feet high and black as a frying pan. He was jealous cf White Horse who took Black Hawks place when he was wounded. wound-ed. He and his followers showed up early in the morning when the horse herd appeared South of Ephraim. J. P. Christensen, Mayor of the town, James Frost and John Thompsen, known as John Thor-um, Thor-um, were the herders. The mayor and Frost came to town and gave the alarm. Their trousers had worked themselves way above their knees and no doubt their feelings were worked higher up. Tho cry of "Indian!" was intensely intense-ly electrifying. Niels O. Anderson and his brother-in-law, Andrew Overlade, were near by getting wood; they too saw the raid on horse "herd. Sam Beal and John Thorum swung their blankets Indian fashion fa-shion and bucked the horses, scattering scat-tering them, thus saving many. We had in our ' town at that time a notorious bear hunter, Captain Thor Thurstenson, who soon gathered up eleven men including in-cluding the Indian, Sam Beal, and John Thorum. They made pursuit immediately up Ephraim Canyon while a larger group went up Willow Creek Canyon. The two canyons merge higher up on the mountain. The large group came home early in the afternoon and had not seen their eleven comrades. The people were very worried about those who had not returned. One soldier said although he hit his horse with his gun he could not make him go one step more up the mountain. President Canute Peterson asked ask-ed the man, "Joe, how on earth could you persuade that tired horse to bring you home and leave your friends to fight or die? Your horse must have felt much like your companions." It was a hard thrust at them all. When the Indians saw the big crowd had retired they halted, formed into a half moon and the eleven men hit square in the cir cle. Bullets came from everywhere, one horse being killed and two badly wounded. Some of the men dismounted and took shelter behind be-hind their horses. Sam Beal stood out in front cussing the Utes. No doubt he was thinking of the time when they killed his Shoshone parents and sold him into captivity. captiv-ity. Father William Beal bought him to save his life. Sam seemed to challenge death at all times. He lived some years with Major Claus Anderson in Grass Valley. For some reason he changed his name and came to Moab Valley in the early days. He received a real saloon cow boy shooting. Some of the earlv cow bov settlers. said he surely died game. But what is an Indian more or less? Vengeance seems worth dying for to them to avenge the death oi their parents. Towards sundown eleven tired and paie men returned, some of them riding double. They were all made welcome. 'See page 287 in Gottfredson's Record for names ) Hearing the Indians side of the story they say an old Indian was badly wounded. He came out in the open, laid on his back, ana shot arrows, using his feet to spring the bow. The Indians don't leave their dead or wounded to the enemy. Four other Indians came to carry him away and they were also killed. In the meantime the eleven heroes had withdrawn from the battlefield, not knowing the damage they had done. -The Indians claimed the white men had better guns and Unk-Um-Bi-Yweri-Wich felt that his raid that day was not a success. So you see, dear reader, if an Indian interpreter stands in well with the Indians he finds out many things on the Indians side, his failures and difficulties. In the latter part of July or first of August, 1868, Black Hawk and some of his band came down to Ephraim. They pitched their tepees in Kane HoUow where there was an abundance of grass and a canal. A Peace Parley was expected soon when an Indian agent would arrive with gifts from the government. The agent had been delayed for some reason so we youngsters availed ourselves of the oppotunity of seeing real buckskin smoked tepees and other Indian trinkets. We had not seen j Black Hawk and White Horse I since that terrible day at Ephraim on October 17, 1865. They were here now for peace which Black Hawk had asked for the year' before be-fore and joy was manifest everywhere. every-where. We met in a large bowery near the North end of the first ward school house within the walls ol the newer fort built around the tabernacle square. Apostle Orson Hyde presided. After a fervent prayer filled with gratitude and speeches by Orson Hyde, the agent, ag-ent, whose name I think was Mead or Head, and others, they told of the beauty of love and peace and deplored the resort to war. Demick B. Huntington acted as interpreter and no better Ute interpreter than he lived in Utah. Black Hawk spoke of his sorrow for the need of war and doubted that the people could quite forgive for-give him for the wrongs he had done. He asked for a trusty white man to- escort him on a visit to see his friends at the North ot Payson and Santaquin, near where he was born. He wished for lasting last-ing peace and he was promised a guard and safety in his desired race mission. He had his hair cut so as to be as much like his white brothers as possible, a sign of true subjection and humiliation by an Indian. We now come to a different character, White Horse Chief or his Indian. Shinavegin , meaning son of Deity. He mounted the highest table in the bowery and said he deplored the fact that his chief had been so severely wounded, wound-ed, but he had carried on to the best of his ability, which he referred re-ferred to "as not too successful. He said he was willing to quit on the condition that the white men would deal with them square. One particular event he referred to was at Manti. He said, "I have a stout young man and he can throw your stout young man. All right. My man get thrown down. All right. But when two young men pull my man off horse and throw his hip out of joint on hard ground and make cripple for life no good." This in his opinion started the war, not John Lowrey, but the younger, inexperienced, foolish boys, too anxious to punish pun-ish the Indians. We went down to rich Hans Hansen's lawn. His comfortable rock house v as built in the middle of a block oi. the South side of the main creek before the town was surveyed, hence its peculiar location. Here we formed a half circle with Orson Hyde, Agent Huntington, Black Hawk, Shinav-agin, Shinav-agin, Yenewoods and others. The squaws and children sat in a row behind. A big stout Indian pipe of peace, which was used for many like occasions, was passed. After the pipe was smoked you were re-quiied re-quiied to be silent and to think only deep, solemn thoughts. Then the agent arose and gave lots of red and green blankets to the Indians In-dians who wrapped them around themselves although the day was hot. When an abundance of Black Jack tobbaco was given to the Indians In-dians some of the white people wished they were indians long enoueh to eet some tobbaco. cof fee, sugar, shirts, etc. I don't remember how they were provided with dinner but I think an ox barbecue was given for the Indians at Hansens. It was a glorious day for Ephraim. I think Bishop Dorious, Wm. J Armstrong, Mrs. Eliza Beal Pehrson, Pehr-son, John Beal and maybe others can testify to this peace event staged at Ephraim as it was the last one. Chief White Horse had no objection ob-jection to wrestling which consisted consist-ed of back holds, gouging each other with their knuckles and twisting sideways until one of the contestants fell on he ground; but at this time the Indian champion didn't want to wrestle. The Manti wrestlers jerked him from his horse, crippling him for life. One of the two Indian boys riding the one horse was also injured, in-jured, hence, White Horse's justification justi-fication for going to war. A number of men claimed to have killed Black Hawk. No one-ever one-ever did. He died right where he was born. In a battle in Spanish Fork Canyon called "The Fight on the Diamond" the company was led by Colonel Greer, a veteran now dead. He told me Black Hawk got out on High Point and spatted his hands in contempt of his pursuers. pur-suers. A man with field glasses saw this and a soldier from Spanish Span-ish Fork took a chance shot at him with a big yoger, one of the best guns- at that time as it used a bigger bullet. He utterly castigated casti-gated the chief and he never sat on a horse only sideways for three years. When he came to Ephraim to the above described pow-wow he led his horse with his youngest young-est son, who was four years old Black Hawk was thin and pale, a sad and dejected man. He looked more like a skeleton compared with his looks at the Ephraim massacre October, 17, 1863. Some time after the war was settled old Jene Woods came to Ephraim to visit. Some of the men nagged him about shooting Cap- I tain Whitlock and Larsen. He undertook un-dertook to explain that had he ! been riding on the right side of the team ;nstead of the left he could have done better shooting. The people had no business to ask this simple minded Indian why he did not kill. He told them why he did not succeed. The joke was on him. As he saw it war was war and there could be no war without someone getting killed. kill-ed. To him the hatchet was buried. bur-ied. Not so with his white brothers. broth-ers. Vengence was sweet. When he left five men followed him and he was buried down in the Ephraim hay bottoms. Another Indian was sitting on the banks of Sanpich river fishing. Some one took a shot at him and all you could see of him was a red blanket floating down the stream. It is hard to tell when the war was really over. Vengeance seemed seem-ed to be still in the air and suspicion sus-picion ran high for many years. Respectfully, ' O. L. CHRISTENSEN, Indian V.'ar Veteran and Indian Interpreter. Moab, Utah, Box 116. |