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Show i . ' - "C ' 41 , " i: I ' v .' " ' 1 A - v : .. v- .1.--, , : PETER GOTTFREDSON, Indian War Veteran, who was 83 years old on April 17, 1929. Utah In The Rough By PETER GOTTFREDSON Installment No. 5 A CRICKET DRIVE' 1864 In August the grass got dry in the hills and the country south of Hilltop was covered with large wingless black crickets. The female crickets had forked tails more than an inch in length which they bored into the ground the full length and between the prongs , discharged their eggs in a hole. While they were laying eggs they could not pull loose and many were crushed by being stepped on; there were so many that we could not walk without stepping on them. When a cricket was wounded, other crickets, three or four at a time would eat it alive while it was struggling to ;et away. As the grass dried in the hills the crickets came down in the valley where the grass had more juice in it. A band of Indians who were camped in the valley had a cricket drive. A big ditch that brought water from the creek to water some meadow land, ran down through th valley. The squaws made long willow baskets that they placed in the ditch for the crickets to float into. The male Indians took long willows and would string along about twenty feet apart and whip the ground behind the crickets, driving them toward the ditch. The crickets crick-ets were so numerous they woul pile over each other till they tumbled into the ditch and float down into the baskets. When a basket was nearly full a squaw would lift it out to empty it in big piles and cover them with big blankets to keep them from getting away until they smothered. My brother and I helped drive. At this drive they got a lot of crickets, more than fifty bushels. The Indians would crush the crickets and some berries together and make them inic loaves the size of a persons head. The loaves were placed in holes in the ground about eighteen inches deep and buried there for about a month while they went through a swet, or fermentation.. After that I do not know what they did with them. The berries they used were service berries that grew In the hills, black and red currants that grew along the creek, rur squaw berries and some choke cherries. At one time an ox got into a spring hole and drowned. I got a team and pulled it out and skinned it. Some Indians asked if they could have the meat. They cut open the ox and young Indians reached in and got the tallow off the entrails, shook off some of the blood and ate it. They cut up and took the meat. At one time I followed some cattle tracks into the west mountain over hills and canyons to the foot of Mount Nebo, a distance of ten or twelve miles. It looked as if the cattle had been driven driv-en but I could see no tracks except of the stock. It was late in the day when I started back and night overtook over-took me. The night was dark and I had forgotten how many canyons I had crossed and went down a wrong canyon. Near midnight I was attacked at-tacked by a lot of dogs. I knew that they were Indian dogs and that a camp was near. The dogs were fierce and had it not been for my dog Tyler. I do not know what the result would have' been. I yelled and two Indian? came up and called oft the dogs. I went with them to their camp. The Indians knew me and called me the sheep captain. Some young squaxs came out of the wikiup and stirred up a fire and roasted deer meat for me They offered me some of their cricket bread made of crickets and berries. They called it "Queash." I pointed at the cricket legs and said they were "Kav wino." they laughed and told me it was "wino." ' The Indians offered me blankets to sleep in. but I toid them my folks would be worried about me and Would be out hunting for me." An Indian went down the canyon with me about a mile to where a trail led to the valley. I got to the herd-house herd-house about day break. The folks had been worried but did not know which way to go to look for me. |