affairs at home—start for fort supply—illness of myself and family—gift of healing—trouble with indians at fort supply—turbulent red men—i help one off my bed—they persist in taking or destroying our property—we stop them—one attempts to kill me—indians retire from the fort—almost a conflict—i check the white men from shooting—indians withdraw—we send to governor young for assistance—our stock and guards driven in—indian agent appears with annuities—the savages submit—we guard day and night—indians more peaceful—reinforcements arrive from the governor—matters quiet down.
august 14, 1855, i went to salt lake city, and on september 3rd returned home. on the 5th my family were taken sick with cholera morbus.
notwithstanding this sickness, i started on my return to fort supply, for it was the faith of myself and family that if i went to my mission they would be healed. just as i mounted my horse to start out, my uncle, captain james brown, came along and said, "jimmie, are you going off and leaving your family sick?"
i told him, "yes, sir."
said he, "you are cold-hearted, and i would not do it."
when i told him that they with me believed that if i would go to my missionary labors they would be healed sooner than if i should neglect my duties in that line, he, with uplifted hands, said, "jim, you're right. go ahead, and god bless you. your family shall be healed, and not suffer. i will go in and pray for them." he did so, and i afterwards learned that they were healed the same hour that i proceeded on my journey. i did not see them again till december 20th, when they told me that they had not been sick one day after i left.
although when i started out i was very ill myself with the same trouble, and had to call at a friend's and get a dose of painkiller, and take a rest for an hour or two before i could proceed on my way to salt lake city, yet on the 13th i started for fort supply, and overtook the two wagons which had preceded me the day before. i travelled with them until the 17th, then left them and went on horseback forty-five miles to the fort. i was very sick for five days, so that i had to keep my bed part of the time. i found all well and the wheat harvest ready for the laborers, a heavy frost having injured the crops considerably. on friday, september 28th, i sent four men to invite washakie to the fort, and on the 29th we learned that chief tibunduets (white man's child) had just returned with his band from salt lake city. october 1st i sent isaac bullock and amenzo baker to visit him. they found him and all of his band feeling very bad and revengeful.
october 10th tibunduets and his band threw down our fencing and came charging up through our field, riding over wheat shocks, and singing war songs. at the same time the warriors from a camp above came into the fort with their weapons in their hands. our men tried to be friendly and talked peace to them, but it was not what they wanted. they said they were "heap mad," for when they were in salt lake city the big mormon captain had written with blood on their children, and a number of these had died while they were among the mormons. these indians refused the seats offered them, but jumped on the beds and behaved very saucily, saying they wanted pay for the death of their children who had died on the mormon lands. of course, we could not afford to give presents of that kind, and their demands were rejected.
three of the hostile indians went to my room, and one engaging me in conversation, the other two jumped on my bed and stretched themselves full length on it. my cousin james m. brown called my attention to their rude actions, and i turned around and told them to get off my bed, but they answered with a contemptuous laugh. i told them a second time, and they sneered again. i stepped to the side of the bed and told them the third time, and as they refused, i jerked one of them off the bed so quickly that it surprised him, and the other one thought he preferred to get off without that kind of help, and did so quickly.
tibunduets made heavy demands on us, which we could not comply with. we told him that we were not prepared to do his bidding, and he replied, "you're a wolf and a liar, and you will steal." then the indians turned their horses into our fields among our shocks of wheat and oats, while their women went to digging and sacking our potatoes, the indians throwing down our fences in many places and ordering our men out of the fields. they told us to leave their lands, and continued their insults until i sent some men out to order their women out of the potato patch. the squaws only laughed at our men, who returned and reported the results. then i went out myself, and as i passed a brush fence, i caught up a piece of brush and started towards the potato diggers, who screamed and ran away before i got near enough to use the stick.
i returned to the house and soon was followed by two young braves, who rode up in front of the door and called for the captain. i answered in person, when the braves said, "you heap fight squaw, you no fight injun." they continued their insulting words and threats of violence, until at last i ordered them out of the fort, upon which one of them drew his bow and pointed his arrow at me, within three feet of my breast. at that one of my men pushed the horse's head between me and the arrow. at the same time amenzo baker handed me a colt's revolver, and another man covered the indian with a revolver.
at that movement the indians started for the big gate, and as there was quite a number of warriors inside the fort i called my men out with their guns, for the indians seemed determined on bloodshed. they rushed outside, and the white men followed them to where a young chief sat on his horse, just outside of the gate. there must have been a signal given to the camp above, for the warriors came running with their rifles in hand, until seventy-five to one hundred warriors were on the ground, while there were only about forty white men. everybody wanted to say something, and in the confusion that followed some ten or twelve men leveled their guns to shoot, being in such close quarters that they struck each other as they brought their weapons into position.
at that moment i sprang under the guns and held some of them up, and forbade the men to shoot. this act seemed to please the young chief, and he commanded his men to desist. i ordered my men back and into their bastions, and to bar the gate. this done, i took a position in the watchtower, where i talked with their chief through a porthole, and told him that we were in a position to do them harm, but did not wish to do so, yet they must withdraw in peace and not molest our property, for we should defend it and ourselves to the best of our ability. i said that if they would withdraw peacefully we would not interfere with them, but to that they would not agree. after considerable parleying, however, they did withdraw to their camp among the cottonwood timber and willows on the creek, and built large fires, around which they danced and sang war songs the greater part of the night, while we made every possible preparation for defense.
as captain of the fort, i wrote a despatch to the governor and superintendent of indian affairs, stating the facts. then we covered with blankets a slab bridge that had to be crossed near the gates, to deaden the sound of the horse's feet as he went out, and a clever young man by the name of benjamin roberts speeded away with the note to salt lake city.
on the 11th all was quiet. a few indian lodges remained near our fort, and the women and children were around them as usual, so isaac bullock and i went down to learn what the situation was. we found some of them friendly, while others were very sulky. the main part of the indian camp had gone down the creek, and we thought it safe to turn our stock out under a mounted guard, with one man in the watchtower to keep a lookout. about 2 p.m. the man at the watchtower sounded an alarm, saying he saw a great dust in the north; and a few minutes later he shouted that a large body of horsemen was in sight, coming rapidly from the north, while our horse guards were coming with our band of horses, hastening with all speed to the fort. immediately every man was called to take a position for prompt action. i occupied a commanding place, giving instructions to the men not to shoot without my order, and then not unless they felt sure of making every shot tell. they were told to see that every tube was filled with powder, "for here they come," said i; "keep cool boys, for it is a close race with our men and horses."
it was a question of which would reach the fort first, they or the indians. the race was so close that the guards with our band just succeeded in getting in with the animals in time to close the gates against the indian ponies, whose riders called out, "open the gates!" they were answered with a positive "no! not until you give up your arms." they had three mountain men in their party of over one hundred warriors, who shouted that they would be responsible if we would let them in, for the indian agent, george armstrong, was a short distance in the rear, with two wagons loaded with goods for the indians.
as i had not been advised of the agent's approach from any other source, i still refused them admittance. soon the agent's wagons were in sight, and some of his party came up and told the indians they would have to give up their arms before they could enter the fort, for the captain was determined not to allow them in with their arms. at last they submitted, and the gate was opened just wide enough for one man to pass through. i stepped outside, the indians handed their arms to me, i passed them to the other men, and they placed them on a part of a wagon sheet. then the weapons were bound up strongly and taken away and put in my room, and a guard placed over them. the indians were then told that they could enter the fort and pass directly into the blockhouse, but would not be permitted to wander around in the fort.
about this time the agent's wagons rolled up and were hastily unloaded. then a friendly smoke took place, and a short council, in which the indians agreed that they would withdraw in peace and go to their hunting grounds, and would not molest us any more. they said we might remain on their lands let our stock eat grass and drink water in peace; that we might cultivate the lands and use what timber we wanted, and that they would be our friends, and we their friends. the goods the agent had for the indians were then turned over to them.
on the 13th the red men brought in a report that the sioux indians had killed one of jack robinson's beeves. this they did to screen themselves, for it was they and not the sioux who had killed the animal. the agent gave them a beef ox, and they moved down the creek. on the 14th the agent and party returned home, and we kept up a guard day and night to prevent being surprised by the renegades of the indian camps; for we had evidence of their treachery. we had given them back their arms, and when they obtained all we had for them they said the white man was "heap good, shoshone no kay nabatint mormon." (shoshones do not want to fight mormons.) they packed and left, feeling quite pleased.
general r. t. burton with a party of twenty-five men were met at fort bridger on the 16th, by myself and a small party. on the 17th i went with them to fort supply, while they concluded to send out a scout to ascertain whether the indians really had crossed the green river or not, thinking that if they did we could be satisfied that all was right. when our scouts returned and reported that all had crossed the river and gone farther on, general burton and command returned home, while myself and men did up our fall work at fort supply.
