TOLD by the PIONEERS - Washington Secretary of State

Told
by the Pioneers
Then we came dow11 onto Crab Creek where our troubles commenced.
We discovered that the gentle warmth of springtime had made a premature
appearance, for the weather suddenly turned cold again, forcing
us to go into camp. Ice froze to the depth of a foot. April 1st
we were on the Spokane river, to which we had made our way through
two feet of snow. The aspect of the intervening wilderness had been
dreary, indeed, and the lugubrious howling of coyotes had served only
to accentuate its loneliness and desolation. But the range was simply
grand; bunch grass was everywhere in abundance and for years furnished
subsistence for tens of thousands of cattle and horses. We
sold our cattle to a man named Lord at ten cents a pound on foot, a
good price, but no more than it was worth to drive the animals so far.
During the entire trip I had not removed my clothes, and when I
arrived in camp they were mouldy on my back. We remained in town
a few days and then set out on our return trip to Spokane, walking
back as I had walked in. One afternoon, about four o'clock, while
plodding along with Washingion, who was as companionable as most
Indians are, I was startled by hearing a voice on my left. Turning
sharply, I saw a monstrous negro standing on a high log some two
hundred feet away. "What is it?" I asked. The negro inquired if I
had seen a cattleman named Thorpe in to·W11 and if so, where he was.
He explained that he and his companions were friends of the stockman
and were anxious for his safety. I replied that I had seen such
a man, that he had sold his cattle and was probably on his way out.
They wanted to know if I knew him and where I had last seen him.
From the first, I had been suspicious of the ugly looking gang before
me. The negro was accompanied by three white men, all mounted.
I represented myself as a financially embarrassed prospector, disgusted
with the country . The Indian kept out of sight. The men invited
me to camp with them, but I chose to t.ravel as long as possible.
I camped off trail without a fire. Next day I met a German, who inquired
if I had passed a small party of men with a big black horse.
Later I met another man who said they had stolen a horse from him.
We learned the gang were outlaws. They were attacked in their
stronghold by enraged miners who shot their cabin to pieces. Of
course, all were riddled with bullet.s, one is said to have been hit not
fewer than thirteen times. Upon my return from a hurried trip home
to pay a balance due on the cattle, Jack and I decided to take the remainder
of the stock to Blackfoot, Montana, twenty-five miles from
the present city of Helena. We , ..'eut up the Spokane river to the
bridge kept by F. D. Schnebly, who later became a pioneer of Kittitas
County, crossed there and proceeded to the Coeur d'Alene Mission.
We crossed the Bitterroots by the Mullan military road, and late in
.Tuly we reached Blackfoot. By selling our cattle in small bands, we
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