Utah History

INDIANS AT MANTI BROKE JAIL, THREE INDIANS KILLED, FIVE ESCAPE.

Chief Sanpitch, who had been so reluctant to sign the treaty drawn up and presented to his fellow chieftains at Spanish Fork on June 8th of the previous year, 1865, was quick to violate his pledge when opportunity offered and when Black Hawk’s successes proved sufficient to seduce him from his al- legiance, he joined in some of the depredations planned by the renegade chiefs, though not with the latter ‘s good fortune for he was one of those taken prisoner at Nephi on April 12th. Sanpitch and the other Indian prisoners at Manti broke jail, April 14, 1866. From Wm. A. Cox of Manti we learn the following: The Indians broke out of the jail late in the evening, and five of them got away. Andrew Van Buren and an Indian by the name of Aukewakets ran over a pile of rocks and leaped over a fence. As they ran over the rock pile each stooped and picked up a good sized rock raised up ready to strike. VanBuren being a little the quickest brought the Indian to his knees, and then took an old jack knife with a broken backspring from his pocket, after which he and the Indian clutched each other by the throat. Van Buren succeeded in opening the knife with one hand and his teeth and cut the Indian’s throat.

When W. A. Cox in the darkness of the night passed the end of a pile of fence posts, he thought he saw something move under the end of the posts ; he kicked under and an Indian jumpem up with a loud “wah.” Cox stepped back and with his revolver shot the Indian in the bowels. The Indian coming at him he fired again and shot the savage in the breast.

When Warren Snow passed a shed that night an Indian came out after him. Brother Snow heard him, but it was so dark he could not see him; he struck the Indian with his gun, breaking the stock, but kill- ed the redskin.

GENERAL SNOW ARRESTS A GAMP OF INDIANS AT NEPHI.

On Monday, March 12th, 1866, General Warren S. Snow of Manti arrested some Indians at a camp a couple of miles northeast of Nephi, in Juab County. One Indian who tried to escape, was shot down; four others were tried in court and by order of the chief was taken out of town and shot for complicity in several raids. Eight others, including Chief Sanpitch, were taken to Manti and placed in jail. Early in April the ecclesiastical and military authorities of some of the settlements of southern Utah asked for assistance from neighboring counties. One of the first to respond was Iron County, which sent twenty-four men with teams to help build a fort on the Sevier River for the protection of the set Hers. General Daniel H. Wells recognized in the movements of the hostiles the indications of a disastrous war and at once ordered all the available men of the three counties, Sanpete, Sevier and Piute to be mustered into service as cavalry and infantry and or- ganized for defense. But no vigilance was equal to the task of defeating the designs of the sleepless foe, the strength of whose forces was now increased to over three hundred warriors, and the celerity of whose movements defied every precaution.

RAID ON CIRCLEVILLE, FOUR PERSONS KILLED

Indians made a raid on Circleville, Piute County November 26, 1865, killing four persons and drove off most of the stock belonging to Circleville.

Mrs. Mads Nielsen of Spring City wrote the fol- lowing graphic account of this raid and of what befell her and her husband. “On the morning of the 26th of November 1865, my husband, Mads Nielsen and I left Marysvale for Circleville our home, returning from a visit to Salt Lake City. When within ten miles of home we passed another team which was driven by my Brother-in-Law, James Monsen. Being so near home we thought there would be no danger of Indians. When we reached a point about three miles from town and was driving around a hill, we saw a herd of cattle being driven toward the mouth of the canyon. I became very much frightened, believing it was Indians, and I begged my husband to turn back. But as he thought the Indians had already seen us, he suggested that by driving fast we might reach a company of men who were in pursuit of the Indians. In a few minutes the Indians left the stock and with a yell started towards us. Our horses were very tired, but we urged them on, thinking we might reach a swamp about three- fourths of a mile ahead, but in this we did not succeed. The Indians rode up to us, and one of them was in the act of shooting my husband, who, however, frightened him away some distance by pointing an old revolver at him. I suppose I am now safe in tell- ing that the revolver was an old broken one, but of course, we did not tell the Indian so. Mr. Redskin now turned and shot our best horse, which of course stopped the team. At the request of my husband, I with my two year old brother in my arms, jumped from the wagon, while the Indian was reloading his gun. Willows were growing along the road, but as they were low they did not afford much protection. The Indian again mounted his horse and rode around trying to get a chance to shoot my husband. At this juncture I jumped into a slough that was near, in which the water reached up to my neck, but I preferred drowning to being captured by the Indians. My husband again pointed the revolver at the Indian who again turned back. My husband then took my little brother whom I was holding up out of the water and I climbed out of the slough. We walked a short distance and tried to cross the swamp at an- other point, but were headed off by ten Indians. Hence we got into the water again. The little boy began to cry because the water was so cold, and we left the slough once more. I sat down behind a bunch of willows taking the little boy in my lap, and my husband stood over us to give what protection he could. The Indians did not follow us into the the willows, but turned their attention to the wagon and its belongings. They cut the harness from the wounded horse, leaving the collar, and took the wagon cover off. They emptied the flour on the ground, cut the feather bed tick and scattered all the feathers, threw all the dishes out of the wagon, breaking all but one plate which I still have. They also took all of our clothing. While they were destroying the contents of the wagon, an old man named Froid, who had traveled in our company, arrived at the top of the hill and saw the Indians. He might have escaped all right if he had gone back himself at once, but he ran around his steers to drive them back. The Indians saw him, and followed him into the hills about a mile and killed him.

Just before my sister and her husband reached the ridge they were met by two men who had been sent out to guard the cattle. These men said that while they were sitting in a bunch of willows eating their dinner the Indians came out of the canyon and held a council close to them. One of the men had a dog with him, and he sat and held its mouth to prevent him from making a noise, and thus they escaped being discovered. These men informed my brotherin-law that the Indians had made a raid on the set- tlement. As they traveled on through the hills, my sister and her husband found the body of the old gentleman Froid, whom the Indians had killed. When they reached the top of the hill they could see our wagon, and the wounded horse lying by it; they thought we had been killed. We being hid in the willows could not hear my sister crying. My husband crawled out to a point where he could see them. And as he saw four persons he thought the two men were Indians and we dared not go to them. It was now getting dark and we had remained in the willows since two o’clock in the afternoon. We got out of the willows and started for the settlement without following the wagon road. We reached our home about an hour after my sister and her husband arrived.

It was late in the evening; we were both bareheaded and my clothes were frozen stiff on my body. My little brother had gone to sleep.

When we entered the house it was full of people who had gathered because it had been reported that we had been killed.

It is needless to say that our meeting was a happy one.

Mads Nielsen died in Spring City, March 9th 1899.”

-Ellen A. Nielsen

Sent to P. Gottfredson, April 15th, 1907.

At the time when the Indians took the stock at Circleville they killed Hans Christian Hansen, who was about a mile or more east of town with the stock, and Orson Barney and Ole Heilersen, two boys thirteen years old, who were out searching for cows.

BATTLE AT RED LAKE, SNOW, TAYLOR AND FRANSEN WOUNDED.

Nearly two months had passed since there had been any serious outbreak. But Indians were prowling round Circleville, and it was reported that they had a rendezvous somewhere near Fish Lake, east of Sevier Valley.

General Warren S. Snow with 103 men went up the River as far as Circleville ; he had with him Colonel John Ivie’s company of cavalry from Mount Pleasant, and Captain N. S. Beache ‘s company from Manti, with some recruits from other companies; they went to investigate the condition of affairs and arrived in Circleville September 18, 1865. On the 19 they marched up the east fork of the Sevier to Clover Flat, where they encamped for the night. There they got onto the Indian’s trail, which they follwed over the plateau between Grass and Rabbit Valleys. Night overtook them before reaching the latter valley; it was raining and very dark; they made camp in the head of a very rough canyon. Early next morning (September 21st) Ezra Shoemaker and another man went out to reconnoiter; they found the track of a pony which had come within half a mile of camp and turned back ; they reported what they had seen. The company then worked their way down the canyon. When they reached the flat country, at a small lake or pond called Bed Lake, near Thousand Lake Mountain, they made a halt. General Snow and Col. Ivie went up a black, rock ridge to ge t a view of the country and its surroundings. When near the top, Col. Ivie saw a ramrod wiggling behind a brush only a few paces away, and exclaimed ” There they are,” when a volley was fired from ambush, one bullet hitting and seriously wounding General Snow in the shoulder.

The men retreated to the company, when a general battle ensued; the Indians firing from ambush on top of the hill. The Indians over-shot the billets singing over the heads of the soldiers, striking in the water, fairly making it boil. Orson Taylor of Richfield received a serious gun-shot wound in the side. George Frandsen of Mount Pleasant, while concealed in a gully, trying to get a shot at an Indian he had seen, received a bullet high in the forehead, the missle plowing through his hair and fill- ing his eyes arid face with blood, but it caused no further injury. A short retreat was ordered for the purpose of getting flanking movements on the savages, when it was noticed that one o.f the pack animals had been left behind. Ezra Shoemaker of Manti and an- other man went back, and in the midst of a shower of bullets from the enemy recovered the animal with the pack. The fighting continued till night and several Indians were killed. The militia crossed back over the mountain in the night to Grass Valley and made camp. Next day they marched down King’s Meadow Canyon to Glendwood, where they separated and returned to their respective homes.