THE SHEEP EATER CAMPAIGN. 



LT. M. D. HARDIN, U.S.A. 



In the spring of 1879, while troop G, 1st 

 Cavalry, in which I was then a corporal, was 

 stationed at that delightful post, Boise Bar- 

 racks, Idaho, orders were received direct- 

 ing the troop to take the field as soon as the 

 snow on the mountains would permit, in 

 search of some Indians who, during the 

 previous winter had murdered some Chi- 

 nese miners on Loon creek, Idaho. These 

 Indians were called " Sheep Eaters." I 

 had never heard of them before; but in- 

 quiry among pioneers brought the informa- 

 tion that they were a small band located 

 somewhere in the Salmon river country. 

 They had never been on a reservation, and 

 had been known since the early 6o's when 

 the gold fever first broke out in Idaho. 

 Some said the band was made up of rene- 

 gades from other tribes; and this is all the 

 information, concerning the origin of the 

 Sheep Eaters, I have ever received. 



We did not get started on our hunt until 

 about the last of May. As we were to travel 

 with pack-mule transportation, it was neces- 

 sary to go lightly equipped, with no tentage 

 save what could be made up of the one 

 piece of shelter-tent issued to each man. 

 The command consisted of troop G, 1st 

 Cavalry, about 50 men, and 2 civilian scouts, 

 under command of Brevet Colonel R. F. 

 Bernard, Captain 1st Cavalry — now Lieu- 

 tenant Colonel Qth Cavalry, and Brevet 

 Brigadier General U. S. Army. 



On leaving Boise City we at once struck 

 into the mountains to the Northward; 

 passed through Idaho City, and then disap- 

 peared from the world. From that time 

 until our return, 100 days later, we were 

 either climbing up or sliding down moun- 

 tains, making our own trail generally, and 

 keeping within the region that in the 10th 

 census report of Idaho is branded " Unex- 

 plored.'' 



On examining almost any map of Idaho 

 of that date, the reader might be persuaded 

 that somewhere in the section traversed by 

 us one might find a piece of level ground 

 large enough for a football field. But the 

 reader must not be deceived by the maps 

 published— that is, if they are all as bad as 

 the best I have seen. 



After the first 3 or 4 days deep snows re- 

 tarded the pack train, though we managed 

 to get through, and then had to go into 

 camp to wait for it to come up. As we were 

 52 hours ahead of our rations, this was 

 called Starvation Camp. 



With great difficulty we crossed another 

 snow covered divide and reached the de- 

 serted mining town of Oro Grande, on 

 Loon creek, the place where the Chinamen 



had been killed. Just before reaching Oro 

 Grande we had our first bit of excitement. 

 Two men were seen, on the opposite side of 

 the creek, making frantic efforts to escape. 

 We gave chase, charging by file along the 

 narrow trail, and soon came within hailing 

 distance of the fugitives, whom we found 

 to be white prospectors, very much fright- 

 ened, having mistaken us for Indians. 



The next few days we spent in trying to 

 work our way down Loon creek, which was 

 very high, and during this time it rained or 

 snowed upon us without ceasing. On and 

 on we went through beautiful mountains, 

 until our rations were about exhausted, 

 when we returned to Starvation Camp. 

 Here in a beautiful little valley we rested 12 

 days, while the train was sent to Boise Bar- 

 racks for more rations. But this was not 

 now a camp of starvation. We killed many 

 deer and blue grouse, and lived well. 



On the return of the train with fresh sup- 

 plies, we again set out on our hunt for 

 Sheep Eaters. Circling around through the 

 mountains, we explored all the streams 

 known or suspected to exist, finding plenty 

 of old, but no new, signs of Indians. 



Deer were plentiful, does with fawns, in 

 the valleys, and fat bucks on the higher 

 ground. Occasionally a bear was killed, 

 and we found a few mountain sheep. 

 Streams were numerous, and we had no dif- 

 ficulty in catching all the trout we wanted, 

 when we could get grasshoppers for bait. 

 We were not provided with the approved 

 rods and flies, but had common cotton 

 lines and the cheapest hooks, while rods 

 were cut from willow thickets, used for the 

 day and thrown away. Our best arrange- 

 ment for fishing was to have 2 men work 

 together, one to catch grasshoppers, and 

 the other to catch trout. In this way both 

 could find plenty of work to do, and a good 

 team of workers might easily catch a string 

 of 80 or 100 trout in an afternoon, after the 

 day's march. 



Had we been out for pleasure only, we 

 could not have wished for a better country: 

 but we had lost some Indians; so instead of 

 scouting up and down one of the forks of 

 the Salmon river, making and breaking 

 camps at pleasure, we were obliged to keep 

 going as fast as our pack train could travel. 



To relate all the incidents of that sum- 

 mer's outing would be to write a large 

 volume, so I must confine myself to the 

 mention of only a few. The scenery was 

 everywhere grand. Pine timber, grass, and 

 beautiful streams of clear, cool water every- 

 where. We found but one body of water 

 that was not cool, and where there were no 



436 



