Mormon History, Sep 21, 1847

[Apostle Wilford Woodruff Journal] 21st + A cloudy morning. At about 9 oclock the call was made to get up the Horses. I started for the Horses which was in the timber about half a mile from camp. I got about two thirds of the way to the Horses when one of the most exciting seenes commenced I ever witnessed. I herd the report of several guns in quick succession And herd the guard cry Indians, Indians, And in less than A minute the timber & Bluffs were lined with mounted Indians charging with all speed upon our guard, Horses & camp. They shot at two or three of the guard but missed them. They took one of the guard & tryed to carry him off on a horse. He knocked one of them down with his fist & got away from them. Some of the Brethren snaped their guns at them but they did not go off.
As soon as I herd the report of the guns, & the cry of Indians & saw them driving off our Horses & gathering thick & fast upon every hand & being without either horse or arms I run to the camp with all speed & gave the Alarm & called upon all to gather their arms & mount their Horses. Brothers Kimball, Rockwood, Mathews, & several others sprung onto their Horses with their guns & pistols & run to stop the Horses which the Indians were taking away. One party of Indians had driven 5 or 6 Horses & Mules over the Hills. Br Kimball took after them. Two Indians had gone over the Bluff with my Horse & Mule. Brother Rockwood took after them. At the same time about 20 Horses came rushing toward Camp which the Indians had frightend. Br Young with great exertion with the assistance of one or two other Brethren succeding in stoping them & getting them into Camp.
As soon as I arived in camp I opened my trunk & took out my belt containing 8 pistol shots & harnessed it onto myself as quick as possible put a saddle & bridle onto a broken down Horse for the want of a Better one & I mounted without spur or whip & started for the chase after my own Horses I Could not travel vary fast over the rough ground & Bluffs on a poor horse but I went as fast as I Could. As soon as I left Camp & Began to rise the Bluffs I saw Indians gathering thicker & faster upon every hand & began to close in between me & the camp. As I passed by one Indian He was priming his gun. But I continued the chase. As soon as my horse & mule got over their fright & got out of sight of camp, they tryed to return to camp & troubled the Indians about driving them.
And Brother Rockwood soon came near them And one stoped & met him when they found they were overtaken & professed friendship. The other still tried to drive on the Horses. Br Rockwood fired A pistol at him & He run & left the Horses & The other Indian left also & Rockwood soon started my Horses towards [me].
I soon came up to his assistance & some other Brethren Also came up & assisted me in ketching them & while I was doing this near 40 Indians surrounded Br Kimball who started for the other Horses. Some of the Brethren started to his assistance after I had started for camp with my Horses. Indians were also upon evry side of me untill I got into Camp.
I secured my Horses inside the camp And by this time about 150 warriors had gatherd to gether close to our camp All dressed in the greatest stile for a war Charge. And the old Chif began to address to the top of his voice the Indians And also our camp, telling us they were good Sioux And they thought we were Crows or snakes. When they found they could not get any more of our horses & 3 had been retaken which they stole they then professed friendship.
There was 11 Horses taken by the Indians. They numbered at about 200 warriors on the ground & well mounted & their was not over 20 of our men including the guard that was engaged in any way in stoping the Horses, or saving them or retaking those that were stolen. Br Gould took one Indian Horse & all. And Another Indian brought Back Thomas Woolsey's Horse which was among the stolen & exchanged him for the Indians Horse. This with my two Horses were the ownly ones retaken during the skirmish.
But when the Indians gatherd before the camp they saw we as A body were Armed & that we knew them & had fed them & treated them kindly while on our way to the valley. The old Chief then proposed that we smoke the pipe of peace, And also Said that if our chief pointing to President Young would go to their Camp they would smoke with him & give him up the Horses which his men had taken. But Brother Young did not feel well & we did not think it prudent for him to go.
While in this conversation Br Kimball who had been out on the chase after the Horses returned bare Headed (Having droped his hat). Was accompanied by Br Benson & in riding into camp rushed his horse through the midst of the Indians & they fearing some treachery or that He was an enemy coming upon them in their rear, they instantly leaped upon their Horses, scattered & rushed from the camp some runing into the creek. All appeared in great fright. But as soon as they saw there was no evil at hand they returned & took their places & had A harty laugh at their fright.
Br Kimball volunteered to accompanied the Chief into his camp in the place of Br Young that we might get our Horses. I volunteered & Also Stephen Markham to go with Br Kimball on the expedition. So we three mounted our Horses & set out accompanied by a Frenchman (who could speak a little sioux language) & the Indians to find their camp; they told us it was one mile. We travled 7 miles over Bluffs & valleys & Came in sight of their Camp some 3 miles from us moving towards us. So we Called a halt & waited for them to Come up. They Came & pitched about 100 lodges & their was about 600 Indians many women & children & they brought with them about 1,000 Horses & mules. Nearly all of them we supposed were stolen from emigrants & other tribes. Their encampment presented quite a grand interesting & amusing seenery.
Among their Horses we readily discoverd ours which was stolen the night we camped with Br Grants Company. We lost 49 that night which they had among their number. The old Chief called the war Chiefs & placed them on his left hand & ourselves on his right & set down upon the grass & filled A large pipe with Kennickenick & smoked & passed it to his Chiefs. They smoked & passed it to us. We also smoked. He then pointed to us to pick out our Horses which we undertook to do but found it no easy task to pick out 7 or 8 Horses scattered through one thousand others for one or two miles up & down the creek. However after a laborious search we got all but two that was stolen this morning.
We then spoke to him about the 49 Horses which they had stolen from us before. They acknowledged they had got the Horses & gave us some incouragement of letting us have them when they got to Laramie but would not let us have them then. They however let us have one of them ownly. The brethren brought about 3 bushels of salt as a present to him. We then returned to camp with our Horses which ended the business of the day.
The camp did not move but few rods. I travled about 18 m. It rained some during the night.

[source: Wilford Woodruff's Journal: 1833-1898 Typescript, Volumes 1-9, Edited by Scott G. Kenney, Signature Books 1993, http://amzn.to/newmormonstudies]

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