Perils in the Far West.

Mount Ida Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 183, 6 September 1872, Page 6

Perils in the Far West.

It will be in the recollection of our

readers that some few months since it wis Reported that' Mr. Loring, one of the. crew fhe 'American boat which contested at

the international boat race,on.the Thames in 1869, was killed out Ear West by a band of the Apache Indians. The news, unfortunately, was verified, the hapless gentleman beingruthlessly murdered. The ' following account of the melancholy occurrence is supplied by the. London ' Daily Telegraph:'—- ;

"We learn from the 'Los Angelos jfews * that, upon' the 4th of last Govern" ber, one of those marvellous stage-coaches which are the pride of California and its sister States and territories, took its departure from the little Arizonian town of Wickenberg. Despite the terrible dangers and hardships of the adventurous journey over the plains and mountains intervening between the western border of Texas and the Pacific Ocean, travellers are all of one mind in the assertion that nothing more pure and, invigorating than the air can be found upon earth. The unclouded sky, the glowing tints of the mountains, 'the unbounded opulence of sunshine, which seems to sparkle in atmospheric scintillations,' the glittering veins of L silver, which crop out from the

ver£ iiiUside," intoxicate and eiichant the explorer vrho penetrates into the heart of aijizona.' < Fascinated by descriptions of this: bewitching land, Mr. Loring, whose ' thews and sinews were the admiration of " when, less than three years c''-ago,' he rowed in the Harvard boat, was teMipted to. pay a visit. to the Mexican of the United States. - He had : -amassed materials for a volume deserip,Vlof his hazardous journey, and was re- . raraing from the interior towards the pacific Coast, when, at the commencemeht of last November, he took his seat ■the driver's side on the stage from ' Wickenberg. In addition to 1 the driver Loring, five male and one female

braved the perils of that awful Ejjdurney. Unsuspicious of danger, they £ fiad : : stowed their arms beneath the " and were enlivening the time niictK,, merriment, and song; when suddenly there rang out from the panic- - v stricken, driver a startled cry, ' Apaches! Sipaches !' Scarcely had the alarm been given before a volley was discEarged from __tne rifles of the savages into the stage coach: The driver, Loring, and two passengers named Shoholm and Hamel, fell Head upon the spot. From poor Loring . alone proceeded a few deep groans before he expired. Two other passengers, named ~ 4-<lams and Salmon, deceived mortal wounds. Inside the stage were seated a voung German named Ejruger, and Miss Sheppard, the only female passenger. One Irallet pierced the lady's right arm. and a couple more ploughed through the flesh of her right shoulder. JCruger re ce"ved two shots, which-ran along the exterior of his back, as he leant forward. After the first volley he forced Miss . Sheppard under.theseat, and lay down • himself' on the floor of the coach. A "- sUence, broken only by the ' gyoaiis ofAdam and Salmon, settled down .. t . upon the ghastly scene. . Presently the cowardly savages, discerning no sign of ;• int the coach, Sprang like wild cats Y from their ambush. When they had apwithin a couple of yards, Ejruger ; Sheppar(\ started, to their feet, might, glared assailants, who retreated- hastily • from the coach. '' "iErugbr and his struck into the

jyom j)<j>prz Atlanis alpne broke a cry of For -God's; sake, " save me!' In

"response to~the question whetHer lie coiild move, he replied in tlie negative, dnd Kruger was compelled to leave liim to his fate. , ; •

"Then followed one of those flights so characteristic of Indian : warfare; with which every American bushranger is but too familiaK The savages had expended all their rifle ammunition,, and pursued the two fugitives through the bush with revolvers in their dastardly hands. Kept at a respectful distance by the pistol in Kruger's grasp, and by an empty whisky bottle, which was Miss Sheppard's only weapon, but which she constantly levelled at them, they fired shot after shot without injuring the retreating couple. Pursuing the road towards Ehrenburg, dogged by four Apaches on one side and five on the other, Kruger supported his companion with the left hand, while keeping off the.;enemy by the pistol in his right. Their wounds bled freely, and exhaustion was near at hand, when a cloud of dust was seen to ascend from the road, and the cart for Wickenberg hove in sight. The baffled savages betook themselves at once to flight; -butj so terrified was the driver of vhe mail cart by the proximity of peril that, until menaced by Kruger's invaluuable pistol, he refused to take up the sufferers. After conveying them for a few miles towards Ehrenburg he left the mail cart in the road, and, with; Kruger's consent, rode the horse into that town, which was still thirty miles distant. The sufferings which the two Survivors of this: ghastly massacre endured while* waiting many weary hours for e arrival' of succor, and under continual alarm of a fresh attack, can only be appreciated by those who are cognisant of the thrilling dangers and awful hardships that attend pioneer life in the Far West.: At length i body of twenty armed men, with an ambulance to carry the dead, brought' relief to the two, watchers. Eiye bodies were conveyed back to Wickenberg for interment; the sixth—that of Mr. Salmon—was not discovered until later, ; as he had crawled some distance from the stage, only to', tie scalped and mutilated by his fiendish assassins. The Indians had rifled the baggage, carrying off many .thousands of dollars, and all the liquoron board! Hopes were entertained at Los Angelos, -when Kruger and liis companion arrived tp tell, the hideous -narrative, that the possession of greenbacks would lead to

tne tlie miscreants who stole them. But this dismal history is sufficient to show the difficulties, by which, in essaying any other policy than ruthless extermination towards the Ked Indians, the United States "Government is constantly beset. . Meantime, there will be many amongst us who remember the frank countenance and manly bearing of poor Mr. Loring when he struggled for victory in the rowing match upon the Thames, and who will read with horror of the awful death which has consigned him to an early and blood-stained grave.