SANPITCH, Chief
From LFAwiki
| This article is a stub. It is known to be incomplete. Please help improve this article. |
Family
Chief Sanpitch was the father of Nooch (Black Hawk) and Kibets (Mountain), and was a brother of Wakara, Arropeen, and TabbyGottfredson, Phillip (14 February 2010). Utah Black Hawk War Factoids. .
Reference[1]
Reference2[2]
Chief Sanpitch's Demise
Government Aid Refused. The Militia Ordered Out
Treaty By Col. O. H. Irish at Spanish Fork Reservation
Meeting With The Indians
Indian Etiquette
The Talk Afterwards
Pres. Young and Party Left G.S.L. City For Sanpete
R. Gillispie and A. Robinson Killed South of Salina
Gen. W. S. Snow Took Command of Sanpete Militia
General Snow Arrests a Camp 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. Either 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 settlers. General Danie H. Wells recognized thin 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 organized for defense. But no vigilance was equal to the task of defeating the designs of the sleepless foe, the strength of whose forces was no increased to over three hundred warriors and the celerity of whose movements defied every precaution.
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 allegiance, 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 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. Van Buren 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 jumped 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 killed the redskin.
Chief Sanpitch Killed Near Moroni
Five Indians, including Sanpitch, got away and made for the west mountains; a posse went in pursuit and on the 18th of the month Chief Sanpitch was found hiding in Birch Canyon, between Moroni and Fountain Green and was killed. The other four were tracked into the mountains between Fountain Green and Nephi, south of Salt Creek Canyon. On the 19th, Amasa and George Tucker and Dolph Bennett struck their tracks on the side of the mountain, where some men from Moroni joined them, and they followed the trail nearly to the top of the mountain where they overtook and killed three of them. They followed the track of the other one, whose name was Tackwitch, over the mountain and down some distance. Bennett stopped and sat down while the others followed the tracks. The Indian doubled on his tracks and came back to a point near where Bennett was seated and crawled into a patch of oak brush where he covered him-self up with leaves. Bennett saw him, and when the men missed his tracks they cam back. Bennett motioned to his comrades pointing out where the Indian was hidden. At once they surrounded the place and one of the men shot and wounded the Indian who jumped up and came at Bennett with a large butcher knife. Bennett emptied his revolver at him without bringing him down or stopping him. When within a few feet Bennett threw his pistol hitting the Indian on the temple and knocking him down. The Indian had no more than struck the ground when Bennett was on top of him, wrenched the knife from his hand and cut his throat. This finished the jailbreakers.
NOTES
- ↑ Gottfredson, Peter (2002). Indian Depredations in Utah. Tucson, Arizona: Fenestra Books, Page 11.
- ↑ Gottfredson, Peter (2002). Indian Depredations in Utah. Tucson, Arizona: Fenestra Books. ISBN 1587361272.