Page 57 - 2006 DT 12 Issues

I n T h i s I s s u e !

Featured Article
The Pyramid Lake War..........................1
Special
The Raintree..........................................3
Quiz.......................................................7
Departments
News & Notes.......................................2
Programs & Hikes.................................4
A u g u s t 2 0 0 6 Desk Schedule.....................................6

Bulletin Board.......................................8

THE PYRAMID LAKE WAR . . . The Paiutes win River near what is now Nixon by
I n T h i s I s s u e !
one, the Pony Express service is interrupted and Nevada gets its biggest warriors led by Numaga, also known
frontier battle. as “Young Winnemucca.” The defeat
was complete, and only about 25
By Chuck Kleber near today’s Lahontan Reservoir. militiamen survived to finally make

An Indian war party approached the their way back to Virginia City. Ma-
evada’s Great Basin has never station bent on rescue and revenge. jor Ormsby was among those killed.
Nbeen inviting; that was par- Two young Indian girls had been Lt. Eugene Angel was also killed. A
ticularly so in the very cold winter kidnapped, taken to Williams Station relative’s letter appeared in The Ovid
of 1859-1860. It was especially and raped by the white proprietors. Bee of September 26 . “Dear Sister
th
tough on the Paiutes, who found Three whites were killed – I lately sent you
themselves increasingly pressed and the girls, freed. One a paper contain-
for water and other resources by a man escaped. His story ing an account of
small, but growing number of white not only whipped up pan- a battle with the
settlers, lured by silver strikes at ic, but a determination Indians near Pyra-
Virginia City. Unfortunately, the to make the Paiutes pay mid Lake. Our dear
Northern Paiute leader, Captain as news spread of Indian brother Eugene was
Truckee, died during the winter. He attacks at Honey Lake in the battle. Major

had been an ameliorating influence in and along the Truckee O (Ormsby) died a
Indian-white relations and so useful River. There is still some few miles from the
and friendly, that John C. Fremont dispute over whether it battleground, and
dubbed this Paiute chief “Captain” was the Paiutes or the . . . Eugene’s horse
in recognition of his services. Hos- more warlike Bannock was running among
tile feelings grew as the Paiute and Indians who staged the the Indians without
Bannock gathered at Pyramid Lake, raid. Either way, the issue a rider. No one saw
facing the question of how to deal and the fi ghting centered him fall, but his
with the intruding settlers while hop- on the Paiutes. Numaga - Young Winnemucca long absence for-
ing for a successful spring run of fish A militia was quickly bids all hope. Poor Eugene!”

to replenish low food supplies. formed from volunteers and put un- For several weeks after the battle,
It was in this atmosphere that der the command of Major William there was no Pony Express service.
an incident right out of a Western Ormsby. He led 105 men toward Pyr- Every rest station between Salt Lake
novel sparked the Pyramid Lake War. amid Lake, ill-trained, ill-prepared and California had been destroyed.
May 6, 1860 began quietly enough and foolishly confident that they Pony Express Rider Bob Haslam,
at Williams Station, a general store, would soon punish the Paiutes. They had set out on the eastbound trip on
and Pony Express and stagecoach were ambushed in an area of cotton-
stop, located in the Carson Valley woods and sage along the Truckee
Pyramid Lake, continued on page 6