Ridecamp: [RC] The Egan Canyon Incident

If you've ever ridden Fort Schellbourne, or any of the point to point
multidays between Utah and Nevada, this may be interesting to you. 
I love reading about the history on the trails that we ride! 
k

THE EGAN CANYON INCIDENT
Jerry Bowen, August, 1995

An account of an attack on the Egan Canyon Pony Express Station that
almost echoes a Hollywood script was written by Billy Fisher, one of the
riders who was an eye witness during the days of its operation in
1860-61. William F. ?Billy? Fisher was one of the fast riding men whose
first job at age 20 was riding with the mail between Ruby Valley and Egan
Canyon. Egan Canyon is located about 3 miles south of Cherry Creek,
Nevada

Billy Fisher was born Nov. 16, 1839 at Woolich, Kent, England. During the
Paiute uprising in Nevada, Billy made one of the longest rides in
history. He was in the saddle for 35 hours between Ruby Valley and Salt
Lake City, carrying the mail through dangerous Indian country. In July,
1860 he was moved east on the run between Rush Valley and Salt Lake City,
and his dangerous run was turned over to Pony Express rider William
Dennis. Billy left the Nevada run to take the Salt Lake - Rush Valley
run, because his bride to be, Millennium Andrus Van Etten, convinced the
route superintendent to have him changed. They were later married in 1860
and first child, William E., was born in the Fall of 1861, the month the
Pony Express closed down. Billy took a job on the stage line handling
horses and putting in hay for the stations, many of which were former
Pony Express Stations. He died at Rigby, Idaho, September 30, 1919, and
was buried on October 3, 1919 at Oxford Idaho where he was the towns
first Mormon Bishop. It is not far from the northern Utah line where his
son, Ray, was born March 9, 1883.
The following is a copy of the old faded pencil-written account of a raid
on Egan Canyon Pony Express Station by Billy Fisher:

?In the early part of July 1860, after the death of the war chief
Leatherhead, it was supposed that the Indian war between Rush Valley and
Reese River, Nevada was over, and the U.S. troops under Lieutenants Weed
and Perkins were ordered home to Camp Floyd, and all the soldiers that
had been detailed to help guard the Pony Express stations were ordered to
join their respective companies at Ruby Valley and get ready to March to
Camp Floyd. 

It was about the 15th of July the command
started from Ruby for Camp Floyd and camped that night at Butte Station
about 18 miles southeast of Ruby Valley Station. I must here give you an
idea of how Egan Canyon Station was located. It was situated in a very
pretty little valley about a half mile across either way. On the east was
a canyon between steep, high, rugged mountains, with a stream of water
running through towards the east and emptying into Steptoe Valley. About
200 or 300 yards west of where you emerged from the canyon was a large
mound or knoll about 100 feet high, the emigrant road running on the
north side of it. The Station was about 220 yards south of the knoll so
that when you get even with the knoll the Station was out of sight from
the road coming from the west. We came from Nipcut Canyon and rode to the
mound and then diverged south to the Station, and the rider could not see
the station until he got past the mound. 

On the 16th of July the only men at Egan
Canyon Station were Mike Holton, station keeper, and Wilson, rider, who
took the express from Will Dennis who had my ride from Ruby East, and
carried it to Schell Creek. The soldiers had left and the other 3
employees of the Express Co. who had been there for a month past, were
sent to work on other portions of the route, as we all supposed the
Indian war was over. But on the referred to about 80 of the renegade
Reds, who had fought under Leatherhead, in all their war paint, rode
through Egan Canyon up to the station and demanded of the boys, flour,
bacon, and sugar. The boys handed out the provisions knowing it would not
do to refuse. Mike then started out to gather the Express horses up and
put them into the stockade corral, but one big Indian, who could talk
some English, to go in the house, that the Indians would take care of the
horses and them too after they had their feast. 

Holten and Wilson were brave men, well armed, and expecting to be
massacred by the murderous red devils after their pow wow was over,
closed up the only door and window they had in the log cabin with grain
sacks, leaving a few chink holes to shoot through, determined to sell
their lives as dearly as possible. It was a trying time for those two
men, but they had nerves of steel and expected to make several reds bite
the dust before they lost their hair. They knew it would soon be time for
Dennis, the Pony Rider from the west, to arrive and they thought as he
did not show up that the Indians must have waylaid and killed him, but
such was not the case. 

After Dennis came through Nipcut Canyon, which was steep and rocky, he
rode fast with the express until he came even with the knoll I have
referred to, when he pulled up his horse for a moment to get his wind, as
we usually would let our horse walk until we came into sight of the
station. Dennis caught sight of the Indians before they saw him. He
comprehended the situation instantly and whirled his horse out of sight
of the Red Skins. He had passed the soldiers who were on the road to Camp
Floyd, about 5 miles back, so he rode back as fast as possible to the
command and informed Lieutenant Weed of the situation, who immediately
started for Egan Canyon with 60 Dragoons. They rode fast until they got
to the knoll. 

Orders were then given to Corporal Mitchell to take 20 men and go on to
the mouth of Egan Canyon and cut off the retreat of the redskins, but in
the excitement of the moment, Mitchell got his orders mixed up and
instead of going to the mouth of the canyon, he led his men around on the
east side of the knoll and charged the Indians. As soon as Lieutenant
Weed heard the shooting he rode around the west side of the knoll and
charged right into the fight. 

When Holten and Wilson saw they were going to be rescued they did rapid
shooting themselves. The fight was soon over; 18 Indians fell to rise no
more, and the rest of the murderous horde made their escape through the
canyon. Had Corporal Mitchell not made any blunder the whole band of reds
would have been killed. The soldiers got 60 of the Indians horses; three
soldiers were killed and several were wounded, Corporal Mitchell
receiving three shots, one through the back. He recovered from his
wounds, but died about six months afterward. 

After that battle the Indians sued for peace, but did not keep it, as
they committed many murders on the road after that and during the next
summer. It was lucky for me that Dennis had my ride as I might have been
discovered by the Indians and not permitted to ride back to the command.