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1 Egan Station Site
2 Remnant of building at Egan
Station
3 Egan Creek running along north edge of Egan
Station site
4 Three grave sites to the south east of Egan
Station. Possibly those of the 3
soldiers killed at the battle of Egan Station
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The Battle
of Egan Canyon
"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 was over, and the U. S. troops under Lieut. Weed and Perkins were
ordered home to Camp Floyd, and all soldiers that had been detailed to help
guard the various Express stations were ordered to join their respective
companies at Ruby Valley and get ready to march to Camp Floyd."
"When I left Ruby
Valley for Salt
Lake City with the Pony Express on July 3, 1860, my place was
filled to ride and carry express between Egan canyon and Ruby Valley
by Will Dennis, a brave, true rider."
"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 east 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 a 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 emptying into Steptoe
Valley. About 200 to
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 through Nipcut Canyon
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 [Nick 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 Company who had been there
for a month past, were sent on to work on other portions of the route, as we
all supposed the Indian war was over. But on the day 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 in the stockade corral, but one big
indian, who could talk some English, told Mike 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 their door and barricaded 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 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 that 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 that the Indians must have waylaid him 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 minute to get his wind, as we usually let our
horse walk until we came in sight of the station, then go in a-flying. Dennis
caught sight of the Indians before they saw him. He comprehended the
situation instantly and whirled his horse out of sight of the redskins. 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 Lieut. Weed of the
situation, who immediately started for Egan Canyon
with 60 dragoons. They rode fast until they got to the knoll."
"Orders were given to Corporal Mitchell
to take 20 men and go to the mouth of Egan Canyon and cut off the 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 lead his men around the east side of the knoll and charged right
into the fight."
"When Holten
and Wilson saw they were about 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 wounded, Corporal Mitchell receiving 3 shots, one through
the back. He recovered from his wounds, but died about 6 months
afterwards."
"After the 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."
-Willam F. Fisher (see: Riders )
A Little Surprise
To a Small Band
of Indians, and This Is How It Came About.
"The Express
rider at Shell Creek was too sick to undertake the ride, and I volunteered to
take his place. The ride at that time was was from
Shell to Butte,
there being no station at Egan at tat time. Therefore the pony had to
go about thirty-two miles, fourteen of them being to Egan. I started just at
dark and made pretty good time, but being careful not to overdo the pony, but
give him frequent breathing spells, at which times I would let him go on the
walk, and was doing so when I was about in the middle of Egan Canyon and,
just before turning a sharp point ahead of me, I could see the next turn of
that and on the side of the hill towards me the light of a fire was shinning.
These two turns about seventy-five or a hundred yards apart, but the curve of
the creek took between the points made it some further. As it did not run
close to the side left quite a large flat, which was smooth and
level."
"In going very carefully along and
keeping a sharp lookout for a sentinel, I reached the point where I could see
the camp. They were on both sides of the road and about in the center of the
bend. Well, I had to make up my mind very quickly as to what I should do.
Should I turn back and go north to another canyon about six or eight miles [Cherry Creek Canyon],
where there might be another party of Indians, if they had planned to catch
the Express rider? I could not wait long, as their dogs might scent me
and give the alarm."
"Well, I soon decided to go straight, so,
taking my pistol in my hand, I rode on as close as I dared, then striking in
the spurs and giving an awful yell, a few jumps of the pony brought me to about
the middle of the camp, when my gun began to talk, though pointed in the air,
and my yells accompanied each shot. I got a glimpse of several Indians who
were doing their best to make themselves scarce, not knowing but there might
be a large party of whites after them."
"When I made the next turn, I was out in
the little valley at the head of Egan
Canyon and had two
trails that I could take to finish. I chose the shortest but the roughest and
got home all right. Three days later I came back through the canyon
with a companion. We saw where they had had their camp-fires, and where
they had fashioned a lariat across the road, but I did not see one that night
and don't know how I passed it."
"Later I got it from some friendly
Indians that there had been a trap set to catch an Express rider for the
purpose of seeing what he carried to make him travel so fast. They
placed a party in each of the canyons used, when suspicious of the
other. They had it planned pretty good, but it
did not work out and they never tried it again there, but if I had turned
back and tried the other canyon, probably there would have been one
"Express" lost.
-Howard Ransom Egan
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