Horse Thieves!

Prior to Captain Joe Walker and Joe Meek's arrival at Fort Crockett, a Sioux war party had raided the area and driven off 150 horses.  Unable to catch the rustlers, the men decided to invade a peaceful Snake camp and steal their horses instead.  40 horses were stolen in all.

Walker was furious about the theft and organized a posse of 30 men to go after the white rustlers. Included in Walker's posse?  Carson, Meek, Craig, and part of his California veterans who had left to go home but hadn't made it that far. 

They caught the rustlers on the Green River and captured the stolen horses, returning them to the Snake without bloodshed.

Next time...Walkara

The Paiutes Incident

Captain Walker encountered the Paiute Indians, who began following his group of men. Supposedly fascinated by their equipment, the Indians began to be adept at pilfering - but Walker refused his men vengeance .

Bill Craig, Levin Mitchell, and Crazy Bill Williams in particular, those with a murderous reputation, decided while hunting one day that they would kill a few Paiutes against the Captain's orders.  They did it again the next day but this time Walker caught on.  It is not known what discipline Walker meted out, but the killings stopped abruptly.  

That's not the end of the story...

The next morning the Paiutes were back at Walker's camp.  Walker and his men were moving camp and the Indians would cut in front of them to delay the move.  80-100 Paiutes came forward which made Walker quite nervous, but his cool temperament ruled and he gave orders for the charge. When it was all over 30 Paiute lay dead in the field, and the remainder ran into the high grass in every direction howling like wolves.    
 
What could or should have been done on that day is a matter of judgment in the history books.  Walker lived it first hand, his critics of the day did not.  He accomplished what needed to be done - the Paiutes were gone and his party continued crossing the Humboldt River on rafts through regions where no white man had ever gone before, passing what later became Carson Lake, Walker Lake and Walker River, toward the mountains.  

Next time - Out of Options...