USA > Oregon > History of Oregon, Vol. II, 1848-1888 > Part 38
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378
FURTHER INDIAN WARS.
breast-work of logs thrown up on the side most ex- posed to attack.
On the 17th of October the bushes were found to be alive with savages. J. W. Pickett made a charge with six men, who were so warmly received that they were glad to retreat, Pickett being killed. Lieuten- ant Moore then took a position under a bank, on the side attack was expected, which he held four hours, exposed to a heavy fire; he and nearly half of his men were wounded, when they were compelled to re- treat. One of the men, being mortally shot, fell be- fore reaching the shelter of the camp, and a comrade, Allan Evans, in the effort to bring him in, was severely wounded. Captain Lewis was three times struck.
The Indians, discovering that the weak point of the volunteer force was on the left, made a bold attack, in which they lost one of their most noted Shasta warriors. Finding they could not dislodge the volunteers with balls, they shot lighted arrows into their camp. All day the firing was kept up, and during the battle every house in the mining town of Galice Creek was burned except the one occu- pied as the company's headquarters. By night one third of the company of thirty-five were killed and wounded.22 Thereupon the enemy retired, their loss not ascertained.
"I am proud to say," wrote Lewis to his colonel, "that we fought the hardest battle ever fought this side of the Rocky Mountains. More than 2,500 shots from the enemy, but every man stood his ground, and fought the battle of a lover of his coun- try."
On the day of the battle Ross wrote Smith, at Fort Lane, that Chief John of Scott Valley had gone up Applegate Creek with eighty warriors; and that Williams was in that vicinity with a limited
22 Killed, J. W. Pickett, Samuel Saunders; mortally wounded, Benjamin Taft, Israel D. Adams; severely wounded, Lieut Wm A. J. Moore, Allan Evans, Milton Blackledge, Joseph Umpqua, John Ericson, and Captain W. B. Lewis. Report of Capt Lewis, in Dowell's Or. Ind. War., MS., ii. 18.
379
STRUGGLES AGAINST DESTINY.
force;29 also that J. B. Wagoner24 and John Hillman had on the 19th been despatched to Galice Creek.
It was all of no use. Let them kill and steal and burn never so bravely, the fate of the savages was fixed beforehand; and that not by volunteers, white or black, but by almighty providence, ages before their appearing, just as we of the present dominant race must fade before a stronger, whenever such a one is sent.
The red men continued their ravages, and the white men theirs, sending their bands of volunteers and reg- ulars hither and thither all over the country in con- stantly increasing numbers; and to the credit of gov- ernment officers and agents, be it said that while the miners and settlers were seeking the shortest road to end the difficulties, they interposed their strength and influence to protect innocent red men while defending the white.
Meantime, those who had in charge the duties of providing subsistence and transportation for the vol- unteers were not without serious cares. Assistant quartermasters and commissaries were appointed in different sections, but owing to their inexperience or inability, the service was very unsatisfactory. Fifteen companies 25 were in the field by the 20th of October, but the Indians kept them all employed.
23 Dowell's Or. Ind. Wars, MS., i. 57.
24 J. B. Wagoner was employed as express rider from Oct. 13th, five days after the murder of his wife and child, as long as first volunteer service lasted-a service full of danger and hardship. See instructions in Dowell's Or. Ind. Wars, MS., i. 63.
25 Report of Capt. Rinearson, in Dowell's Or. Ind. War, MS., i. 77. I can name 12 of them. Co. A, T. S. Harris capt .; Co. B, James Bruce capt .; Co. C, J. S. Rinearson capt., lieuts W. P. Wing, I. N. Bently, R. W. Henry; Co. D, R. L. Williams capt., E. B. Stone Ist lieut, sergeant E. K. Elliott; Co. E, W. B. Lewis, capt., lieuts W. A. J. Moore, White; sergt I. D. Adams; Co. F, A. S. Welton capt .; Co. G, Miles T. Alcorn capt., lieut J. M. Osborne; Co. H, W. A. Wilkinson capt .; Co. I, T. Smith capt .; Co. K, S. A. Frye capt .; Co. L, Abel George capt .; Co. M, F. R. Hill capt. The names of T. J. Gardner, Orrin Root, M. M. Williams, Hayes, and M. P. Howard appear in the official correspondence as captains; Daniel Richardson, Morrison, and H. P Conroy as lieutenants; and W. M. Evans as orderly sergeant. C. S. Drew was appointed adjutant; C. Westfeldt quartermaster and commissary; and C. B. Brooks surgeon.
380
FURTHER INDIAN WARS.
Not a pack-train could move from point to point with- out a guard; not a settlement but was threatened. The stock of the farmers was being slaughtered nightly in some part of the valley; private dwellings were fortified, and no one could pass along the roads except at the peril of life. I might fill a volume with the movements of the white men during this war; the red men left no record of theirs.
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ROGUE RIVER AND UMPQUA VALLEYS.
While both regulars and volunteers were exploring the country in every direction, the Indians, familiar with trails unknown to the white men, easily evaded them, and passed from point to point without danger. At the very time when Judah of the regulars, and
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381
FITZGERALD AT GRAVE CREEK.
Bruce and Harris of the volunteers, had returned exhausted from a long and fruitless pursuit, and when Ross expressed the opinion that the main body of the enemy was still in the vicinity of The Meadows, and below Galice Creek on Rogue River, the Indians suddenly appeared October 23d in the Cow Creek val- ley, and began their depredations. Their first act of hostility in this quarter was to fire upon a party of wagoners and hog-drovers at the crossing of Cow Creek, instantly killing H. Bailey of Lane county, and wounding Z. Bailey and three others. The re- maining men retreated as rapidly as possible, pursued by the savages, who followed and harassed them for two or three hours. The same day they attacked the settlements on Cow Creek, burning the houses of Turner, Bray, Redfield, Fortune, and others.
On the 28th of October Fitzgerald being in the vicinity of Grave Creek discovered Indians encamped a few miles south of Cow Creek in the Grave Creek hills,26 and determined to attack them. Ross, on re- ceiving a despatch from Fitzgerald, set out on the 29th for the rendezvous, having sent to captains Harris, Welton, George, Williams, and Lewis. Bruce and Ri- nearson, who had but just come in, were directed to join the combined forces at Grave Creek, where were concentrated on the 30th about 250 volunteers27 and 105 regulars, only a portion of Fitzgerald's troop being available on account of the illness of its commander. Two companies of a battalion called out by Governor Curry were lying at a place about a day's march south of Umpqua canon, under the command of captains Jo- seph Bailey and Samuel Gordon.
When Ross reached the rendezvous late at night, he found the captain of the 1st dragoons awaiting him, impatient for an attack.28 Spies from his own
26 This band had attacked Kautz and his surveying party a few days pre- vious, killing two soldiers and three settlers.
27 Letter of L. C. Hawley in Or. Statesman, Nov. 24, 1855. Another gives the number at 387. Dowell's Or. Ind. Wars.
28 Letter of John E. Ross to C. S. Drew in Dowell's Or. Ind. Wars, MS., i. 93.
382
FURTHER INDIAN WARS.
and Captain Bruce's company had reconnoitred the enemy's position, which was found to be on a hill, well fortified, and extremely difficult of approach. A map of the country was prepared, and a forced march de- termined upon. Orders were issued to be ready to march at eleven o'clock, though it was already half- past ten. The plan of attack was to plant howitzers upon an eminence three fourths of a mile from that on which the Indians were encamped, and after having divided the companies into three columns, so stationed as to prevent the escape of the Indians, to open upon the enemy with shell and grape-shot. It was hoped by this night march, which was continued till morn- ing with occasional halts, to surprise the enemy, but some one having set fire to a tree, that idea was abandoned. On arriving at the edge of a ravine in front of their position, instead of planting the howitzers and shelling the Indians as was intended, a charge was made, in which Rinearson and Welton led with their companies, augmented by portions of several others, and a part of the regulars rushing in disorder down into the ravine, through the thick bushes, and up the ascent on the other side, volunteers and regu- lars all eager for the first shot. The Indians occupied a mountain, bald on the side by which the troops were approaching, and covered with heavy forest on the opposite or north side. Ross had directed Bailey and Gordon to flank on the north, that when the men in front should drive the Indians to this cover, they might be met by them and engaged until the main force could come up. The attempt was made, but they found it impossible to pierce the tangled undergrowth which covered the steep acclivity, with the Indians fortified above them,2? and after having had several men wounded, returned to the point of attack. Bruce and Harris lay concealed a few hundred yards to the south of the attacking party, to be in readiness to in-
29 Lieut Withers says the Indians had cut down trees to form an obstruc- tion to any attack on that side. U. S. Sen. Ex. Doc., 26, 34th cong. Ist sess,
38.7
BATTLE AND RETREAT.
tercept the enemy in that quarter; but finding that no enemy came their way, they too joined the army in front. In the mean time the Indians had retreated, as was anticipated, to the cover of the woods, and could not be approached without great peril from the open ground. The day wore on with vain endeavors to get at them; and at 3 P. M. Smith made a charge with a small force of dragoons, who after firing sev- eral rounds with musketoons, utterly useless against the rifles of the Indians, and having several killed and wounded, fell back to their first position.
When darkness ended the firing, the troops were encamped a short distance from the battle-ground, at a place called by them Bloody Spring, where the wounded were cared for. At sunrise next morning the camp was attacked from all sides, the Indians engaging the troops until about the middle of the forenoon, when being repulsed they withdrew, and the troops took up their march for Grave Creek and Fort Bailey, carrying their wounded on litters. As to the results of the battle, the white men had little cause for congratulation. The volunteers had twenty- six killed, wounded, and missing; and the regulars four killed, and seven wounded, including Lieutenant Gibson, who was hit in the attack on the camp on the morning of the 1st of November.30 The number of Indians killed was variously estimated at from eight to twenty. The number of Indians engaged in the battle was also conjectured to be from 100 to
80 Capt. Rinearson's co., killed, Henry Pearl, Jacob W. Miller; missing and believed to be killed, James Pearsy; wounded, Enoch Miller, W. H. Crouch, and Ephraim Yager. Capt. Gordon's co., wounded, Hawkins Shelton, James M. Fordyce, William Wilson. Capt. Bailey's co., killed, John Gilles- pie; wounded, John Walden, John C. Richardson, James Laphar, Thomas J. Aubrey, John Pankey. Capt. Harris' co., wounded, Jonathan A. Petigrew, mortally, Ira Mayfield, L. F. Allen, William Purnell, William HIaus, John Goldsby, Thomas Gill. Capt. Bruce's co., wounded mortally, Charles Godwin. Capt. Welton's co., wounded mortally, John Kennedy. Capt. William's co., killed, John Winters; wounded, John Stanner, Thomas Ryan. Of the regular troops three were killed in action on the field, and one by accidentally shooting himself; among the seven wounded was Lieut Gibson. Report of A. G. Heury in Dowell's Or. Ind. Wars, MS., i., 169-71; Or. Statesman, Nov. 17, 1855; Ashland Tidings, Nov. 2, 1877.
384
FURTHER INDIAN WARS.
300. Such was the unfortunate termination of a combined effort on the part of the regular and volun- teer troops to check the war in its incipiency, and signified that time, money, and blood must be spent in bringing it to a close. "God only knows," writes a correspondent of the Statesman, "when or where this war may end. .. These mountains are worse than the swamps of Florida."
Immediately upon information reaching the Ump- qua of the onslaught of the 9th of October, 1855, at Rogue River, a petition was forwarded to Governor Curry, asking for five hundred volunteers for defence. The messenger, S. B. Hadley, giving notice en route, among other places at Eugene City, a request was sent the governor to permit Lane county to organize a company for the war. The effect of such petitions, and of the letters received from Rogue River, was to cause a proclamation by the governor, October 15th, calling for five companies of mounted volunteers to constitute a Northern battalion, and four companies of mounted volunteers to constitute a Southern bat- talion, to remain in force until discharged; each com- pany to consist of sixty men, with the usual comple- ment of officers, making a total of seventy-one, rank and file; each volunteer to furnish his own horse, arms, and equipments, and each company to elect its own officers, and thereafter to proceed without delay to the seat of war.
The proclamation declared that Jackson county would be expected to furnish the number of men required for the southern battalion, who would rendez- vous at Jacksonville, elect a major to command, and report to headquarters. The northern battalion was to consist of two companies from Lane, and one each from Linn, Douglas, and Umpqua counties, to rendez- vous at Roseburg. At the same time an order was issued from the office of E. M. Barnum, adjutant- general, leaving the movements of the two battalions to the discretion of their respective commanders, but
385
A DEMOCRATIC WAR.
directing that all Indians should be treated as enemies who did not show unmistakable signs of friendship. No other instruction was given but to advise a con- cert of action with the United States forces which might be engaged in that section of the territory.31
Meanwhile, communications from democrats at Rogue River had reached the capital, and imme- diately the war became a party measure. It was ascertained that Ross in calling out the militia had made several whig appointments contrary to the will of the ruling party, which had attacked the governor for appointing whig surgeons in the northern bat- talion; so paramount were politics in ministering to the wants of wounded men! The governor, unfor- tunately for his otherwise stainless record, was un- able to stem the tide, and allowed himself to become an instrument in the hands of a clique who de- manded a course of action disgraceful to all concerned. Five days after issuing the proclamation, the gov- ernor ordered disbanded all companies not duly en- rolled by virtue of said proclamation, information having been received that armed parties had taken the field with the avowed purpose of waging a war of extermination against the Indians without re- spect to age or sex, and had slaughtered a band of friendly natives upon their reservation, despite the authority of the agent and the commanding officer of the United States troops stationed there.32 The immediate effect of the proclamation was to suspend volunteering in Douglas county, to which Ross had written to have another company raised,33 and to throw discredit on those already in the field.
31 See proclamation and general order, in Or. Statesman, Oct. 20, 1855; Or. Argus, Oct. 20, 1855.
32 Grover in the legislature of 1836-7 found it necessary to explain the course of Governor Curry by saying that 'news was brought to him of the slaughter of Indians by a rabble from the neighborhood of Yreka; which in- formation proved incorrect, some of the best citizens being engaged in the affair out of self-defence.' Or. Statesman, Jan. 27, 1857. This explanation referred to Lupton's attack on the Indians. Cram's Top. Mem., 41; Dowell's Or. Ind. Wars, MS., i. 117.
35 See Letter of Capt. F. R. Hill, in Dowell's Or. Ind. Wars, 177-8, vol. 1. HIST. OB., VOL. 11. 25
386
FURTHER INDIAN WARS.
The first companies enrolled under the governor's proclamation were the two called for from Lane county,34 one of which, under Captain Bailey, was present at the action of October 31st and Novem- ber 1st, as already stated. The next companies to respond to the governor's call were those from Linn, Douglas, and Umpqua counties.35 These constituted the northern battalion. The companies contained from 87 to 111 men each, and were quickly organized, William J. Martin being chosen major.
On the 7th of November Colonel Ross ordered the assembling of the 9th regiment at Fort Vannoy, in order that all who desired should be mustered into the territorial service as members of the southern battalion. On the 10th captains James Bruce, R. L. Williams, William A. Wilkinson, and Miles F. Alcorn offered and were accepted, in the order named, and an election for major resulted in the choice of Bruce. 36 Complaint reaching the governor that by disbanding
MS., where he says: 'I was just on the eve of getting a company to make a start, when the word was out that it was not legal, and the governor's proclamation did not call for but one company from Douglas and one from Umpqua.'
$+ Co. A, North Battalion O. M. Vols, Lane county, enrolled Oct. 23d: capt., Joseph Bailey; Ist lieut., Daniel W. Keith; 2d lieut, Cyrenus Mulkey, resigned Dec. 30th; Charles W. McClure elected in his place. Co. B, Lane county, enrolled Oct. 23d: capt., Laban Buoy; Ist lieut, A. W. Patterson, resigned and transferred to medical department, L. Poindexter being elected in his place; 2d lieut, P. C. Noland. Or. Jour. House, 1855-6, ap. 145.
33 Co. C, Linn county, enrolled Oct. 24th: capt., Jonathan Keeney; Ist lieut, A. W. Stannard; 2d lient, Joseph Yates. Co. D, Douglas county, enrolled Oct. 25th: capt., Samuel Gordon; Ist lient, S. B. Hadley; 2d lieut, T. Prater. Co. E, Umpqua county, enrolled Nov. Sth: capt., W. W. Chap- man; Ist lient, Z. Dimmick; 2d lieut, J. M. Merrick. Or. Jour. Council, IS55-6, ap. 146.
36 Co. A: capt., James Bruce; Ist lieut, E. A. Rice, who was elected capt. after the promotion of Bruce; 2d lieut, John S. Miller; 2d lieut, J. F. Anderson. Co. B: capt., R. L. Williams; Ist lieut, Hugh O'Neal; 2d lieut, M. Bushey. Co. C: capt., Wm A. Wilkinson; Ist lieut, C. F. Blake; 20 lieut, Edwin Hess. Co. D: capt., Miles F. Alcorn; Ist lieut, James M. Matney; 2d lieut, John Osborn. Or. Jour. House, 1855-6, ap. 146-7. The militia organization as it now stood comprised the following officers: A. P. Dennison and Benj. Stark, aids de camp to the gov .; John F. Miller, quarter- master gen .; A. Zeiber and S. S. Slater, asst quartermaster general; M. M. McCarver, commissary gen .; B. F. Goodwin and J. S. Ruckle, asst com. gen .; W'm J. Martin, maj. north bat .; J. W. Drew and R. E. Stratton, adj. north bat .; Wm G. Hill and I. N. Smith, aids to major north bat .; James Bruce, maj. of south hat .; O. D. Hoxie, adj. south bat .; J. K. Lamerick, .mustering officer for southern Oregon. Or. Jour. House, 1855-6, ap. 143-7.
387
MILITARY ORGANIZATION.
the 9th regiment several sections were without defence, Curry, with Adjutant General Barnum, answered in person, arriving on the field about the last of Novem- ber. The only change made, however, by the gov- ernor's visit was the consolidation of the northern and southern battalions into one regiment, to be called the 2d Regiment of Oregon Mounted Volunteers. This change necessitated an election for regimental officers, and R. L. Williams was chosen colonel, while Martin was obliged to content himself as second in command.
Immediately after the battle of Grave Creek hills, Major Fitzgerald proceeded to Fort Vancouver and thence to The Dalles, and his troops remained in gar- rison during the winter. This reduced the regular force on Rogue River to Smith's command. An agreement was entered into between the regular and volunteer commanders to meet at the Grave Creek house about the 9th of November, prepared to pur- sue and attack the Indians. In the mean time a scout- ing party of Bailey's company was to find the Indians, who had disappeared, according to custom, from their last battle-ground.37
On the 17th of November Bruce, learning that a number of houses on Jump Off Joe Creek had been burned, sent a request to Martin to join him there. Communications were also sent to the commanders at Fort Lane and Fort Jones, and Judah with a small force joined in pursuit of the savages. Shortly after, Williams fell in with a small band at the mouth of Jump Off Joe Creek and killed eight.33
37 'Just before they took their departure they went on the reserve, burned all the boards and shingles there, and every article of value belonging to chief Sam's people; a temporary house I had erected for the accommodation of persons laboring on the reserve, shared the same fate; they also killed or drove away seven of the cattle belonging to the agency.' Agent Ambrose to Supt. Palmer, Nov. 30, 1855, in U. S. H. Ex. Doc., 93, p. 119, 34th cong. Ist sess.
38 Or. Statesman, Dec. 1, 1855; Rept of Major Martin, Dec. 10, 1855, in Or. Jour. House, 1855-6, ap. 122.
388
FURTHER INDIAN WARS.
The 21st saw the white men in full force en route down Rogue River, some on one side and some on the other. After four days, and encountering many dif- ficulties, they came upon the enemy at The Meadows and found thein well fortified. While preparing to attack, on the 26th, the Indians opened fire from a dense covert of timber bordering the river, which caused them to fall back. Being short of food and clothing for a winter campaign, they determined for the present to abandon the enterprise.
While the southern army was returning to head- quarters, roving bands of Indians were committing depredations in the Umpqua Valley. On the 3d of December a small party of the Cow Creek Indians attacked the settlements on the west side of the south Umpqua, destroying fifteen houses and much other property, compelling the settlers to shut themselves up in forts. On the 24th Captain Alcorn found and attacked a camp of Indians on the north branch of Little Butte Creek, killing eight warriors and captur- ing some animals. About the same time Captain Rice, hearing of another camp on the north bank of Rogue River, probably driven out of the mountains by the weather, which was exceedingly severe that winter, proceeded with thirty men to attack them, and after a battle lasting for six hours killed the most of them and took captive the remainder.39
About the 1st of January, 1856, it was ascertained that a party of Indians had taken possession of some deserted cabins on Applegate Creek, and fortified them. Major Bruce immediately ordered Captain Rice to proceed to that place and attack them. Others joined. About two miles from Jacksonville they were fired on
39 ' These two fights have blotted out Jake's band.' Corr. Or. Statesman, Jan. 15, 1856. General Wool, in his official report of May 30, 1856, calls Jake 'a friendly old chief,' and says that his band comprising 30 or 40 males was destroyed by the volunteers, with all their huts and provisions, ' cxpos- ing the women and children to the cold of December, who in making their way to Fort Lane for protection, arrived there with their limbs frozen.' See Cram's Top. Mem., 45.
389
FIGHTS ON APPLEGATE CREEK.
and one man killed.40 On arriving at the cabins, three of which were occupied by the Indians, late in the after- noon of the 4th, the howitzer was planted and a shell dropped through the roof of one, killing two of the inmates. The white men had one killed and five wounded. There matters rested till next morning, when the cabins were found to be empty, the Indians of course having found means to escape. These say- ages made good shots at 400 yards.
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