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CHAPTER VI.
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OTHER INDIAN OUTBREAKS — 1855-1858.
Previous to 1859 the territory of Oregon comprised the present states of Washington, Oregon and Idaho. It is not within the province of this history to follow the careers of Indian "braves," Indian thieves and Indian rapscallions along the entire course of their devious warpaths throughout all of the country outlined above. Of the Indian wars immediately affecting Washington, the territory covered by these annals, it becomes our duty to treat them in an impartial yet concise manner.
The massacre of the Ward train, by the Snake Indians, occurred near Fort Boise in the autumn of 1854. Determined to show the Indians that the government would not remain inactive in the face of such outrages Major Granville O. Haller organized an expedition with which he pushed over into the Snake country, from Fort Dalles. Nothing tangible resulted from this march other than a demonstration in force; the Indians retreated into the mountains; Major Haller and his soldiers returned to The Dalles. During the summer of 1855, however, he made another attempt to reach the Snake Indians, and this time successfully, finally capturing and executing the murderers of the Ward party.
Discovery of gold in the vicinity of Fort Colville incited a stampede to that country. This was in the spring of 1855. At that period Governor Stevens was making his famous eastern tour through the territory engaged in treaties and agreements with the various tribes, and this gold discovery so excited the members of his escort that it was with difficulty they were prevented from deserting. On meeting with the Kettle Falls, Pend d'Oreilles, Spokanes and Coeur' d'Alenes Governor Stevens had told them that he would negotiate with them for the sale of their lands on his return. Offers to purchase lands by the whites had always been regarded with suspicion by the Indians. To them it appeared the preliminary step toward subjugation and domination of the country which, perhaps was not an unusual view of the matter. The gradual but steady increase of the white
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men was far from pleasing to the Indians; they were dissatisfied with the terms of treaties already negotiated, and one chief Peupeumoxmox "Yellow Bird," was on the eve of repudiating the sale of certain territory.
The first note of defiance was sounded by Pierre Jerome, chief of the Kettle Falls Indians, about August 1, 1855. He declared emphatically that no white man should pass through his country. This declaration was soon followed by rumors of murders committed by the Yakimas. A number of small parties had set forth from the Sound en route to Fort Colville, via Nisqually pass and the Ahtanahm Catholic mission. Such was the report communicated by Chief Garry, of the Spokanes, to A J. Bolon, special agent for the Yakimas. It was Bolon's intention to meet Governor Stevens on the latter's return from Fort Benton, and assist at the councils and treaties. But on receiving these sanguinary reports Bolon rashly deflected his course for the purpose of investigating them. He went, unattended to the Catholic mission to meet Kamiakin, and was murdered by Owhi, a nephew of Kamiakin, and chief of the Umatillas, who treacherously shot him in the back.
Then Kamiakin declared war on the whites, which war, he said, he was prepared to carry on five years, if necessary. The gauntlet had been thrown down and war was inevitable. The rumor of whites having been killed by the Yakimas was confirmed by miners returning from Fort Cloville, on September 20. A requisition for troops from Vancouver and Steilacoom was at once made by acting Governor Mason. Fears for the safety of Governor Stevens warranted sending a detachment to his assistance. A force of eighty-four men from Fort Dalles, under Major Haller, was ordered to proceed against Kamiakin and Peupeumoxmox. two chiefs most to be dreaded. Haller's objective point was the Catholic mission, the home of Kamiakin. He set forth October 3.
Indians were discovered the third day out. A sharp skirmish ensued in the afternoon of that day, and at nightfall the Yakimas withdrew. Of Haller's force eight men were killed and wounded. On the following day the fight was renewed, the whites being without water and having but very little food. The Indians attempted to surround Haller, and so sharp was their attack that at dark a messenger was despatched to Major Raines, at The Dalles, asking for assistance. On the third day of this engagement, which was in reality a signal defeat for the whites, the cavalry horses and pack animals were turned loose to find water and grass. Haller determined to return to The Dalles, and was again attacked by the Indians who, for ten miles, harassed the retreating soldiers with a sharp, running fire. The force separated into two divisions, one of them being under the command of Captain Russell. Two detachments of reinforcements failed to connect with Haller, for any effective stand against the enemy, and Major Haller reached The Dalles with a loss of five men killed, seventeen wounded and considerable government property. It was estimated that the Indians suffered a loss of forty killed.
The disastrous result of this initial campaign against the Yakimas inflamed both soldiers and civilians. Preparations for a war of considerable magnitude were hastily made. It was reported at Forts Vancouver and Steilacoom that there were fifteen hundred fighting braves in the field against the whites. One company of volunteers was called on from Clarke, and one from Thurston county, these companies to consist of eighty-five men each. Acting Governor Mason asked for arms from the commanders of the revenue cutter Jefferson Davis and sloop of war Decatur, which were furnished promptly. Company B, of the Puget Sound Volunteers, was organized at Olympia, Gilmore Hays, captain, James S. Hurd, first lieutenant, William Martin, second lieutenant, Joseph Gibson, Henry D. Cock, Thomas Prathar, and Joseph White, sergeants; Joseph
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S. Taylor, Whitfield Kirtley, T. Wheelock and John Scott, corporals. On the 20th they reported at Fort Steilacoom and on the 21st, under command of Captain Maloney, set out for White river to reinforce Lieutenant Slaughter, who had gone into the Yakima country with forty men.
The history of Nesmith's campaign against the Yakima Indians is uneventful. J. W. Nesmith was placed in command of several volunteer companies, organized by proclamation of Acting Governor Mason, numbering, all told, about seven hundred men. They were enrolled at Seattle, Olympia, Vancouver and Cathlamet. James Tilton was appointed adjutant-general of the volunteer forces and Major Raines was in command of the regulars to cooperate with Nesmith. The volunteers and regulars formed a junction at Simcoe Valley on November 7. The day following there was a sharp skirmish with the Indians, but the latter finding the force of the whites greatly augmented were timid, and more inclined to retreat than advance. Being supplied with fresh horses they could escape easily, and were driven up the Yakima river to a narrow gap in the mountains where they made a feeble stand. Haller and Captain Augur charged them, upon which they retreated and fled down the other side of the mountain, leaving the whites in possession. On the 10th they made another stand, and an attempt was made by the volunteers and regulars to surround them. Owing to a misunderstanding a charge was made at an inopportune moment, and again the wily foe were enabled to retreat in comparative safety. On reaching the Ahtanahm mission it was found deserted and, after a number of unimportant movements, Nesmith pushed on to Walla Walla. Major Raines reported to General Wool, who had recently arrived in the territory. The latter was supplied with four thousand stand of arms, a large amount of ammunition and had with him fifty dragoons.
General Wool at this period appears to have been extremely critical and fault-finding. He was particularly severe on the volunteers nor did he spare Majors Raines and Haller. One of General Wool's orders, which appears to have given great offense to the citizens of Oregon, was to disband the company enrolled to proceed to the relief of Governor Stevens, and this order was subsequently bitterly resented by the governor. The result of Wool's conduct was what might have been expected; contentions between the regulars and volunteers, rendering void their efficiency and making it impossible for them to co-operate. Practically future campaigns against the hostiles were in the hands of the volunteers. January 11, 1856. General Wool received information of Indian troubles in Southern Oregon and California, and he left for San Francisco, having first assigned command of the Columbia River District to Colonel George Wright, with headquarters at The Dalles.
In the Puget Sound district the year 1855 was punctuated with a number of Indian tragedies. Lieutenant McAllister and M. McConnell, of McConnell's prairie, were killed by the hostiles in October of that year. Sunday, the 28th, in the White Valley, the Indians fell upon the farming settlements. W. H. Braman, wife and child, H. H. Jones and wife, Simon Cooper and George E. King and wife were killed. Others escaped to Seattle. The death of Lieutenant Slaughter, in December, 1855, cast a heavy gloom over the various communities then in the territory. While in command of sixty- five men, on Brannans' prairie, Lieutenant
Slaughter was sitting at night in a small log house. For the purpose of drying their wet clothing the soldiers had started a small fire near the door of the cabin, and the Indians, guided by this light were able to shoot Slaughter through the heart. Without uttering a word he fell dead from his chair. An attack on Seattle, in December of the same year, was repulsed with heavy losses to both sides, the sloop of war, Decatur, taking a prominent part
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in this fight and doing good execution. Other United States vessels, including the Active and Massachusetts, were conspicuous in defense of the town. It was aboard the Decatur that the sanguinary Patkanim delivered the heads of Indians for which a bounty was offered. Patkanim had entered into a contract with the territorial government by which he was to receive eighty dollars apiece for all heads of Indian chiefs, and twenty dollars for the heads of warriors. Subsequently these ghastly trophies were forwarded to Olympia. In this horrible hunt for hostile heads Patkanim was assisted by eighty warriors of the Snoqualimich and Skokomish tribes, and, also, a chief called John Taylor. The United States navy at that time rendered most valuable services in repulsing Indian attacks along the shore-line of Puget Sound. Working in conjunction with the land forces of the whites the guns of the ships at times did terrible execution among the painted savages. On the morning of October 22, 1856, a party of Indians surrendered to the commander of the Massachusetts and were taken to Victoria. It was generally supposed that the severe treatment accorded unfriendly Indians on the Sound would result in the abandonment of depredations in that vicinity. But on August 11, 1857, a party of savages landed at Whidby Island, killed a man named I. N. Eby, decapitated him and looted his house before an alarm could be given. Nor was this the extent of later depredations. It became necessary for vessels heavily armed to cruise in the sound and through Fuca Strait.
Our territorial limitations demand that we return to the Yakima country where Indian hostilities were renewed. In October. 1855 rumors were rife of a combination of Oregon and Yakima Indians. It was reported, also, that the Des Chutes. Walla "Wallas and Cayuses were inclined to be unfriendly. To prevent such a combination Indian Agent Olney had been sent from The Dalles to Walla Walla. It was construed as an unfavorable circumstance that Peupeumoxmox should have been found on the north side of the Columbia. Other signs indicated the truculency of Peupeumoxmox, and he even denied that he had ever sold the Walla Walla valley. To Olney it seemed apparent that the chief was preparing to join the Yakimas in a war against the whites. It was decided in conference between Agent Olney and McKinlay, Anderson and Sinclair, officers of the Hudson's Bay Company, to destroy the amunition in Walla Walla to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Indians. It was. therefore, thrown into the river. All whites were then ordered to leave the country, and this order included Sinclair, who abandoned property in the fort valued at $37,000.
To a winter campaign against the Indians in the Yakima valley, Colonel Nesmith was stoutly opposed. He directed attention to the fact that his horses and men were exhausted, some of the latter being severely frost-bitten and otherwise unfit for duty. One hundred and twenty-five of them had been discharged. However, Governor Curry ordered Major M. A. Chinn to proceed to Walla Walla and join Nesmith. This order was followed by a general uprising of the Indians. Chinn resolved to fortify the Umatilla agency, and await reinforcements, believing it impossible to form the contemplated union with Nesmith. Accordingly Chinn, who had arrived at the agency November 18. 1855, where he found the buildings destroyed, erected a stockade and named the same Fort Henrietta, in honor of the wife of Major Haller. Later Kelly arrived and succeeding reinforcements gave him four hundred and seventy-five men. The first sally from Walla Walla was made on December 2. The force of three hundred and ninety-nine men was met by Chief Peupeumoxmox,who carried a white flag at the head of a band of warriors. Following a conference the Indians were held as prisoners and, during a subsequent attack on Waiilatpu. were killed. The truculent chief of the Walla Wallas met his death earlv in the
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insurrection of which he was the instigator. The fight at Waiilatpu continued through the 7th, 8th and 9th, the fortunes of war being temporarily with the Indians. Reinforcements for Kelly arrived on the 10th, from Fort Henrietta, thus enabling the whites to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat, and continue the pursuit of the Indians until nightfall. Kelly then built Fort Bennett, two miles above Waiilatpu.
It is impossible to attempt a description of the battle between the upper and lower cascades of the Columbia river without being brought face to face with another blunder of General Wool. However valuable may have been his services during the Mexican war, and no one could justly censure any portion of his career
in those campaigns, truth compels the statement that General Wool's knowledge of Indian warfare was limited. Undoubtedly his intentions were the best, but he appears singularly unfortunate in a number of his military orders while at the head of the troops in Washington and Oregon.
About the middle of December, 1855, Kelly received news of the resignation of Colonel Nesmith. The latter was succeeded by Thomas R. Cornelius, and Kelly, anxious to return to civil duties, gave his command to Davis Layton. A. M. Fellows took the place of Captain Bennett, Fellows being succeeded by A. Shepard, and the latter by B. A. Barker. Thus was effected a partial reorganization of the volunteer forces in the Walla Walla valley. On the return of Governor Stevens, who arrived in camp December 20, he expressed himself as highly gratified by the assistance rendered us by the Oregon trooops. During the ten days he remained in the Walla Walla valley, a company of home-guards, composed of French Canadians, was formed and officered by Sidney E. Ford, captain, Green McCafferty, first lieutenant. It was decided, after discussion with the Oregon volunteers, to intrench Walla Walla and hold the same until the regular trooops were prepared to prosecute another campaign. Similar means of defense were provided for the Spokane and Colville.
Before his return to Olympia Governor Stevens expressed his appreciation of the services of sixty-nine Nez Perce volunteers in a substantial manner. He directed that they be cordially thanked, mustered out of service and their muster rolls forwarded to Olympia for future payment. No one can gainsay this judicious measure, for it was of -the utmost im- portance to retain the friendship of any tribe of Indians disposed to be at all friendly toward the whites. In return for the generous treatment by Governor Stevens the Nez Perces covenanted to furnish horses with which to mount the Oregon volunteers.
The return of Governor Stevens and Kelly, the one to Olympia, the other to Oregon City, was marked in each instance by a series of public ovations from the people. January 19, 1856, the governor was received with a salute of thirty-eight guns; Kelly was given a public banquet and escorted to the hall, an honor worthily bestowed on one who, without doubt, had prevented a dangerous coalition between the Indians of Northern Washington and Southern Oregon. But the praiseworthy efforts of Oregon were not to cease at this point. A proclamation was issued by Governor Curry on January 6, 1856, asking for five companies to be recruited in Yamhill, Polk, Clackamas, Marion and Linn counties, supplemented by forty men to round out the skeltonized company of scouts under Captain Conoyer. These troops arrived at Walla Walla about March 1.
Nine days later the campaign was opened by Colonel Cornelius who started with six hundred men. The plan was to proceed along the Snake and Columbia rivers to the Palouse and Yakima; thence to Priest's Rapids and down the east bank of the Columbia to the mouth of the Yakima. During this march a few Indians were found, but no heavy engagement followed, and the command reached the Yakima March 30. Here ominous reports were received.
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Between the two cascades of the Columbia were a number of settlements. These had been attacked by hostile Indians.
One blunder of General Wool's, to which attention has been called, was made at this juncture. On his arrival from California he had found at Vancouver three companies of infantry. He ordered two of these to repair to Fort Steilacoom. The territory of the hostile Klikitats and Yakimas adjoined a portage between the cascades, on which portage a large quantity of government stores was exposed. This was a strong inducement to the Indians to attack the point, and it should have been heavily guarded. On the contrary the company at the Cascades, on March 24, was sent away, with the exception of eight men under command of Sergeant Matthew Kelly. The latter was a member of the 4th infantry. The upper and lower ends of the portage were connected by a wagon road. The stream above the portage was named Rock Creek, on which was a saw mill. In this vicinity were a number of families and the trading post of Bradford & Company. An island in the river was connected with the mainland by a bridge. The first steamer to run on the Columbia, trading between The Dalles and the Cascades, was the Mary. This craft was at her landing near Rock Creek. The block-house was located about midway between the two cascades and near it lived the families of George Griswold and W. K. Kilborn.
General Wool, after giving his orders, which resulted so disastrously, had returned to California. The force of Colonel Wright had moved from The Dalles; his rear left unguarded. At the upper settlement of the Cascades, on the morning of March 26. a force of Klikitats and Yakimas appeared with hostile demonstrations. Some of the settlers had gone to their daily avocations, but the hour being early, the crew of the Mary had not reached the boat. The Indians who had taken their position under cover of darkness opened the fight, if such an attack on almost defenseless settlers could be termed a fight, with a rapid rifle fire from the brush. One of the whites was shot dead and a number wounded at the first volley. It developed into an Indian massacre accompanied by all the horrid features incidental to such scenes, and those who fell victims to rifle balls were immediately tomahawked and scalped. Among the first to fall was the family of B. W. Brown. Himself, wife, a young boy and his sister, eighteen years of age, were slain and thrown into the river.
Bradford & Company's store, a log structure, appeared to be the only place of refuge, and to this fled the workmen on the bridge and a number of settlers. Then began the memorable siege of the Cascades. Of the forty people gathered in the store building eighteen were able to make a defensive showing, and armed with nine government rifles which, with some ammunition, had been left of the store to be forwarded to Vancouver, they replied to the fire of the enemy to the best of their ability. All advantages of position were with the hostiles. They were concealed on higher ground and, apparently, had the settlers at their mercy. It was in the first onslaught of this savage attack that James Sinclair, one of the Hudson's Bay Company's agents, was killed. He was shot through an open door in a manner similar to the assassination of Lieutenant Slaughter.
Providentially the steamer Mary was not captured. An attack was made upon the boat and the fireman, James Linsay, shot through the shoulder. A negro cook, having been wounded, leaped into the stream and was drowned. One Indian was shot and killed by the engineer, Buskminister, and John Chance, son of the steward, killed another hostile. To effect the escape of the boat it became necessary for Hardin Chenoweth, the pilot, to manipulate the wheel while lying prone on the floor of the pilot house. The families of Sheppard and Vanderpool ventured from the shore in skiffs, and were picked up in midstream. The gallant little
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Mary was then off up the river for succor. Several fatalities afterward occurred among the settlers and a number of hairbreadth escapes are recorded. The Indians fired the mill and lumber yards and tried desperately to burn the log store. The absence of water was added to the elements of horror surrounding the besieged settlers. Within the store one man was dead. Sinclair, and four others severely wounded. A few dozen bottles of ale and whiskey comprised the liquids available for thirty-nine people, the greater number being women and children.
In this dire emergency justice demands that credit be given to a Spokane Indian in the party who risked his life to procure water from the stream. At first he succeeded in getting water only sufficient for the wounded, but the succeeding day he was enabled to fill two barrels and convey them inside the store. Meanwhile the imprisoned settlers were harassed by fears for the safety of the Mary. The capture of this boat meant utter failure to receive reinforcements and relief.
The attack on the block-house below Bradford & Company's store was simultaneous with the assault above. The garrison comprised nine persons, five of whom only were inside the structure at the time of the unexpected attack. The Indians had massed themselves on an adjacent hill. One of the garrison who had been caught outside the block-house was shot through the hip, but managed to crawl to the door, where he was admitted. Cannon was brought to bear on the enemy, and soon afterward the neighboring settlers came
running to the rude fort for protection. A number of them were killed, but such as reached the fort alive were taken inside. During four hours a heavy fire was kept up by both sides, and an attempt to fire the block-house at night was repulsed. The Indians prowled about with horrid yells, and did what damage they could do to surrounding property. Some pro- visions were procured on the 27th from an adjacent house by three soldiers. The congressional report of "Indian Hostilities in Oregon and Washington Territories," 11-12, gives the names of the plucky garrison of this block-house. They were M. Kelly, Frederick Beman, Owen McManus, Lawrence Rooney (killed in the first attack), Smiley, Houser, Williams, Roach and Sheridan. On the second day of the fight the latter four went out and returned with the dead and wounded.
An attack on the Lower Cascades did not result in loss of lives. Many of the settlers were warned of the assault on the block-house by a half-breed boy, who informed W. K. Kilborn and urged him to leave the neighborhood. Kilborn owned a Columbia river freight boat, and by means of this craft he saved the lives of his own family and those of several others. Arriving at Vancouver Kilborn apprised the residents of that place of the outbreak. This news threw the people into consternation, and they expected momentarily to be attacked. The difficult problem presented was to send reinforcements to the Cascades and retain, at the same time, sufficient force to protect Vancouver. To the Hudson's Bay Company's fort, for greater safety, Colonel Morris removed the women and children of the garrison. In his "History of Washington, Idaho and Montana," Hubert Howe Bancroft states that Coloneil Morris "refused arms to the captain of the volunteer home guards in obedience to the orders of General Wool." Mr. Bancroft says further:
"I take this statement from a correspondent of the Olympia Pioneer and Democrat of April 25, 1856,
who says that Kelly, of the volunteers, went to the officer in command at that post and requested to be furnished with arms, as all the arms in the country had gone to furnish a company in the field — Captain Maxon's. 'He was insulted — told to mind his own business.' A few days later a consignment of arms from the east arrived, for the use of the territory, and the settlers were furnished from that supply."
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