# The Early Indian Wars of Oregon/Cayuse/Chapter 8

CHAPTER VIII.
ABERNETHY S LETTER TO Gi LLI AM CONDITION OF THE ARMY APPEAL OF MAXON
EFFORTS OF THE WOMEN OF OREGON CITY" COMPACT OF FIFTEEN YOUNG LADIES GOVERNOR S PROCLAMATION LEE S APPEAL MORE COMPANIES RAISED
DIFFICULTY OF SENDING MEN TO THE FRONT WITHOUT MONEY APPLEGATE S LETTER TO PALMER LETTER TO LEE AFFAIRS AT THE DALLES EN ROUTE TO FORT WATERS CONDITION OF THE COMMISSARY STORES INDIANS MORE FRIENDLY
LEE FINDS THE REGIMENT IMPROVED, AND RESIGNS His COMMISSION ACCEPTS ANOTHER INSTRUCTIONS OF THE GOVERNOR TO THE SUPERINTENDENT OF INDIAN AFFAIRS OVERTURES OF THE YAKIMAS AND OTHER TRIBES LEE S CHARGE TO THEM FRUITLESS PURSUIT OF THE CAYUSES AGREEMENT WITH THE NEZ PEKOES
OFFER OF A REAVARD FOR THE CAPTURE OF THE CAYUSES RESULTS OF THE CAMPAIGN CAYUSE LANDS CONFISCATED WITHDRAWAL OF THE ARMY FPRTS WATERS AND LEE HELD UNTIL SEPTEMBER ARMY DISCHARGED LEE S RESIGNA TION AND EXPLANATION SUSPECTED PRIESTS FOURTH OF JULY AT FORT WATERS
RAIDS IN THE WALLAMET VALLEY.
To UNDERSTAND why Colonel Gilliam determined to re turn to the seat of government, the following letter should be taken into consideration :
OREGON CITY, March 17, 1848.
I received your communication of the twenty-ninth ultimo on the evening of the fifteenth instant. I regret that so many of our volunteers were wounded, and sincerely hope they may all recover. The Indians have learned by this time that the Americans are not women, and I think their feelings will change with their opinion. The probability is that the warm reception they intended giving you, having been returned with such heavy interest, will be the means of concluding a peace with the tribes. Fear will deter them from uniting against the whites. I am put in possession of data from Walla Walla up to seventh March, by which letter I under stand "that all that could be done will be accomplished without further bloodshed." This is an extract from General Palmer s letter to Mr. McBean. The Walla Walla chief remains friendly. This is good under these circumstances, which no doubt transpired after your letter was written. I have made no requisition for more men. The fact is, it is impossible to get men without money, and money you know we have not.
I expect to hear further from you in a few days. Your next letter will, I think, determine me what course to take. If more men are needed, the legislature must come together, and a direct tax be levied on property. I hope, however, this may be avoided. If the tribes ​
(194)
do not unite, your force can hold Waiilatpu until we get assistance from California. I think the Henry, Captain Kilborne, will be there in ten days from this, and I hope w r e shall immediately get aid. Please present my thanks to the officers and men under your com mand. I will add there is now one hundred barrels of flour at the Cascades and Dalles. Captain Garrison was instructed to remain with his company at The Dalles.
I remain, sir, your obedient servant,
GEORGE ABEBNETHY, Col. C. Gilliam, Governor of Oregon Territory.
First Regiment Oregon Riflemen, Waiilatpu.
Events had transpired since the governor s declaration that no more men could be enlisted without calling an extra session of the legislature, which made it imperative, if the war was carried on, that more companies should be raised, and that without loss of time.
Meanwhile the army was in a sorry condition. Captain Maxon, immediately on arriving at The Dalles, where he found a reenforcement of one company only, under Joseph M. Garrison, sent his report below to the adjutant- general. He reminded that officer that there remained at Fort Waters, which was an enclosure of but a few feet in height, only one hundred and fifty men, almost without clothing or ammunition, and wholly without bread. He appealed to fathers to send bread to their sons, who were keeping danger away from their hearthstones; to mothers to pro vide clothing to protect their children from the winter blasts; to young women to frown upon every young man who refused to volunteer to defend their honor and their common country, and to every one to hasten the supplies for which he was waiting at Fort Lee.
This picture of destitution, which was true in every particular when Gilliam set out for The Dalles, was, at the time Maxon s report was written, considerably ameliorated, as appears from a letter by Jesse Cad waller, a private in Thompson s company, on the fourth of April, and before the news of the colonel s death had reached Fort Waters; for this correspondent says that thirty bushels of wheat, besides peas and potatoes, had been found, and the mill ​
had been repaired for grinding. Beef also was plenty, which the men busied themselves in slaughtering and drying, in preparation for a campaign.
However, Captain Maxon s appeal was well timed. It had the effect to revive volunteering, and to awaken a more personal sympathy with the army. The matrons of Oregon City set on foot an organized effort to provide clothing for the soldiers; 1 while the young women entered into a compact to withhold their favor from any young man who would not fight in defense of them and their country. The fear of losing their land claims, should they long absent themselves, had kept many men without families at home; but in the published compact the young women agreed to protect the claims abandoned, that their owners might go to the war. This agreement was signed by "fifteen young ladies of Oregon City;" nor was the ^protocol without effect.
The governor also issued the following proclamation :
Recent accounts from the seat of war show that the Indians are in pretty strong force, and determined to fight. Many of the tribes have expressed a desire to remain peaceful, but there can be no question that the slightest defeat on our part will encourage portions of them to unite against us, and if they should unfortunately suc ceed in cutting off or crippling our army, it would be a signal for a general union among them; fear is the only thing that will restrain them. It is necessary at the present moment to keep a strong force in the field to keep those friendly that have manifested a desire for peace, and to keep the hostile Indians busy in their own country, for the war must now either be carried on there, or in our valley. The question is not now a matter of dollars and cents only ; but whether exertions will be made on the part of citizens of the territory to reenforce and sustain the army in the upper country, and keep down the Indians (which our men are able and willing to do if supported ), or disband the army and fight them in the valley. One of the two must be done. If the army is disbanded, before two months roll round we will hear of depredations on our frontiers, families will be cut off. and the murderers on their fleet horses out of our reach in some mountain pass before we hear of the massacre.
JThe president of this society was Mrs. N. M. Thornton, and the secretary Mrs. E. F. Thurston. Mrs. Hood, Mrs. Robb, Mrs. Crawford, Mrs. Herford, and Mrs. Leslie were active members. ​
Many young men are willing to enlist and proceed to the seat of war, but are unable to furnish an outfit ; let their neighbors assist them, fit them out well, and send them on. As a people we must assist and carry on the war. I hope sincerely that the government of the United States will speedily extend its protecting care over us, but in the meantime we must protect ourselves, and now is the time. I therefore call on all citizens of this territory to furnish three hundred men in addition to the number now in the field. Three new companies will be organized and attached to the regiment com manded by Colonel H. A. G. Lee ; each company to consist of eighty-five men, rank and file; the remainder will be distributed among the companies already organized ; the enlistments to be for six months, unless sooner discharged by proclamation or relieved by the troops of the United States. Each man will furnish his own horse, arms, clothing and blankets. The companies will bring all the ammunition, percussion caps, and camp equipage they can, for which they will receive a receipt from the commissary-general.
All citizens willing to enlist will form themselves into detach ments in their several counties and be ready to march to Portland, so as to arrive there on the eighteenth day of April, on which day Colonel Lee will be there to organize the new companies ; after which the line of march will be taken up for Waiilatpu. If a suf ficient number of men to form a foot company appear on the ground, they will be received as one of the above companies.
In witness whereof, I have signed my name and affixed the seal of the territory.
Done at Oregon City, this first day of April, 1848.
A paper in Lee s handwriting, but without signature, seems to have been written to stimulate enlistment, as fol lows:
He asks permission, as one who has as little to defend in Oregon as any one, to make " an appeal to your good sense arid patriotism, in behalf of your own interests, your families, your prosperity, your own personal safety. I should do violence to my own sense of duty, as well as injustice to my country, were I to suppress the conviction which circumstances and facts have forced upon me of our common danger, and of the absolute necessity of an immediate, united, and vigorous action on your part to secure the safety of the settlements by holding the enemy in check abroad, which can only be done by reenforcing and sustaining the troops now in the field. No country ever furnished a volunteer corps of braver, better soldiers than Oregon has done ; but these men feel themselves entitled to, at least, the means of defending the lives and property of you who remain in quiet and ease at home, as long as you have the power to furnish those means. * * * It is confidently believed tha ​t could
you see the present condition of the soldiers now in the field, a part of them three hundred miles from their homes and families, in the heart of an enemy s country, without a mouthful of bread, many of them almost naked, and the whole of them without the powder and lead to defend their own lives against the attack of hostile forces within fifty miles of them, you would rise up to a man and render such assistance as is in your power to furnish them the absolute necessaries of life, more than which they do not ask without which they must return to the settlements. Let this truth tell upon the good sense of every man we must conquer the enemy in their own country or fight them in our midst. Although many of the tribes profess friendship and refrain from hostilities while the seat of war is kept in their midst, where they have much to lose, that friendship will only last while it serves their own interest, the very principle which will prompt them to join the enemy the moment there is the least hope of victory on their side for then it would be as necessary for them to be friends to the enemy as it now is to be friends to us. Whenever, therefore, the seat of war is moved to the settlements where we have all to lose and they to gain, we will have ten times their present numbers to contend with."
The combined effort of the regimental officers, the gov ernor, and the ladies, had the effect to arouse the people to fresh activity. Meetings were held in several counties, and about two hundred and fifty men enlisted. Polk and Clackamas raised one company, J. W. Nesmith, captain; Linn, one company, William P. Pugh, captain; Yamhill and Tualatin, one company, William J. Martin, captain. Clatsop county sent a few volunteers. The means to equip was raised by subscription. 2
Popular as was the war, it was a difficult matter putting another battalion in the field. The commissariat had at no time been maintained without great exertion on the part of its officers, and often great sacrifices on the part of the people. The commissary-general s sworn and bonded
- The muster rolls do not always show where credit is due. H. J. Peterson of Linn raised a company, which proceeded to Portland, in April^ where it was probably ab sorbed by the reorganization of the battalion. Granville H. Baber raised a company also, in Linn. As first organized, he was captain ; Jeremiah Driggs, first lieutenant ; J. M. McConnell and Isaac Thompson, sergeants. The men from Clatsop were 8. B. Hall, D. H. Kinder, John Richey, R. W. Morrison, and N. H. Everman : Oregon Spectator, May 4, 1848. ​
agents in. every county had from the beginning strained every nerve to collect arms, ammunition, and clothing, for which they paid in government bonds or loan commisson- ers scrip. As there was very little actual cash in circula tion, 3 and as the common currency of Oregon had been wheat, it had come to pass that "wheat notes" had been received in place of cash as contributions to the war funds. The wheat thus collected could be sold for cash or its equivalent at Vancouver, and thus, after passing through the circumlocution office, this awkward currency, which had to be gathered up, stored in warehouses, hauled to boat landings, set adrift upon the Wallamet, hauled around the falls at Oregon City, and there reloaded for Vancouver, was there at length exchanged for real money or goods.
The collection of provisions for the consumption of the army was another matter, and not less burdensome. The agents could refuse no lot of provisions because it was small or miscellaneous, nor reject any articles of use to soldiers because they were not of the best. 4 Lead was purchased in any quantities from one to several pounds, and was hard to find, 5 all that was in the country being that which was brought across the plains by the immi grations for use upon the road. Powder and percussion caps were obtained in the same way, or purchased with
! When the commissioners were making collections in Yamhill county, Dr. James McBride was the only contributor of money, to the amount of two and a half dollars.
4 James Force, commissary agent at Salem, in a letter to Palmer in January, says he has succeeded in purchasing but six saddles. "The tree and rigging without stirrups is eight dollars ; with stirrups and leathers, nine dollars ; trail-ropes, three dollars." He bought four hundred and eighty-nine pounds of pork at eight cents ; two hundred pounds at ten cents per pound ; five hundred and seventy-two pounds or bacon at twelve and a half cents ; ninety-nine pounds cheese at twenty cents ; seventy-four bushels of wheat at one dollar per bushel ; five bushels of wheat at one dollar per bushel ; one pack-saddle, four dollars ; two parflaches, five dollars ; six pairs saddle-bags, six dollars. He paid four dollars per day for teams to haul four hundred and fifty pounds each to Butteville, where the goods were transferred to boats : Oregon Archives, MS. 883. In another letter he complains that the only cooper at Salem refused to sell barrels for any funds but cash, and he had no means of getting even the sixty bushels of wheat purchased for flouring, to the mill, as the farmers had no sacks. "I think," he says, "I can raise at this point one hundred pounds of flour, and some pork." Oregon Archives, MS. 884.
5 Oregon Archives ​, MS. 864.
wheat notes at Vancouver. As commissioners funds grew scarce, on the first call, some of the agents asked leave to "press" the wheat of certain farmers whose granaries were better filled than their neighbors; and on the second call, leave was asked to press seven thousand bushels, equiva lent to seven thousand dollars, from the granary of the Hudson's Bay Company at Champoeg, because " the means are absolutely not in the hands of the American citizens, and without sufficient power or persuasion to raise them from that source, they cannot be obtained. 7
On the commissary-general fell the responsibility of deciding these matters, and it was a burden hard to be borne amidst a multitude of advisors and critics. Palmer was a man of extraordinary resolve, yet he was not always certain of the wisdom of pursuing the only methods left him to feed and furnish the army, and just at this critical time he was led to abandon the wheat loan as a means of raising funds. A letter written to him by Jesse Applegate at this crisis in affairs throws a flood of light upon the subject, and for this reason it is incorporated in the text:
POLK COUNTY, Oregon, 27th April, 1848.
DEAR SIR: I have just had an interview with Mr. Fulkerson, who informs me that you have become distrustful of the policy of the wheat loan, and have instructed him to cease operations in that matter whenever he had raised an amount sufficient to secure to me payment for the beef cattle he purchased of me for the use of the army. As I do not wish that you should assume a responsibility on my account that you deem unsafe, I have taken this opportunity to inform you that unless the plan of taking up wheat notes is made a general practice, I do not wish any notes taken up for my exclusive benefit.
I am myself in favor of raising a revenue by direct taxation, as I
6 A. J. Hembree of Yamhill county, in February, mentions having pressed one hundred and eighty-seven and one-half bushels of wheat belonging to Jesse Apple- gate ; also eleven bushels from Samuel Campbell, fifteen bushels from Andrew Smith, fifteen from Pleasant Armstrong, seventeen from Ed. Stone, six and one-half from A. Biers, and one hundred and thirty -five bushels from Ben Williams : Oregon Archives, MS. 981.
" C. W. Cooke, April 10, 1848. He adds, " Hembree has raised some powder, lead, and caps, a little cash, and about forty bushels of wheat ": Oregon Archives ​, MS. 946.
consider that method as the only fair and equitable plan of dis tributing the burden of this unlucky war among the people who are equally interested in its maintenance. But as the wheat plan has been partially tried, and has been favorably received by the people, and as it is the immediate offspring of the commander in the field, and has the approval of the executive and the loan commissioners, I do not think it should be lightly abandoned. Because those who have given notes already have done so under the supposition that all would be called to do the same ; that it was actually a tax, with out the odious feature of compulsion, and they are the more willing to contribute in this shape to the wants of the government, as it is anticipated by the people generally that ultimately a tax will be levied upon them against which their voluntary contributions will be an offset. If the plan is now abandoned those who have given notes will have just cause to complain that they have been induced to do so under a misunderstanding, and will not be likely to incom mode themselves much in the discharge of such obligations.
As it regards the increased responsibility to yourself by adhering to this plan of raising means, I cannot for my life see that you can any more suffer in pocket or character than from any other which you have been forced to adopt in the successful discharge of your duties. You know that a rigid construction of your duties as com missary-general limits you to the bare investment of the means placed in your hands; but our pecuniary embarrassments have been such that you have been forced to supply the army without means, and while your opponents cry out that by seizing provisions, bor rowing money, and buying property as commissary-general, your acts were extra official; yet by taking this responsibility alone, you have so far been able to furnish the army and keep them in the field; and by your great exertions and perseverance in these unlaw ful acts you have gained that good will of the people they so much envy.
The office-seekers, of course, wish your downfall and will com pass it if they can; not because they have discovered faults in you, but on the contrary, they fear the people may duly appreciate the ability you have displayed, and the great personal sacrifices you have made in their service; and if they can, by alarming your fears, drive you to abandon a policy which so far has been successful, and obtain for you the character of vascillation and uncertainty, they will succeed in their object, which is to deprive you of the confi dence of the people, and which once lost is scarcely ever regained.
If you have the right to make purchases and receive property, your right to receive money or property of any kind that can be made available to the use of the army is certainly unquestionable; so I think the only question with you to decide is as to the policy of the measure. If you think it will be for the good of the commu nity to adopt it, carry it out to the fullest extent; if you ​decide
against its utility abandon it at once, and undo, if you can, what has been done in the matter. For my part, I would not touch a note obtained from my neighbor for my exclusive benefit, and at the expense of the disgrace of a friend.
Sincerely your well-wisher, JESSE APPLEGATE. 8
It is hardly necessary to enter more into detail concern ing the difficulties that heset men holding office under a provisional government without a treasury, or the material out of which government funds might grow ; and we might go far to find a nobler expression of true patriotism or sus taining manly friendship than Applegate s letter. Yet there were commissary agents and men in the army who were as staunch patriots, if not as able statesmen, as the author of this document.
Lee was not ignorant that those whom Applegate calls office-seekers were opposed to his appointment, as his cor respondence with the governor shows, and he was reluctant to accept it, but was overruled by his friends. When he had accepted he was in danger of being prevented from doing anything by the ill success of the commissary s agents. Again the watchful Applegate put his shoulder to the wheel. He says, in a letter to Lee, April sixteenth :
I take this opportunity to speak three words to you. I find some of the friends of the former commander will do everything they can to injure you. Never mind them. If you can bring the Indians to an engagement, and make a short campaign, you will not only serve your country in the best possible manner, but place yourself beyond the reach of envy. To enable you to do this I would make almost any sacrifice. I found Fulkerson had got but one beef to feed you up, and you know Palmer had no other resource for it. I have sent fifteen beeves, and will give the last hoof I have rather than your movements should be crippled for want of means. I found no money at home, nor could get any at O Neil s. I have sent four beeves by Tetherow to be sold, and the proceeds, except ten dol lars and twenty-five cents, to be given to you on my private ac count. * * * It is needless to say I wish you success. 9
Lee s trouble did not end when he finally repaired to
8 Oregon Archives. MS. 866.
9 Oregon Archives, MS. 863. ​
The Dalles in his new dignity of colonel. Officers were resigning and men deserting; the former, because their private interests were suffering, or because they had some personal grievance; and the latter a small number to enrich themselves by the timely appropriation of Indian horses, which they stealthily drove into the Wallamet valley over the Mount Hood road as soon as the spring was far enough advanced.
The company under Captain Joseph M. Garrison, which was enlisted in March to reenforce Colonel Gilliam, had proceeded as far as The Dalles before that officer s death became known, and had been instructed to remain at that post for its better protection ; but owing to domestic affairs Captain Garrison was compelled to return home, leaving his company under the command of the first lieutenant, A. E. Garrison, who was in doubt about the captain s re turn. Captain William Martin resigned his command about the last of April, his lieutenants with him, and about a dozen of his men. An election for new officers resulted in the choice of G. W. Burnett for captain.
These changes so soon after his appointment to the col onelcy annoyed Lee, as perhaps they were in some in stances intended to do. He reorganized as rapidly as possible, preparing to take the field, leaving Fort Lee un der the command of Brevet Captain R. W. Morrison, who was ordered to observe the most strict military rules, no Indian being permitted to enter the fort after sunset, ex cept upon special business, and under guard. When chiefs came or sent on friendly missions, they were to be well treated, but not given any information which could be turned to the prejudice of the army. He was to remem ber that Indians were deceitful and treacherous exceedingly; to make them no promise he could not meet in good faith, nor utter any threat he was unable to execute. He was to look after the morals as well as the military improvement of his men, and " never allow the soldiers to equalize them selves with the Indians." 10
10 Oregon Archives, MS. 2009. ​
On the second of May, Lee wrote to Adjutant- General Lovejoy : " We leave tomorrow for Fort Waters, with a pack horse to each mess, and five provision and one ord nance wagon. Des Chutes and John Day rivers are both to be ferried in small canoes, which will greatly retard our progress." 11
On the fifth, and before Lee s arrival at Fort Waters, Captain Maxon wrote to Lovejoy that he had come from The Dalles in eight days without any serious loss one wagon broken down, one horse lost by breaking his leg, and one by running away, but three good horses belong ing to the regiment were found on the road. "The signs for a fight were very encouraging after passing Willow creek, but the devils feared to attack us, so we lost the glory. * * We are here doing nothing. I have
been very anxious to go after the Indians for several days, but am overruled. Some think we are not able to cope with them. I believe, with plenty of ammunition we can whip a thousand easy, and am willing to try it any time, rather than the murderers should get away. The mur derers are on Snake river, about seventy-five miles away- We have already lost every horse almost, and I fear the consequences now. A majority seem determined to await Colonel Lee s arrival. I am for walking into them at once." 1 In a postscript was added that the friendly Cayuses were " mad " about something ; and Peu-peu-mox-mox " very sulky yet. It would be better for us if they were all our open enemies."
Lieutenant-Colonel Waters, about the same date, wrote to the adjutant-general that on a late inspection of the commissary department he had discovered fraud of the basest kind had been practiced upon the government and the army by citizens of the Wallamet valley. Several barrels of flour, so laboriously brought there by Max on s company, proved to be mixed with coarse shorts in the
n Oregon Archives, MS. 936. 12 Oregon Archives, MS. 853. ​
proportion of seven pounds of shorts to five of flour, "and reel as a fox tail at that." Other barrels had good flour for six inches at either end, and fine shorts all the way, between. The volunteers preferred, he said, if it werc\ necessary for them to accept more shorts than flour, to have them put up in separate parcels. 13 And the wheat J for this flour had been subscribed to the army funds by I the people, and ground in the governor s mills! \
Waters also wrote to Colonel Lee, May fifth, that the Indians had recently "changed their sentiments" toward the Americans. Tauitowe, Otter-skin Shirt, Sticcas, Ca- maspelo, with their people, had returned to the Umatilla, and professed friendship, but he distrusted them. The plains in that direction were covered with their stock, and among them he believed the stock of the murderers was herded. Welaptulekt, whom he suspected of treachery, had been a prisoner at the fort for ten days, and would be detained there until the colonel s arrival. About one hundred Nez Perees, and several chiefs, were at Waiilatpu awaiting his arrival. They desired to have a talk with the proper authorities, and have a head chief appointed in place of Ellis, who, with sixty of his people, had died of the measles while on a buffalo hunt. The Cayuses were angry with the Nez Perees, and only the night previous had threatened one of them with death at the fort gate for fighting with the Bostons. 14
This was the state of affairs when Colonel Lee reached Waiilatpu about the ninth of May. Here, as might have been foreseen, the men differed in their choice of a leader, and Lee, who had accepted his promotion over Waters conditionally, hastened to return his commission, 15 and that of his adjutant, C. W. Cooke. "I find," said he, "the regiment greatly improved under command of Lieutenant-
" Oregon Archives, MS. 910.
15 You are aware of the manner in which I accepted the appointment, and will not be surprised to see the commission returned : Oregon Archives, MS. 998, ​
Colonel Waters. I have great confidence in him, and doubt not the troops will find him competent to the task before him. To prevent any discord or rupture in the regiment, at the request of the officers and men, I have consented to act as lieutenant- colonel during the approach ing campaign." Waters had already been sworn in, as appears from his letter of the fifteenth of May to the adjutant-general, in which he says, that "on Colonel Lee s arrival at this post he delivered up his command to me.
in the regiment, has consented to act as lieutenant-colonel. The prospects are now fair before us, and I trust we will soon be on our way to the valley. I intend to start in pursuit of our enemies in a few days, and doubt not that we will be able to accomplish our end."
Very soon after his return from Waiilatpu in March, Palmer had resigned the superintendency of Indian affairs, as being, jointly with his other duties, too burdensome; and Governor Abernethy when he made Lee colonel, per suaded him to act also os Indian superintendent, a duty for which he was well prepared by acquaintance with its requirements, having assisted both Dr. White and the governor in controlling the interior tribes. The governor s instructions to Lee in this capacity ran as follows:
EXECUTIVE OFFICE, OREGON CITY, 10th April, 1848. SIB : I would refer you to my instructions to the commissioners and superintendent of Indian affairs under date of third February last. The adjutant-general will furnish you with copies of instruc tions sent to Colonel Gilliam. In addition, I would remark should the murderers be scattered, and you think it unadvisable to follow them, in making a treaty with the tribes keep in view the safety of the immigrants and the people of this valley. The only way in which this can be done wilt be by binding the chiefs to protect them, giving them to understand that if Americans are molested in person or property, that we shall hold them responsible. Impress on their minds the fact that the murderers are few, and their 16 people many. You will get all the information you can respecting the
10 Our people appears to be meant. ​
murderers, where located, and their probable intentions. I think Joe Lewis and others have gone to the Mormons. A few men, well selected, might follow them, and by sending on one or two men into the city accompanied by some of the Fort Hall people, they might be arrested. I leave this, however, to your own judgment. Hoping that you may be successful in bringing thte war to a close, I remain, your obedient servant,
GEORGE ABERNETHY, Governor of Oregon Territory. Colonel H. A. G. Lee,
First Regiment Oregon Riflemen.
Lee learned from Maxon at The Dalles that the Yakima chiefs had paid the major a visit to express their friendly feelings. They said, "We do not want to fight the Ameri cans, nor the French; neither do the Spokanes, a neigh boring tribe to us. Last fall the Cayuses told us they were^ about to kill the whites at Dr. Whitman s. We told them\ that was wrong, which made them mad at us; and when they killed them they came to us and wished us to fight the whites, which we refused. We love the whites ; but they say, if you do not help us to fight the whites when we have I killed them we will come and kill you. This made us cry,/ but we told them we would not fight, but if they desired to kill us they might. We should feel happy to know that we die innocently." To these friendly professions Maxon replied with the assurance of the American pur pose to make war only on the murderers and those who harbored them. "We that fight," said he, "do not care how many bad people we have to fight. The Americans and Hudson's bay people are the same as one, and you will get no more ammunition until the war is at a close."
The news of a change in the superintendency having reached Fort Waters and the Indians in advance of the reinforcement, was the occasion of the presence at Waii- latpu of a large body of Nez Percés. So impatient were they that an express was sent to meet Lee at John Day river with a request for a council, in response to which he hastened forward, arriving at the fort in advance of the ​
new companies. Richard was appointed high chief on account of his superior attainments and good character; and Meaway, a very peaceable man, as war chief. These appointments were not objected to at the time, only quietly acquiesced in; but later Richard was assassinated, as it was thought, by a political enemy, and another high chief elected.
The affairs of the Nez Percés being settled, a council was held with the Walla Wallas and the Cayuses who had returned to the Umatilla. They, seeing that compa nies of armed Americans continued to come from the Wallainet, and being informed of the expected arrival of the United States mounted rifle regiment, on its way as it was supposed, from Fort Leavenworth, were humble accordingly. "The friendship of the Indians," wrote Col onel Waters, "increases with our numbers." Even Peu- peu-mox-mox, who had deeply resented the act of the legislature withholding ammunition from the Indians without distinction of tribe or individual, and who had threatened to join the murderers in retaliation, confessed his shame at having done so.
"I told him, and all that were present," wrote Lee, "that \ve were bound to hold this country until the murderers were punished, the stolen property returned, and that which had been destroyed paid for; and then asked them what they were going to do; whether they would try to settle the matter and let us go home about our business, and leave them to theirs, or would they hold off as they had done, and leave us here to hold the country with our guns?"
It was certainly not an easy question to answer. The conditions were as hard as they were unavoidable, for if they complied with the demands of the Americans they should have to fight among themselves, and if they refused they would be compelled to fight the Americans or leave their country. Even in the matter of property, they found they were likely to be impoverished by an attemp ​t to pay
the Cay use v debt. "I showed them," says Lee, "the bill of articles taken at this place, and those taken from immi grants along the road, as also at Barlow s gate, and told them we would forget nothing." Nothing more definite resulted from the council than professions of a desire for peace and friendship.
Meanwhile, preparations were making at the fort for a pursuit of the murderers, who were believed to have taken refuge in the Nez Peree country; and on the seventeenth of May over four hundred men set out upon the march to the Clearwater. They encamped that night on the Coppei, and on the following morning Lee was detached with Captain Thompson and one hundred and twenty-one men to proceed to Red Wolf s camp at Snake river crossing to be ready to intercept the flight of the fugitives to the mountains, while the main force would march to the river at the mouth of the Palouse, and crossing there, prevent them from escaping down to the Columbia.
Several Palouse chiefs had offered their services in fer rying the army across, but were nowhere to be found when the troops arrived, Major Magone with four men being compelled to cross Snake river on a raft to search for the means of transporting men and baggage to the north side of that then turbulent stream. A day was spent in find ing the Indians, and a day and a half more in effecting a crossing, swimming the horses and ferrying the troops. At noon on the twenty-first they were once more under way, being piloted by an Indian who promised to bring them to the camp of Tiloukaikt.
On the following day a messenger arrived from the Chernekane mission, bringing a letter from Mr. Eells, to whom Colonel Waters had written to inquire as to the disposition of the Spokane tribe. According to the infor mation thus gained they were not altogether in harmony, although they did not pretend to excuse the murderers. Forty-three of the tribe accompanied the courier, who pointed out to Waters where Tiloukaikt s cattle were ​
14
grazing, and offered to bring them in. With the latter came two Nez Percés, thought to be spies, who informed him that Tiloukaikt had fled to the mountains, but that the greater portion of his stock was being herded by a few Indians near Snake river, and could easily be captured. Major Magone was directed to bring it in, and to capture any Indian who behaved suspiciously.
Probably there was never an Indian war in which, under so great provocation, the men behaved with more humanity towards the enemy than in the war of the early settlers of Oregon with the Cay uses. Now and then, how ever, some impetuous or revengeful volunteer, or officer desiring to distinguish himself, construed his orders to suit his sentiment on the occasion, and this seemed to have occurred on Major Magone s errand after Tiloukaikt s stock, for the flight of a frightened savage, running away from his natural enemy, the white man, caused a squad of troopers to pursue him to kill, rather than to capture. According to Major Magone s report, Baptiste Dorion, himself a half-Indian, son of the Madam Dorion of Irving s Astoria, set off at full speed without orders, followed by several others, and the fleeing Indian was killed before the major, owing to his having a poor horse, could call a halt. The fugitive had at last taken refuge in a canoe when he was discovered and shot, as was also another Indian. That the act was considered unjustifiable, is proven by the notice taken of the incident at the time.
Magone found none of Tiloukaikt s people, but only a few Columbia river Indians, under Beardy, who directed him to the camp of Richard, high chief of the Nez Percés. Both Beardy and Richard assured him that Tiloukaikt was far out of the country towards Fort Hall.
Richard, at the same time, informed the major that an express had gone from Lee at Lapwai to Colonel Waters, carried by two white men only, 17 a piece of news which
17 The bearers of this express through an Indian country where the murderers were still supposed to be lurking were C. W. Cooke and David Gu ​thrie.
caused him to hasten his return to the main command, with such of Tiloukaikt s stock as could be gathered up without loss of time, and much to the dissatisfaction of his men, who were out of all patience with Indians who professed friendship, yet who constantly shielded the mur derers, as even the Nez Percés were doing by allowing them to escape through their country. "I would have given more general satisfaction to the men by ordering them to wipe from the face of existence those professed friendly Indians, without distinction or mercy," he said in his report, and hinted that only obedience to orders re strained him as well as them.
The dispatch from Lee stated that he had been met at Red \yolfs crossing with the assurance that the guilty Cayuses had fled, leaving behind all their property, some of which was about Lapwai; that he had gone there to collect it on the twenty-first, and had remained several days, during which he had talked with the Nez Percés, ex plaining that the invasion of their country by armed men was solely with the object of arresting the Cayuses : but that since they were not to be found he should take possession of their property. If the Nez Percés were true friends they would aid, instead of concealing anything from him which would forward the ends of justice. To this they assented, and agreed to assist in driving to Waiilatpu 18 the Cayuse stock, which amounted to one hundred and eighteen horses and forty head of neat cattle. Lee desired further orders, and was directed to return at once to the
18 There seems to have been a treaty with the Xez Percés drawn up at the time of Palmer s visit to Waiilatpu in March, which promised peace and friendship towards the Americans ; to refrain from aiding the Cayuses, or from giving them refuge in their territory ; to aid the Americans, as far as they could without bloodshed, in punishing the guilty ; and to respect the persons and property of such white men as the superintendent should send to reside among them.
On the part of the commissioners, it was agreed to permit no white men to settle upon the Nez Perc6 lands, except such as just named, but the superintendent was to hear their complaints, and protect them. The right to pass through each other s country was to be maintained, and finally, the Americans and Nez Percés were to be friends and brothers.
This treaty is not mentioned in the report of the proceedings at Waiilatpu, though the unsigned draft of it is among the papers of the provisional government. ​
main command, which he proceeded to do, crossing Snake river in boats made of the skin lodges of the Cayuses, abandoned in their flight, and arriving at camp about the twenty-fifth.
Before leaving Lapwai, Lee s command offered a reward of several hundred dollars for the apprehension of the murderers, or any two of the principal men; or half of the whole for any one of them, and one-quarter of the sum for the capture and delivery of certain less responsible of the murderers; but this offer produced no effect, although the Nez Percés appeared to be in earnest in promising their best efforts to bring the criminals to justice. This docu ment, which is preserved in the Oregon archives, is inter esting as illustrating the poverty and patriotism of the volunteers:
CLEAR-WATER CAMP, 23d May, 1848.
We, the undersignejl, promise to pay to the Nez Percys or other Indians, or their agent, the articles, sums, and amounts annexed to our names, respectively, for the capture and delivery to the authori ties of Oregon territory, any two of the following named Indians, viz., Teloukikt, Tamsucy, Tamahas, Joe Lewis, or Edward Telou- kikt ; or half the amount for any one of them. We also promise to pay one-fourth of the amount as specified above for the capture and delivery of any one of the following, viz., Llou-Llou, Pips, Frank Escaloom, Quiamashouskin, Estools, Showshow, Pahosh, Cupup-Cupup, or any other engaged in the massacre. The same to be paid whenever the service is rendered, and the fact that it has been rendered established : Burrel Davis, two blankets; Edwin F. Stone, two blankets, four shirts; P. F. Thompson, fifty dollars in goods; Harrison C. Johnson, two blankets; A. K. Fox, one blanket; James Etchel, one blanket; D. B. Matheny, one blanket, one shirt; Jeptha Garrison, two shirts; Wm. A. Culberson, two blankets; Jesse Cadwaleder, two blankets; Josiah Nelson, one blanket, one shirt; Martin F. Brown, two blankets; Isaac Walgamot, one blanket; John Eldridge, one blanket; A. S. Wilton, one blanket; J. W. Downer, one blanket, two shirts; Jacob Grazer, one blanket; Thos. J. Jackson, two blankets, two shirts; Clark Rogers, one blanket; John Scales, one blanket; Hiram Carnahan, two shirts; John Co- penhaver, one blanket, two shirts; Isaiah C. Matheny, one blanket, one shirt; Benjamin Taylor, one shirt; M. B. Riggs, one blanket, two shirts; E. C. Dice, five shirts; S. E. Elkins, one b ​lanket; J. W.
Burch, two blankets, five shirts; M. A. Ford, four shirts; J. Butler, four shirts; John Orchard, four blankets; C. W. Cooke, twelve shirts; J. J. Tomerson, one blanket, one shirt; John Doran, two blankets; William Rogers, one blanket, one shirt; D. D. Dusking, two blankets, two shirts; F. T. McLentick, five shirks; Wm. Mc- Kee, one blanket; John McCord, one blanket; J. L. Snook, two blankets; J. Scudder, one blanket, one shirt; R. Mendenhall, one blanket, one shirt; John Carlin, one blanket; Wm. Olds, one blanket, one shirt; Philip Peters, one blanket, one shirt; Laurence Hall, fifty dollars in goods; A. M. Poe, five dollars in goods; Jas. R. Bean, five dollars in goods; Jackson Reynolds, five dollars in goods; Jason Peters, five dollars in goods; Franklin Martin, one blanket; Robt. Loughlin, one blanket; Geo. Frazier, four shirts; James M. Owen, one blanket, one shirt; John Menoia, two shirts; Josiah Lowrey, two shirts; J. J. Louk, two shirts; G. W. Pibern, two shirts; R. Christinan, two shirts; Stephen King, one blanket, twq shirts; John McLosky, one blanket, one shirt; Aaron Cone, two shirts; Robert Harman, two shirts; Wm. Hailey, one blanket, two shirts; Jas. O. Henderson, one blanket; Fred. Ketchum, two shirts; Joel Welch, four shirts; J. G. Fuller, two shirts; J. C. Robinson, two blankets; F. R. Hill, one blanket; Fred. Paul, wheat, five bushels; Peter A. Wice, one shirt; Charles Bolds, one blanket; Jas. E. Alsop, one blanket, one shirt; Daniel P. Barnes, one blanket, one shirt; Henry Coleman, one blanket; Wm. W. Porter, one blanket, one shirt; A. M. Peak, one blanket; W. Holman, one blanket, one shirt; I. N. Gilbert, two dollars; Fales Howard, one shirt; O. S. Thomas, one shirt; John Monroe, two shirts. Total, one hundred and twenty- five dollars in goods and wheat; blankets, sixty-seven; shirts, one hundred and four.
The first rough draft of this agreement reads, "We, the under signed, pledge ourselves in faith and honor to pay to the Nez Percés or any other Indians who will deliver, at Oregon City, Tiloukaikt and
Tamsuckie, blankets, shirts, to be placed in the hands of the
superintendent of Indian affairs, for the prompt payment of the sums affixed to our names we consider this a written obligation." On the back of the same paper, in pencil, is the result of a vote to sell the property taken from the Cay uses : Yeas Hall, Owens, Maxon, Martin, Pugh, Shaw, Nesmith, Burnett, Waters. Nays Thompson, and Lee. The vote on being reconsidered stood, not to sell: Nesmith, Hall, Thompson, Burnett, Martin, Pugh. To sell: Maxon. It is easy to see Lee s influence in the matter. It almost always prevailed: See Oregon Archives, MS., 522.
In J. Henri Brown s Political History of Oregon a valuable contribution to the historical literature of the state, he is led, no doubt, by the failing memory of the men of 47, into the error of plufing this subscription of the twenty-third of May, at Oregon ​
City, whereas it was gotten up in the regiment when it was on the Clearwater, as an inducement to the Nez Percys to pursue the Cayuses, which they failed to do.
It was by this time evident that the campaign would have to be brought to a close, even without the capture of the murderers. Summer was close at hand when the harvest in the Wallamet valley must be gathered. In the summer, too, the Cayuses would be able to subsist them selves in the mountains, scattering to every point of the compass, where a thousand troops could not overtake them. Yet the campaign had not been without results. As long as only a few men remained cooped up at Fort Waters, Tiloukaikt made bold to move about with his herds within a few hours ride, but the coming of the last four hundred assured him that the Americans were going to carry out their intentions and drove him, a fugitive, and poor, far away from home.
The effect upon the other tribes was also salutary. The Nez Percés were confirmed in their friendl} 7 disposition. The Palouses, although treacherous as ever, found it to their interest to make overtures of good will; and the chief of the Walla Wallas so far forgot his grievances as to take (upon himself to hang one of the murderers whom he found on the Yakima, at a fishing station ; and to send word to McBean that he was in pursuit of Thomas, who murdered the miller at Dr. Whitman s. Although these concessions were signs of fear rather than of love, they were accepted by the commander-in-chief. and in the field, with satisfaction.
Having become convinced that to remain longer in the country would result in no further good, and was, in fact, becoming daily less practicable through the poverty of the commissary department, Colonel Waters, after consulting with his officers, decided to return to Waiilatpu. Captains Thompson and Nesmith were directed to proceed to Lapwai for the purpose of removing the family and property of the Indian agent, Craig, who felt unsafe while the mur​
derers were at large. These arrived at camp on the twenty-ninth of May, and at Fort Waters on the third of June.
The missionaries, Walker and Eells, still remained at Fort Colville whither they had gone when fighting began in the Cayuse country, and it was the general verdict of the army that they ought to be conducted out of it before the troops disbanded; but it was not thought quite safe to further weaken the garrison by sending two companies to Colville. Major Magone offered to go with fifty men should that number come forward for this service, or with any number down to ten men. On the call for volunteers, over one hundred offered, but only fifty-five were accepted. With this force the Messrs. Walker and Eells, with their wives and children, and a Miss Bewley, sister of the cap tive of that name, were taken safely to The Dalles, to which post the army was already on the march, 19 having left Waiilatpu on the eighth of June. On reaching that place Colonel Waters found a letter from the governor, dated the fifteenth of June, in which he was directed to hold a council with the superintendent of Indian affairs, and come to a decision in regard to remaining in the upper country, and recommending that one company of eighty-five men, rank and file, should be left to garrison Forts Waters and Lee until the arrival of the expected United States regiment of mounted riflemen seventy at Waiilatpu, and fifteen at The Dalles.
But this matter had already been arranged, and, as usual, by the sagacity of the lieutenent-colonel. On the return to Fort Waters a council of the officers had been held, to decide upon the question of holding the fort through the summer, or until the United States troops had arrived, or
in That Major Magone was pleased to perform this gallant duty is evident from his report. He relates that several of the Spokanes shed tears on parting from their teachers.
Joseph Magone was born in Ogdensburg, New York, February ilO, 1821 ; was a miller by occupation. He came to Oregon as captain of a company in 1847. After the Cayuse war, he went to the California mines and was fortunate ; was married in 1850, his wife dying in 1859. He has written au account of his life for p ​ublication.
the annual immigration had passed. Upon putting it to vote there were six negatives to five affirmatives. Lee then requested that a call should be made for volunteers, which was ordered, but later countermanded. " Knowing," says Lee, "that such a step (as abandoning the fort) would be yielding up the little advantage we had gained over the enemy, and believing it would be not only a violation of general orders, but a matter of disappointment to the people in the valley, I resolved to make one more effort, independent of the voice of the council. To make this effort successful, I found it necessary to pledge myself to some responsible men, that I would give them a written authority to colonize the country immediately, securing them as far as in my power against future treaty stipula tions prejudicial to their interests. This pledge was ac cordingly made in good faith to Captain Philip F. Thomp son of Yam hill, Mr. James Taylor of Clatsop, and their associates. A call was then made for fifty volunteers to remain until September fifteenth next, with a promise from Captain Thompson, that he would return by that time with families to settle the country."
This offer proved successful, and more than the required number of volunteers remained under Captain Martin. Lee took care in reporting his acts to the governor, to en close an article for the Spectator, intended to help the colonization of the country, stating that there were then in the Cayuse country grist and sawmills, blacksmith anvils, bellows, and tools, iron, plows, harrows, hoes, a crop of wheat, pease, potatoes, and corn, with almost every convenience for forming a settlement; that the country was peculiarly adapted to wool-growing and cattle-raising, holding out greater inducements to farmers than the Wallamet valley, and that the beauty of the country and the climate was unexcelled. This estimate of the Walla Walla valley, then hardly credited by the settlers of western Oregon, has since been more than verified.
But Lee desired the governor s approval, and assurance ​
of the legality of the grant. To his inquiries Governor Abernethy replied that the organic law of Oregon did not limit settlement to any part of the territory, and although it might be impolitic to occupy the lands of friendly Indians, there could be no impropriety in occupying those of the murderers, provided the party taking possession were strong enough to hold it and maintain peace. He desired, in case this plan should be carried out, that the lands and improvements of the Presbyterian missions should be reserved. The governor, therefore, approved the scheme, 20 which, indeed, from a particular point of view was a military necessity. But it certainly conflicted with the statement several times iterated to the Cay uses and Nez Percés that it was individuals whom the govern ment sought to punish, and not the nation. It was true the conduct of the nation in sheltering its guilty members gave a color of right to the act; but such nice distinctions were not familiar to the savage mind. The very thing was about to happen which the Cayuses had killed Whit man to prevent, namely, the settlement of their lands by white people. The governor s sanction being obtained, a proclamation appeared in the Spectator of July thirteenth, under the title of " Forfeiture of the Cayuse Lands," with a eulogy intended to promote their settlement.
When Lee was at The Dalles he gave notice to the Catholic missionaries engaged at that time in erecting buildings for a mission, that none should be established by any denomination until the presence of the United States troops in the country should make it safe and proper. They desisted, but Rev. Rosseau remained, and cultivated a farm, without teaching openly. The oblate father returned to the Yakima country, keeping very quiet; and the bishop of Walla Walla wandered about the country with the unsettled Cayuses. In this manner they held their ground.
Fort Lee was left in charge of Lieutenant Alexander T.
20 Oregon Archives, MS. 930, 939. ​
Rodgers, one non-commissioned officer, and thirteen men. 21 The remainder of the regiment with Colonel Waters was not detained to await Magone s arrival, but hurried across the mountains or down the river to their homes, many without waiting to be discharged at the appointed rendez vous on the Clackamas river.
Colonel Waters, being in bad health, was unable to accompany the regiment across the mountains, and took the river route to Oregon City, which owing to adverse winds proved a tedious one, so that he was unable to meet the companies on the Clackamas. Lee had withdrawn from any connection with the army when the campaign closed at Fort Waters; and although he crossed the moun tains with the regiment, Captain Hall was in command. On arriving at the rendezvous Hall was compelled to grant furloughs subject to the order of the governor. "This step, * wrote Waters, "was perhaps objectionable, but I am disposed to believe the best that could have been taken under the circumstances." Palmer informed the governor, who was absent from Oregon City, that the men were "perfectly reckless" and "regardless of conse quences," on getting so near home. Always ready to perform their duty in the field, they cared little for the conventionalities of army life, and longing for a sight of beloved faces, risked their meager and doubtful pay to gratify this home hunger.
On reaching Oregon City, Lee, who must always be regarded as one of the most conspicuous figures in the history of the war, declined his commission, and with it of course the pay, in the following letter:
OREGON CITY, June 24, 1848. To Governor Abernethy :
DEAR SIR : Having fulfilled my promise to Colonel Waters, and the officers and men of the regiment, in accompanying them through
21 The report of Lieutenant Rodgers, August fourteenth, gives the strengch and condition of the force at Fort Lee as one lieutenant, one orderly sergeant, thirteen privates, seven horses, ten saddles, six bridles, eight rifles, four muskets, three shot guns, fifteen shot pouches, and powder horns. No fifes, drums, or colors. ​
the late campaign, J consider myself released from any further mili tary connection with the regiment^ that connection having expired by limitation on our return to Fort Waters. Consequently, 1 there withdraw from the regiment.
On the road from that place to Fort Wascopam, I met a commis sion filled out for myself as lieutenant-colonel. This doubtless grew out of a misunderstanding of the consent I gave to act as such for the time. When I resigned my commission as colonel, I believe I was only yielding to another what I knew he considered his rights, and my consent to fill an office under him was purely from a wish to preserve peace, friendship, and good feeling in the regiment until a last effort should be made to punish the enemy, and not to gratify any ambition to fill an office. In resigning the former office, there was no sacrifice, but on the contrary a high degree of pleasure. In submitting to the latter, though temporarily, I confess there was a sacrifice required. It was made, as long as necessary to the success of the campaign. With the necessity my obligations expired. With high sense of obligation and duty to the community, and a sense of gratefulness to your excellency, I beg leave to decline the proffered honor. You are aware that no election in the regiment to fill that office could be legal, while there was no vacancy, even if the appointing power had been vested in the regiment. So that all I did in that capacity was by mutual consent, and not legal au thority.
I remain, yours truly, H. A. G. LEE.
The public mind was beginning to settle down to its ordinary composure, when a fresh excitement was spread through the settlements by the information furnished by Lieutenant Rodgers at The Dalles, that the Catholics at that place were inflaming the Indians, and that a large quantity of ammunition and arms were being taken into the Indian country by the Jesuit fathers. The amounts were so much larger than the Oregon army had at any time been able to command at one invoice that the alarm occasioned by it seems justifiable. 22 At all events the packages were seized by Lieutenant Rodgers, and sent to Oregon City to be taken charge of by the governor, while the superintendent of Indian affairs wrote to Rev. M.
- There were thirty-six guns, one thousand and five hundred pounds of balls, three hundred pounds of buckshot, and one thousand and eighty pounds of powder. The whole Oregon army had been able to obtain no more than five hundred pounds of powder : Oregon American, August 16, 1848 ; Oregon Spectator, Septembe ​r G, 1848.
Acolti for an explanation of the matter. Acolti replied^ that he did not object to the seizure if the governor thought it prudent, unless it was the intention to confis cate it; but he reminded the superintendent that there was no law prohibiting the transportation of arms through the Indian country, but only the distribution of them to ) the Indians. His explanation of the incident was, that j the packages seized contained the annual supply of the \ four Jesuit missions of the Flatheads, Pend d Oreilles, \ Coeur d Alenes, and Okanagons. These people lived by \ the chase, and required ammunition. Indeed, the sub- I sistence of the priests themselves depended upon a proper [supply. Besides, a certain amount was required by the /white men and half-breeds about the missions; and a part / of that seized was destined to the British possessions, / where the Jesuits had an extensive mission. Dividing 1 the whole amount among all these stations, and thou sands of Indians, Acolti held that the amount was not large enough to cause any alarm.
"With respect to the advice you give me," wrote the priest to Lee, " that there is more excitement and bitter feeling against the Catholics as a body than ever has existed in Oregon before, I believe the fact. Yet, sir, I presume that you who hold authority, and who . have had an opportunity of knowing how things have been, and who are not .biased by prejudice I presume that you and all sen sible citizens know that it is not through any fault of the Catholics if this fact exists, that the Catholics have done nothing to cause excitement or bitter feeling against them, and that the fact is based only upon unfounded suspicions, growing out of unjust prejudices and a groveling jealousy. I thank you for your frankness, and I will not fail to profit by your advice whenever circumstances shall allow me; and I can assure you that I, as well as all the priests, will beware of doing nothing 23 that may be incentives to violence and disorder, or to evade or circumvent the laws of the land. I hope you will give me credit for the freedom of my expressions, and that, content with the purity of the intentions of the Catholic priests, you will no longer be surprised at my singular proceedings, but labor
23 This lapse from Grammat, as well a/s the use of the word "credit " below where " pardon " was meant, is to be charged to the translator. Acolti was an Italian. He came to Oregon by sea in 1844. He was transferred to California in 1855, and died at San Francisco in 1878, distinguished for learning and piety. ​
cwith all benevolent citizens to anticipate the unfortunate effects of the excitement which is so unjustly raised against the Catholics, is the confidence with which I have the honor to remain, sir, Your obedient servant,
M. ACOLTI."
Governor Abernethy endeavored to quiet the excitement, and in a letter to R. W. Ford, who had published an article in the Oregon American and Evangelical Unionist, edited by J. S. Griffin of Tualatin plains, said:
I am well acquainted with the Indian character, and know their disposition to carry false reports from one to another, sometimes merely to see what effect a report unfavorable to the person they are speaking to will have. I am, therefore, satisfied that the In dians, in making the statement they did to Mr. Rodgers, did it to mislead him. For I cannot believe that the priests would be so remiss as to say anything of the kind to the Indians while there is so much excitement in the community.
This was, it is true, a rather weak defense, but was better than the inflammatory articles that certain anti-Romanists were eager to place before the public, the influence of which remains to this day in Oregon, many respectable persons of the pioneers, and their children, firmly believ ing that the ammunition which was intercepted, and sent to Oregon City when Fort Lee was abandoned, to lie for months in the governor s storehouse, was intended by the Catholics to exterminate the Protestants in Oregon. No proof of any such intention was ever apparent.
In December, a petition was presented to the legislature to expel Catholics from the country, which was rejected. They were not permitted to return to the Umatilla, but retained possession of all their other missions. In Febru ary, 1849, the legislative assembly having inquired of the governor what disposition had been made of the arms and ammunition of the priests, he replied that he had felt himself justified in retaining possession of them until then ; but application had been made to him to return the property to Vancouver to be placed to the credit of the Catholic missions on the company s books, accompanied ​
by an assurance that no powder should be sent to the upper country without the sanction of the Oregon govern ment, and that he had done so.
The proclamation which discharged the first regiment of Oregon riflemen was dated July 5, 1848, the only por tion excepted being the men left at Forts Waters and Lee. On the twelfth, the commissary-general wrote to the governor that the men thus detailed were in need of clothing and provisions; that having no funds on hand in his department to supply them, he had called on the loan commissioners for an amount barely sufficient to subsist these men until October first, when their term would expire; but that the commissioners had replied that they had no funds, and believed it impossible to raise any; and as the decision of the board had been that they were not authorized to execute bonds for debts he might contract, it was no longer in his power to supply the troops. 24
Meanwhile, by hook or by crook, the volunteers in the Indian country got on very well. The mill had been re paired, and some large caches of grain discovered. They celebrated the fourth of July in due form with a feast and patriotic toasts drunk in water, among which was: "The American flag, the only thing American that will bear stripes," said to have been proposed by a "young Miss Wickliffe," 25 of Oregon City.
24 Palmer asked the commissioners for one thousand dollars for subsistence and six hundred and eighty-eight dollars for clothing : Oregon Archives, MS. 1010.
25 The following letter is interesting as a picture of the times in the interior at this date. It is written July fifth to Lee by C. W. Cooke: "As the Messrs. Priests will start down tomorrow, altho I have nothing important to comrmmicate, I cannot forego an opportunity of informing you of some things that have transpired in this delightful portion of God s heritage, vulgarly known as middle Oregon. We saw not an Indian, and heard no news from the time of your departure up to the tAventy- eighth proximo, when Moolpool and Tintinmitzie came from the Grand Round and informed us that the Kayuses were all there, and the murderers high up on Burnt riyer. The most of the Kayuses will be back here in a few weeks. Richard and Red Wolf took supper with us three nights gone, and told us that the Snakes have killed five Nez Percys, and that they are making preparations to go immediately against the Snakes. It is Indian news, and you know the reliability of the information. Being myself very skeptical, and knowing Mr. McBean s superior facilities for detecting ​
The volunteers performed the duty of holding the Cayuse country, and patroling the immigrant road to the satisfaction of the Oregon government and the immigra tion. Since the opening of the road, never had the Indians behaved so well. The murderers, reduced to poverty, and without ammunition, kept out of the way of hoth volun teers and immigrants. Thus the Cayuse war came to an end, it might be said, for want of powder. The murderers had not been hung, but they had been severely punished, and the Cayuse nation, as such, had lost its prestige forever.
As might have been expected, some of the more restless tribes in western Oregon were affected by the war rumors, and early showed signs of insurrection. These were the Molallas and Klamaths, who ranged about the head of the Wallamet valley, and over into the Klamath basin. Be lieving that the warriors among the white men had all gone to give battle to the Cayuses, these Indians made several incursions into the settlements, committing acts
Indian falsehood and obtaining truth, I came here ( to Walla Walla fort) today to see him, and I find that he places the utmost confidence in the report. He is also of opinion that there is a prospect of serious difficulty between Young Chief and Yellow Serpent, owing to some recent misunderstanding. I give it to you as I hear it. I am not responsible for its authenticity. No news from the United States. I m becoming impatient. I am looking for the troops every day. We did not forget that yesterday was the fourth of July. Indeed, we paid to it all the deference and honor of which in our circumstances we were capable, with guns, songs, hymns, and national an thems. Everything passed off quietly, and in genteel military order. I have sent Mr. Wait (editor Spectator) some scraps. See him for particulars. I am anxious to know what will be done by the United States government in relation to this country. I have no interest in the place at Fort Waters, and so many have taken claims already up here, that I deemed it not improper to at least secure that place for Perrin ( Whit man), provided it be lawful to take claims here now, and yourself nor the governor do not want it for a military post, or agency, and the missionaries do not claim it for the board on account of previous occupancy. Then, if you think it expedient to enter it for Perrin before it is taken by others, you will call for a beginning stake three- fourths of a mile southwest of the old buildings ; thence north one mile to a stake : thence east one mile to a stake ; thence south one mile to a stake ; thence west one mile to the beginning, including the improvements of the late Dr. Whitman. The corn is silking, and our wheat is ripe for harvest. The boys are cutting today. I think we will have between two hundred and three hundred bushels. I find some half dozen commissions among the waste papers in the loft and send them to you for disposition. My respects to the governor and family, and General Palmer and family, <fcc. Three of McBean s horses, branded " H. B.," have been taken to the valley. Tell the quartermasters to please see to it. Dr. Lydan, the poet, and all the boys, send you their compliments :" Oregon Archives, MS. 1009, 1026. In such friendly and unmilitary fashion did the whilom adjutant address his late ​superior.
against peace and order, apparently to test the ability of the settlers to protect themselves.
The most impudent of these raids were the rape of a young girl in Lane county, some cattle thefts in Benton county, and an attack on the house of Richard Miller in Champoeg(now Marion) county. It happened that one Knox, whose home was in Linn county, was carrying the first United States mail ever delivered in this part of Oregon, and saw a man running from Indians, to gain the shelter of Miller s house. He put spurs to his horse, and notified the settlers along his route as quickly as he could. These mounted and spread the alarm, until by morning a company of men and boys numbering one hundred and fifty were rendezvoused at Miller s place, from which the Indians had in the meantime retired with threats of mis chief. An organization of this force was at once effected, Daniel Waldo being elected colonel, and R. C. Geer, Allen Davy, Richard Miller, and Samuel Parker, captains.
The Indian encampment was on the Abiqua creek where it comes down from the Cascades to the valley, and towards this the volunteers marched, the mounted men proceeding up the north side, and the foot soldiers up the south side. 26 When the Indians discovered the horsemen, they began crossing to the south side and fell into an ambuscade of the footmen awaiting them. After a few shots had been exchanged, the Indians retreated up the creek, having two killed. As the day was nearly spent, those who had fam ilies to protect returned home, and the single men and boys encamped at a farmhouse to be ready for an early start next morning. Those who could do so rejoined them at daybreak, and they overtook the Indians, retreating on
26 R. C. Geer wrote an account of this affair in the Salem, Oregon,, Statesman, which was copied into the San Jos6 Pioneer of September 1, 1877, from which the above is taken. He mentions the following names: William Parker, James Harpole, Wilburu King, James Brown, S. D. Maxon, L. A. Bird, Israel Shaw, Robert Shaw, King Hib- bard. William Brisbane, . Winchester, Port. Gilliam, William Howell, Thomas Howell, George Howell, William Hendricks, Len. Goff, Leander Davis, G. W. Hunt, James Williams, J. Warnock, J. W. Schrum, Thomas Schrum, Elias Cox, Cyrus Smith T. B. Allen, Henry Schrum, and Jacob Caplinger. ​
the Klamath trail with their best marksmen apparently in the rear. One of the volunteers was hit in the breast by an arrow which failed to penetrate, but the balls of the frontier riflemen went home. The Indians were driven to bay at a pass of the stream where the cliffs came down precipitately on the south side, and the current would not permit them to cross. Here, fighting the best they could, seven warriors were slain, and two women wounded one of the warriors, however, being a woman armed.
When the battle was over it was discovered that the actual marauders had eluded them, and those who had suffered were their families and camp guards. Ashamed of their easy victory, the volunteers built a large fire in a comfortable camping place, and left the wounded women to be found and cared for by their relatives. So sensitive were the participants in the "battle of the Abiqua," that it was seldom referred to, and never mentioned as among tha defensive measures of the colonists in 1848. Yet the punishment inflicted, and the knowledge imparted on and to the savages on the southeastern border, proved salutary, and put an end to raids from that quarter.
On the west side of the valley the inhabitants had some trouble with the Calapooias and Tillamooks, who mur dered an old man, and stole cattle from the settlers. A collision occurred in March, in which two Indians were killed, and ten other marauding savages taken and "* whipped. This punishment had the effect to intimidate them, and secure order in that quarter.
On the tenth of April, Superintendent Lee appointed Felix Scott sub-agent of Indian affairs, and notified him that it was advisable to raise a company for the defense of the southern frontier, and asking him to undertake the duty. This he did, enrolling a company of less than half the regulation number. 27 He was commissioned captain of the independent rifle rangers May 11, 1848, and pro-
27 No roll of Scott s company exists. It was probably never more than twenty-five ​strong.
ceeded up the valley, finding the settlers much disturbed by the conduct of the Indians, and rumors of attacks upon travelers. 28 Scott found but few of the predatory natives in the Wallamet, they having retired through the moun tain passes to places of safety. On the seventh of July he was ordered to proceed to southeastern Oregon to escort the immigrants by the southern route, a duty which he performed with only nineteen men, and without serious interference by the natives. 29
C "* John Saxtou, who wrote a little book about Oregon, was coming from California with a band of one hundred horses in April. His party consisted of six men, and the Klamath and Rogue river Indians hanging upon their trail caused the loss of sixty-five of their animals : Oregon Spectator, May 4, 1848.
20 Scott was a Virginian by birth, and had been lieutenant-governor of Missouri. In 1845 he crossed the plains to California, coming to Oregon in the spring of 1846, and settling in Yamhill county. In 184$ he went to the gold fields of California, and the following year removed to Lane county in this state, where he was largely inter ested in stock-raising and lumbering. In 1858 he went by sea to New York, thence to Kentucky, and was on his way home with a herd of blooded horses, when he was killed by the Pit river Indians near Goose lake, and his horses taken.