Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1847-09-25
SUPPOSED LOSS OF EMIGRANTs.

FROM THE ST. LOUIS REPUBLICAN OF SEPT. 8.
We find the following article in the st. Joseph
Herald of the 9th ultimo
"Mr. S. L. Campbell, late from Oregon, has furnished us
with the following list Of persons supposed to have been muir
dered by the Indians on the southern route 10 Oregon. This
company left st. Joseph under Captain Smith, and were
joined at the North Fork of Platte river by a company of six
wagons from Independence. They separated near I~ndepen-
dence Rock, where the hindmost company took what is called
the southern route, and travelled il some distance. About
this time a portion Of the emigrants becoming dissatisfied with
the route, a council was held whether to proceed onward or
return. In the mean time a paper was found, signed by sew
eral persons in Oregon, urging all the emigrants to take this
route, as il was some three hundred miles nearer, besides a
much better road. Notwithstanding this, several persons re-
fused to travel the road any further, and returned back.
"Those that attempted TO go through have never been
heard Of since, only by the Indians on the Dalles, who say
that a party of Oregon emigrants were killed on this route.
Mr.. Campbell was personally acquainted with a number of
persons in this company, a list of whom follows Col. Richie
and family OF eleven persons, from Henderson county, Ill.
John Stark and family of five persons, from Henderson coun-
ty, III. Mr.. Tucker and family of seven persons, from Rock
Island, Ill. Job and Jonathan Parr and families Of eleven
persons, from Lee county, Iowa Mr.. Graves and family of
IL persons, from Peoria, I'll. Mr.. Fosdick and wife, from
Peoria, ILL., Mr.. McCracken and family of five persons,
from Wapello county, Iowa VIM. Daniels and family Of
four persons, from Jefferson county, Iowa Mr.. Bottle and
family Of six persons, from Lee county, Iowa John Lenox
and family of five persons, from Indiana Mr.. Howell and
family of twelve persons, from Hannibal and John Bowles,
from Gaena, III.
ttFrom this il will be seen that near one hundred persons
have been murdered by the Indians, or have persisted for want
OF food, and all owing to the false representations of a few
beartless spectators, who may wish to benefit themselves at
the expense of several valuable lives. The e~migrants inform
us that these men have property in certain portions Of Ore
gon, and, by forcing the emigration to a particular point, they
are benefited thereby. Emigrants cannot be too careful in
taking new roads, unless experience has proved them to be
practicable"
We think there must be some mistake about the loss Of the
persons named-at least it is SO as to a part of them. On
comparing the list with that which we have published from
the California papers, we find that seven Of the family Of Mr..
Graves, who are here set down as being lost, actually arrivedin
California, and that only three persisted from famine and in
tense cold in the mountains. Only one other name-that Of
Mr.. Fosdick-is mentioned in our list, and he also persisted
in the mountains last winter. Still it is to be hoped that the
persons here named have made their way to some por-
ton Of Oregon, and may yet be found Missouri Repu5.