Mineral Point weekly tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1859-1868, 1862-11-05
Letters From Oregon.
Auburn, Oregon, Aug. "a, 1862
DEAR FATHER

/ for the following particulars OF the Van
Orman massacre, which occurred two
years ago. Mr. Munson was formerly from
near Mineral Point, is nephew of tn
! MunSon, Giro her in-law to A W COM
! fort. who lives east the Point. He now
lives at Walla Walla, Washington Terri
tory, and has been running pack train
! this season He is here now with train
! He was one of the few who escaped, and
/ | thought it mieht be interesting to some
T Of the friends Of the Van Orman FIRMLY
/ to hear something accurate about that sad
affair.
The train consisted ofthe following per-
sons; Elexas Van Orman, wife and FIVE
children boys and three gifls; Civil
I liam Munson and Lewis Lawson, from
near Mineral Point, VIM Utter, wife and
! 10 child ,en--4 boys and girls Mr. Chase
wife, and three CT ildren-2 boys and one
girl; Mr., Myers, wife and 5 children-l
/ boy and girls, and John Myers, brother
to the other, who lived in Rock Co, Wis
| Samuel Gleason Of Madison, Judson Ker-
sew, and two brothers named 10 and Jake
Reese of Minnesota, and four discharged
soldiers and one deserter from Salt Lake
On the evening of the 9Th ofSeptember
1860, the train was camred on Cmtharine
/ Greek and tn Indians stole woke OF OK
en- belonging to Van Orn.an While hun
ting the cattle Mari; Y Il Orman saw and
convcrsrd with enc Indian, which was the
only one seen that night. On the morn
ING ofthe i0th the train started and drove
some FIVE nj es when they i scoyered a
! party OF Indians in the road ahead OF them
/ and between them and the water or the
snake river, which was only mile or so
distant They Immediately corra}led, and
placing the stock inside the corral, pre-
pared to fight The Indians advanced to
within one hundred yards or So, with guns
| IN their hands as a general thing, a few
having bows and arrows only. After
standing little while the Indians laid
down their arms and came up TO the way
ons, trying to get into the c0rrall, but the
whites refused to let them come inside
! The Indians went back. picked up their
arms, and started for their camp which
! was in sight ut Il is time, some two miles
/ of, from which they returned shortly with
! fish, which they wanted to swap for bread
/ dc, and after some time the whites traded
/ with them. The Indians then told them
+ to 60 on to water (1hnre was only about
| gallon of water in the train The whites
/ told the Indians TO 70 off to the mountains
/ After some time the Indians left, and the
+ train prepared to drive on, but before they
/ had fairly got out OF the corrall, the Indi-
ans sprang up on all sides Of them and
/ commenced firing on them. They corral
1 led again without any one being shot. al
though the Indians kept up continual IL
ring. The fight then commenced on DO h
sides, and lasted ut this point till the night
OF the II,h during which time Lawson,
/ Kersey and two Of the soldiers named
Chas. kichnell and VIM Utley were XII
/ Ell, also several indians On the night Of
the 18th they started on. leaving the wag-
when John N yers, Utter, and three Of his
chiidr, were killed. loy and two girls
Mrs Utter and her oldest daughter rcfu-
sed TO leave their dead friends, and so had
to be left. After this for five DAYS they
hid in the brush, and Travelled nights The
Indians would track them w and veil a.
round them day times, hut kept out OF
sight On The night of the llth the SOL
diers vet alive were sent ahead on horse.
back "a guards; but soon started their
horses in run and left The Reese bro
theirs also ran. Aiunson travelled with
them t"o more nights until they struck
the Owyhee river, where they stopped and
requested NunSon 10 go ahead and find
the settlements and send relief During
ali this time they had been very short Of
provisions - having actually killed and
eaten dog that belonged to them and had
killed and eat all the rattie-snakes thew
could find Mun>on left them, ana travel
ing nights laying to by days. finally reach
ed the Malheur river, some sixteen miles
distant. n the night, and losing the road,
laid by Till morning when ne commenced
looking around for the road and found a
fresh trail leading up the mountain side,
which he followed. ard anout noon found
the Reese brothers and one soldier They
retraced their steps until they reached
the Maiheur again and found the regular
road by which time it was NIGHT Being
our out O. provisions, ther kiie horse,
the only one they bad left. and stayed
there two days and two ni2htS drying it
when they started on and travelled on till
they reached Burnt river Munson, who
was bareEooted became so lootscre that he
coulG not travel any farther He told the
rest to 90 on an. hur-- TO the settlements
and : n relief The Reese hoys went on.
and lett Munson and the soldier who was
sick The ReeSes went on till they came
TO the Indian agency on the UmatilIa
where they started train back with pro-
visions The men with the provision went