Polk County observer. (Monmouth, Polk County, Or.) 1888-1927, 1903-11-27

CHAPTER II.


long time before we started to Ore
gon the journey was talked of. OF
course, 1 did not know anything
about Oregon. Oregon, in my
mind, was country long ways
off, and l understood that to get
there we would have to travel
through country swarming with
wild Indians, who would try to
kill us with tomahawks and scalp
aus. Some girl cousins, older than
myself, would take coffee cup and
turn the mouth down, and after it
had set a short time would look in
to it for pictures of future scenes.
This was often done, and we thought
we could see covered wagons, and
the Indians scalping women and
children.
The day we started on our journey
to Oregon [ do not remember, but
before we reached the Cav river |
can call to mind Harmony Mission
and Grand River as being the
names Of place and river on or
near our route. But | do not re-
member seeing any mission or
river. We came up on the South
side OF the Cav river and camped
below and near an Indian town of
the Caw tribe. There were huts
and cabins ranging along the river
on either side of street. 1t was
said that these Indians grew corn,
beans and pumpkins. l admired
several of the Indian men | saw
here. They were more than six
feet tall, straight, and moved with
a proud step; wore blankets drawn
around the shoulders, and leggins.
The hair was shorn close to the
scalp, save something like ROSTERS
comb on top of the head, colored
red. / remember standing and
gazing into the face Of one Of these
tall Indians, and think / was not
afraid of him. I had lived near
the Usage river, and I saw that the
Cav river looked to be hardly half
as wide. The current was slow,
and the water was very deep. The
men in some way made the wagon
boxes water-tight and used them
for boats in crossing the river, the
Indians assisting in swimming the
cattle and horses across. noticed
that the Indians did not swim like
white men, but with an overland
ed stroke-dog- fashion, they said.
These Indians were friendly and
accommodating. They told US we
would soon reach the Cheyenne
and Rawnee country, where there
were bad Indians.
One afternoon, when the sun
seemed to be about three hours
high, and we were travelling along
at an ox-team gait over a level
prairie, John East, a good, simple
man, also from Missouri, who was
walking and driving his team, was
told that we were then crossing the
Missouri line, whereupon he turned
about facing the East pulled off
his slouch hat and waving it above
his head cried Farewell to
l think 1t was the second day
after we had crossed the Cav river
that we met war party of Caws,
marching afoot, about one hundred
of them, painted and feathered and
armed with bows, spears, war
clubs. tomahaWksan and knives. Some |
were wounded and limping, some
with blood on their faces, arms in
slings, and bandages around their
their heads. They seemed to be
tired and in a hurry. They told
US they had been out on a buffalo
hunt and had been attacked by
war party of Pawnees and had a
fight with them; but that they had
defeated their enemies and killed |
many of them. That evening, or
the next, we reached the battle
ground and went into camp. Several |
dead Indians were found, and l
heard men say they were Caws. If
they were, the Caws were defeated,
else they would not have left their
dead.
There was a Mexican in the train
who cut of an Indians hand at the
wrist and hung it on a stake in the
sncampment about three feet above