East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1907-10-28

The battlefield of the battle Of
Oregon and Washington volunteers,
under Colonel B. F. Shaw now of
Portland, and the allied tribes Of
northwest Indians, on July II, 1856,
was located yesterday by Colonel
Shaw, George H. Hines, Major Lee
Moorhouse. Fred B. Currey and son,
and Bert Huffman, two miles north
of La Grande.
The party drove out from La
Grande early yesterday morning along
the old trail which once led from La
Grande to Summerville, and after
| looking over the foothills In that vi
cinity, Colonel Shaw definitely locat-
ed the spot on a small knoll on the
farm of Al Good, where the Indian
camp was first sighted by himself and
his company, 81 years ago and a
small rough stone monument was
erected to mark the place temporari-
ly and it is hoped that La Grande
will erect a permanent monument in
the future.
| From the knoll where the Indian
camp stood, it is easy to see the entire
battlefield which extended for 10
miles down the Grand Ronde river,
beginning in the rich Fruitvale apple
| district near the Proebstel bridge.
Colonel Shaw easily recognized the
spot where he sighted the Indians i'm
camp 81 years ago, although he had
not been upon the exact spot since
that day. His company of volunteers
came up the old foothil road from
Summerville. and upon ascending the
slight bench or table land near the
Kellogg fruit farm, two miles west of
La Grande. he saw the camp of the
Indians on a rocky hillside, near a
small stream. His company burned
the tepees and contents, about 100 te-
pees being destroyed on this hillside.
The warriors were in the brush on
the Grand Ronde river a mile south
of the camp and the volunteers met
them in battle on the river bottom,
on what is now the south portion OF
AL Goods sugar beet field. and from
that spot the fight extended down the
Grand Ronde river for 10 miles to the
big bend of the river where the Indi-
ans scattered and were lost to the SOL
diers. One party, however, was pur-
sued into what is now the Cove, where
the chase was abandoned about 3
o'clock on the afternoon of July II.
The land on which the Indian camp
was located was homesteaded in 1870
by H. w. Leasy, an uncle of Major
Lee Moorhouse, who settled in the val
ley in the fall of 1861. at which time
the remainder of the Moorhouse party
come on to Umatillas county.
In 1885 Leasy sold the land to Al
Good, who settled in the valley in
1866, and who still owns 1t, together
with fine grain and sugar beet farm
into the Fruitvale fruit dis
trict.
]. Q. A. Richardson, pioneer of
Grand Ronde, was a soldier in the
Indian war of 1866. but was in
Walla Walla on the day of the battle
Of the Grand Ronde was fought
Captain Williams, who with 40 picked
men had charge of the pack animals
and commissary of Colonel Shaw's
on the day of the battle,
and who was forced to fight to de-
fend his property from several vicious
attacks of the Indians on that day
now lives in Union and is now being
visited by Colonel Shaw.
Major Moorhouse took a number OF
photographs of the scene OF the Indi-
IN camp and the battle ground,
which will be preserved in the records
IF the Oregon Historical society by
George H. Hines Mr.. Hines will al
80 prepare a report of the visit of
Colonel Shaw and himself to the scene
If the battlefield and the location of
the exact spot where this last and
most brilliant battle of the Yakima
war was fought.
Five volunteers killed in the battle
we're buried in their blankets in diff
ferent places in the battlefield. The
Indians lost 80 dead and carried away
others mortally wounded. Colonel
Shaw captured 200 head Of horses
which had been stolen by the Indians,
besides large quantities of ammuni-