Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 1886-1927, 1912-11-01

| stayed with Page one night
when I crippled off for Browntown
In my improyised mOecasins,
When I came in sight of Brown
town a big crowd of anxious miners
We're there discussing my prolonged
absence, Capt Bob Williams and
shorty" among them. shorty"
had advised that they do not worry
adding that boy will come out
somewhere" When they saw me
coming they made the welkin ring,
yelling like wild men, declaring that
"the dead had come to life and
the lost was found"
When | told the boys where and
how | had been in the time gone
and that | spent two nights with
the mad klamath Indians Williams
and shorty" declared that | would
never be killed by Indians. They
could not understand why those
hostile Klamaths had not killed me
and taken my gun, as the Indians
were anxious to get guns.
The boys were amazed that any
white man could thus stay among
those redskins and come away alive
so soon after the fight with those
same Indians, in 1854.
In this year 81 party of miners
came from Trinidad to klamath
river. Capt. Williams, SHORTY" ?"
and George Woods were of the party
They had a fight with these Indians
on the present site of Happy Camp,
killing several of them. In the
thickest of the battle Captain Will
liams emptied his old fashioned
muzzle loading gun and jumped be-
hind tree none too large for his
protection. An Indian seeing him
so poorly shielded made for him
with bow and arrow, fully determin-
ed to take his life before Williams
could reload his gun. A squaw,
perhaps his wife, ran with the Indian
handing arrows to him. Leaping and
bounding he was shooting arrows at
whatever he could see of Williams,
who in turn was lodging first one
way and then the other, trying TO
reload his gun. With every shot
of an arrow came the Indians quaint
piercing exultant war yell in high
key on the eve of victory, Yeep!
! Yeepl Yeep! Zip! Zip! Zip, sang the
arrows as they tore bark from the
tree in Captain "Bobs" very face.
Shorty" seeing the peril of his
chum and brave companion, and that
the Indian was rapidly closing in,
making the escape of Williams inn
possible, fired at the Indian, and
the squaw with her arrows, being
in range, he killed both OF them at
one shot. Now is Bobs time and
he jumped from behind the tree as
he drew an old fashioned pepper
box pistol from his pocket loaded It,,
and fired every barrel of 1t at the
head of the Indian saying as he
did so, you will shoot me, will
your"
In the fall OF '55 old George
Woods was prospecting down at the
mouth of Deer creek below Kerby,
An old Indian was in the habit or
frequenting his camp and begging
food. Woods had been in all Of the
Indian troubles in this region and
was an avowed Indian hater. One
day the Indian was in his camp as
usual begging when Woods gave
him some food which he had pre-
pared with strychnne in it. Soon
the poor Indian began smacklng his
lips saying "Hiyum-salt, and rails
ing to his feet started for the creek
mumbling Mica tIca hiyu chuck, y
meaning that he wanted lots OF
water. Woods got his gun and shot
him in the back as he went, dump
ing his dead body in the Illinois.
Not much was known OF this at the
time.
Such is history.
In conclusion | will say that my
narrative OF historical events runs
back slxty-one years. which Is a long
time. have stated the facts as
remember them. was young then,
and the times that produced this
very history OF which / have writ
ten was 80 new to me that 1t made an
lndelIble impression on my mind
which time has not effaced.
A. J. HOWELL.
... - m ttfAtt- ttt..-.