Ashland tidings. [volume] (Ashland, Or.) 1876-1919, 1912-10-07
Old Indian Wars
Interesting Account of the Early
Troubles in Southern Oregon Re-
membered by Old Timers.


Oregon, held at Ashland, Ore, on
September Z, 1911, the writer, A.
G. Rockfellow, submits the follow
ing statement of his services in the
Indian war of southern Oregon
during the war of 1855 and 1856:
After the Indian outbreak, Jacob
Thompson and myself, two old
| friends from childhood, agreed that
! between ourselves we would keep
one man in the service from that
time until the close of the war, one
of us only to serve at the same time,
and it was decided that | should be
the first one to take the field.
Accordingly, about the first OF De-
cember, 1855, with my own gun
bought for that special purpose at
fifty dollars | mounted Mr.. Thomp-
sons horse and wended my way to
Fort Vannoy, two miles below the
present site of Grants Pass, where l
was duly enrolled in Major James
Bruce's command, under G. A. Rice
as captain and ]. S. Miller as first
lieutenant. | cannot now recall the
names of our lower officers, but we
were all under Colonel Robert Will
liams (known in private life as Bob
Williams) as the Southern Battalion
of Oregon Mounted Voulenteers.
This organization constituted the
army of the southern part of the
state. But we were soon joined by
a company from the northern part
of the state under the command of
Captain Rhinearson, making alto
gether quite an imposing army. And
now under the leadership of Colonel
Robert Williams, who was by nature
both escort and leader, on the forgot
ten day of September we set out for
the cabins" in the Applegate coun-
try where the Indians were known to
be encamped. On arriving there
guards were promptly placed around
the cabins to prevent any attempt
the Indians might make to steal away
under cover of night, while the COM
mand was waiting the arrival of a
howitzer known to be on the way
under the escort of Captain Judy of
Fort Jones, California.
In the placing of the guards a
young man by the name of Miller
and called DOC" Miller, from Cres-
cent City, Cal, and myself were
placed together at the edge of the
: water of the Applegate, with bank
t about four feet high in front of us
and between us and the cabins, and
3 about fifty yards away from the cab
l ms. Immediately on top of this bank
of the river and between us and the
cabins stood pine tree large enough
3 to shield one man as long as he kept
$ it between himself and the enemy.
, But to do good duty as a guard he
had to put his head out to one side
I of the tree so that he could see if
1 the Indians were making any move
!, ment toward going away. | had just
l had my turn standing at that place
and watching by putting my head
= out from behind the tree, when Mil
: Ter came to my relief and took my
t place, while | was now crouching be-
. tween the bank and the water
t think it could not have been more
than five minutes after our change
= of places when a gun shot report
: rang out from the direction of the
J cabins, and simultaneous with the re-
port of the gun, Miller fell over by
my side dead, with a bullet hole
: through his head. Thus it can be
. seen how on many occasions one may
: barely escape the fatal shot that
. takes the life of another one. And
. why, you may ask, does it. some
!, times so happen? To this question
u u | can only answer by saying l am not
I here to philosophize and can only
. answer you by repeating your owr
. question, "Why?"
I,
= circumstance transpired before or af
= ter the bombardment of the cabins
e but | am quite sure that on the night
- after the bombardment the indians
y made their way out of their perilou'
4 situation, through a dense growth o.
- underbrush on the north SIDE of the
= cabins.
% But the question will be asked
y Did you follow them?" To thi
- question the answer may be justl,
:, given BY the morning light of the
= next day the Indians were many mile,
q away in heavily timbered and brusl
r. covered mountainous country, wher,
,r to have followed them now woulC
% have been to court death from behint
o every tree, every rock. and ever,
:. clump of brush, behind which an In
,t dian could hide himself and, afte
" shooting his man, slip away down tn
Is side of the mountain unobserved t,
m a place of safety.
% The army now returned to head
n quarters at Fort Vannoy to recrui
% and get ready for the next expedition
n when our scouts, chief of whom i
d now again our late Colonel William
ID (now only Colonel Bob), again 10
,e Gated them in heavy wooded coun
ic try opposite the upper end of tn
$. Big Meadows on Rogue river. Al
~ ready now for the renewal of tn
IF conflict at the Meadows with our gal
IS liant Colonel Williams still at tn
IS head of the army, though just nov
,e fresh from the scenes of the scout
le We now move in warlike style fo
the scenes of the coming fray oppo
site the Big Meadows, hopeful of sue
l. cess this time. Arrived at the Mead
lr ows, we made camp for the night i