The Hood River glacier. (Hood River, Or.) 1889-1933, 1918-01-31
STORY OF The CAY.
IJSE INDIAN WAR

OF installments Of the history Of the
Cayuse Indian war as told by the late
Amos Underwood, who participated in
subduing the Cayuse tribe. The his
tory was printed in serial form in the
Glacier q years ago.
! You ask me to give you an account
of the battles we had with the Cayuse
Indians in the Fall of 1856. Well sir.
several newspaper men have wanted
me to write it up for them, but never
got to it because / thought people
would think wanted to air myself.
will give it now, as nearly as can
remember.
will have to speak of myself good
many times, as can recollect my own
doings better than can recollect what
was done by the other boys. A good
many yarns have been told about the
ueath of Chief Pepe Mux Mux and how
he was captured, but they don't always
correspond. ! will give you the facts
about the whole affair.
! was fourth corporal of Co. B., Ore
gon Volunteers, and had charge of him
when he was killed. To make a long
story short, on about the seventh of
December, 1855, about 400 volunteers
were at old Fort Walla Walla, now
Wallula. | can think of only few of
the names of the officers and men of
the regiment. Col. James X. Kelly
was in command. with Maj. Chinn.
Co. A, from Portland, was commanded
by Capt. Wilson. Ben Harding, lieuten-
ant. Co. B, from The Dalles, was
commanded by Lieuts. John Jeffreys
and James Macaulif. Capt. o. Huma-
son being at home sick in bed. Co. H
was commanded by Capt. Dave Laten.
Co. F was there, | think, commanded
by Capt. Bennett. Bennett was killed
in the battle. There were other COM
panies. but | can't remember which
they were. Nathan Olney was there
as Indian agent. He had few Dalles
Indians with him. We had pack horses
and some wagons.
Part of the command started up the
road with the teams and pack train
toward Wall Walla, and about 200 of
US started on horseback across the
hills, little north of east. We rode
on until about three O'Clock in the af-
ternoon, when we saw a big band of
Indians coming toward us. They came
on to within 200 or 800 yards of us and
stopped. They were carrying a white
flag. Some six or eight of them left
the crowd and came within 100 yards
Of us where they halted and called for
some of our officers to come and have a
talk with them. A few officers went
and had handshake with the Indians.
The rest of.us sat there on our horses,
and while our officers talked with the
chief, we would flap our hands and
crow and take sight with our guns at
the Indians. The Indian boys did the
same. Old Pepe said:
Il see your boys are like mine--keen
for fight. But us old men have bet
ter sense. We knew you were coming
SO ! ordered five big cattle to be
slaughtered and roasted and started
to meet you and have you come and
take supper with u.s."
So after about an hour he told his
men to go and tell his people we would
be there for supper.
The old chief and about eight of his
men staid with US and the rest all
started off on keen lope. We then
followed and rode on until sundown,
when we could see lots of Indians on
the high points. We were riding along
a level bottom and soon arrived at
point where the bluffs came nearly to
the creek, and for two or three miles
the trail passed under high cliffs of
perpendicular rocks, leaving just room
for one horseman on the trail at
time. Across the creek was thicket
of brush, so thick that nothing could
get through it. 1t was dark evening
and splitting snow. Nat Olney was rid
| ing back with the rear guard when he
saw the commander and Indians max
| ing for the narrow trail. He spurred
his horse and galloped to the front.
AS he passed me | heard him say:
Cd d-n those fellows, what's the
matter with them? If they go through
that hole there'll not be one of them
left to tell the story" He had said
early in the evening that there was
something wrong; that the Indians
meant to trap US. He had run his horse
about 400 yards before he overlook the
head of the column. Arriving there,
he used about the same language to the
bosses. He called halt and then the
command turned to the right into a
bottom and went into camp for the
night. 1t was now dark and showing.
Two or three Indians jumped off and
ran. Bill Gates fired two shots at
them, but could not hit them in the
dark. We still held old Pepe and about
six others. We unsaddled and laid
down for the night. The Indians were
all around US and kept halloing and
talking to the chief. Nat Olney halloed
to them in their own language; told
them to go home and have breakfast
all ready and we would be there; that
the old chief had gone to bed and did
not want to be molested any more. So
all was quiet until morning.
| When we got up in the morning
there were about three inches of snow
on the ground and our horses were
standing by our sides shivering. We
had to build fires in the sage brush to
take the kinks out of our blankets and
ropes before we could saddle them up.
1t was fine sunshiny morning. Some
of the boys went to the canyon and
crossed the creek, where they found
nests in the brush where the Indians
had hidden. When we started on the
march. instead of following the trail
through the canyon, we went around
the bluff. We found tons of rocks
piled upon the bluffs ready to be rolled
down upon US if we had followed the
trail. If our boys had got strung out
on that narrow trail for distance of
two or three miles, with no chance to
turn back or go forward when at
tackled. the Indians. would have had us
completely at their mercy. If we had
jumped off and taken to the brush, the
brush was completely alive with In
dians ready for us. In the first excite
ment the chief and his crowd would
have jumped off and have run to some
place of safety understood by them.
do not believe we could have killed