East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1919-09-19
CAPTAIN SUMPMN ANDlO CAMPO ACTEDAS
SCOUTS WITH SOLDIERS IN SHEEPEATER WAR
Renegades From Finally Cap

1 remaining Indian scouts. This cam
raign was his second against the
Bannock outlaws and he had volun-
teered to act as one of the scouts in
the government party.
U was late In August when the
scouting party reached the. rugged
mountains and spent several days
look ing forYthe hostiles. The trails
were rough, almost impassible. the
mountain sides steep and rations were
low. Although they had started out
with horses. both Joe Campo and
Sumpkin lost their mounts, he related,
and their moccssins had worn out.
For number of days the Indian
scouts searched through the noun
tains without food and barefoot.
Lieut.. Farrow final yordered the In
dians to retrace their trail and on
August 27 succeeded in finding four
caches of provisions which had been
stolen frcm Catley's command in
July when he first encountered the
hostile Indians.
Hostile Indians Located
The party In which the Umatilla
Indians were acting as scouts located
the camp OF the Sheepeaters on Sep
tember 21 and prepared to make at
attack upon them at daybreak the
next morning. The camp was In
canyon OF the Salmon river and the
barking cf a dow told the commander
that 1t was close by. Preparations
were made that night for the battle
upon the enemy camp which was to
begin AT daybreak.
At a. IN. the scouts. divided into
two equal parties. started the attack.
Orders were to close In on the camp /.
and open fire at daybreak. The camp !
fire could be seen and there were |
horses lying about, but as the scouts 4
closed in they found that the enemy |
had learned OF their presence and had
fled. Their ponies had been stabbed
and left lying on the ground.
Without a pitched battle but fore
ed more by snow and sleet and lack of
food To surrender. the Sheepeaters
gave themselves up to Lieut.. Farrow
on October /, 1879. The surrender
was effected by the capture of one
Bannock by Lieut.. Brown. the red
skin having declared he was tired of
the fighting. He brought in nine
bucks, "a squaws and papooses and
eight guns en- the first of October
and later returned with enough more
to swell the number of captives to 81.
Had the Indians held out a few days
longer the scouting troops would have
been forced to give up the chase or
ta spend the winter in the Salmon
River canyon. depending upon the
game there for their subsistence.
Lieut.. Brown and a number of
scouts preceded the captives. under
Lieut.. Farrow, out of the Salmon
River country. They obtained ra-
lions for the Farrc wparty and pro-
,eeded to hunt horse thieves for three
weeks without success. The Brown
party reached the Umatilla agency on
October 22.
Pendicton Helped Celebrate
Lieut.. Farrow. with his 81 Indian
'aptives, made haste to deliver them
10 the Umatilla reservation. His ar
-ival was the signal fer a big celebra-
ion. in which the citizens of Pendle-
on also Joined. There was great re-
oicing at the capture of these trouble
some savages and the party which
captured them was feted by the citi
.ens. The captives were later taken
% ancouver Barracks where they
we're handled by the government.
The campaign against the Sheep ,
.aters was not the first in which the
Jmatilla reservation Indians figured.
rhe Piutes and Bannccks. an offshot
II these same vandals, had earlier
broken over the traces In Southern
daho and after causing n lot of trou-
,le in the region of Pocatello and '
Boise. pushed over into Southern Ore /
,on. '
II was not long until the hostile
indians we're fairly close to Pendleton ,
md II is said by Sumpkin that the |
even came onto the reserva- 1
ion and stole cattle and horses be- a
onging to the Indians and took stock
rom the whites to the south as well.
This action incensed the Indians of '