Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/604

 Springs.

The war of 1855-56 was preceded by a great many murders and depredations by the Indians in different parts of southern Oregon. I will mention a few : —

— Dyar and McKew, were killed on the road from Jacksonville to Josephine

County on June 1, 1855. About the same time a man by the name of — — Phil- pot was killed on Deer Creek, Josephine Countj"^, and James ]\Iills was wounded at the same time and place. Granville Keene was killed at a point on Bear Creek,

above Ashland, and J. Q. Paber was wounded. Two men, Fielding, and

Cunningham, were killed in September, 1855, on the road over the Siskiyou mountains.

On account of these various depredations, Maj. J. A. Lupton raised a tem- porary force of volunteers, composed of miners and others, from the vicinity of Jacksonville, about thirty-five in number, and proceeded to a point on the north side of Rogue River, opposite the mouth of Little Butte Creek. There he attacked a camp of Indians at a time when they were not expecting trouble. It is said that about thirty men, women and children were killed by Lupton 's men. The Major himself received a mortal wound in the fight. This fight has been much criticised by the people of southern Oregon, a great many of them believing that it was unjustifiable and cowardly. Two days after this affair a series of massacres took place in the sparsely settled country in and about where Grants Pass is now situated. On the ninth of October, 1855, the Indians, having divided up into 'small parties, simultaneously attacked the homes of the defenseless families located in that vicinity. I will name a few of those tragic events. On the farm now owned by James Tuffs, Mr. Jones was killed, and his wife, after receiving a mortal wound, made her escape. She was found by the volunteers on the next day and died a few days afterwards. Their house was burned down. Mrs. Wagner was murdered by the Indians on the same day. Her husband was away from home at the time, but returned on the following day to find his wife murdered and his home a pile of ashes. The Harris family consisting of Harris and wife and their two children, Mary Harris, aged twelve, and David Harris, aged ten, and T. A. Reed, who lived with the family were attacked. J\Ir. Harris was shot down while standing near his door, and at a moment when he ^little suspected treachery from the Indians with whom he was talking. His wife and daughter pulled his body within the door, and seizing a double-barrelled shotgun and an old-fashioned Kentucky rifle, commenced firing through the cracks of the log cabin. They kept this up till late in the night, and by heroic bravery kept the Indians from either gaining an entrance into the house or succeeding in their attempts to fire it. Just back of the cabin was a dense thicket of brush and during a lull in the attack the two brave women escaped through the back door and fled through the woods. They were found the next day by the volunteers from Jacksonville, our late friend, Henry Klippel "being one of the number. Mrs. Harris lived to a good old age in this coiuitry. Mary who was wounded in the fight, afterwards became the wife of Mr. G. M. Love, and was the mother of George Love of Jacksonville, and Mrs. John A. Hanley of Medford. David Harris, the boy, was not in the house when the attack was made, but at work on the place. His fate has never been ascertained, as his body was never found. The Indians stated, after peace was made, that they killed him at the time they attacked the Harris house. Reed, the young man spoken of, was killed out near the house.