Page:Centennial History of Oregon 1811-1912, Volume 1.djvu/606



corting a pack train were attacked near Chetco. In this tight three soldiers were killed and wounded. The Indians lost six killed and several wounded.

The volunteer forces of the coast were three companies known by the name of "Gold Beach Guards," the "Coquille Guards," and the "Port Orford Min- ute Men. ' '

On May 31st, Governor Curry ordered the volunteer forces to disband — nearly all the Indians had surrendered. About one thousand three hundred of the various tribes that had carried on the war were gathered in camp at Port Orford. About July 1, 1856, "John" and thirty-five tough looking warriors, the last to surrender, "threw down the hatchet."

A large number of the pioneer Oregonians rendered valuable and distin- guished services in this long, bitter and sanguinary contest with the native red men. General Joseph Lane, Col. John E. Ross, Capt. Wm. H. Packwood, Capt. Ben. Wright, J. H. Lamerick, John F. Miller, Elias Owens, W. W. Fowler, B. F. Alden, Burrell Griffin, Major J. A. Lupton, Mrs. Mary Harris, Capt. A. J. Smith, Capt. Creighton, Major Latshaw, Capt. J. M. Kirkpatrick, Col. John Kelsay, Col. W. W. Chapman, Major James Bruce, and Dr. Wm. L. Colvig ; all of whom have now passed over the Great Divide, except Major Bruce, and Capt. Pack- wood, who are at this writing (May 1st, 1912) both still in the full vigor of their mental faculties and good bodily health.

THE YAKIMA WAE

There can be but little doubt that there was an effort on the part of all the Indians of the region of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho to form in 1854 a general combination to expel the white people from all this territory or to exter- minate them. And if the Indians had possessed a great leader like Pontiac or Tecumseh they might well nigh have succeeded. There could not have been more than 3,500 men capable of bearing arms in Oregon at that time. Washington was so sparsely settled that it could not have defended its own people ; and [daho was still then an Indian country. As against such a combination the men of Oregon would have had to do the fighting, as in fact thej' did do it. helped out by small detachments of the regular army. The wars broke out simultane- ously in Idaho, Eastern Oregon, on Puget Sound and in Southern Oregon. It was ascertained subsequently that previous thereto the Indians in all these sec- tions of the country had been accumulating large quantities of powder, lead and rifles. The aggregate force of Indian warriors in these regions could not have been less than eight thousand. In their wide extended attacks they had many advantages over the Oregonians. First, a large force had to be deployed to Idaho to protect the incoming immigration on the Oregon Trail. Here fifty Indians could keep 500 white men busy scouting for them, and then not catch a single Indian and not fully protect the immigrants. Second, the Indian men could all go on the war path and leave the women to shift for themselves and take care of children. Third, the Indians needed no shelter tents, commissary train, baggage masters, wagons, horses or wagon roads. They knew every nook, corner, defile and hiding place in all the mountains, and could fire from ambush and retreat in safety, while their game hunters could supply them with meat for food. If all the Indians could have combined they could have exterminated