Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 19.djvu/73

 EARLY SOUTHERN OREGON 61 survivors escaped after incredible hardships, adding another thrilling story to the long record of Oregon pioneer suffering and sacrifice. The quick requisition of the U. S. troops from California to redress these outrages brought on a campaign against those Indians, and this gave a wide publicity of the country, and the coming of more whites soon after. A portion of the troops were sent by sea in the ship Captain Lincoln in January, 1852, and were wrecked on the beach two miles north of Coos Bay. They were compelled to remain in this isolated portion of the world for four months before a rescue force came to their relief. This narrative alone reads more like fiction. The ship Nassau was brought to Coos Bay, the first ship ever to enter upon its waters, to bring away the wrecked supplies saved from the Lincoln. A garrison post was now established by the Government at Port Orford from which for several years military relief was sent out at different times in the Rogue River Indian War. Some of its officers became eminent in our Nation's history, and 1 were commanders of its armies in the great Civil war. Indeed, Oregon may be said to have been the nursery for our country's greatest generals in that terrible conflict. At this point it may be pertinent to say as our history now verges upon the several Indian wars to follow that the Coast Indians as a whole were naturally friendly to the whites and averse to engaging in hostilities against them, but were in awe and terror of the warring tribes of the Rogue River and Shasta Indians. They were the bandits and outlaws of the tribes. They would visit the Coast from their interior battle grounds and infuse mischief and fear among the more peace- ful natives, and compel them to unite in acts of thievery and massacre. These interior tribes were from the very beginning of the white man's coming his inveterate and most savage foe, and so continued 1 down to the last day of their surrender in 1856. It was in the month of May, 1853, that another event of leading importance in Southern Oregon settlement occurred.