Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 2.djvu/187

Rh Creek, about twenty miles from Coloma. The Oregonians rode among the Indians. They had been friendly and were not afraid of them. Our men saw at once that these were the very Indians they were looking for, and decided then and there to kill every one of them if they could. Each Oregonian had about thirteen shots a piece. I do not suppose the battle lasted more than one minute—they shot right and left and twenty-six Indians were killed. The rest surrendered, the women falling down and beginning to weep. An Oregonian named Greenwood could talk to them—he had learnt their language—and they said to him: "What have you done this for?" "For killing the Columbia River men three days ago," he answered. They acknowledged it immediately. Greenwood then asked: "What made you do it?" They began to name these California traders saying they had told them to do it, saying that they (the Oregonians) were stealing their money and giving them poor goods. The women all declared that was the way it was, and they pointed out six men who had remained from the slaughter and said that they were also implicated in the secret murder of the Oregonians.

The Oregonians took them as prisoners, but were divided as to what was to be done with them. They finally decided to take them to Coloma and submit them to Sutter, who was acting as superintendent of Indian affairs, then stationed at Sacramento, and give them trial, and be shot or hanged if found guilty.

Three of the Oregonians started back to Coloma ahead of the others and forty-three prisoners (including men, women, and children) in order to capture the Indian spy at the mill before he should have a chance to escape. As I saw them coming, I left my work under pretense of getting a drink of water and asked them if they had found the Indians. They replied: "Yes, we have them—killed