Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly volume 22.djvu/27



THE SOUTH ROAD EXPEDITION 17

back-bone of the mountain, the dense thickets and the rocks on either side affording splendid opportunities for ambush. A short time before this, a party coming from California had been attacked on this summit ridge by the Indians and one of them had been severely wounded. Several of the horses had also been shot with arrows. Along this trail we picked up a num- ber of broken and shattered arrows. We could see that a large party of Indians had passed over the trail traveling southward only a few days before. At dark we reached a small opening on a little stream at the foot of the mountain on the south, and encamped for the night.

On the morning of the 26th, we divided our forces, part go- ing back to explore the canyon, while the remainder stayed to guard the camp and horses. The exploring party went back to where we left the canyon on the little trail the day before, and returning through the canyon, came into camp after night, reporting that wagons could be taken through.

We found everything all right on the morning of the 27th, although the Indians had hovered around us all night, frighten- ing our horses a number of times. From the tracks we could see that they approached very closely to our encampment. Making an early start we moved on very cautiously. When- ever the trail passed through the cuts we dismounted and led our horses, having our guns in hand ready at any moment to use them in self-defense, for we had adopted this rule, never to be the aggressor. Traveling through a very broken country the sharp hills separated by little streams upon which there were small openings, we came out at about noon into a large creek, a branch of Rogue river, now called Grave creek, on which we rested about two hours. During the afternoon our course was over a more open country through scattering pine and oak timber. Towards evening, we saw a good many In- dians posted along the mountain side and then running ahead of us. About an hour by sun we reached a prairie of several hundred acres, which extends down to very near the bank of