Page:The Early Indian Wars of Oregon.djvu/385



THE ROGUE RIVER WARS. 367

O Neil, the major dismounted his men, twenty-one in all, and stationing Alcorn with eleven men on the left of the canon in which the enemy was encamped, himself occu pied the right with only nine.

It was soon discovered that the Indians were sixty or seventy strong. Firing became general, and both sides sus tained losses. Wiley Cash was killed in this preliminary engagement, and Daniel Richardson severely wounded. Soon after these casualties, eight men were cut off from the little force, when Bruce collected the ten left him and charged the Indians, driving them out of the canon, re lieving the men and securing a favorable position for him self, though surrounded and cut off from his horses. Night coming on, he was compelled to retreat towards these, but found that half of them had been driven off before the arrival of Captain O Niel, who was on the ground with the news that he had sent Lieutenant Armstrong an hour before dark with twenty-two men to engage the enemy on the right, while with twenty men he had flanked their left and fought them until dark.

The night being very dark and cold, the whole force present withdrew to camp five miles distant, when it was discovered that Lieutenant Armstrong had not returned. Instead, he remained on the ground and renewed the attack at daylight next morning, the Indians giving way and retreating soon after daybreak. It was found that they had burned their dead in the night, making it impossible to determine their loss.

" On this day, January twenty-fourth," says Bruce in his report, "the colonel, R. L. Williams, arrived in camp and took the command." In the same report he declares that great credit is due "the captains and lieutenants" for their coolness and determined bravery in their several engage ments. He might well have included all the men in his command. The kind of duty they were required to per form was a drudging and thankless service, which only the desperate situation of the country could have induced