Page:The History of Oregon Bancroft 1888.djvu/330

312 the road. It was believed, also, that white women were prisoners among the Indians near Table Rock, a rumor arising probably from the vague reports of the captivity of two white girls near Klamath Lake.

Excited by what they knew and what they imagined, about the 1st of June, 1853, a party from Jacksonville and vicinity took Taylor with three others and hanged them. Then they went to Table Rock to rescue the alleged captive white women, and finding none, they fired into a village of natives, killing six, then went their way to get drunk and boast of their brave deeds.

There was present neither Indian agent nor military officer to prevent the outrages on either side. The new superintendent, Palmer, was hardly installed in office, and had at his command but one agent, whom he despatched with the company raised to open the middle route over the Cascade Mountains. As to troops, the 4th infantry had been sent to the north west coast in the preceding September, but were so distributed that no companies were within reach of Rogue River. As might have been expected, a few weeks after the exploits of the Jacksonville company, the settlements were suddenly attacked, and a bloody carnival followed. Volunteer companies quickly gathered up the isolated families and patrolled