Chapter XXVII

Events of 1854

A Year of Comparative Peace--Tipsu Tyee--His Career--The Cave Fight--Death of Tipsu--The Cottonwood War--Walker's Expedition--His Muster-roll--Fight at Warner Rock--Return to Jacksonville--Murder of Phillips

            Eighteen hundred and fifty-four was a year of peace for most of the Rogue River tribe, safely gathered on their reservation. The military force at Fort Lane kept in awe such roving vagabond savages as desired or might be led to commit outrages, and also such whites as, not having the fear of the law before their eyes, might seek to interfere with the natives. This latter class, numerous in most frontier countries, was doubly troublesome in Southern Oregon. There was grasping, avaricious men who seemed to begrudge the poor savages the very air they breathed. The reservation, some would say, is too good for them; it ought to be thrown open to settlement by whites. This class, too, were dissatisfied with the annuity that was promised the Indians. Nothing in our government’s Indian policy commended itself to such men, unless it was the policy of referring the least of the Indians’ faults to the stern arbitrament of bullets, while permitting white men to ride rough-shod over them, regardless of right or justice.

            Tipsu Tyee, however, did not join in his brother chiefs in their friendly attitude toward the whites, but on the contrary entered systematically upon a career of stealthy warfare which was manifested in attacks on quite a number of parties on and near the Siskiyou mountains. He effectually terrorized a tract of country reaching from Ashland to beyond the Klamath, and during many months made unexpected descents upon white settlements, or robbed towns, with almost entire impunity. The first notable outrage was the affair near Ashland on August 17, 1853. The visit of General lane to Tipsu’s headquarters would appear to have been abortive, for at various times we find the chief active against the whites. The principal affair of the season was the fight near Cottonwood, resulting in the death of Hiram Hulen, John Clark, John Oldfield, and Wesley Mayden, who were killed in January, 1854, on the road between Jacksonville and Yreka, by Shasta Indians. This affair had a curious origin. A number of “squaw men” were living along the Klamath and about Cottonwood in the winter of 1853-4, and the women of two of these-Tom Ward and Bill Chance-deserted them and returned to their kindred, who were members of Tyee Bill’s band of Shastas, dwelling in a large cave on the north bank of the Klamath, some twenty miles above Cottonwood. The squaw men proceeded after them, but on reaching the cave were ordered to leave. They immediately went to Cottonwood and falsely reported that a large number of stolen horses were in the possession of these Indians, when a company of men were raised to go and recover the animals. They went, and a fight ensuing, the four above mentioned were killed, and the rest driven away. The indignation in Cottonwood was great; the deceased were well known citizens, and the people were not aware how they had been duped by the squaw men. Notice of the difficulty was sent to Captain Judah, commanding at Fort Jones, and he came up with a detachment of troops. A company of volunteers was raised at Cottonwood, commanded by R.C. Geiger, with James Lemmon as lieutenant. Their first act was to bury the bodies of Hulen and his friends, who served to start the new cemetery at Cottonwood, and were all buried in one grave. The regulars and volunteers went then to the cave, and laid siege to it, until Captain Geiger was killed by a bullet in his brain, from incautiously exposing himself. This happened on the twenty-sixth of January. On the same day Captain Smith arrived from Fort Lane with a detachment of regulars, and a mountain howitzer, and being the senior military office, took command of the forces. He advanced to the vicinity of the cave and opened fire upon the mouth of it with his howitzer, but ineffectually except as to endangering the volunteers who were stationed near the Indians’ den. An old trapper, Robinson by name, now arrived and told Captain Smith the origin of the difficulty. The officer suspended the bombardment and went to the cave accompanied by two men only, and conversed with Tyee Bill, who confirmed the trapper’s story. Words, it was said, had no power to describe the officer’s indignation. Exasperated at the idea of a military force belonging to the United States being engaged in a dispute concerning the possession of squaws, he took his departure with his command in great anger. The inhabitants of Cottonwood and of all the surrounding country were displeased with this action, and for years the people and press of the border refused to be placated.

            Bill’s band remained at the cave but made no hostile demonstration. On the twelfth of May a Shasta named Joe, made a felonious assault on a white woman, but was driven away by the approach of some men. He was pursued and fled to the cave. Lieutenant J.C. Bonnycastle, then in charge of Fort Jones, set out for the cave to compel his surrender, but halting on Willow creek, was informed of the attack by Tipsu Tyee on Gage and Clymer’s pack-train on Siskiyou mountain wherein David Gage was killed and the mules stolen. The next day Lieutenant Bonnycastle and command set out for the scene of the last outrage, and on arriving they found that the murder had been committed by six Indians, of whom four had departed toward the cave. The detachment immediately followed, and reaching that place, they found that the Indians they were in pursuit of had arrived there, and they were none other than Tipsu Tyee, his son, and son-in-law, and another member of their band. But justice had overtaken the notorious old creature at last, for Bill and his party had fallen upon the four and killed them just before the troops arrived, being incited thereto by a desire to win the friendship of the whites, to whom they knew Tipsu to be a bitter enemy. They scalped the dead chief and sent that ghastly trophy to the office of Judge Roseborough in Yreka where it was seen by that gentleman, as he informed the writer. Lieutenant Bonnycastle and Captain Goodall also saw the scalp, and not feeling perfectly assured of its identity, went to the cave and twice exhumed the body, finding satisfactory evidence that it was the old Tyee and none other. Tipsu, is described by Colonel Ross and others who knew him as a tall and powerful man, wearing a beard or goatee which was tinged with gray. He had high cheek bones and a distinctively Indian appearance, but was a fine looking brave. “He was a quiet, reserved man, who never went among white people, when he could avoid it, but staid almost constantly in the hills. He never begged, but if provisions or other gifts were offered, he would allow his squaws to receive them.”

            The end of the Cottonwood affair is not yet told. The Shastas in the cave were visited by several individuals, among them Lieutenant Bonnycastle, Judge Steele, Judge Roseborough, special Indian agent; old Tolo chief of the Yreka Shastas and a friend of the whites; Captain Goodall and others, and persuaded to set out for Fort Jones, where they were to be kept. On arriving at Cottonwood creek on June 24, they were fired upon by a gang of miners of that vicinity, and Chief Bill was killed, and several others wounded. The whites lost one man, Thomas C. McKamey. The Indians finally got securely on the Fort Jones reservation. This is the extent of our chronicles concerning the Cave Shastas, and they drift now out of our story.

            The remaining incidents of 1854, are connected with the expedition of Captain Jesse Walker to assist the immigrants of that year through the dangerous grounds infested by the Modocs and other hostile tribes who had been punished by the previous expeditions of Captain Ross, Ben Wright and Captain Miller. Under date of July 17, 1854, Governor Davis addressed Colonel John Ross, authorizing him by virtue of his office as colonel in the Oregon militia, to call into service a company of volunteers to protect the immigration and particularly to suppress the Modocs, Piutes, and other disaffected aborigines. Colonel Ross accordingly made proclamation on the third of August following, inviting enlistments for the term of three months. Some sixty or seventy men responded, whose names, with the officers they elected, are annexted: Captain, Jesse Walker; Lieutentants, C. Westfeldt, Isaac Miller; Sergeants, William G. Hill, R.E. Miller, Andrew J. Long; Privates, Benj. Antum, John Bormonler, David Breen, William Bybee, T.C. Banning, O.C. Beeson, Newton Ball, J.H. Clifton, R.S.A. Caldwell, Hugh C. Clauson, J.J. Coffer, W.W. Cose, David Dorsey, Henry C. Eldridge, W.M.D. Foster, T.V. Henderson, Jesse Huggens, J.B. Henit, J.M. Holloway, J.H. Hoffman, James Hathaway, John Head, John Halleck, John Hawkins, David W. Houston, Samuel Hink, William H. Jaquette, Eli Judd, J.P. Jones, L.W. Jones, John F. Linden, Peter Mowry, John Martin, Greenville Matthews, John M. Malone, B. McDaniel, James McLinden, John Pritchett, J.B. Patterson, Warren Pratt, Sylvester Pase, J.A. Pinney, George Ritchy, W.M. Rise, R.M. Robertson, E.A. Rice, Thomas Swank, Seth Sackett, J.R. Smith, N.d. Schooler, John Smith, John Shookman, Silas R. Smith, Marion Snow, Vincent Tullis, John Thompson, David Thompson, Peter H. Vanslyke, Samuel Wilks, Lafayette Witt, Squire Williams, Elijah Walker, George W. Wilson, M. Wolverton, James Wilks, Thomas P. Walker, James W. Walker, H. Wright.

            Colonel Ross’ instructions to the officers before their departure, were to proceed immediately to some suitable point near Clear lake, in the vicinity of Bloody Point, and protect the trains. These instructions concluded: “Your treatment of the Indians must in a great measure be left to your own discretion. If possible, cultivate their friendship; but, if necessary for the safety of the lives and property of the immigration, whip and drive them from the road.” Simultaneously with their starting, a small party of Yreka people also set out with the same object. These were only fifteen in number, but included, also, some very experienced Indian fighters. While traveling along the north shore of Tule lake, they were greeted by a shower of arrows from the tules. They retired to await to await the Oregon company. When Captain Walker arrived, he sent forty men of his company with five Californians to attack the Indian village, which was situated in the marsh three hundred yards from where the attack had been made. This was destroyed without resistance, and all the men returned to camp at the mouth of the lost river. The permanent rendezvous was made at Clear Lake; and here both companies established their headquarters. Lieutenant Westfeldt, with mixed detachment of Oregonians and Californias, went eastward on the trail as far as the big bend of the Humboldt, to meet the coming immigrants. Trains were made up the scattered wagons, and being furnished with small escorts, were sent on westward. The Californians soon returning home, Captain Walker set out to punish the Piutes, who had stolen stock from the immigrants. On October third he started with sixteen men, traveling northward from Goose lake, when meeting a band of Indians, he chased them forty miles, coming the second day upon them where they were fortified on the top of an immense rock, named by him Warner’s rock, in remembrance of Captain Warner, killed there in 1849. The small party made a furious attack upon the stronghold, but was repulsed with one man, John Low, wounded. Returning to Goose Lake, they met and killed two Indians. Setting out again with twenty-five men, the determined captain again headed for Warner’s rock, and by traveling in the night, reached it without being suspected by the savages, who, it was found, had gone down from the rock, and were living on the bank of a creek. The men rode up to the camp, and formed a semi-circle about it. At daybreak they began firing, and drove the Indians pell-mell into the brush, killing many. The only white man injured was Sergeant William Hill, who was severely wounded in the arm and cheek by a bullet from the gun of one of his companions. Returning now to Goose Lake and then homeward, they were mustered out of service at Jacksonville on November 6, 1854.

            Before closing this account of the events of 1854, there is mention to be made of two murders committed by Indians, the one of ----- Stewart, an immigrant, while proceeding westward on the wagon trail, in September; the other that of Edward Phillips. The latter homicide occurred on the Applegate, about the middle of April. It was supposed to have been the deed of certain Indians residing thereabouts, but which was laid to the charge of the tribe on Rogue river. Captain Smith detailed a detachment to inquire into the matter, whose commanding officer reported that the man had been killed in his own cabin, and evidently for the purpose of robbery as his gun, ammunition and tools had been taken.

            As  we have seen, the greater part of the difficulties which occurred during the year 1854, were outside the Rogue river valley, but they were still near enough to keep a portion of its inhabitants in a state of alarm.