Jacksonville, O.T., Jan. 5, 1856.           

JIM.

Hornellsville (New York) Tribune, April 24, 1856, page 2


    The following incident will show how near a considerable portion of his tribe were to being taken. In the early part of January 1856, a company of men went up the mountains in search of the Old Chief. They had made their encampment in a convenient place; and for several days sent out scouts, two or three in a company, in all directions. On one occasion, two of these scouts fell in with a fresh trail; and following it up, came to a cabin. Gladly would they have concealed themselves; but they were perceived by the occupants, and had no alternative but to assume courage, and make the best of their discovery. They found the tenement in the occupation of several Indian women and children. Therefore they pretended to be miners in search of gold; and to ensure the confidence of the women, they made them an offer of the two mules, with their provisions. This liberality was induced by the fear that the warriors, who could not be far off, might suddenly return and kill them. They persuaded the women to go with them to camp, promising to make a treaty of peace. They were soon met by the returning warriors, and their lives were only spared through the intercessions of the women.
    They found that this cabin consisted of logs, and was also covered with the same, upon which were brush and earth. It was guarded by a deep ditch, with slanting cuts for the rifles, so that they could defend themselves, and be in tolerable safety from the shots of an enemy.
    On the report of the scouts at their camp, it was resolved to get a reinforcement, and take the place by storm. This was, undoubtedly, for some special object rather than necessity, since the Indians were anxious for peace, and had spared those whom they had in power, on promise of a treaty being made. Accordingly, "a battalion of the army," "with a great number of spirited citizens from Jacksonville" --I quote from the papers of the day--"marched to the attack."
    But upon approach, it was found that they could not get within the range of rifles, without danger; for you must know that these refined warriors had an especial daintiness in regard to the manner of their being killed; and they themselves particularly disliked to be shot. This, in connection with their common treatment of the Indians, shows what respect they had for the Golden Rule, and why so many high clerical and canonical functionaries should have patronized them.
    But to return to the battle. As one of the besiegers fell dead, and others were wounded, without making any impression on the besieged, it was resolved to send to Fort Lane for a cannon, and blow them up with bombshells. Pursuant to this resolution, on the afternoon of the following day, the cannon was duly poised; and its awful echoes boomed over the mountains and ravines, rousing the terrified Indians, who had never heard the like before. But although the firing was continued until the curtain of night fell and closed the scene, only one shell entered the cabin, killing two, and wounding others. The roar of battle then ceased, but only to be resumed, with greater vigor, in the morning; and the weary troops, some of whom had been on guard more or less for four days, once more slept upon their arms.
    The number of the besiegers was variously estimated at from 200 to 400, including the "spirited citizens"; that of the besieged was about 30, including women and children.
    The morning sun arose; and, lo! it was soon discovered that the Indians had retreated beyond the reach of bombshells, carrying along all their arms and ammunition, leaving only the deserted logs, instead of human bodies, for the balls and bombs to fall upon and scatter. This is conclusive proof of one thing, if not two. It shows either that the white soldier-men slept very soundly, or that they winked at their escape.
    As might be expected, there was a strong reaction among the "spirited citizens" at this general explosion of their brilliant achievements, past and prospective. They put a bombshell in their cannon, and it came out a bubble; and, to their dismay, they found that even women and little children were too wide awake for them. In short, they were quite mistaken when they thought that Indians had no more sagacity or self-respect than to lie still and sleep in the night, only to be bombarded and blown up in the morning. This state of things was particularly annoying, in view of the fact that the snow was melting from the mountains, and the Indians, who had been long confined in the meadows, would soon be at large.
    And what was still more alarming, the Indians had gained caution by suffering, skill by practice, and courage by success; and they were, in the beginning of 1856, after months of continuous war, better prepared for its prosecution than when it first commenced. They had intercepted several pack trains, from which they had obtained plentiful supplies of arms and ammunition. But what tended more than all other things to give them power was a sense of right. While, on the other hand, there was a great lack of the moral element, as a basis for the volunteers to act upon. Many of them were far from being assured of the righteousness of their cause, and not a few who had at first sanctioned the war, and aided in its operations, became convinced that the Indians were in the right; and rather than stand in the wrong against them, they had left the ranks, and thereby forfeited their claims for previous service. It was owing to causes of this kind that so little was done during the winter, for notwithstanding the newspaper accounts of "victories gained and battles won," it was notorious that the enemy were, in reality, the victors, and that the rifles' crack from a few Indians in ambush would cause large bodies of well-armed and mounted men to fly for safety.
John Beeson, A Plea for the Indians, 1858, page 63


    Recent rich discoveries of placer mines have been found near the head of Applegate, above the place known during the Indian war as "The Cabin." Reports say that between three and four hundred men are already located there. Abundance of water can be had the whole year round.
"Mines About Jacksonville," Sacramento Daily Union, March 7, 1860, page 4


    DIED.--In the county hospital, of pneumonia, Charles Deavenport (Indian), native of Jackson County, Oregon, aged about seventeen years. He is said to have been a very intelligent boy. He was captured from the Indians in 1855, when about six years old, at a place called the "Log Cabin," near Jacksonville, Oregon, and was reared by Mr. Deavenport of that valley.
Idaho World, Idaho City, March 4, 1865, page 1


    Toward the last of December some scouts who happened to be near the forks of the Applegate discovered that a body of Indians probably twelve or so in number had taken possession of two deserted miners' cabins and had gone into winter quarters there, preparing themselves for a state of siege by excavating the floors of the houses and piling the dirt against the walls so as to form a protection against rifle bullets. The scouts withdrew unseen, and going to Sterling told the news. A body of sixty or more miners and others went immediately to watch the cabins and prevent the Indians from escaping, while word was sent to various military companies who began to repair to the spot. Captain Bushey arrived, and finding the position too strong for his small force to take, awaited the arrival of others. Captain Smith sent Lieutenants Hagen and Underwood with twenty-five regulars and the inevitable howitzer, with the design of shelling the savages out; but the fortune of war was unpropitious. The mule carrying the ammunition was so heedless as to fall into a deep creek and be killed, while the powder was ruined. More ammunition was sent for, and Lieutenant Sweitzer with sixteen regulars brought it on a mule. This animal was more fortunate; and the regular army drew up in front of the cabins and at a safe distance fired a shell which passed into or through a cabin and killed, as the records say, two savages. But before the howitzer's arrival the Indians had signalized themselves by a strong resistance. They had killed a man by a rifle-shot, at a distance of 500 yards, a display of marksmanship equal to the best known among the whites. Five whites had been wounded. After the shell was fired, the regulars postponed further operations until the morrow, as night was near. When they arose the next morning their birds had flown and the cages were empty. Quite a force of volunteers had gathered upon the scene. There were Captain Rice and his company, from the upper end of Bear Creek Valley; some men of Alcorn's company, a few volunteers from Jacksonville, and a delegation from the Applegate. A much regretted event occurred during the day; this was the killing of Martin Angel, of Jacksonville, who set out to accompany the regulars to Star Gulch, the scene of the siege. When two and a half miles from Jacksonville, on the Crescent City road, Angel and Walker, who were about two hundred and fifty yards in advance, were fired on by Indians concealed in the brush beside the road. Angel was killed instantly, four balls passing through his head and neck. Walker was not hit, but escaped death narrowly. When the troops came up the Indians had stripped the dead man and were just retreating into the brush.
A. G. Walling, History of Southern Oregon, Comprising Jackson, Josephine, Douglas, Curry and Coos Counties, 1884, page 259


    The year of 1856 opened much less auspiciously than the previous one. The ground was still covered with snow, although the weather was milder; while the Indian difficulties were apparently no nearer a settlement than when commenced in October of the preceding year. The withdrawal of the troops from an offensive campaign gave to Chief John, the leader of the hostiles, the desired opportunity to rob, kill and burn, as well as to supply his warriors with food; while the uncertainty as to the point of the next attack rendered travel unsafe, and much embarrassed every branch of business.
    On the first day of January, Major Bruce was informed that a band of Indians had taken possession of three log cabins on Star Gulch, a branch of Applegate Creek, and were committing depredations from that point. The Major at once ordered Captain Rice to proceed there with his company. Upon reconnoitering the place, it was found that the cabins were held and so well fortified by the Indians that small arms would have no effect. Word was immediately sent to Fort Lane, and Captain Smith at once ordered Lieutenant Underwood and Lieutenant Hazen, with thirty-five men, in charge of the howitzer, to proceed to that point. On their way they were joined by many citizens, among whom were Martin Angel and Mr. Walker, who were riding nearly two hundred yards ahead of the command, when, at a point about two miles from Jacksonville, they were fired upon by the Indians. Angel was killed instantly, having received four bullets in his head and neck, but Walker escaped without injury. The Indians were immediately pursued, but easily made their escape up the mountain, through the chaparral, and were soon beyond gunshot. This was not the only misfortune experienced by the command. On the forward march to Applegate, the mule packed with the ammunition for the howitzer fell off a cliff into Applegate Creek, and was killed, and the ammunition spoiled. An express was at once sent to Fort Lane for more; and Lieutenant [Nelson Bowman] Sweitzer and sixteen dragoons left Fort Lane with the necessary ammunition, the transportation being furnished by the quartermaster of the volunteers, as it could not be furnished by the quartermaster at Fort Lane. The regular troops arrived at the cabins about three o'clock p.m. on the 4th of January, planted their howitzer, and sent a shell through the roof of one of the cabins which killed two Indians. It being now nearly dark, the attack was postponed until morning, a guard being placed around the cabins to prevent the escape of the Indians. The savages, finding that their quarters were getting too uncomfortable, broke through the guard about two o'clock in the morning and escaped. The force of the Indians was about thirty warriors, who were well fortified, besides having dug bomb-proof chambers inside, six feet underground. The loss of the whites was one man killed and five wounded, one having been shot through the leg at a distance of five hundred yards.
Elwood Evans, ed., History of the Pacific Northwest, Oregon and Washington, volume 1, 1889, page 445


    About the last of December, 1855, Major Bruce, being informed by express from Sterling that a party of Indians had fortified themselves in three deserted log cabins on Applegate Creek, ordered Captains Rice and Alcorn to prepare for a campaign in the mountains, and himself proceeded to Fort Lane to ask the assistance of Captain Smith with his howitzer. Obtaining the promise of this, he made a forced march up to the forks of Applegate Creek with Rice's company of forty men on the first of January, and on the second twenty miles further up the creek, where he found an independent company of fifty citizens from Sterling surrounding the cabins.
    Nothing could be done before the arrival of the howitzer on the afternoon of the fourth, the intervening time being spent in snow from six to twelve inches deep, with severe weather, the volunteers exchanging occasional shots with the Indians. In the three days of waiting and suffering, three Indians were killed and several wounded, while Captain Rice lost one man killed, and the citizen company three wounded.
    On the arrival of Lieutenant Underwood from Fort Lane, with forty regulars and the howitzer, a shell was dropped into one of the cabins, wounding one Indian and two children, when several were seen to retreat to another cabin a few yards distant. A few more shells were thrown without effect, when night coming on, the three several companies were posted in a manner which was intended to prevent an escape; the regulars being between the Indians and the hills, and the volunteers and citizens on two other sides, the lines almost meeting.
    With all this precaution, about eleven o'clock the Indians crept up to the line of soldiers, firing and yelling. In the first surprise a number broke through the line and escaped to the hills; but the regulars recovering themselves turned a portion of them back towards the creek, across which they succeeded in escaping, the sentinels being unable to get at them by reason of the thickets along the stream, their trail being found by daylight to be stained with blood.
    It was only the fighting men of the besieged, however, who had taken wing when the sentinels of the regular force, not liking the cold, and perhaps not liking to fight an unseen enemy, returned to camp; and before their commander could order them back to their posts, the Indian women with their children, and a pack animal, also passed the line, and gained the hills.
    On examining the cabins it was found that the Indians had burned their dead, but had left a wounded boy to the mercy of his captors. From him it was learned that the party occupying the cabins belonged to chief Jo; and the skill with which he had fortified his camp would have defied the volunteer arms; it was only the howitzer which could dislodge him. A subterranean passage had been excavated leading from the cabins to the open country and pits dug in each corner of the cabins deep enough to stand in, with loopholes under the bottom logs through which they could shoot without being exposed; all of which was surprising in savage military science, but was probably learned from communication with white men.
Frances Fuller Victor, Indian Wars of Oregon, 1894, page 364


    In the fall of 1855 [sic], writes W. M. Pitney in the Junction City Times of recent date, two prospectors went on to the south fork, or main branch, of Applegate Creek, near the line between Jackson and Josephine counties, and took up mining claims. They built a cabin out of very large logs, some of them being about 30 inches in diameter, and, after getting things in shape for winter, they went to the settlement for supplies. On returning to their cabin they found that a band of about 30 Indians had taken possession and strongly fortified it. They had also built another cabin, about 15 feet away, also out of very large logs, and had dug a trench between the cabins to use as a means of communication in case of attack. They had made portholes in the cabins, so they might shoot with perfect safety to themselves.
    On discovering the Indians, the rightful owners of the cabin went to Sterlingville, a distance of about 30 miles, for volunteers to kill or capture the intruders. They succeeded in raising about 30 men, some of them from disbanded Company A, Captain Harris commander, which fought and defeated the Indians at Table Rock on the day of the massacre of the Wagoner family. A young man by the name of S. A. Mowder, clerking in Captain Harris' store in Sterlingville, accompanied the expedition.
    The names of others who can now be remembered were: Dr. Myers, Robert Opp, John Goldsby. Mr. Rude, John Deadman, George Mantel, John Bogard and Ira Mayfield, the latter being a brother of Mrs. Dan Test, well known in Lane County.
    The volunteers surrounded the cabins, cutting the Indians off from water, but the redskins were so well fortified that it was thought best to lay a general siege to the fort. On the second day of the siege, six men, under the command of George Mantel, who had been stationed behind the bank of the creek at the foot of a gentle slope behind the cabin, undertook to roll a large log up to the fort, in order to enable them to shoot at close range through the portholes. They rolled the log in front of them and got within 40 or 50 yards of the fort, but the redskins kept up such a firing at the log that they felt more interested in saving their own scalps than in taking those of the siwashes. One of the men, John Goldsby by name, received a bullet from the enemy's guns that creased his temple and cut the hair from his head. After a council, held under the most trying circumstances, it was concluded to retreat.
    Now this was the most difficult part of it, as it was much easier and safer to push the log in front of them than to pull it after them. The log was considered a very necessary piece of furniture just at this time, and a retreat without it was not to be thought of. Every time a hand was placed on top of the log to give it a pull, zip would go a bullet, covering his hand with bark and splinters. But the men finally succeeded in rolling the log backward until they reached a low swag, and then they were compelled to crawl on all fours some distance until they reached a place of safety.
    About 50 or 60 yards from the fort was an oak tree that forked near the ground. S. A. Mowder, seeing this tree and thinking that it possessed advantages over the position which he occupied, put his hat on the ramrod of his gun and held it up between the forks, when a bullet from an Indian gun put a hole through it. He retreated in good order, crawling on all fours, and on his way back he met Dr. Myers, who thought he would try his luck behind the same tree. Mr. Mowder showed him the hole in his hat and told him that evidently an Indian had the point covered and was holding a bead on the fork of the tree. But Mr. Myers thought differently, and crawled up to the tree and raised his head to take a peep, when a bullet went crashing through his brain, killing him instantly.
    The savages, running short of water on the third night of the siege, sent a squaw to the creek for a supply. The volunteers not wishing to kill squaws, her first trip was made unmolested. A hasty consultation was held and it was decided that if she made a second trip, she must be killed. In a short time afterward she made her appearance and paid the penalty with her life.
    The Indians were so strongly entrenched that it was a hard and dangerous job to drive them out, and it was thought best to send a messenger to Fort Lane, a distance of about 40 miles, for some regulars and a howitzer, which Captain Smith sent, with about a dozen soldiers, who arrived on the evening of the fourth day of the siege. The soldiers, against the wishes of the volunteers, who wanted to wait until morning, planted the cannon on an elevation above the fort, about 300 yards distant, and in plain view, and opened fire on the Indians, late in the evening. The Indians returned the fire, slightly wounding several soldiers.
    Two shots from the cannon took effect, knocking part of the fort down, killing two squaws and a pappoose and wounding a little Indian boy. That night every precaution was taken to prevent the escape of the Indians. The regulars were strongly posted up the creek, where it was thought the Indians might try to break through and escape. About 2 o'clock in the morning the savages stealthily crawled forth, and, giving the deafening war whoop of the tribe, broke over the soldiers at this very point, carrying with them a few wounds. They escaped with no loss. Snow had fallen several inches deep during the night, and it would have been an easy matter to have tracked the siwashes, which the volunteers wanted to do. But the soldiers were not willing, and this probably saved the lives of most of the company, as the Indians, not trying to conceal their tracks, had gone through a little prairie or opening and ambushed, by dividing and going back on the sides of the opening. As the snow had weighted the bushes down, they were well concealed and would have done fearful execution if they had been followed. They left their dead and plunder behind, and also the little Indian boy who had been wounded. John Bogard took him in hand and kept him for several years, after bringing him back to Sterlingville.
    The next morning the volunteers wanted to know of the soldiers why they were not able to kill some of the Indians, who had evidently run right over them as they lay asleep. Among them was a little Irishman, who, in defense, said: "Faith and sure, I could have probed one with the point of my bayonet, but I was waiting for orders from me captain."
    After the battle the soldiers returned to Fort Lane and the volunteers to Sterlingville, carrying with them the dead body of Dr. Myers, and Robert Opp, who was severely wounded in the ankle. As he was being carried downhill by S. A. Mowder and another young man, the snow having covered the ruts made by the government teams a few days before, Mr. Mowder stepped into a hole and broke his right ankle. It caused his death in after years, as he was compelled to have his leg amputated, and died from the effects of the operation. He was well known in Jackson and Lane counties, and from him was gleaned most of the facts as stated in this record of the Battle of the Cabins.
Sunday Oregonian, Portland, April 15, 1900, page 32


    A fine subject for study and experiment was a little Indian boy six or eight years of age that lived in my family during the years 1858 and 1859. He was a relic of the Rogue River Indian War of 1855 and 1856, having been wounded by a buckshot in the leg in "The Cabin Fight" and found in the cabin after the Indians had abandoned it. The Indians, being hotly pursued by the white settlers, took refuge in a log cabin from which they could command any approach and hold their assailants out of rifle range. To remedy this state of things, a mountain howitzer was being forwarded from the nearest fort, and the besieged Indians, guessing the cause of the apparent suspension of hostilities, awaited until dark, when they broke out, every fellow trusting to his heels, and escaped, it is said, without the loss of a man.
Timothy Woodbridge Davenport, "Recollections of an Indian Agent," Oregon Historical Quarterly, September 1907, page 258


    As showing how wide was the military field of operations in 1856, the battle of upper Applegate now calls for attention. John S. Miller, who took part in that engagement, gave me some of the particulars, but as Mrs. Victor has preserved a pretty correct account of that fight. I will quote from it first:
    "About the last of December, 1855, Major Bruce, being informed by express from Sterling that a party of Indians had fortified themselves in three deserted log cabins on Applegate Creek, ordered Capt. Rice and Alcorn to prepare for a campaign in the mountains and himself proceeded to Fort Lane to ask the assistance of Capt. Smith with his howitzer. Obtaining the promise of this, he made a forced march up to the forks of Applegate with Rice's company of forty men on the first of January, and on the second twenty miles further up the creek, where he found an independent company of fifty citizens from Sterling surrounding the cabins.
    "Nothing could be done before the arrival of the howitzer on the afternoon of the fourth, the intervening time being spent in snow from six to twelve inches deep, with severe weather, the volunteers exchanging occasional shots with the Indians. In the three days of waiting and suffering, three Indians were killed and several wounded, while Capt. Rice lost one man killed, and the citizen company three wounded.
    "On the arrival of Lieut. Underwood from Fort Lane with forty regulars and the howitzer, a shell was dropped into one of the cabins, wounding one Indian and two children, when several were seen to retreat to another cabin a few yards distance. A few more shells were thrown without effect, when night coming on, the several companies were posted in a manner which was intended to prevent an escape; the regulars being between the Indians and the hills, and the volunteers and citizens on two other sides, the lines almost meeting.
    "With all this precaution, about eleven o'clock the Indians crept up to the line of soldiers, firing and yelling. In the first surprise a number broke through the line and escaped to the hills, but the regulars recovering themselves turned a portion of them back towards the creek, across which they succeeded in escaping to the hills, we the sentinels being unable to get at them by reason of the thickets along the stream, their trail being found by daylight to be stained with blood.
    "It was only the fighting men of the besieged, however, who had taken wing when the sentinels of the regular force, not liking the cold, and perhaps not liking to fight an unseen enemy, returned to camp, and before their commander could order them back to their posts, the Indian women and their children, and a pack animal, also passed the line, and gained the hills.
    "On examining the cabins it was found that the Indians had burned their dead, but had left a wounded boy to the mercy of his captors. From him it was learned that the party occupying the cabins belonged to Chief Joe, and the skill with which he fortified his camp would have defied the volunteer arms; it was only the howitzer which could dislodge him. A subterranean passage had been excavated leading from the cabins to the open country and pits dug in each corner of log cabin deep enough to stand in, with loopholes under the bottom logs through which they could shoot without being exposed; all of which was surprising in savage military science, but was probably learned from communication with white men.
    "Bruce wished to follow the trail of the Indians, but Lieutenant Underwood declared his men unfit for traveling in the mountains; and the citizen company were unprepared. They therefore returned to Sterling, and Underwood to Fort
Lane; while Bruce retired to Camp Spencer, on the lower Applegate Creek, to recruit the horses, and give his company a much-needed rest after three days and nights watching in snow and cold, remaining there until the eighteenth. On that date he was joined by Captains O'Neil and Alcorn, with a part of their commands, making his available force 73 men, rank and file. Alcorn, with 38 men, took the trail of the Indians up Applegate Creek, while Bruce, with O'Neil and the remainder, marched up Williams Creek. Scouting continued for five days, when Bruce fell in with two Indian spies, running them to camp, a distance of 12 miles. Sending an express to hasten forward O'Neil, the major dismounted his men, 21 in all, and stationing Alcorn with 11 men on the left of the canyon in which the enemy was camped, himself occupied the right with only 9 men.
    "It was discovered that the Indians were 60 or 70 strong. Firing became general, and both sides sustained 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 th ten left him and charged the Indians, driving them out of the canyon, relieving the men and securing a favorable position for himself, 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 Capt. O'Neil, who was on the ground with the news that he had sent Lieut. Armstrong an hour before dark with 20 men to engage the enemy on the right, while with 20 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 Lieut. 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 they had burned heir dead in the night, making it impossible to determine their loss."
    The first battle here mentioned was fought where Steamboat City was afterwards located. Further particulars of that battle, as gleaned from Mr. Miller. follows:
    "The mule that was transporting the howitzer rolled down the mountain into the Applegate. The soldiers improvised enough, however, to startle the savages from their lair. The Indians could stand off the whites pretty well so long as rifles alone were used but when the soldiers got to 'shooting wagons at them,' as the Indians called it, demoralization was apt to set in. One of the soldiers put his hat on his ramrod and set it out for the Indians to shoot at. He thoughtlessly stuck his head around the tree to get a shot himself, when an Indian plugged him through the head.
    "It was in this battle that Jacob Spores, son of old man Spores of Lane County, was mortally wounded. He was transferred back to Jacksonville, where he lingered for several days before he died. It was from Jacksonville that the troops started to make the fight on upper Applegate. Some may have gone from Sterling, but Jacksonville was military headquarters. After the troops left, Martin Angel and another man concluded they would follow and see the fun. They got a little ways down Poorman's Creek when they were fired on by some Indian scouts and Martin Angel ceased his troubling of Indians or anyone else, and the Indian boy he insisted on hanging was avenged. His wife was the reputed daughter of Dr. McLoughlin, and she had extensive matrimonial experience. She was married to a man by the name of Rice, then to Angel and after his death she married a notorious gambler by the name of Charles Williams, a man who, in a fit of passion, killed another man at Dardanelles with a stool."
John S. Miller, from an undated, unattributed typescript, Oregon Historical Society Research Library Mss. 211, Olney Family Papers.  Miller died in 1912.