The Arlington, Mass. Advocate, of July 19 last, published portions of the diary of Stephen P. Blake, depicting events of the pioneer in Jacksonville, the Applegate section, and Northern California, which are well remembered by a number of local pioneers.
    The extracts are as follows:
    Aug. 8, 1853. Applegate Valley, 10 miles west of Jacksonville, Oregon. "Even though the Rogue River Indians were now definitely hostile, it was not certain that the Applegates were, but they were suspicious, evidently, that the whites would treat all Indians as being warlike. There was an old Indian, here, who had been with the whites for a long time and could speak English. He was called 'Old Grizzly.' He was tall, and as straight as a candle. His hair and his beard--which reached down on his breast--was nearly white. It was decided by the miners at Applegate Valley, notwithstanding some opposition from those who would vote to exterminate, to send 'Old Grizzly' with the Committee of Four, to inform the Applegates that if they did not come back to their houses, they would have to be considered as hostile, and therefore, enemies. They were to go to them, where they could be found in the mountains, the next day. As it was not safe for my companion and me to go on, alone, to Jacksonville, we waited to go with a party the following day."
    Aug. 9, 1853. "The next morn, we started. There were 10 of us--mostly well armed. We passed, on the road, dead horses which had been shot by Indians. Arriving at Jacksonville, we found the town in a state of alarm. The Indians had all gone to their strongholds in the mountains--killing, burning and destroying as they went. Many settlers live in this valley; some with their families. From 15 and 20 miles away they came to Jacksonville for safety. Some had combined with neighbors and had fortified their homes, driving palisades.
    "Jacksonville, in the Rogue River Valley, has rolling hills, on the S.W. side, among and on which are rich 'diggings.' A trail from here to Crescent City makes easy communication with San Francisco, by schooners from C.C. There are nearly 1000 mules, packing, on the trails to C.C. and to Yreka.
    "An express rider was sent off to Yreka for volunteers, and another was sent to Scott's Valley to report to Col. Alden, commander of the U.S. troops who were stationed there. One great trouble was the want of firearms. There were not enough to arm one-third of the people; and as it was the dry season, there were but few miners--who were always well armed, about--about. Many who had been peacefully living at J. had sold their arms to the very Indians who were now making war upon them. It was known that the Indians had the best of rifles, and plenty of powder and lead. At the time I arrived at J., the hostile Indians were camped some ten miles north, near Table Rock--so called because of its peculiar flatness on top. To all appearance it is level, with no timber on it. It is said that there are but two trails to the top. Everywhere else the sides are nearly perpendicular for several hundred feet in height. It is, probably, two miles in length. There is a never-failing spring on top. A small number there could hold a thousand at bay.
    "Their three great chiefs were called 'Sam, Yo and Jim,' as their Indian names were hard to pronounce by white settlers. These were well known by Jacksonville residents, as they had mingled freely with the miners for a long time. They knew that the whites had but few arms, and they vainly thought that they could rescue their valley from the intruders. Had they realized how many children Uncle Sam had, who could be called to arms, a good many Indians would have lived who were to fall by the rifle which was so deadly in the hands of the white man. The Indians had gone into camp Aug. 8th--committing depredations on the way.
    "We two wanted to go to Yreka, but it was not safe to go alone; so we went to the Robinson House as boarders. There was a young man in the house who was wounded. He had a wife in the country. While on horseback, he was shot in the small of the back--the ball going completely through him. Three Indians were taken prisoners, shortly afterward, and they were brought to Jacksonville, and hung without ceremony.
    "A company of volunteers soon arrived from Yreka. and Col. Alden came from Scott's Valley with 9 men and 30 muskets--being all the arms left in camp. Two companies from the U.S. Station had gone out to protect immigrants--one from attacks by the Modocs, and another to Port Orford on the coast--about 60 miles north of Crescent City. During the day, more volunteers were coming in. They formed into a company under Capt. G. and mustered upwards of 80 men. Every horse or mule that could be found was taken. The Yreka men came mounted. All stock that could be driven in was corralled. During these few days while at J., I was a spectator, and unarmed.
    "The attempt to make a treaty with the Applegate Indians failed. They had collected together, in the mountains, and were prepared to fight. A small party of 22 men under Lieut. E. was sent out to watch their movements. A day or two after the party had reached their vicinity the whites were taken by surprise, after they had dismounted and were cooking their meal. They immediately rushed for bushes and trees, but they had to retreat for quite a distance before they could rally. 'Old Grizzly' was killed at the very first of the firing, and several whites were wounded. They dispatched a messenger to J. for assistance, as the Indians greatly overpowered the band in numbers. For 3 hours they fought the Indians after their own manner, from behind trees, when the noise of the firing brought a scouting party to their assistance, and the Indians then retreated. The messenger could not bring help in time, as the company had gone north, towards Table Rock. The scouting party saved the whites, who reached Jacksonville at about 3 o'clock in the morning.
    "I saw the wounded brought in. One man, with a ball in his hip, had the scalp of the Indian who shot him. I took the scalp and looked at it. I had never handled one before. Killing them is bad enough without the scalp."
    Jacksonville, Ore, Aug. 11, 1853. "Another party now arrived from Yreka and from Hamburg Creek, under command of Capt. R. They went out to headquarters, near Table Rock. The Indians had abandoned Table Rock, and had gone farther north. The town of Jacksonville had now become pretty well waked up to a sense of its danger, as well as to its folly in letting the Indians have their rifles, powder and lead."
    Accounts of other skirmishes follow. The Indians were watchful and would attack any stray families fleeing for safety. The whites now sent appeals for aid to Gen. Joe Lane, at Portland, Oregon.
    Aug. 13, 1853. "A party of 18 men started for Yreka. My companion and I joined them, as Yreka was our objective point for mining operations. We depended mostly upon our number--20 of us--for protection, for not over half of us were armed. Our road lay through the valley and over rolling hills, wooded with oak, pine, ash, cedar, and other trees. We passed many deserted houses, many well-cultivated fields or ripe grain--some partly harvested. All were deserted. After traveling 12 miles we came to a house, situated well in the open, with no shrubs or trees near, which was being fortified. Palisades were being driven, and some seven or eight families comprised the party housed there.
    "Nine miles to the next fortified house. Again we passed large farms, some of them of 80 acres, under cultivation. Everything was left to go to ruin. Fences were knocked down, and the crops were being destroyed by stray cattle. Fowls and hogs were about, with no one to take care of them. Men used to a border life do not thus desert their property except to save life. Life is more dear than property. We stopped awhile at this fortified house, and found that they had 11 Indian prisoners there whom they were holding until they could take them to Jacksonville. This house was not well located for warfare purposes, as there were too many bushes and trees near, behind which the foe could be sheltered from view. In time of peace, however, it was a beautiful place for a home. There was a wounded man there, who received a ball in his shoulder when the brush occurred in which the 11 Indians were captured. I conversed for some time with an old lady of the family who was bitter against the Indians, and who was going to scalp the first one she could shoot. She little dreamed of the tragedy soon to be enacted there! We went on four miles to the Mountain House, at the foot of Siskiyou Mountain, where we spent the night. We had traveled 25 miles that day, and they were Oregon miles!
    "The next morning we started early, to get over the mt. before the heat of the day. The rise is gradual, at first, then up over some rather steep benches, nearly level at their top, through thick forests of pine and fir trees--the trail full of bear tracks. Many grouse were about. In two places before reaching the top, the road is very steep, and it requires no small amount of 'wind' to get up, without stopping several times. On our right we saw a high peak, covered with snow, like a tall watchtower, to guard the scene, and it looked beautiful. From the top, to the eastward, was a grand view, far as the eye could reach, as if the Earth were an enormous sea, and the dark mountains its waves. At the foot of the mountain, on the southeast, we came to a house where there was a cool spring of water. Farther on, in open country, we reached a house where lived a man with his family. Two young deer, here, had became so tame that they would eat out of the hand of the 18-year-old daughter of the family. After crossing the Klamath River at the ferry, we 'came to' for the night.
    "At this house, the folks seemed to live on deer altogether. They used their skins for clothes, beds, coverings for saddles, and many other things. I saw piles of them in and about the house. Before the white men came, these deer were the mainstay of the Indians. After that, the Indians would bring salmon from the rivers and exchange for beads, etc. Since the trouble with the Rogue River Indians began, many Indians in this vicinity had left, even though they were well acquainted, personally, with most of the whites. The whites, on this S.E. side of the Siskiyous, had not deserted their homes, although there were Indians living on Cottonwood Creek and on the Klamath River. It was the Rogue River Indians they were afraid of.
    "One man told me that as he was riding along the road, he met an Indian whom he knew well, and the latter immediately cocked his rifle. The man prepared to dismount to talk the better with the Indian, when he was told to go his way, but that if he put his foot on the ground he would shoot him. He was very much surprised, for he was unarmed himself, and he had befriended the Indian many times, at his home. The Indian told him that war was on between the whites and the Rogue River Indians, and that white men would kill any Indian, and that he spared him only because he was unarmed." Quite a fair mental attitude for an Indian!

Last revised February 28, 2023