Southern Oregon has a history replete with the hardships of the early pioneer--struggles with the Indians and adverse conditions that prevailed during the '40s, '50s, '60s and even '70s. Records and histories written at the time and later are veritable treasure books of pioneer lore.
    Jedediah Smith, a sturdy trapper, is the first known white man ever to have passed through the fertile Rogue River Valley. In 1825 that hardy pioneer with 40 men made an expedition from the headwaters of the Missouri River to gather furs. In his overland journey he is said to have touched Southern Oregon and there gathered rare specimens of gold and numberless furs in addition to the many he had gathered in California. He returned to his starting point successfully and there mingled with the hundreds of other trappers who used to gather there every year--at the meeting place known as Green River. [Smith didn't enter Oregon until his 1828 expedition, in that year passing up along the coast--not through the Rogue Valley.]
    It was under such circumstances that Southern Oregon first became known to the outer world. For many years it remained impervious to the attempts to be settled by civilized men. No man had ever dared to enter but with the purpose of gathering furs by trapping. The Hudson Bay Company, taking advantage of the information brought back by Smith in regard to the country, quickly sent agents to explore the new country. But the efforts of the men extended no farther than the construction of a post where Elkton is now situated, on the Umpqua River. The post was called Fort Umpqua, according to A. G. Walling, a historian of the "Eighties," and served as the headquarters for the company's employees in the Rogue, Klamath and upper Sacramento River countries. [Peter Ogden passed through the Rogue Valley in 1827 on an expedition for the Hudson's Bay Company.]
    A party of whites, according to this historian, in June, 1836, were attacked at the mouth of Foots Creek, near Gold Hill. Daniel Miller, Edward Barnes, A. Sanders and a man named Irish Tom were killed in the skirmish while the others, badly wounded, made their escape. [It was probably 1835.]
    No precautions were taken by the leader, J. Turner, who it is said with his men was surprised by several hundred Indians suddenly surrounding the camp. The red men got three of the eight guns the party possessed, and for a short while the trappers used firebrands for defense. [Historians rarely bother to consider how Turner's eight unarmed men managed to overpower "several hundred" natives.]
    Two years elapsed before any additional travelers passed through the valley. They were driving cattle and while en route to the Willamette Valley deliberately shot an inoffensive Indian, in revenge for the Foots Creek episode. When the cattle party was encamped at the creek, they, too, were attacked but not with serious losses.
    Although no further record exists it is said to be probable that more attacks took place, as such calamities are reported to have befallen various army exploring companies. [I've found no more recorded encounters until the 1840s.]
    An exploring party with J. C. Fremont as leader came to Southern Oregon about May, 1845, following a route up from Sacramento and Pit River valleys and by way of Goose, Clear and Tule lakes to the west shore of Klamath Lake, where camp was made for a short time with his force of approximately 50 men. Indians attacked the party for invading their "happy hunting grounds."
    Even prior to the Fremont explorations, maintains A. G. Walling, the historian, migrations from and to California took place through Southern Oregon. The journey, its dangers intensified by the Indian menace, increased with the thoughts of the time and distance of travel, required venturesome spirits and so naturally the journeys were not many. Travelers always went together in as large groups as possible and fully armed. Tradition has it that several men were once cruelly murdered near Foots Creek and their camp robbed of a number of thousands of dollars. [The "Foots Creek" encounters took place at Rock Point, where the terrain made an excellent ambush spot.]
    "The Indians,"' said the pioneer, who was alive 40 years ago, "were all hostile from the Umpqua Mountains to the valley of the Sacramento, and there was not a day during our march between these two points that we did not exchange shots with them, though we had no engagement that could be called a battle." [The pioneer quoted from Walling is J. W. Nesmith, who crossed the Rogue Valley in 1848.]
    Two packers, Cushing and Pring, according to Walling, were killed during August, 1850, and their train taken and cargo destroyed by Shasta Indians. The killing took place on the banks of the Klamath River, where a ferry was later established. In January, 1851, a conflict occurred at another ferry on the Klamath in which several men were killed. The ferry owner and his wife defended their home until aid arrived.
    The settlement of [Southern] Oregon did not commence until 1851, when gold discoveries, rarely equaled, attracted thousands of venturesome souls to the "promised land." [The settlement of the Bear Creek Valley began before the discovery of gold there, by farmers attracted by the presence of an Indian agent. Gold was discovered in the future Josephine County in 1851; on the site of Jacksonville in early 1852.] It was not long after the precious metal was discovered that it became apparent that it could be found along many streams in the valley of the Rogue. With a full purse or with a despairing heart, numberless adventurers passed through from Northern California to their home in the Willamette Valley. At Yreka, estimates Mr. Walling, over 2000 miners were busily engaged along the fertile creek banks.
    A comparatively large number of native Indians inhabited the valley, of which 600 are estimated to have lived along the Rogue River in 1850. This number was divided into lesser tribes with the main tribe under Joe and Sam, chiefs of the tribe known as the Table Rock band. Chief John with about 50 followers lived in the Applegate country and was one of the most prominent in history. In the region drained by the Illinois River, says Mr. Walling, lived Limpy, another well-known
personage, while George, sub-chief, also dwelt on the Rogue River. When it was necessary his tribe joined that of Limpy and so together made up a formidable force.
    The Table Rock band of Indians lived in the choice part of the valley with game, seeds, roots and acorns in abundance and numbered approximately 500 members. In 1856 the tribe was removed to a distant reservation within the valley by the white settlers.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 17, 1926, page 11


    The two chiefs of the Table Rock hand of Indians, Sam and Joe, wielded a power among all the tribes of the valley and played a great part in the local Indian war in the valley. Sam is said to have been a large man, while Joe was slender, but massive foreheads were a part of the makeup of both and [they] were apparently intelligent and easy to be taught, according to A. G. Walling, a historian of 40 years ago.
    A total of 547 Indians, in a census of 1854, were living in upper Rogue River Valley and were divided into two parts--those who had accepted the provisions of the Lane Indian treaty in 1853 and those who had not. The Table Rock band, 76 members; John's band, 53; tribes of George and Limpy, and others comprised a total of 307 persons, who dwelt on the newly formed, at that time, Table Rock reservation in 1854. Out of the grand total only 108 were women. Other tribes consisted of Elijah's band, 94; Applegate tribe, 39; Taylor's band and Indians of Jumpoff Joe Creek. A number that seems to be out of proportion to the trouble they caused the anxious white settlers of the valley.
    After the Indians found themselves surrounded by gold-greedy men--men whose characters were not of the best and whose purpose in life was fulfilled without respect to the rights of their fellow men. It is said that a majority of the white persons came to the country with kind feelings for the Indians and not wishing to injure them; but there also came men with opposite sentiments.
    Perhaps what set a fire to the many hotbeds of struggle in the valley was the murder of a white trapper near the site of Phoenix. It was about May 15, 1851, according to Mr. Walling's history, that a party of three white packers and two seemingly friendly Indians camped near Phoenix. During the night the two savages arose and killed one of the white men and fled, taking the mules with them. The news was quickly spread north and south and a short time later men organized to avenge the crime. Meeting a party of Indians, they slew two and captured four.
    Additional hostilities are said to have taken place near Phoenix, while other skirmishes took place in other parts of the valley. Such events, following each other so closely, made certain the hostile attitude of the Indians. Major P. Kearny, later a general in the Union army, with two companies of soldiers, United States regulars, arrived on the scene.
    He had several engagements with the Indians and lost a number of men. Upon the arrival in the valley of the soldiers, one company commanded by Captain Stuart charged upon the Indians gathered in a body on the hanks of Rogue River 10 miles from Table Rock, near the mouth of a small creek. The charge was short--the Indians fled.
    As Captain Stuart advanced near a wounded redskin, the savage drew his bow and lodged an arrow in his kidneys, a wound that proved to be mortal. And upon his deathbed the brave officer is said to have sorrowfully sighed: "It is too bad to have fought through half of the battles of the Mexican War to be killed here by an Indian."
    His grave was at first near Phoenix, where he was buried with full military honors upon the site of the old Colver home [four years before the Colver house was built]. Later the body was exhumed and taken to Washington, D.C., for permanent burial.
    The Indians, as a result of Major Kearny's invasion, were defeated in every fight. Over 50 were killed and 30 taken prisoners by the victorious whites. The major was in the saddle for 10 days, scouring the country and "pouncing upon an Indian wherever found."
    The campaign ended in June when the regulars departed for California. Governor Gaines arrived in Southern Oregon and arranged a treaty of peace. That they be good Indians, not rob, steal, or kill, and stay on their own ground obeying the command of any white individual sent among them as agent, were the terms of the simple treaty. Eleven chiefs acceded to the demands, but the most troublesome did not.
    About the fourth of August, 1854, hostilities broke out again in Rogue River Valley with the murder of Edward Edwards, an old farmer on Bear Creek about two miles below the present site of Phoenix. The murderers had secreted themselves in his cabin and upon his return at noon, according to Mr. Walling's vivid account, shot him with his own gun and fled to the hills after pillaging his house. The guilt was finally brought to bear on Indian Thompson, who was hanged for the crime February, 1854. It also later developed that Edwards was killed in vengeance for an injustice done to an Indian squaw by a Mexican. Shortly after the murder others followed.
    The following day, August 5, occurred the murder of one Thomas Wills, a Jacksonville merchant, shot on the Phoenix road, or now the Griffin Creek road, almost within the city limits of Jacksonville. Townspeople heard the report of the gun shortly before twilight and a few moments later saw Wills' horse with a blood-stained saddle run into town. Excitement was intense in Jacksonville, over-crowded with miners. A temporary committee of safety was formed; each male member of the overflowing population armed himself with a gun or knife.
    A third murder the next morning tended to make the increasing alarm more acute, when Rhodes Nolan, a miner on Jackson Creek, was shot at sunrise while returning to his cabin from town.
    From murder the train of events turned to massacre, which took place in the southern part of the valley near Ashland. Tipsu Tyee, an Indian chief of the Applegate, had become hostile. Although no proof leads to the fact that he had taken part in the massacre, it is believed he influenced it primarily. The affair took place on Neil Creek in the upper part of what was then called Bear Creek Valley. Only one Indian was killed when the settlers attempted defense against the band under the leadership of a sub-chief, Sambo, when hostilities first opened, and no white men--but that was only the beginning of the end.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 24, 1926, page 13


    On the 17th of August, [1853,] these savages who had opened hostilities against the settlers at Neil Creek voluntarily surrendered, including the chief, whose name was Sambo. A dozen Indians were the guests of the unsuspecting whites. Six days later, according to A. G. Walling, the Indians surprised their hosts and killed three and wounded over a half dozen.
    A general fear was soon apparent all through the valley; the miners on the creeks far and near from the only city, Jacksonville, rushed hither for protection from the apparently widespread impending outbreak of an Indian war. However, some settlers made preparations to defend themselves by making impromptu forts of their small cabins.
    A military company was soon formed in Jacksonville with [the] most well known of early pioneers as leaders, but in a few days this company ceased to exist, having become subservient to others. A large number of houses on the outskirts of Jacksonville were abandoned by the tenants, who fled into the city proper for protection, as did the miners. Assistance was called from Northern California settlements and soon hastily organized troops arrived, while in Southern Oregon six companies came to life against the imminent danger of an outbreak and were stationed exclusively for the protection of Jacksonville.
    The individual "soldiers" wore no uniforms and were armed with a motley collection of guns and for mounts had horses and mules. The redskins in the meantime in their wanderings about the valley left a wake of ruin by burning houses, barns and other things of a combustible nature, but later gathered at Table Rock for security with Sam and Joe, chiefs, who apparently had not been on the war path. At the rock they fortified a strong position with a wall of rocks and adobe, and are said to have numbered 300. Tipsu Tyee, an Applegate chief who had often made known his hate against the whites, refrained from entering the hostilities at the time when it was a general expectation that he would.
    For over a week during August, writes Mr. Walling in his history, the whites scouted about Table Rock to ascertain the position of the malcontents and discovered that their original position had been abandoned, moving either to the north or west. While the settlers were in ignorance of the Indians' location they, however, were familiar with the whites' position by the reports of wary scouts.
    In a boastful manner, the Indians are said to have declared they would fight until every settler had been driven from their "hunting grounds." This declaration naturally increased the fear of the settler families and added to the fighting morale of the soldiers.
    The first engagement of the war was reported on Applegate River near the mouth of Williams Creek when a small company under Lieutenant B. B. Griffin and a party of Indians met in conflict. The battle took place after the lieutenant had destroyed an Indian village several miles distant and then followed the roving band of Indians. The skirmish lasted about three-quarters of an hour and was apparently evenly fought. Five Indians and one white killed were the results of the battle, but because of the enemies' better sheltered location, the soldiers were forced to retreat. The victory of the redskins has been attributed to the skillful leadership of the Indian chief, Old John, who had his 40 followers well in hand.
    About August 10, two men, J. R. Harding and William R. Rose, were killed near Willow Springs from ambush while en route to Jacksonville. Harding was shot through the hips to die a few days later, while his partner was killed instantly. The body of the latter, which fell on the road, was stripped of clothing and in addition mutilated. His saddle horse was stolen and also $500 from his person.
    The capture and shooting of a suspected Indian by Angus Brown and the hanging of an Indian child in Jacksonville were acts of violence that also occurred before General Lane's campaign. In addition five Indians were hanged to a tree which once stood near the David Linn residence in that city [on the corner of Oregon and F streets in Jacksonville].
    During the middle of the month a messenger was sent north to solicit aid from the governor. General Lane, at Deer Creek, hearing of the condition of affairs, immediately commenced to raise volunteers. With 30 men he arrived at Camp Stewart, a fort in the valley where the main part of the troops were already gathered. [Camp Stewart was not known to have been fortified.]
    Hardy Elliff, a member of Lane's company, was sent to the rear of the Indians' supposed position behind Table Rock to make an engagement possible, but was doomed to disappointment as the position had been deserted. Later 22 picked men, commanded by Lieutenant E. Ely, left to discover it. It was not long until success was met when they discovered the entire party on Evans Creek, running suddenly upon them. In the engagement that followed several men were killed. The skirmish is said to have been one of the sharpest of the war.
    The soldiers on the 17th of August stopped to partake of dinner two miles up from the mouth of the creek, near the present site of [the city of] Rogue River. Suddenly a volley of shots were fired from the willows surrounding, killing a number of the unsuspecting men. The soldiers rushed to cover and fought in the style followed by the Indians--behind rocks and trees. Before the Indians, with their superior numbers, had surrounded them, two men managed to steal away for additional aid for the ten remaining men.
    When the Indians became aware of the approach of aid, they quickly left the scene of hostilities, taking with them 18 horses, blankets and other equipment and leaving five white men, killed, behind. The soldiers returned to headquarters at about the same time General Lane arrived.
    The general was made commander of chief and divided his forces into various companies. Colonel John Ross, whose sons, John, George and Thomas, now reside in Central Point, was in charge of one battalion which proceeded down the Rogue River to the mouth of Evans Creek and then up the stream in the supposed direction of the enemy. The trail of the battalion was scheduled to meet that of Captain Allen's company, which was ordered to proceed up Trail Creek to the battle ground where Ely was surprised by the redskins. On the first day, scouts reported that the enemy had gone into the seclusion of the nearby mountains. Therefore the general called a halt and the forces encamped for the night ready to take up the march the next day.
Medford Mail Tribune, October 31, 1926, page 11


    But late in the afternoon of the next day, of which General Lune's command had expected eventful hours, after having crossed a high mountain, the soldiers reached a branch of Evans Creek and camped for the night. The next morning, August 24, 1853, a shot was heard and shortly scouts arrived, reporting that the savages were encamped in a dense forest made more or less impenetrable by thick brush. General Lane, deciding to attack immediately, threw his entire force against the Indians' position.
    The Indians, perhaps thinking the army was still in the valley, were apparently surprised by the sudden volley, but returned the shots with zest. Each side fought from behind trees, which fact held down the number of casualties. The battle was a bitter one for over an hour. General Lane, leading a small detachment directly against the enemy, was wounded in the arm. Not daunted by the wound, he continued to command by crawling behind a tree and therefrom issuing orders. The efforts of the soldiers to dislodge the Indians were fruitless.
    The savages, upon learning that General Lane was in command, began to call to their enemy to call off the fight. A short time later the two sides began to treat for peace. General Lane went among the Indians with a coat hung over his shoulder to conceal his wounded arm and in spite of pain talked to the redskins through the long parley for peace. Peace terms were agreed upon but no definite arrangements were made. However, it was decided that Chief Joe, in charge of the savages, should go to Table Rock, where a final peace talk was to be arranged. The Indians were to deliver up their weapons to the General and reside on the reservation at Table Rock.
    Mr. Walling, the historian, sets forth that the Indians by their apparent proposals of peace meant to massacre the sleeping volunteer soldiers, had more Indian reinforcements arrived. However, as fate would have it, the possible massacre never took place.
    The condition of affairs thereafter was peaceful between the former opposing forces. The livestock browsed together and the Indians and whites associated together freely. Captain Alden, who figured prominently at the Evans Creek battle, died two years later from the wound he had received, while General Lane, it is said, never did fully recover from the wound he had received in his arm.
    After the first negotiations for peace many soldiers and volunteers had arrived in the valley from other sections of the state to be of assistance. Although their arrival was too late to be of assistance in warfare, the leaders of the various companies took part in the big peace talk in September.
    Even then the reporter was on the job, one having reported to the Salem Statesman the condition of affairs in connection with General Lane's camp on the banks of the Rogue River. He said: "Never having seen General Lane, my curiosity prompted me to visit the camp day before yesterday. Having seen generals in the States togged out in gold lace, epaulets, and long shining sword, I expected to find something of the kind at headquarters, but fancy my surprise on being introduced to a robust, good-looking man, with his right arm in a sling, the shirt sleeve slit open and dangling bloody from the shoulder, his legs encased in an old pair of gray breeches that looked like those worn by General Scott when he was exposed to the fire in the rear. One end of them was supported by a buckskin strap in place of a suspender, while one of the legs rested upon the remains of a boot. His head was ornamented by a forage cap that from its appearance recalled memories of Braddock's defeat. This composed the uniform of the hero 'who never surrenders.'
    "The 'quarters' were in keeping with the garb of the occupant; it being a rough log cabin about 16 feet square with a hole in one side for a door, and destitute of floor and chimney. In one corner lay a pile of sacks filed with provisions for the troops,. in another a stack of guns of all sizes, from the old French musket down to a coffee pot minus the spout, or rather the silver-mounted sporting rifle, while in the third sat the coffee pot without the spout with a dozen tin cups, four pack saddles a dirty shirt and a moccasin. The fourth corner was occupied by a pair of blankets said to be the General's bed; and on a projecting puncheon lay ammunition for the stomach in the shape of a chunk of raw beef and a wad of dough. In the center of the 'quarters' was a space about four feet square for the accommodation of guests. Such being the luxuries of a general's quarters, you may judge how the  privates have fared in this war."
    One of the many pleasant incidents of the camp was the presentation of the flag, the women of Yreka having decided to honor the braves of that locality who had volunteered to the defense of the settlers of Oregon. No formality was observed at the services.
    The terms of peace were discussed September 10, the chiefs of the Indians and the leaders of the whites meeting upon a designated spot on the side of Table Rock.
    Judge M. P. Deady, who came to Jacksonville as a blacksmith and later took up the law, wrote an eyewitness story of the event.
    "The scene of this famous 'peace talk' between Joseph Lane and Indian Joseph, the two men who had so lately met in mortal combat, was worthy of Sir Walter Scott and the pencil of Salvator Ross," wrote Judge Deady.
    "It was called upon a narrow bench of a long gently sloping hill lying over against the noted bluff called Table Rock. The ground was thinly covered with majestic old pines and rugged oaks, with here and there a clump of green oak bushes. About half mile above the bright mountain stream that threaded the narrow valley below sat the two chiefs in council. Lane was in fatigue dress, the arm which was wounded at Buena Vista in a sling fresh from a fresh bullet wound received at Battle Creek. Indian Joseph, tall, grave and self-possessed, wore a long black robe over his ordinary dress. By his side sat Mary, his favorite child and faithful companion, then a very handsome young woman unstained by the vices of civilization. A short distance above us on the hillside were some hundreds of dusky warriors in fighting gear reclining quietly on the ground.
Medford Mail Tribune, November 7, 1926, page 13


    "The day was beautiful," continued Judge M. P. Deady in his description of the scene at Table Rock when the pipe of peace was smoked between General Joseph Lane and Indian Joseph at the close of the Indian war in 1853. "To the east of us rose abruptly Table Rock and at its base stood Smith's dragoons, waiting anxiously the issue of this attempt to make peace without their aid. After a proposition was discussed and settled between the two chiefs, the Indian would rise up and communicate the matter to a huge warrior who reclined at the foot of a tree quite near us. Then the latter rose up and communicated the matter to the host above him, and they belabored it back and forth with many voices. Then the warrior communicated the thought of the multitude on the subject back to his chief, and so the discussion went until an understanding was finally reached. Then we separated--the Indians going back to their mountain retreat and the whites to the camp."
    J. W. Nesmith, according to A. G. Walling, who wrote a history of Southern Oregon from which these articles are taken, a prominent personage at the treaty, also wrote of the occasion.
    He wrote: "Early in the morning of the tenth of September, we rode toward the Indian encampment. Our party consisted of the following persons: General Lane, Joel Palmer, Samuel Culver, Captain A. J. Smith, Captain L. F. Mosher, Colonel John Ross, Captain J. W. Nesmith, Lieutenant A. V. Kautz, R. B. Metcalfe, J. D. Mason and T. T. Tierney. After riding a couple of miles we came to where it was too steep for horses to ascend, and dismounting, we proceeded on foot. Half a mile of scrambling over rocks and through brush brought us into the Indians' stronghold, just under the perpendicular cliff of Table Rock, where were gathered hundreds of fierce and well-armed savages. The business of the treaty began at once. Much time was lost in translating and re-translating, and it was not until late in the afternoon that our labors were completed. About the middle of the afternoon an Indian runner arrived, bringing intelligence of the murder of an Indian on Applegate Creek. He said that a company of whites under Captain Owens had that morning captured Jim Taylor, a young chief, tied him to a tree and shot him to death. This caused the greatest confusion among the Indians, and it seemed for a time as if they were about to attack General Lane's party. The General addressed the Indians, telling them that Owens, who had violated the armistice, was a bad man, and not one of his soldiers. He added considerable more of a sort to placate the Indians, and finally the matter of 'Jim's' death was settled by the whites agreeing to pay damages therefor in shirts and blankets."
    The treaty of peace contained several articles, among which was the payment of a sum not over $150,000 for surrendered lands. This sum, states Mr. Walling in his history, was set aside to pay for damage the Indians had incurred. The Indians were put in a reservation to hold their peace and surrendered all firearms with the exception of 14 pieces. In addition they agreed to notify the federal agent if hostile tribes entered the reservation and if they themselves made war they would suffer the suspension of all annuities. The Rogue River tribe and related tribes, explained Mr. Walling, occupied the land lying between the mouth of the Applegate Creek, the summit of the Siskiyou Mountains at Pilot Rock, Mt. Pitt and to a point near the intersection of the Oregon road near Jumpoff Joe Creek. [Those are the boundaries of the Rogues' ancient homeland, not those of the Table Rock Reservation.] The Indians in this district, the treaty provided, must maintain peace with the whites, restore stolen property and deliver any member of the tribe who might violate the treaty.
    Another treaty in regard to the sale of Indian lands was made at the same time and provided the cession to the government of the rights to lands in above-mentioned boundaries. The Indians were placed on the reservation northwest of Table Rock in the direction of Evans Creek.
    The redskins were paid $60,000 for their rights, with the exception of $15,000, which was kept as provided in the Table Rock treaty. The damages were estimated by three apparently disinterested persons, and it was found, writes Mr. Walling, the $15,000 would have to be expended for [cabins,] blankets, clothing, agricultural implements and other necessary articles understood to have been destroyed by the Indians during the war. The remaining money was to be paid to the chiefs in periodical payments in livestock, blankets and other necessities of life. Three houses were also erected, for each of the principal chiefs of the tribes.
    The savages, in return, agreed to molest no traveling white man.
    Even though the Indians apparently accepted the terms of the treaty in good faith, the whites on the other hand time and again are said to have broken its provisions by uncalled-for acts of violence. The Indians were at the mercy of hardened men, who had no scintilla of manhood about them. Murders were frequent, but these were by the irresponsible portion of Southern Oregon's population at that time. A certain class are said to have declared that they would kill as many Indians as possible--in fact exterminate them.
    Mr. Walling sets forth the act of an army officer, Captain Robert Williams by name. He is alleged to have attempted to kill two children of Chief Joe. However, this officer was soon removed to another post by General Lane.
    Judge Deady again writes, but this time of an outrage that was committed at Grave Creek on Indians, while the treaty of peace was still in its formative stage.
    "At Grave Creek," he writes, "I stopped to feed my horse and get something to eat. There was a house there called the 'Bates House,' after the man who kept it. It was a rough wooden structure without a floor, and had an immense clapboard funnel which served as a chimney. There was no house or settlement within ten or twelve miles or more of it. There I found Captain J. K. Lamerick in command of a company of volunteers. It seems he had been sent there to General Lane after the fight at Battle Creek, or Evans Creek, on account of the murder of some of the Indians there.
    "This is what he told me: Bates and some others had induced a small party who belonged in the vicinity to enter into an agreement to remain at peace with the whites during the war, which was going on at some distance from them, and by way of ratification of this treaty invited them to partake of a feast in an unoccupied log house across from the 'Bates House,' and while they were eating, unarmed, of this proffered hospitality, the door was suddenly fastened upon them.'"
Medford Mail Tribune, November 14, 1926, page 11  The horror at the Bates House is recounted here and here.

Last revised April 30, 2023