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About The Sunday Oregonian. (Portland, Ore.) 1881-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 9, 1908)
4 THE SUNDAY OREGOMAX, PORTLAND, FEBRUARY 9, 1903 IllU Desperate Fight in Which Volunteers Ended the Yakima Indian War of 1856 "x w! Engagement That Made ""' "White Civilization Possible in WmSk " the Land East of Cascades ,., .....n..u.?,..-.a,..u.,WHB,WT..B., W...JI.,,,.WI.,L, i j mil i jiiiii i ""'"yy - I --""' ' ' '- " ,-i- "' ' . -ry-v, ' if , I ii v rf -iv' (Xote filnce this artlclo -was written, the rontral figure of the battle. Colonel B. F. Bhaw, passed to the great beyood.) BY BERT HUFFMAN. i O complete was the devastation. wrought by the Indians of the Northwest during the Yakima In dian war of IS55-6 that Isaac I Stevens, then governor of Washington Territory, wrote on June 1, 1S56, that not a white man wits, to be found In all the country between The Dalles, Oregon, and Walla Walla, Washington Territory, a distance of 2iK) miles, and that not a house was left standing in that distance. It was a most critical period In the life of the civilization of the Northwest. It was time for a master stroke to. rescue the country from barbarism. And that master stroke fell when the allied tribes were defeated and scattered to the four winds by Colonel B. F. Shaw, command ing the Second Washington volunteers, when. In the battle of the Grand Ijsinde, fought on July 37, 1S56. he won what Governor Stevens has designated in his tory as the most brilliant battle of the Yakima war. The Grand Ronde Valley, nestled in Its mountain fastnesses, far removed from the centers of Northwest civilization on I'ucret Sound and In the Willamette Val ley, was an ideal rendezvous for the whipped and Infuriated tribes which had been beaten and chased out of every hid ing place. Here was planned a mighty confederation of the Northwest tribes Walla Walla, Nei Perces, Umatillas, "ayusce, Yakimas, Deschutes i.nd John Days, from where they could sweep like r whirlwind upon the feeble volunteer forces gathered at Walla Walla after a victorious campaign through Eastern Washington. From Burnt river, from John Day, from the Columbia, from Walla Walla, from Yakima remnants of the proud tribes gathered, like rivulets merging into a mighty river, In the Grand Ronde, from which stronghold they were to sally forth through the narrow mountain passes to complete the destruction of the struggling civilization of the Inland- Em pire. It was a master mind which conceived this savage plan for the extermination of the whites. History has not recorded which one of the great chiefs of that day first proposed such a confederation, but here in this mountain rendezvous, guarded by Its miles of almost impas sible trails and roads. It was possible. If such a feat were anywhere possible, to make a final stand against the white Invaders, with brilliant hopes of triumph. Let us picture the Grand Ronde Val ley as it was on vthe day of the battle, July 17. l&Titi. Walled in by its towering Blue mountains, It resembled a vast in-, land sea, so deep and lustrous were the waves of grass which rolled before its breezes. Not a house marked Its en tire borders. The courses of its streams w ere distinctly penciled upon the land scape by the shimmering green foliage which grew upon the banks. The only mark of civilization was the dim, white trail piercing its prairie grass and climbing out through the low pass at the south. On this trail the weary pilgrims, since 1843 had been wending their westward way. None of her popu lous towns Union, La Grande, Summer ville, Elgin, Cove, Island City, had been conceived. On their present sites waved the prairie grass and sported the ante lope. It was a beautiful and magnificent wilderness, more beautiful, perhaps, be cause of its wild aspects. It was a neutral meeting ground for alj the Northwest tribes. They came ner each year to fish, hunt, visit and hold horse races, the one Infatuating sport of- the mounted savage tribes of the Northwest. And so, when In dire peril they were forced to form a confedera tion and fight for the very right to live anywhere between the - Rocky and. Cas cade mountains, this was the natural rallying . place, this secluded mountain fastness which had been the playground and heritage of their forefathers from time Immemorial. Gathering of tlie Tribes. As volunteers drove the Indians before them out of the Yakima country and up the Columbia River, and harassed them in every valley and canyon of that great sage brush desert 250 miles in extent, the warriors gathered In Grand Ronde for a final fierce stand. At Walla Walia the volunteers were gathering from every quarter, expecting to follow the fleeing Indians in the hills and mountains east and north. The Nez Perces were yet friendly, but there were whispers of treachery and the air was filled with uncertainty, uneasiness, a sense of deadly peril, lest this last friendly tribe should Join the hostiles and fall ipon the volunteers unexpect edly and annihilate that brave and splen did band of defenders of the youthful civilization of the Northwest. So when the news of the proposed con federation of the Grand Ronde was brought to the volunteers at Walla Walla by Captain John, a Nee Perce chief. It was decided to crush the allied trfbes before they had time to gather any considerable force or supplies. It was sixty miles over a mountain range, with but dim roads to follow, but It was understood that a swift and terrible blow must be struck by the volunteers to prevent a victorious stand of the tribes in that last retreat. Colonel B. F. Shaw, commanding the Second Washington volunteers, a young soldier, a daring Indian fighter, a dead shot and a man of keen foresight and excellent ' Judgment, was ordered from Walla Walla to crush the gathering tribes and the present splendid civiliza tion of the Inland Empire tells graphi cally how well he performed his duty, for after the battle of the Grand Ronde there was no more Indian war In this section of the country until the Ban nock outbreak In 1878. Taking 190 men with ten days' rations he started over the Blue mountains by night by a secret trail, with - Captain John, the Nez Perce, as guide. Intending to fall upon the hostiles unexpectedly In their safe retreat. The range was crossed without inci dent In quick time and on the evening of July 16 the volunteers camped on what is now the site of Summerville, in the northern extremity of Grand Ronde Val ley. On the morning of July 17 the com mand started southward along the emi grant trail leading toward the crossing of the Grand Ronde river near the pres est site of La Grande. While riding In advance of the main command Colonel Shaw, In company with Major Maxon, Michael Marchmean, Captain John and Dr. Burns, first sighted the Indian village about ten miles from the last camping place of the volunteers, about 8 o'clock in the morning, and Im mediately the command was formed In line of battle and advanced cautiously upon the village, which was deserted. However, only a short distance away on the low lands of the river bottom the large company of fleeing squaws and children with .pack horses, was sighted, and upon arriving upon the brow of a si' I ... i I? t n J0lSf ?'ft, U ,i 3wK' ? k h w in mun ! "in1 irnviii'i i m n n i rr frn t i i innn iwMiiwihwi j i( n n nrm Tunrmn i ' rr" " ' - -i - - - -" - 1 slight hill the volunteers saw the main body of warriors, 300 in number, riding through the brush on the river banks In battle array. One hundred and fifty men of the com pany of volunteers were In the foree which was to attack the warriors, forty men In command of Captain Williams, now of Union, Oregon, being left be hind the main force in charge of the pack animals and commissary. Story of the Battle. As Colonel Shaw stood beside me upon the battleground recently, after we had reared a rough stone monu ment to mark the spot, he talked most entertainingly of the engagement. He is yet a g-iant in stature, being over six feet in height, with rugged face, show ing something of the daring- and de termination which won the victory 51 years before. "In my command," he said, "where a number of the most daring and-adventurous men ever brought together in any country. They were always ready for any hazardous undertaking, and the more perilous it appeared the more zest they exhibited in the engagement. So when we sighted the Indians on the river bottom, it was with difficulty that I prevented my men from charging- them fiercely. But as the Indians made signs that they wished to talk. I sent Captain John down to meet them and learn their desires: - "As John approached the Indians he saw that one carried a white man: scalp upon .a pole, and before John could say a dozen words to the" war riors, they shouted to each other to kill him, and half a dozen Indians dashed after him in an effort to( cut him off from my company. "At sight of this hostile act, commit ted under a white flap, also. I gave the command to charge the warriors; and, with a shout which I can yet hear. In fancy, my men dashed down the hill on a gallop to attack the painted sav ages. "Fearing an ambush on the river bank, I directed my command to the left of the main body of warriors, in the direction of the squaws and pack train; and the warriors immediately divided, one body going- to the support of the squaws and the other goillK straight into the brush on the river. My command soon engaged those which came to defend their pack train, while Major Maxson followed the party which went to defend the river-crossing. Mostly" a Running Fight. . "We were well armed, having rifles and revolvers, and in the fight which followed, we used revolvers largely, shooting right and left, killing, wound ing and scattering the tribesmen with terrible rout. I can yet hear , the sharp crackling of the revolvers as they felled the warriors and caused the crippled horses to rear and plunge and neigh in wildest confusion. After the first charge it was a running fight, squads of volunteers chasing squads of warriors, a hide-and-seek battle among the clumps of willows wnich lined the river-bank, with an occa sional wild dash of a handful of In dians out into the open in an effort to cut oft a handful of volunteers and run them down. But the battle was well fought, brilliant and victorious on part of my men. They behaved like soldiers and did a good dny's work. "At the first of the fight my men wanted to kill squaws, papooses find all, but I gave them positive orders not to harm the women and children, and in the beginning of the fight I rode back and forth along the line of volunteers to see that the order was obeyed. So far as I know now, not a squaw was killed by a. volunteer nor a dead warrior scalped by a white man that day. "After a running fight of half an hour, the Indians were reunited and rallying, made a fierce stand at the ford of the river where Maxson first attacked the -small body of warriors. Seeing that the" entire body was form ing for a stand I ordered a charge, and leaping my lors down an em bankment 12 feet in height, I led the way across the' Grand Ronde River, which swam our horses part of the distance across, and attacked them. In crossing the river to the attack, the Indians continued to fire upon us, we returning the fire from our revolvers from our swimming horses. Private Shirley Ensign was wounded by hav ing a part of his nose shot away while riding near me. So far as I know, that was the first wound received by a -volunteer in the battle. Afterward several were wounded and live were killed. "Before reuniting to make this stand at the ford, five warriors had been killed in an encounter with Cap tain Miller's company, and at the ford a large number were killed and wounded. "The fight at the ford was brief, fierce and effective, and after submit ting to our fire for a few minutes, the Indians fled in every direction, some going toward Powder River, some toward what is now Cove and some to the hills in the direction of the pres ent site of Union. The remainder of the battle was a running charge with occasional fusillades from warriors and volunteers, until at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, with horses completely exhausted, we gave up the chase when there was not an Indian to be seen in the entire Grand Ronde Valley." During the fight, which lasted from 8 o'clock in the morning until 3 in the afternoon, five volunteers were killed and were buried by their comrades where they fell in different parts of the battlefield, which now forms the rich farming section of the Grand Ronde River. . Colonel Shaw reported 3 Indians killed, and he says he is certain thac 10 mortally wounded were carried away by their comrades, making- the loss about 40 warriors out of 300 en gaged. Over 200 horses were cap tured, about half of this number being unfit for use, were shot by the vol unteers. Immense stores of provisions, including camas roots, venison, sal mon and berries, were captured and destroyed, and on the knoll where the village was first sighted in the morn ing, 100 tepees were piled and burned. One hundred pounds of powder was also captured. When night fell upon that memor able day. not a vestige remained of what In the morning had promised to be the greatest confederation of tribes ever effected in the West. When the volunteers rode upon the liipli knoll before sunset to looR for signs of re turning Indians, not a solitary horse man could be dhivered in ail the wide stretch of vaney. and so tlie day was won for civilization and from that hour It became safer to live anil work and travel in the great Inland Em pire. - Incidents of the Battle. Colonel Shaw tells several Interest ing incidents of the batle of the Grand Ronde. He says that after his party had chased the main body "of warriors into the foothills in what is now tho Cove, on Mill Crek. one brave mount ed on a magnificent horse rode out to taunt bis soldiers and "dared them to fight." The horses of the volunteers were completely exhausted, and fur ther pursuit was Impossible, and the action of this warrior was especially galling upon the weary men of his command. Twice this Indian rode out in a wide circle within rifle range of the volun teers, but all the shots missed him, and he. yelled in defiance. Colonel Shaw asked to be allowed to shoot at him, alone, on the third circle made by the warrior, and twitting his men for their poor marksmanship, he rest ed his rifle over his saddlehorse and took aim. Closer and closer the war rior rode, speeding his horse to his utmost, but as he made the turn and came in line with the rifle of Colonel Shaw, who fired, and the Indian threw up his hands and tumbled to t I ground, dead. A spurt of blood from his death wound reddened the side of his horse, -which ran back to the se creted Indians, who now scampered up the steep mountain without , mak ing any attempt to recover the body of their comrade. That was the last In dian killed in the battle, and the last Indian seen in the valley by the vol unteers. Another incident which occurred during the day was related by Colonel Shaw. On the Grand Ronde River, near where It bends toward the moun tains on the north side, of the valley and perhaps 10 miles from the begin ning of the battle, and while the run ning fight was at its height, Joe Standley. one of the daring few whom Colonel Shaw said in the beginning of this narrative were always ready for any hazardous undertaking was seen to single out a big warrior mounted n a good horse. Pursued and pursuer rode at break-neck speed over the prairie for a few hundred yards. Standley waiting to get closer be fore firing. Suddenly the Indian wheeled upon the old scout, and taking steady aim, fired at him from close range, but missed. Instantly the Indian put up his hands and shouted. In the Chinook lan guage, which was understood by all the volunteers, "Clow-how-its, elow-how-lts." ("I give up. I give up." "Give up, will you?" said Standley, taking aim. "You have had your shot. Now when I have mine we will talk about "clow-how-its and with the ringing report of the scout's revolver the warrior bit the dust. Forty years afterward, by a strange fate, Standley lived upon a homestead on tho exactspot on which this adven ture took place. Colonel Shaw says the Indians were well mounted, and had plenty of rifles and re volvers, but showed very poor marksman ship. The volunteers had good mounts in part, two horses each, and were well armed with rifles and revolvers, and for a running fight after a scattered and flee ing enemy, made a good record for marks manship. From two squaws, taken prisoners dur ing the battle, and from Nez Perce John, who had advanced knowledge of the con federation., it is positively known that some of the greatest chiefs of the North west were engaged In the battle of the Grand Ronde. Those who are known by Colonel Shaw to have taken part are as follows: We-nap-snoots and live Crows of the Uma tillas; Cliick-iah and Plyon of the Cay uses; Stork Whitley and Sira-mls-tas-tas of the Deschutes; Tall-kin (Tarquinj, Walla Walla and others of less repute. We-nap-snoots was the father of Peo, the degenerate chief of the Umatilla?, who is now dying a slow death from chronic alcoholism In an asylum in South Dakota. His descendants may be seen every Fall pulling sugar beets on the very scene of the battlefield on which their illustrious chieftains were defeated 51 years ago. Five Crows had stood beside the emi grant road over the Blue Mountains ten years before the battle of the Grand Ronde, and begged a white wife from the passing emigrant trains, offering all the ponies in sight on the Umatilla hills for such a prize. At the massacre of Dr. Whitman and party In 1847. Five Crows seized one of the survivors of the ter rible massacre. Miss Bewley. and secreted her in his tepee, where she remained for five weeks, until ransomed and res cued. Only a few years ago the same Five Crows, while riding from Pendle ton, Or., to his tepee on the reservation near by, fell from his pony while drunk one Winter night, and was found in the morning in the center of the road, dead. There was romance, tragedy and pathos, a very epic of civilization in the picture of Colonel Shaw, standing upon the scene of this battle, 50 years after, while locating the spot with a party of friends. There, 50 years before, he had charged down that knoll to the battle, full of life, and vigor, his eventful career all be fore him. Now. at four-score years, he stands in wonder and surveys the scene, teeming with orchards, crops and Joyful life. Then it was a magnificent wilder ness. Now it is a magnificent garden. Rich Agricultural Empire, The land upon which the Indian village was located by Colonel Shaw and his com mand on July 17, 1S56, was homesteaded in 1870 by H. W. Leasy, who was the first settler in Grand Ronde Valley, his residence dating from September, 1S61. tConcluded on Page 11.)
