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
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(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
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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.)