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About Medford mail tribune. (Medford, Or.) 1909-1989 | View Entire Issue (May 26, 1963)
t SUNDAY. MAY 26, 1963 2 B Safety MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD. OREGON Rest Area Ueopens Chapter off IHlnsftoiry By EVA HAMILTON Mail Tribune Staff Writer The bureau of public reads lias approved construction of the Manzanita Salcly Kcst area approximately 1.3 miles north of Louse CrecK and a i miles north of Grants Pass. And the action has brought reopenini! of history books to one of the most compel! ing chapters in the story of the Indian uprisings of 1855 In southern Oregon. For the rest area Is to be located near the site of the former George W. Harris home. The choice of this location will be understood by some Orcgonians, who know the Harris story, and realize that the Washington office Justi fics approval of a site only when it has scenic or histor ical value. Story Told Many Ways There are many persons, however, new to Oregon, who have never opened their books to this particular story. A story told many ways by many people during the more than 107 years since Harris was murdered by enraged HoRue River Indians. This is the story as It is told by Miss Martha Hanlcy, his great granddaughter. Close to the spot where Miss llanlcy's great grandmother. Mary Ann Harris, solaced her injured daughter and guard ed the body of her massacred husband, tourists will relax and listen to the cooling wind in the willows. Few travelers will be able to visualize a pioneer moth er, bloodstained and powder blackened, waiting in a sim ilar willow thicket and lis tening only for the stealthy footsteps of Indians. The most Imaginative one may hear on the wind the voice of the little lost boy, David Harris, whose fate still re mains unknown. Beaton for Happening Why did all of this hap pen? Students, who view Indian history objectively, may ask. And, as they arc prone to suspect, there was a reason A man named J. A. Lupton. Known for his hatred of the Indians, Lupton had served in the Mexican war but had no training In deal ing with the Rogue River GOT ROOFING PROBLEMS? FOR HELP CALL... NORTHWEST ROOFING CO. For Roofing of AM Typtl PH. 779-1038 Prtt EitlmilM HUSBAND IS KILLED Mrs. Mary Ann Harris Chambers, above, was the great grandmother of the Misses Martha, Claire and Mary Hanley of the Jacksonville-Central Point road. Many years after husband, George W. Harris, was kill ed by Indians, Mrs. Harris married Aaron Chambers. tribe, which was at peace with the whites and receiving annuities from the govern ment. Chief Sam's band known as "treaty Indians," lived across the river from Lupton in the Table Rock area. For what reason, history has failed to adequately es tablish, Lupton, a man with political aspirations wno had been elected to the ter ritorial legislature, enlisted a company of about 40 whites and started on an Indian raid. The Indian encampment was entered. When daylight brought the wickiups into view the whites started fir ing. The Indians came out to see what was happening and were Immediately shot down. Some retaliated. Will Navar Know Modern historians will nev. or know whether Lupton's gang knew that the Table Bock village contained only old men, squaws and children, but' several writers have de scribed the incident as one of the most "depraved and misguided" in Indian history of this area. Lupton, the Instigator of the raid, bled to death when an arrow penetrated his chest. A 12-year-old Indian boy was found dead near the body of an Indian woman and there was an empty bow In his hand. This was Oct. 8, the day before George Harris was killed. The desire for vengeance could not be controlled al though all appeared to be quiet in the camp except for the mourning of the surviv ing Indians. Employ Is Killtd Early Oct. 9, the pickets learned that an employee of the government had been shot and killed at his fireside, ap proximately 20 hours after the Lupton raid. Retaliation was now dominant in the minds of the disillusioned In dians. They continued on their path of massacre down the river to Savage Rapids dam, Evans Ferry and Grants Pass. Then to Louse Creek, where ily were their first victims, members of the Wagner fam The Haines family were at tacked, some members mur dered, others captured and later killed. Members of the Harris fam ily, George, Mary Ann and their daughter, Sophia, and son, David, were unaware that anything had happened. They were going about the usual tasks of pioneer living when the attack moved to their home. Mrs. Harris was washing on the front stoop of the cabin. Harris was splitting puncheon with a mallet. Sophia, 11, was help ing her mother, and David, 9, had been sent to the garden for potatoes. Suddenly the thuds of the mallet stopped. Harris came to the house to warn his fam ily that there were Indians on the warpath. He had just crossed the threshold when he was felled with a bullet. Realizing that the wound in his lung was a fatal injury, Harris hurriedly instructed his wife in the firing of the three guns in the house, an Allen revolver, a Kentucky rifle, and a double barrel shotgun. She climbed a ladder to the attic and peering through openings in the chinking, be gan the defense of her home which continued for 19 hours. Frequently she changed her location to give the Indians the impression that there were more people in the ! house. Suddenly she saw the Indians waving scalps and from the red hair on one she suspected that it was that of Mrs. Wagner. The following day her fears were verified. Mrs. Wagner and her four-year-old daughter had been scalped. At one time, Mrs. Harris counted 21 Indians encircling the cabin. A squaw in the group was wearing a dress she had given her. During the forenoon a ball entered the cabin and struck Sophia's arm between the wrist and the elbow, but she continued to melt lead and mold bullets for her mother. As the frantic woman con tinued firing the three guns, she could hear the moans of her husband calling for water which she dared not get him. There was none left inside the house. See PROVOST'S in Ashland For . . . Pocket Billiard Tables Full Size Playing Action at Small Cost Hirt'i hindiomo tblt built to bandit yttri of tht toufhtit "homo tournmnfi" growing family will play. Tht Chillfngar purt pool Into prfct bracket tfut li Irroiiitiblo to tnyont who loves tht gmt. Yjf, lew priced it It ii, it'i a high quality heme pool table with many deluie featurai. Top grade cotton billiard cloth playing surface Lively rubber cuihtoni Rugged molded plaitic corners and pockets End ball returns Irlnktun's sparkling new contemporary styling with high gloss wood grain finish in two tone walnut Polished aluminum meld Inns W PLYBLIND bed with steel bed levelers Sturdy folding pedestal legs with 4 Individual table levelers Com plete set of molded balls (21V) with plastic triangle, bridge attachment, two 41" hardwood cues, chalk and playing Instructions. 357 East Main Phono 482-3656 THPniTur ONLY 129 95 COMPLETE WITH 2 Cuts and Balls, Rack, Bridge Chalk "SERVING ASHLAND FOR OVER 50 YEARS" Ctnxnititl Ttrmi Frta Dtllvary r - - K STRUCK IN ARM Sophia Ann Harris Love, above, was the mother of the late Mrs. John Hanley and grandmother of the Misses Hanlcy. It was she who was struck in the arm by Indian gunfire while helping her mother load the Kentucky rifle. After 19 hours with the guns glued to her fingers, Mrs. Harris realized that the Indians had disappeared. At least from the immediate area. She went to her hus band and found that he had died of his wound. She ventured out the door, suddenly concerned about her daughter's injury; got water, washed and dressed the little girl's arm. She found a blanket or canvas, covered the body of her hus band and prepared to aban don the house, convinced that the Indians would return to burn it down. She had seen smoke rising from neighbor ing hills and realized now thai it had come from the burning of homes. Here the reports of the tragedy differ. Miss Hanley, who remembers the story as her mother, daughter of So phia, told it to her, says Mrs. Harris tied a rope about the body and dragged it with her into the thicket and guarded it there through the remain der of the night. The Indians did return and she watched them burn down the house. She had more than this to frighten her. Wolves, drawn by the odor of blood, came so close she could hear their breathing. Sophia's arm began to throb and ache and swell Indicating Infection in the wound. Ba'hing Thtir Ftet Finally daylight came and no more Indians. Four who had been bathing their feet down the stream disappeared and Mrs. Harris began the search for her son, David. Her repeated calls received no answer. Soon she heard the galloping of horses. She recognized that they were the patrols and started to meet them. This was almost a mistake. The soldiers mis took her for an Indian until they recognized her red hair. One knocked the leveled gun from the hand of another who was ready to kill after visit ing the Wagner cabin. The other version of the story states that the house had not been burned by the Indians. That the body of Mr. Harris was buried under the floor before the troops and Mrs. Harris set it on fire to keep the Indians from knowing that Mr. Harris was buried there. Body Is Removed Years later his body was removed t o Jacksonville, where a monument reads: "George W. Harris, killed by Indians Oct. 9. 1855. Age 35 years, 9 months and 3 days." Other descendants of the pioneer couple are Miss Claire Hanley and Miss Mary Han ley, curator of the Jackson ville Museum. In the mu seum the double barreled hntmin. and Little David's I a small red haired woman. testament are preserved along where the Manzanita Rest with documents which verify Area will backon travelers the valiant defense staged by from Interstate 5. HURRY! Offer Ends Soon 1 GALLON FREE WITH PURCHASE OF 4 GALLONS 0FANYC0L0R.fefftMtt LIMITED TIME ONLY! Olympic in Mill 1 5333 Corner 6th and Fir Plenty of Offstreet Parking On the Air By ELEANOR WIESE International television via a Telstar communications sat ellite once again was success fully accomplished last week as thousands of Europeans watched the launching and flight of Astronaut Cooper in the Faith 7. As far as European tech nicians are concerned, handl ing live TV transmission from tiie United States is now a routine operation. As far as TV viewers In America are concerned, Inter national television so far has been a one-way proposition. Only a few isolated test pro grams have been beamed from Europe to us. Why this should be seems a mystery. Surely our networks cannot be so satisfied with their own programming as to feel English and European TV has nothing interesting and original to offer. Some British plays are out standing. Viewers of Canad ian television along our north ern borders know this. There are other possibilities too: ballet, a French revue, per haps a steeplechase from Ep som Downs, Italian opera, for eign drama. Language is no barrier since English can eas ily be dubbed in. Electronic genius has orbit ed satellites to make interna tional television a reality. It's up to the networks' would-be geniuses to discover and ex plore the entertainment and educational horizons across the ocean an Instant away. CATHOLIC HOUR: 10:30 a.m. Sunday KMED-TV. The current Second Vatican Coun cil Is the focus of "The Age of Renewal," the final pro gram in the four-part history of the Catholic Church. MEET THE PRESS, 8 p.m. Sunday KMED-TV. James H. Meredith, the only Negro stu dont knowingly admitted to a white college or university In Mississippi, will be inter viewed. TWENTIETH CENTURY. (I p.m. SundHy KBES-TV. "First Man on the Moon," a report on the research being done to Insure the success of a three man flight to the ntuon. (Re peat) DISNEY'S WORLD, 7:30 p.m. Sunday KMED-TV. The adventures and education of a quarter horse filly who is sold as a "cull" but goes on to win show ring honors are drama tized In "Horse of the West." ED SULLIVAN, 8 p.m. Sun day KBFS-TV. Guests In clude: Eydlc Gorme. Frank Fontaine. Bill Dana, Cab Cal loway, the Italian mouse, puppet. Sergio Franchi and Pat Buttram. EMMY AWARDS. 10 p m. Sunday KMED-TV. Tin 15th annual Iwatiii ol the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences will be present ) ed in ceremonies originating j in Hollywood, New York and I Washington, D C. Joey Bishop, I' Arthur Godfrey and Waller Cronkite will be hosts. RED SKELTON, 8:30 p.m. Tuesday KBES-TV. Don Knotts plays a government bureau representative stress ing health and exercise in a skit entitled "Jerk and the Beanstalk." DICK POWELL THEATRE, 9:30 p.m. Tuesday KMED-TV. Michael Ronnie stars in "Pro ject X," a drama in which the director of a top-secret space project lets his desire to "get there first" endanger his health and his marriage. (Repeat) ROUTE 66. 8:30 p.m. Friday KBES-TV. Tod and Buz find panic threatening a commun ity when an epidemic of rare sleeping sickness threatens to break out. Chester Morris is guest star. ALFRED HITCHCOCK, 10 p.m. Friday KBES-TV. Mac Donald Carey and Robert Sterling star in an adaptation of an Andrew Garve novel concerning the reputable pro prietors of a private school who become implicated in murder and extortion. (Re peat) DAVID BRINKLEY'S JOURNAL, 8 p.m. Saturday KMED-TV. Klamath Falls, Oregon, is one of the small towns visited this spring by Brinkley's crew In a study of the discussions of U.S. foreign policy by Americans that were held as part of the "Great Decisions' 'program. SOC Representative Attends Conference Ashland - "Meeting Medical Manpower Needs" was the topic of the Western Forum on Medical Education recent ly in San Francisco, according to Dr. Marvin D. Coffey, Southern Oregon college rep resentative. "One of the problems of most concern expressed at the conference," Dr. Coffey stat ed, "was the tremendous short age of general practitioners in medicine. As one of the ad visers to prc-niedical students attending, he reported that a number of solutions to the shortage were proposed by the practicing physicians, medical educators, legislators, and ad visers present. More medical training schools and facilities must be made available as qualified students are being turned away from the profession in increasing numbers; presenta tion of scholarships and grants must be stepped up and more funds for them be raised: and advisers must be kept inform ed of the changing demands in medicine m as to be able to increase their counseling effectiveness. W1 Pbmbing Healing 1035 IOWA STREET ASHLAND, ORE. 482-0472 Invite You to attend their... T0M0RR0W- Monday and Tuesday 8 A.M. - 9 P.M., May 27th and 28th (Regular Store Hours Will Be 8 A.M. to 6 P.M.) 100 Financing!! Home Remodeling Kitchen Remodeling Water Heaters (Gas or Electric), etc. BE GRAND OPENING SPECIAL WATER HEATERS $)50 52 G.llon-Gl.t. lined-9000 KW Quick Recovery - 10 YR. 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