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
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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.
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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.
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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.
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