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unnneti
VOL. XXIV.
LAKKVIKW, LAKK COUNTY, OREGON, THURSDAY, SKPT. 17, 1903.
NO. 37.
THE BEN
WRIGHT RAID
A Tale of the llloodthlraty Deed
if Indlam In Klamalh Fifty
Years ago How Revenged
The ltt'ii Vrli(lit raid, or Hen
Wright innacre, wan one of lltu
hloollet In tli early day of Ore
iron. Indian men, women and
children wvre slaughtered ly Hen
Wright and IiIn 'fi follower like
animal, and not one of tlx white
ini'ii over regivttiMl It. Mdm) Hart,
I lie tu.h survivor of t lit? famous land
of deMMrati men, who now liven
near WcHtfall, In Malheur County,
ha grown to Ih a very old man, Ih
iroNMrouH and In regarded an one
of the IH-Mt cltlien In the State, Mt 111
tell of the bloody maacro In
which liu took part ami say ho ha
never had f auo to regret It. They
M-alHd the Indian after killing
them lrrt'H-tlvo of age and sex and
left theiu scattered on the plain,
llutl tle coyote might devour their
Ik til leu.
HOW I.MMO NATION W AM HAIMKI).
Yreka, lu NUklyou County, Cal
Iforula wnM then the only settlement
of note In Kouthern Oregon and
Northern California. It wan more
than GO year ago. It wim JiiHt after
the gold excitement had broken out
lu the great jilacer districts of the
(ioldcii State and many of the miners
liad leeome dlgnted even with the
1t gold Held lu thorn) day arid
wandered about the Htate hunting
ottiHfClderudocN. Yreka wu set tied
uue))i it a rival to the great Sierra
Nevada and a large number of dnr
v Injr men congregated there and mill
d and fought and gambled juHt a
they did In all proMcroUH mining
wctloiiM. lien Wright wa consldcr-
ed the bravtitt man In Yreka. He
wan cool-headed, unacquainted with
fear ami placed no value on hi life
or that of other. People from the
Idaho country were trying to make
tin Ir way Into the Yreka and Koguo
Klver countrleH, but hundred of
them were caught on the plain by
the Indian and murdered and
plundered.
Home more fortunate of the luiml
grant brought these stories to
Yreka almoHt dally. OeciiHloually
one or more mtuulier from an Immi
grant train would arrive at Yreka
aud tell of the most cruel Indian
mivMMiicreM aud wanton tortile of
the Immigrant by the Indian.
Mot of the grievance came from
the Klamath country and the out
rage were charged to the Pluto or
Snake Indiana.
KAMI OKOAMKKD. '
Finally an Immigrant arrived at
Yreka on horseback under whip
with the announcement that a
m all band of Immigrant composed
of men. women and children were
Miirrouudod by hundred of blood
thlrty warrior on Lot Klver In
the Klamath country. The mail
who brought the new Mated that
the white would be able to hold thu
enemy at bay for several hour yet,
a they were well armed and the few
men In the party were excellent
inarkHiiien, but that the Indian
would eventually overcome them.
Ken Wright called the miner to
gether Immediately and called for
voluutoera. When he called for men
who would go to the rescue of the
Immigrant and face death it neces-
nary, T2 young men alniont a daring
as liluiHclf stood up In Hue, and Mono
Hart was ouo of this number. No '
tliue wiin ot In arming, equipping
and mounting the famous The
bent borne In the camp were placed
at the rescuer' dlpoal ami each
carried a Wliieheter rllle, two dra
goon revolver, several round of
ammunition and two day' provis
ion. TO TIIK HKMCTK.
The point on I,ot Klver to I?
reached wn 100 mile away. The
party left Yreka at noon and rode
day and night, only stopping twice
to give their horse a moment' ret
and for the men ti cat a "bite," a
Mr. Hart put It. They reached the
place Jut at Hunrlc on the next
morning and were awarded by sec
Ingthat the Immigrant were mIIII
bidding their own. A quick Investi
gation dlcloed that the whole face
of the earth for' a complete circuit
about the Immigrant train win cov
ered with Indian. The whiten had
lnen attacked while near a small
bridge ocro the river, aud had Im
mediately corraled their hore and
wagon, and the men behind these
were doing such deadly idiootlng
whenever an opportunity preMcnted
Itself that the Indian thought It
lt to remain at a distance until re
inforcement, whom they had sent
for, arrived.
TIIK ATTACK.
Ken Wright took In the situation
at a glance. He Haw that the In
dian had not dlcovcred the arrival
of him and hi men, and falling back
Is hind a hill, ordered hi men to re
move their haU and throw them
away and tla their big bandana
handkerchief around their neck.
Thl done they each took a revolver
In either hand ami dashed down
upon the surprised Indian. When
the Indian first Haw them they gave
a Hhout of welcome and the heart
of the Immigrant Hank within them
for a moment. The bareheaded men
lu the early morning light looked
like Indian, and while the 1mm
granta thought more Indian had
arrived to attack them, their enemy
thought the miner were the rein
forcement for whom they had Hent.
grii K wiikx.
Hut the object of the miner were
hooii known by both HurprlHed par
tie. They charged right Into the
thlckcHt of the Indian, aud they
loHt no time with their revolver,
and they were all good shot. Com
pletely panic Htrlcken, the Indian
ran lu every direction, Home going
over the hill and other plunging
Into tho river. The maddened Im
migrant from the wagon came out
aud joined In the execution, aud the
work was noon over. Mr. Hart re
port that there were plenty of "good
Indian" lying everywhere after the
fight was over, and he Bald many of
the young men scaled them In reg
ular Indian stylo. Tho women of
the Immigrant train prepared a
good meal for their rcHcucr and
they left the name day on their way
to Y'reka under the ecort of the
miner.
MINKItrt NOT HATIHK1KII.
After the miner ecorted the Immi
grant out of danger they were
overtaken by another Immigrant
who hud jtiHt cm-aped another at
tack of the Indian farther up tho
valley lu the neighborhood of tho
Lower Klamath Lake. Ho stated
that they were killing, torturing aud
Hcnlplng men, women and children.
The men turned their home' head
and daubed back over tho ground
which they had Jut panned. They
crossed tho river at tho bridge where
tho fight of tho previous day had
; ,. ... , t - " ' ' '' ,
t ' r'
-i . . ' . T ) '"
' ; " ? -
f M .-.ll
MRS. FRANCES
Having won much fim aa an authoress, Mrs. France Hodgson Burnett
baa now appeared as a successful dramatlKL Her play for children. "The
Utile Princess." which was recently produced In New York, Is making a big
bit.
occurred, and aw the Mead Indian
Htlil lying bleaching in the nun. 15 ut
they hurried on to the Hccne of the
m n km acre.
AT III.OOIIY POINT.
At a point near tho shore of the
Lower Klamath Lake, which tin!
since leen called "Woody Point,"
the miner aw a lght that was
sickening at flint, but which soon
arouwd them to mailnc for re
venge. Meu, women and children
lay piled up lu heap, their ecalpa
taken, their bodies h tripped and
lacerated In every poMlhle way by
the knive and tomahawks of the
Inillau. Many of them had been
dlHcmhowclcd and the bodle of
both men aud women had tcen des
ecrated In every way that savage
brutality could Invent. The Indian
had taken this method of revenge J
IhW. foiled by themluerstheprevlou8'and newp haa snce, If you could
....... Dt.-,w. H ..o
escape me previous day met tbeir-
MilltfitlVMktnunf n arimtiw titln Kna I
'-- J"- ""
and they soon afterwards came '
upon the Immigrant train and sur
prised and killed all of the Immi
grants, except the one who had
given the alarm, after having tor
tured them In every conceivable
way.
ANOTHKK MASSACKK.
The miners started out In search
of the Indians who had fled without
their knowledge on their approach
and hidden their women and child
ren, who bad Joined them, In tho
high tules bordering the lake, aud
had also taken refuge lu this hldlug
place themselves. They were sdoif
discovered by Wright and his men,
however, but as u marsh lay be
tween the miners and the Indians It
was dilllcult to get to them. Tho
previous days' work of tho miners
had completely Intimidated the
ludlaus and they showed no Inclina
tion to fight with the daring men.
Wright tried every way possible to
get to them, or to get them out
without avail. Finally he sent one
of his men who could speak their
V 1
v. 3 - f y . i
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-v- -.;v.- . --
HODGSON BURNETT.
language and coaxed them out
under the promise of a treaty. Tho
men, women and children came
forth under td promhte.
A soon a they were well out in
the open, at a signal, Wright and
hi men datdied down upon them
and they slayed them like wild an
imals. They did not stop at men
and women, but they killed the
children. Scarcely one of the whole
band escaped. And then the miners
scalped their victims and took their
departure.
NO COMIt'NCTIOS8 OK CONSCIENCE.
The miners returned to Y'reka sat
isfied with what they had done and
were the heroes of the hour lu the
mining camp. "Did your conscience
not hurt you?" was asked Mr. Hart
recently w hile he was lying almost
at ileatu s door, "xo, sir," came
.m,.u8te , promptly. "It never did
have that pne of bodies of our
wu whlte womea anJ cbUdren,
butchered ond desecrated as they
vn .,,, , tUa
TV VI V J VVWUSVSi SMV VS
same opinion as were we miners,
that no kind of savage was fit to
live In those days when our people's
Uvea were ever In peril; that the
young ones would some day be Just
as brutal as the old ones any way,
we didn't torture them. We killed
them outright!" Paul De Laney in
tho Portland Journal.
Possibly an Extra Session.
A gravo discrepancy in tho tax
laws of Oregon has been discovered
which la all probability will neces
sitate a special session of tho legisla
ture before tho close of tho preseut
year
Without remedial legislation,
attorneys declare that an eutlro
year's taxes will bo lost to the state
and to every county, city, town and
district in Oregon.
The dllilculty arises from the at
tempt of the legislature of 1903 to
amend the tax laws so as to change
tho date of the annual levy from
January to September.
LOOKS LIKE
A RAILROAD
Conference With Harrlman Ex
pected to Caue the O.K. A N.
to Build Toward Lake.
A Hpeclal to the Oregon lan from
Kan Francisco under date of Sept.
0th, nays:
From high official sources It ia
learned that Harrlman han taken
up the proposition to extend the O.
K. & N. liua Into Central Oregon anil
has Intimated that this will be his
next important move on the i'aciflc
Coast. The news leaked out
through the recent mysterious de
parture of A. L. Mohler, president of
the O. It. & N.
Mohler, it baa been ascertained,
went to meet H&rrlman, who has
Just returned from Europe, where be
had gone to recuperate after the op
eration performed on him for appen
dicitis. The advantages of the O. K. & N.
extension would be to permit the
Harrlman lines to Invade the lumber
districts and by a direct eastward
route avoid the present roundabout
way of backhauling to northern
points. It is expected that the con
ference between Harrlman and
Mohler will result In something
definite that will Interest the north
ern railroad.
There are a number of O. R. & N.
construction projects on foot and ic
la thought that Harrlman at the
present conference will decide what
are feasible. The construction of
the Columbia Southern has been
pending since the magnate retired to
Europe. During bis absence a com
prehensive report on tho country
the contemplated extension would
tap baa been prepared and the sub
stance of that report was cabled to
Harrlman.
There Is hardly any doubt, accord
ing to reports from the same source.
but what the Columbia Southern
will eventually be built, and the
northerners are provoked at the de
lay, for they realixe that the develop,
ment of the country has been retard
ed and that another season must
e'apse before active operations cau
be commenced.
Those who claim to bo on tho in
side also state that there is a prop
osition on foot to run a line from
Bellingham Bay to Spokane. If this
is done it will mean a great cut off
aa a short route to Puget Sound.
This road, if built, would open up
new territory and one that could
ably support the railway, but the
fact that It would be In more or less
direct competition with the Great
Northern may have a deterring
effect on its being built.
That there are contemplated ini- '
provements Is evidenced by the tact
that over 70 locomotives have been
ordered from the Baltimore Loco
motive "Works by tho Harrimaa
lines.
Forest Reserves Are Bad.
Senator Fultou believes the pres
ent system leads to extensive frauds.
Iuformatlou of proposed withdraw
als leaks out from Washington, aud
speculators hasteu to take advau-
tage of the lieu land system. Tho
otHclals lu Oregon, Senator Fultou
thinks, have been unjustly saddled
with the blame tor these frauds. The
same opinion Is held by Senator Fu 1
ton regarding state lands, and he
points for proof to tho extensive fil
ings on school lands just prior to
withdrawal.
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