A HUNT ON PETALUMA CREEK.--ELK FEVER BREAKS OUT.--THE EXPEDITION
TO KLAMATH LAKE.--A LIVELY BRUSH WITH MODOC INDIANS.
The hunting party made up at the Fort was ready early in December,
and we pulled out, promising to be home by New Year's day, at the
latest.
At this time there were no steamers running across the bay in the
direction we wished to go, so we hired a tug to take us over to
the mouth of Petaluma creek, near which we proposed to pitch our
hunting camp. Here was live-oak timber, with now and then a
redwood, and in places the chapparal was thick, and there was no
end to deer sign.
We had plenty of shelter in case of storm, having two good-sized
tents in the outfit and only six men, not counting the darkey
cook, who, however, always does count in an expedition like that.
In the party I was the only one who had ever hunted any. Three of
the others had never fired a shot at larger game than a jack-
rabbit. Col. Elliott had once killed a deer, of which I made
mention in a preceding chapter.
The following morning after breakfast I told them to select their
course for the day's hunting, and I would go in an opposite
direction.
"Why do you wish to go in an opposite direction?" Lieut. Harding
asked; "Why not all go together?" I replied that after we got out
in the woods I did not think they could tell a man from a deer,
and I did not want to be shot by a white man out here in this
country.
Capt. Mills proposed that three go at a time, two officers and
myself, by so doing there would be no danger.
This being satisfactory, Lieut. Harding, Capt. Mills and myself
took the first turn. Neither of them had ever hunted any, and both
were as ignorant in that line as I was when I started out from St
Louis in company with Uncle Kit Carson, which, by the way, I had
told them something about the night before, while sitting around
the campfire.
When we were all ready for the hunt and had started to walk away
from the tent, Capt. Mills requested the Colonel to have the
horses in readiness to pack the deer in. We had not gone far until
I asked them if they could not walk without making so much noise.
Lieut. Harding said he did not see what difference it made how a
person walked, and I had to stop and explain matters by telling
them that a deer depended as much on his ears as he did on his
eyes, and if we did not walk easier the deer would hear us before
we could get sight of them, and it seemed to me that they had
stepped on every stick along our way and had rubbed against every
brush that we passed near. Having been trained to hunt since a boy
of fifteen years old, it became second nature for me to slide
along without making a particle of noise.
After traveling a short distance we saw four deer coming toward
us, and I pointed out an opening and said: "When they get to that
place I will stop them; be ready, and when I count three, fire."
When the deer were all on the selected spot I gave a keen whistle,
which caused them to stop and throw up their heads. I counted
three and fired, but did not hear the report of the other guns.
Just as I turned to see what was the trouble, Capt. Mills fired,
but Lieut. Harding stood and held his gun at a "ready" and did not
fire at all. He said the sight was so pretty that he did not think
of his gun. I killed my deer, and the Captain wounded his by
breaking one fore leg. The other deer gave a few jumps and
stopped, and I took the Lieutenant's gun and shot it dead. We now
had two deer and were only about a mile from camp. I left the two
officers to dress the venison and I went back to camp after a
horse to pack it in. While I was away, and before they had got the
fallen game dressed, two other deer came along within gunshot of
them. The two officers fired at them and killed one deer, both
claiming the honor of the fatal shot. Now we had plenty of meat
for a start, and would, no doubt, get more before we consumed
that.
After arriving at camp with the deer I directed Jake, the negro
cook, to get an early dinner, as I wanted to take a big hunt that
afternoon.
While at the dinner table I suggested that as they could find deer
anywhere around there, for they were as thick as sheep and not
very wild, that they might kill that kind of game, while I would
mount Pinto and prospect for larger, for I thought there were elk
in that country, and if that was true we wanted some of them.
After dinner I mounted my horse and was off for an elk hunt. After
riding up the river about three miles I could see any amount of
sign. Dismounting and tying my horse, I took an elk trail where a
band had just crossed the trail on which I was riding, and I did
not follow it very far until I came in sight of the elk. There
were eight in this band, and I had to take a roundabout course to
get in gunshot of them, but when I finally did get a shot at them
I killed an elk that carried the largest pair of horns I have ever
seen, with one exception. I unjointed his neck about a foot from
his head and dressed him, but left his hide on. The head and horns
were all I could lift as high as the horse's back.
When I rode up to camp and the negro cook saw that head of horns
he exclaimed: "Hello, Marstah; what you got dar? You must hab
killed de debbil dis time, suah."
From the negro I learned that the officers had all been out, and
had seen more or less deer and had done more or less shooting, but
had only killed one small doe.
That night the elk fever raged high in camp, as that pair of horns
had set them all wild to go elk hunting the next day. That night
we ordered an early breakfast, so as to get an early start to our
hunting ground.
After riding up the river the next morning, to where I had killed
the elk the day before, we all dismounted and tied our horses. I
asked them which they preferred, to go single or two together, and
they thought it the best plan to go in couples.
Being somewhat acquainted with this kind of game, and knowing
where to find them at this time of day, I told them what ridges to
take to lead them to the main divide, also what our signals would
be to come together.
Capt. Mills and I took up the center ridge, the two other couples
going on ridges each side of us, but not in sight. After going
about a mile or so we heard two gunshots to our left, and in a few
moments we could hear elk running. The underbrush was so thick
that it was difficult to get a shot at them on the run, so, seeing
an opening that they were sure to cross, provided that they did
not change their course, I had the Captain to stand by the side of
a big tree and level his gun at the opening, and when an elk
darkened the sight to fire, which he did, and got a fine elk. I
fired also, but did not get my elk. He was as proud over killing
that elk as I was over killing my first buffalo.
We hunted until about four o'clock that afternoon, and several
shots were fired, but the Captain was the only one who got an elk
that day. So we loaded that one, and the one I had killed the day
previous, on to our horses and returned to camp with about all the
meat the horses were able to carry.
The next morning I told the other men that as they now knew the
elk range and how to hunt them, and could get along without me as
well as not, that I would hunt for a grizzly bear, and if I could
only kill a grizzly I would be ready to go home. I spent the next
three days bear hunting, and saw any amount of sign, but only saw
one bear and did not get a shot at it.
After being out about two weeks, and all having enough of hunting,
they thought, to last them a year--as they had killed more or less
deer, and one of them had killed an elk--and time being about up
for the tug to come after us, we pulled up camp and started for
the bay, arriving there on the 19th. The tug arrived on the 20th,
about noon.
We reached San Francisco that evening, about dark, unloaded our
baggage and meat, hired a man to watch it that night and we
saddled up and rode out to the Fort.
The following morning I returned to the city, hired a team and
took our baggage, as well as the meat we had killed, back to the
Fort.
I was hailed several times while passing through the city by
parties who wished to buy my mammoth elk horns, but I would not
sell them, having already given them to Col. Elliott.
I stayed around the city until the middle of February, not knowing
what to do to kill time, and loafing is the hardest work I ever
did.
About this time Col. Elliott received orders to go out into
southeastern Oregon, as soon as the weather would permit, and
establish a fort at Klamath Lake. As soon as he received these
orders he came to the city and hunted me up, and wanted me to go
with him, at the same time insisting strongly on my joining his
command; saying: "If you will enlist I am sure I can bring enough
influence to bear to procure a Lieutenant's commission for you."
I told him emphatically that I would not enlist, as I intended to
be a free man all the days of my life, "And when I scout for you,"
I said, "if I fail to do my duty, or shirk in the least, all you
have to do is to say so, and I will quit then and there, and at
the same time if you ask anything that I consider unreasonable, I
will quit you cold."
The Colonel, however, accepted me as an independent scout.
I requested him to procure some one that was familiar with that
country to go along as guide, but he told me that I would be
around the city, and would have a better chance to find a suitable
person than he would, and requested me to find a man and he would
be satisfied with the selection.
During my stay in the city I saw a great many men who claimed to
know all about that country, and who were anxious for the trip,
but when I would question them they did not know any more about
the country than I did, and I had never been in that region.
Finally the time was set to start, which was the first of June.
Before starting this time I had an understanding with Col. Elliott
regarding the stock that might be captured by the scouts; he
agreeing to let the scouts take the stock captured by them and
divide it equally among themselves.
After having started, the Colonel was undecided as to where he
would cross the Sierra Nevada Mountains. At that time there was no
map of the country between California, Oregon and Nevada, but
finally he decided to cross over the Beckwith Pass. After we had
crossed the mountains we turned north, crossing the Truckee river
where Reno now stands. From here we traveled across the sagebrush
plain to Honey Lake.
So far we had no trouble with Indians, and the command stopped to
let the horses rest a few days.
While lying there Col. Elliott requested me to take four other
scouts and go north four days to prospect for water and grass, for
this was now a strange country to all of us.
My companions were John Reilly, Fred Miller, John Boyd and George
Jones, of whom there will be more said later on, and who were my
companions the rest of the summer, or, as long as I was able to
scout. Altogether there were twelve scouts in my company.
In the evening of the second day of our trip we camped at a nice
little spring. We got into camp just at sundown, and having seen
considerable Indian sign during the day, I had the boys stake
their horses near the camp, and I took a look around on the ridges
to see if there were any camp-fires in that part of the country. I
was gone for about three hours, and the boys got quite uneasy
while I was away. I only saw one Indian camp, which was northeast
of our camp, and not having discovered it until after dark I was
unable to tell just how far it was away. On my return I told the
boys that we would have to stand guard that night, each one taking
a turn of two hours, and as soon as supper was over we put the
fire out so as not to give the redskins any advantage in that way.
The next morning we got breakfast, and as soon as it was light
George Jones and I went to the nearest ridge to look for Indians.
I saw them just breaking camp, and they were about two miles away.
That day we had to travel very cautiously, being in an entirely
new country and knowing it to be full of hostile Indians.
That night we camped on a small stream which afterwards we found
to be a tributary of McCloud's river. From what we had seen, there
appeared to be plenty of water and grass, and from the Indian sign
we had seen, they appeared to be in large bands, so we concluded
to return to the command. The first day on our return trip, just
about noon, as we were looking for a place to stop for lunch, we
were discovered by about twenty Indians. The red devils made for
us, and their war-whoops sounded as though they were bloodthirsty.
They came pell-mell over the hills and hollows in hot pursuit of
us, and I tell you things looked a little blue; only five of us
and at least twenty Indians, and no telling how many there would
be in a short time.
I told the boys that we would give them a round, anyway; and I had
four men that were not afraid to face an Indian even in a hand-to-
hand fight, if necessary; and then one feels more brave when he
knows that he has got companions who will stay with him till the
last dog is hung.
We rode to the top of the ridge, stopped and drew our revolvers,
and when they were close enough we fired two shots apiece in
succession and then put spurs to our horses and ran nearly a mile,
when, on looking back, we saw that we were outriding them. We rode
a mile further to the next ridge, just dropped over out of sight,
and stopped and reloaded the empty chambers of our revolvers.
We knew now that we had the best horses, and the boys were all
anxious to give them another round; so we waited until they were
in pistol shot--as we felt more bold, knowing that if we could not
whip them we could outrun them--and taking good aim this time we
fired three shots each, making fifteen shots in all.
We saw a number of Indians fall to the ground, but did not stay to
count them as we were just then in somewhat of a hurry.
We rode on again, they continuing to follow us. When we were far
enough ahead again and in a suitable place, we stopped, reloaded
and waited for them to come up, but they seemed to have changed
their minds and didn't appear as anxious to ride in our company as
they had on the start, for now they kept out of pistol shot. One
of the boys dismounted and said: "I believe I can reach them from
here," and taking a rest over his horse's back, fired and killed a
horse. This caused a scattering among them, and if our horses had
been fresh we would have tried to kill the whole outfit.
George Jones remarked that he guessed the red devils had enough of
it already, and we rode on. They made two circles around us,
keeping out of gunshot, and then rode away.
We pushed on with all haste possible, expecting that they had gone
away to get reinforcements and follow us up, but that was the last
we saw of them.
That night we made a dry camp, and did not build any fire for fear
that they might be on our trail, and the next morning we were off
very early. We rode until about ten o'clock, when we struck plenty
of grass and water. Here we stopped, and one man stood guard on
the hill while the others ate breakfast, and we were agreeably
surprised at not seeing any more Indians on the trip.
We got back to the command the evening of the sixth day, and
informed Col. Elliott that there was plenty of water as far as we
went, and abundance of grass, also no end of Indian sign.
The command made preparations to move on again, and two days after
our return we started, but moved slowly and cautiously, making
only from ten to fifteen miles a day. Now we had twelve scouts in
all, and it was our business to guard the command while traveling,
and, in fact, at all times when there was a possibility of an
attack, and we had to watch out north, south, east and west, lest
a large band of Indians should make an attack unawares and get the
better of the expedition.
We traveled in this manner until reaching the little stream spoken
of, where the scouting party had turned back, not having met any
trouble.
The Colonel thought it best for me to take a part of my scouts and
go ahead again and prospect the country for water and grass.
After giving my other scouts particular orders to keep A sharp
lookout for Indians, and to scout the country thoroughly for eight
or ten miles in every direction daily, I took my same four men
that were out the trip previous, four days' rations, and started
out again.
All my talking did not prevent a surprise, for the second day
after our departure the Indians made an attack on the herders,
captured twenty-two horses in broad daylight and killed one of the
herders. The same evening about sundown they made an attack on the
command, and after a hard fight for an hour or more, the Indians
retreated, leaving sixty dead Indians on the battlefield, there
being eleven soldiers killed and twenty wounded.
On my return Col. Elliott told me not to leave the camp so far any
more, for, said he, "I am satisfied if you had been here we would
not have had the surprise."
I told the Colonel what kind of country we would have for the next
seventy-five miles; plenty of water and grass, abundance of game
and the country full of hostile Indians.
The reader will understand that this was the year 1856. The
Klamath Indians and the tribe afterwards known as the Modocs, of
whom mention will be made later on in this work, were one and the
same tribe; and up to this time they did not know what it was to
be whipped. Besides there had been but little travel through this
part of the country without experiencing a great deal of trouble
with those Indians.