Bannocks Double on their Tracks.
Matters now settled down, the scare was over and ranchers returned to
their homes and began repairing damages. Fences that had been thrown
down that stock might help themselves were repaired that as much as
possible of the crops might be saved. I returned to my ranch and was
busy with haying and harvest when another report reached us, borne on
the wings of the wind, that the Bannocks had doubled on their tracks and
were scattering death and destruction in their path. The last scare, if
possible, was worse than the first. About the same time the Governor
ordered Gen. M. V. Brown with the Linn county company, under Capt.
Humphrey, to hasten to our aid. This was the only organized troop of the
militia available for immediate service, and without loss of time they
crossed the Cascade Mountains and arrived at Prineville about the 10th
of July.
The company was a magnificent body of men, and represented the best
families of Linn County. One of the privates was the son of a former
United States Senator, while others were young men of superior
attainments--law and medical students. George Chamberlain, present
United States Senator from Oregon, was first sergeant of the company,
Capt. Humphrey was a veteran of the Civil War, commanding a company in
many sanguinary battles. Gen. Brown had seen service during the war
between the States, but he, and all were ignorant of Indian warfare. On
his arrival at Prineville Gen. Brown sent a courier to my ranch with a
letter urging me to join the expedition. My business affairs had been
sadly neglected during the past three months, and I was loth to start
out on an expedition, the end of which was impossible to foresee. I
however went to Prineville and had a consultation with him. Gen. Brown
was exceedingly desirous that I should go with him. He called my
attention to personal obligations of friendship due from me to him. That
settled it and I told him I would go. He authorized me to enlist 15 men
as scouts and placed me in command. The number were readily found, they
providing their own horses, arms, ammunition and blankets. Provisions
were supplied from the commissary.
In Humphrey's company there was a character known as "Warm Spring
Johnny," whom I shall have occasion to mention further on. He was
transferred to my contingent by order of Gen. Brown, as it was believed
he would be of service to me. The start was made from Prineville the
next day, our course leading toward the head of Crooked River and the
South John Day.
On the evening of the second day we arrived at Watson Springs where we
camped for the night. Guards had been placed around the camp and I had
laid down on my saddle blanket to rest when Warm Spring Johnny came and
sat beside me. He then told me that at this place he saw his first white
man. Going into the history of his life--he was then a man about 38
years of age--he told me the Snake Indians had captured him when he was a
mere child--so far back that he had no recollections of his parents or
of the circumstances of his capture. He was raised by the Snakes, and
always supposed he was an Indian like the rest of them, only that his
skin was white. He did not attempt to account for this difference--he
was an Indian and that was all he knew.
In the spring of 1868, Lieut. Watson arrived and camped at the spring
which was forever to bear his name. Here the rim rock circles around the
head of the spring in the form a half wheel. Willows had grown up along
the edge of the stream that flowed out into the dun sage brush plain.
Into this trap Lieut. Watson marched his men and camped. Evidently he
felt secure, as no Indians had been seen, besides the Warm Spring scouts
were out scouring the country. Probably not a guard or picket was placed
about the camp. They had been in camp an hour, and were busily engaged
in cooking their meal when from the rim of the bluff on three sides a
host of tufted warriors poured a shower of arrows and bullets upon them.
Lieut. Watson was killed with several of his men at the first fire,
while a number were wounded. The soldiers for protection took to the
willows and defended themselves as best they could. But the Snakes had
overlooked the Warm Spring scouts, who, hearing the firing, rushed to
the rescue and attacking the Snakes in the rear, which was open ground,
routed them with the loss of several warriors killed and half a dozen
captured.
Among the latter was Warm Spring Johnny. He was taken to the officer who
had succeeded Watson in command. Great surprise was expressed at seeing
a white man with the Snakes and the soldiers were for making short work
of the "white renegade." But it soon became evident that he was as much
a wild Indian as any of them, and his youth, about 18, making in his
favor he was turned over to the Warm Spring captors to guard, along with
the other captives. They were all taken down the little branch a few
hundred yards and securely bound and tied to a stunted juniper tree.
During the night the Warm Springs indulged in a war dance, each lucky
warrior flourishing the scalp he had taken. Along past midnight all the
captives excepting Johnny were securely bound to the juniper with green
rawhide, a mass of sage brush collected and the captives roasted alive.
Johnny told me that every moment he expected to be served in the same
manner, and could not understand why his comrades were burned while he
was saved. He said he supposed that his skin being white they had
reserved him for some particular occasion. I asked him if the soldiers
knew that the captives were being burned. He replied that he learned
afterwards that the Indians told the soldiers they had all escaped
except the white one. The probabilities are that the soldiers were too
busy with their own troubles to pay any attention to what was going on
in the camp of their allies.
Johnny could speak fairly good English, but to all intents and purposes
he was as much of an Indian as any of his copper colored friends. He was
adopted into the Warm Springs tribe and remained with them for a number
of years, but marrying a squaw from another tribe moved to the
Willamette Valley, where he lived and died an Indian. He was almost
invaluable to me because of his knowledge of the ways and signs of the
Snakes. But aside from this he was absolutely useless as he was an
arrant coward and could not be depended on when danger threatened.
The next day we moved south and after a rapid march reached the Elkins
ranch on Grindstone, a tributary of Crooked River. It was known that the
Indians were returning practically by the same route they had previously
traveled, and our duty was to prevent raids from the main body and
protect the property of the settlers as far as was possible.
First gaining permission from Gen. Brown, with my scouts and four
volunteers, I started out to discover the camp of the Indians, which
from the lay of the country, I thought likely would be at the head of
Buck Creek, at a spring in the edge of the timber. About 2 o'clock we
arrived at the vicinity of the supposed camp of the Indians, and taking
an elevated position, patiently waited for dawn. Finally the gray dawn
began to peep over the crest of the eastern mountains, and leading our
horses we moved closer. When daylight finally arrived we were within a
hundred yards of the spring, but nowhere was there a sign of life.
Assuring ourselves that the renegades had not passed that point, and
that they were further back, we started to meet them, meantime keeping a
careful lookout ahead. We continued on to Crooked River and despairing
of finding or overtaking them, we retraced our steps to camp, arriving
there about dark after riding 75 or 80 miles.
The next day it was determined to send a strong detachment into the
rough brakes of the South John Day. Accordingly Capt. Humphrey detailed
36 men and I joined him with the scouts. We were absent three days and
returned to camp without encountering or seeing any signs of Indians.
After resting our horses one day we again struck out, this time going
farther north in the direction of Murderers Creek. The country was
indescribably rough, and our first night's camp was at the John Day at a
point on the trail made by Gen. Howard when he was herding the Indians
north. About 10 o'clock one of the men from a picket came in and told me
that the Indians were signaling from two sides of the camp. I walked
down to where Capt. Humphrey was sleeping and woke him up. We watched
the signaling for a few minutes and then sent for Warm Spring Johnny. He
said they were signaling that we were a strong party of soldiers and had
come from the south. He then explained how the flashes were made. A pile
of dry grass was collected and then surrounded by blankets. The grass
was then fired and when the blaze was brightest the blankets on one side
was quickly raised and again lowered, giving out a bright flash light.
I advised Capt. Humphrey to hold his men in readiness for a daylight
attack, feeling certain nothing would be attempted until just at the
break of day. We knew, however, they were not far distant and that great
care was necessary. After discussing the situation with Capt. Humphrey
it was determined to go on as far as Murderers Creek, striking the
stream at the Stewart ranch. As we passed over the intervening space we
saw abundant evidence of the presence of Indians and proceeded across
the bald hills with caution. On the hill overlooking the Stewart ranch
we saw quite a commotion, a cloud of dust raising and pointing back
towards a deep, rocky, precipitous canyon. Believing the Indians were
beating a retreat, we rode forward at the gallop, but arrived only in
time to see the last of them disappear in the mouth of the canyon.
On the open ground at the mouth of the canyon we halted. The canyon
presented a most forbidding appearance, and to follow an enemy of
unknown strength into its gloomy depths was to court disaster. The
canyon into which the Indians had been driven was steep, rocky and with
the sides covered with brush, while the ridge was covered with
scattering pines back to the timber line where rose the jagged, serrated
peaks of the extreme summit of the mountain. After taking a careful view
of all the surroundings we retreated down the mountain pretty much as we
had ascended it.
Capt. Humphrey agreed with me that we did not have men enough to attack
the Indians in such a stronghold. There remained nothing but to return
to the Stewart ranch and go into camp for the night. While returning we
decided to hold the Indians in the canyon if possible and send a courier
back to Gen. Brown for reinforcements. Accordingly Ad. Marcks was
selected for the night trip. He was familiar with the country and
undertook the night ride without hesitation. That night a strong guard
was kept around the camp, and daylight came without incident worthy of
mention.
It was then decided to circle the canyon into which we had driven the
Indians on the previous day. We made the start soon after sun-up, taking
a course to the east of the point ascended the day before, and which
would enable us to ascend with our horses. We reached the summit of the
first steep raise and were rewarded by seeing three scouts disappear in
the canyon. We gave chase and fired a few shots from the rifles of the
scouts which had no other effect than to cause them to lean a little
further forward on their horses and go a little faster. As we passed up
the ridge we could see the smoke from the camp fires of the Indians
coming out of the canyon. The camp was evidently several hundred yards
long and indicated they were in considerable force. Nearing the timber
line, the pines became very thick, in fact so dense that we could force
our horses through with difficulty. My scouts were a couple of hundreds
yards in advance, and as we burst out of the brush we came upon the
horse herd guarded by four Indians. Taking in the situation at a glance,
I put spurs to my horse, and calling to the men to come on, made a dash
to cut them off from the canyon down which the herders were endeavoring
to force them. We made no attempt to use our rifles, but drawing our
revolvers opened fire on the scurrying herders. It was quite a mix-up,
but we managed to capture nineteen head of good horses. After the fray I
looked around for the first time and discovered that instead of all, but
one man had followed me, that was the young boy, Eugene Jones. The
others had taken to trees, one going back to hurry up Capt. Humphrey.
Had they all followed as did the boy we would have captured every horse
and probably have got the herders as well. Descending the ridge on the
west side we crossed the trail made by the Indians when coming into the
canyon.
At 2 o'clock the next morning I again started to circle the camp with
twenty men, leaving Capt. Humphrey at the Stewart ranch. I ascended the
mountain farther to the east than the day before and reached the timber
line at daylight. A hundred yards or more from the timber line was a
clump of stunted trees. I determined to dismount my men and rest our
horses. As we were dismounting one of the scouts, Al Igo, asked
permission to ride up the ridge a ways and get a better look at the
country. I gave consent but cautioned him not to venture too far. As
soon as the girths of our saddles were loosened and guards placed around
I threw myself on the grass and was asleep in five minutes. But my sleep
was of short duration, for Igo came dashing back, calling, "get out of
here, we are being surrounded." He said he had counted eighty odd
warriors on one side and fifteen on the other.
We lost no time, allow me to assure you, in "getting out of there." A
quarter of a mile above us, and about the same distance from the timber
line on every side, were three jagged peaks, and not more than twenty
yards apart. Here I stationed the men, first dismounting them and
securing our horses among the rocks so as to shield them from the
bullets of the Indians. I felt sure that we were going to have a fight,
and against heavy odds. But the rocks made a splendid fort, and I
explained to the men that if they would save their ammunition and not
get excited we could stand off all the Indians west of the Rocky
mountains. After talking to them I took two men, Charley Long and a
young man named Armstrong, two of the best shots in the company, and
crawled down through the grass about 150 yards to another pile of rocks.
I calculated that if I did not hold that point the Indians could unseen
reach it and pour a deadly fire into our position above. Besides I had
hopes of getting some of them when they came to the edge of the timber.
We had reached the position but a few minutes when two rode out of the
timber to our left and about 400 yards away. The boys wanted to fire,
but I held them back telling them that we would get surer shots by not
disclosing our position. We could see them watching the men in the rocks
above, and soon they turned and rode straight towards us, all the while
watching the men in the rocks. When within 100, yards I told the men to
take deliberate aim and we would fire together. I pulled on the trigger
of my needle gun until I could feel it give. But something told me not
to fire and I told the men to wait. On they came, and again we drew
deadly beads on the unsuspecting horsemen, but there was an undefinable
something that told me not to fire. When they had come within thirty
yards we discovered they were white men. We rose up out of the rocks and
grass and when they came up I discovered that one of them was an old
friend, Warren Cassner, from John Day Valley. We also discovered for the
first time that the sun was in total eclipse. Everything looked dark,
and they had taken us for Indians and we had came within a hairs breadth
of sending them into eternity under the same false impression. When I
saw how near I had come to killing my friend I was all in a tremble.
The two men belonged to a company of 125 men raised in John Day Valley
and Canyon City and were pursuing a large band of Indians that had come
in the night before. They made a trail as broad as a wagon road and
evidently numbered a hundred or more warriors. Joined with those we had
been watching they constituted quite a force and would evidently put up
a stiff fight. We returned with the John Day men to the Stewart ranch,
and Gen. Brown having arrived during the day, our forces numbered full
250 men, and all full of fight. That night plans were discussed for the
coming attack. I favored dividing our forces and attacking them from
both sides of the canyon. In this, however, I was overruled and all was
arranged for a combined attack on the Indian position from the west
side. It was arranged that I should start at 2 o'clock with 25 men,
circle the west side of the camp, and if the Indians had slipped out
during the night I was to follow and send back a messenger to the main
command. That there might be no mistake as to the course we should take
in the morning, I pointed to the canyon in which the Indians were
encamped and the ridge up which we would go.