ASHLAND,
T’Vault, a man famous among the pioneers of Oregon. This T’Vault headed a company to explore a road into the Eogue Eiver settlements east of the mountains, and in August they set out; but, becoming discouraged by the hardships of the trip, all but nine of the company returned to Port Orford. The remainder kept on, but finally became lost and entangled in the tropical jungles of the Coast Eange, coming at last to the Coquille, which one of the party, who had been in the first flight to the Umpqua, recognized. This showed to them that they were nearing the coast instead of the valley, and determined them to keep on to the Umpqua settlements. While crossing the Coquille they were attacked, and again four of the nine were killed. The remaining five, including T* Vault, reached Umpqua after six days of wandering, subsisting on berries in the woods and mussels on the coast. All were more or less wounded. One Hedden, who had been in the first fight, escaped with slight injury. In running from the furious attack of the Indians the party became separated. A young man named Williams, whom we met at Ashland, while being pursued was shot through by an arrow which was broken off in his abdomen, where it remained four years before it came out, without surgery. The history of Southern Oregon is a nearly endless chronicle of these personal conflicts with the native nobility of the country.
I confess in this public manner that I am not a worshipper of the Indian, and I declare that, even admitting one Alessandro to be possible (which he is not), he would be one adorable character among a thousand devils of his race. Yet there are examples of a rude courage, partaking of the nature of frantic bravery, which one must admire. One of these savage heroes was Eogue Eiver John, a chief of that tribe. After the conquest of the Indians, and their confinement on a reservation in Northern Oregon, he was banished to Alcatraz Island, in San Francisco Bay, for stirring up rebellion among his people. On the way to San Francisco, when the steamship was off Crescent City, he, with his son, attempted to take the ship, with the intention of swimming ashore and regaining their former homes. One or two persons were wounded in the affray, but the chiefs son suffered most, receiving a wound in the struggle which caused the loss of a leg. They were put in irons and w
