Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 19.djvu/78

66 BINGER HERMANN cated with agreed to a conference with the military authori- ties at a place upon the Illinois river. Lieutenant Colonel Buchanan was in command and most of the regular troops, with throngs of Indians, were present, at the time and place agreed upon. The main body of the as- sembled Indians agreed to remove to the reservation; all except their great Chief John who insisted on remaining upon his own favorite grounds, otherwise he said he would fight. Another council, to meet at Big Meadows on May 26th, was mutually agreed upon, when the removal to the reservation should begin. The Military under Captain A. J. Smith with his 80 dra- goons, were present on the day named, but no Indians came. The wretched weather seemed an excuse. Toward evening two squaws came into camp with a message from Chief George to Captain Smith, warning him to expect an attack. The Captain at once removed his troops to a more elevated and defensive position, and there he prepared to meet the enemy. Early on the 27th he dispatched an aid over the mountains to Col. Buchanan, announcing the expected attack. The aid returned with the Colonel's request to know if reinforcements were desired, to which the Captain explained! the necessity for such. But his messengers becoming lost upon the trails, de- layed the reply for some hours, but when received a company under Captain Augur, afterwards a great General in the Civil War, hurried to Smith's relief, and came suddenly in view just as the savages were making their last assault upon three sides of the beleaguered fort. The troops had fought all day and already nearly one-half had been slain and wounded. They had been cut off from all water and their ammunition was nearly exhausted, while the Indians were being continually reinforced. The loud commanding voice of Chief John could be distinctly heard sending forth his orders, with all the de- liberation and saneness of a military disciplinarian. The onrush of Captain Augur's company was a surprise to the Indians, who now being attacked in the rear, made a hur- ried flight down the hillsides and away into forest cover to