Show A indians driven from front the columbia S P le about the of may 1856 a well welle e equipped nipped command nd jofs of soldiers ol diers under lieutenant colonel steptoe broke camp at tha dalles miles oregon and ind took up their line of bf ma march reli for the walla walla valley miles Ai distant stant thia this expedition consisted of six companies of the ninth united states tryone battery of tha third artillery and ono one troop of the first fira dragoons tho tile first named regiment had bad just rei re ported on the coast bing being newly created by act of Con congress iress in in 1855 they were armed with the splendid rifle and from their pro fici ii ency in the skirmish ish khight infantry drill were dubbed the shanghai the arti artillery 1 I lery and aid dragoons were old sen seasoned toned coni companies pallies having baving been beon stationed ed in the department many years campaigning ag incessant ly y the first days mil march kh was as is is usual short A JL halt was made on ten milo mile creek about midnight au an officer from avort fort dalles KODI RODL RAPID Y 11 into CR camp nip and delivered an order to our commander tite purport of which was that lie thodis march his isis troops directly back hat the tile indians from in a country and those located 4 atthe th e cascades and vicinity had murdered all the whites V hi tes aroused troopers were c re xii oil ali 0 o inar march cli jong before the dawn of day th columb was ivas chattering along the trail towards ee the steamboat landing where the u diminutive steamer har mary ann awaited our arr arrival ivald this little boat enacted a eliat tragic part in the affair now being narrated she lay tied to the wank hank at her usual mooring when the indians attacked the whites I 1 the crow crew consisting of captain Baug baughmen limea and two others being on shore en dea vered to regain ahe steamer the edginee engineer eug ineer r was shot the two others rapidly cast line and trusting to an ail effort to make steam soon placed themselves in a position to go over the preferring r that means of dat destruction ruction to th the tomahawk F fortune favored them however and alie mary swung broadside against an island ori on the ilie further farther side where she rested in security till she got in dea diness when for for the dalles at her ber highest speed one of the two aboard was wounded in the final I 1 bra brave 1 I 1 TO I 1 I 1 colonel george wright of tho the ninth infantry now nav took command of the steamer and what infantry could be stowed away were rushed upon the deck also the artillery company with two mounted how were word put on oil board A large leaky scow was nade fast alongside and slid into this the dra dragoon with horses and equipments crowded thus in four short hours houm from the time the courier reached burca our camp tup ten tell miles away the mary nary was rounding rou out into the broad con ambia with the 66 prin principal ciral pa part rt of the force the canoe cano contained in those days TRAVEL WAS IVAS BLOW by any any route in the tile far west so at tit the end eid of or our first days trip we nye were yet ten tell miles from our destination forty five miles from the scarth starting point A bivouac was made wade and d thea alie journey bourney resumed iu in about time ime tu to fetch us to the cascades at daybreak eyes were now strai strained tidd and find heads leads inclined in listening attitude as we approached the shore the first attraction was tho the firing of guns and waving of flags from Biad firda store where quito quite a party of whites were held in barricade by the hostiles ho stiles this deron demonstration had bad hardly greeted us when a volley from the tile forest 1 lined bank told us tile red skins were awaiting us also now as its the cavalry were by bad luck on oil the tile side nearest the shore their consternation can bo be imagined quickly however the little boats nose was buried in the mud and every man mail sprang ashore tha infantry jumped pell epli into tho the water and anti mado directly for the timber which at that date was close at hand A liuo line was soon for formed nied the little howitzers howit were discharged from alio deck leek raking and clearing the woods far in front the indians who gathered to offer resistance were soon driven back the troops following CLOSE UPON REELS soon four fou r of them were ivere pick picked ed up ur and farther faither on another lying prone beside a half empty whisky barrela barcela bar rela hiis miserable erable victim of intemperance he received no opportunity til like the pledge onward tile skirmish era bra swept over tho the fallen log logs through the denso dense brush never halting until comrades voices at the old block house told us they still held the fort this small ruall detachment had been stationed here at the center of tho the portage regularly fur for sorn gome mouths months and suffered th alio first onslaught of the tile indians losing 0 one no of their number but they kept them at bay some thirty hours although they numbered only six against mor moret ethana ban a hundred soon a spirited firing was heard still on toward the lower portage tim this proved to be the sk skirmishers ir mis ra commanded by lieutenant phil sheridan who with his usual energy was driving the hostiles ho stiles from that vicinity the action of the military fl from the tho dalles above and the garrison of vancouver below was si simultaneous in ua ta so the redskins red skins were compelled to vacate the whole section tl they had contemplated devas devastating a an and which hoh they had rendered q quite ilg undesirable for settlement for some years ell rs A system of scouring the brush r sh by skirmishers was kept up for several days until the elein enemy could no longer be found or beam heard many amusing and serious mishaps occurred among the raw soldiers especially at night when burnt stumps and black bo bowl ders were nvere easily clothed with blankets and other r savage a semblances semb lances A remnant of oft howar party was captured on an ail island just lust below the mid middle d e rapids rapid s to which refuge they were chased with much difficulty AND DANGER the able bodied bucks numbering in eight elit were vere very promptly hanged agg n 0 by order of our c commander afterman after an examination by a commission ill assion of officers they all met their death stoically with the exception of one burly and powerful fellow who so excited the ire ot an eccentric lieutenant that the latter discharged the contents of his revolver into the body while it was swin swing g fro from inthe the scaffold the dragoons were kept constantly busy after the fighting ended in hunting up the tile victims of the slaughter aal J were finally found numbering about twenty three I 1 to era hap happy to say that since this trouble aty the peaceful dwellers inthe shadow of thoe gigantic mountains hayo haye not been a again ain clis disturbed by savages ahn the troops tr remained t the tile cascades until two substantial block houses house i had been erected leavin leaving a sufficient garrison they departed for their several different posts the dragoons proceeded to hood luver river where they had the pleasure and ond pain of again mee meeting ting the Yak inias who in ill retreating to their own country had ha tilted at this po point t on the columbia mid midway I 1 a between the fire re ande and destroy some cabins and drive 0 off some sonic cattle As they were posted on the north or the opposite bank hank considerable risk was encountered in crossing and dislodging them the tile soldiery soldiers having to 0 quit their horses and cross in chinook canoes after this affair 1 till was organized d by colonel wright glit I 1 which campaign lasted till the snows of winter set in several small skirmishes lishes ook fook place and thosa indians were subdued and fort simcoe established in their midst the first comman commanding dinn officer bei being ng major na ajor robert 0 garnett arnett 0 of f the ninth infantry this narrative may leeni prosy trosy in the tile light tf f the stupendous events of war and frontier lifa life that havo have gince since tra transpired aspired but the events occurred sit t an ail early day in in the isolated northwest and many years were required to repair the damages and gre greit tt suffering waa was entailed none who glean their inform information atida from the floating paragraph concerning these matters can experience the thrill of horror felt by those who immediately witnessed them frequently ly of late years whilst whirling yong along in the railroad train which now graces the great poc por tk e of haye been informed by tourists ats of tho the set forth and shown the old barri cade cadow where herG the gallant phil withstood the attacks of hundreds of painted braves when bread and nd water were exhausted and life hung trembling in tile balance no w wonder onder thet c heroic aced t i hould be attributed to one acho lias has actually macd through fo vo many fiery |