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The Rogue River Indian War (Part 2)

© Elizabeth Gibson

Peace was short-lived. White soldiers, miners, and settlers once again overhunted the area, leaving nothing for the Indians to subsist on. They had no weapons with which to hunt the scarce game. During that winter of 1853-54, 20% of the Indians on the reservation died of starvation. Still, the Indians tried to keep the peace. But the miners got bored in the winter. They started talking of supposed Indian crimes and got themselves worked into a frenzy. The men attacked an Indian village that was still asleep. This group of Coquilles had only three guns and bows and arrows to defend themselves. The whites killed fifteen Indian warriors and one woman. The next year, white men continued their depredations. In January 1855, there was too much snow to continue mining. Bored miners attacked an Indian village on the Illinois River. Later on in the spring, some soldiers burned down several Indian villages, killing 30 to 40 Indians. On October 8, James Lupton, from California, a particularly zealous fighter, led some miners to a village on Little Butte Creek and attacked the Indians while still asleep. Another group attacked a village and killed one woman and wounded a woman and two children.

Some of those that survived ran to the fort for protection. They were considered prisoners of war. The army decided that letting the Indians live in their ancestral grounds wasn't working. That winter, the Indians were marched on foot to the Grande Ronde Reservation on the northwest Oregon coast, over 260 miles away. The conditions on the march were terrible. The wet and cold weather took its toll. The terrain was very rough and treacherous. They had very little to eat on the way. Many of the Indians died before they reached the reservation.

Others fled down the Rogue River. These Indians killed some settlers that lived along the Oregon-California trail. On October 17, Rogues attacked a group of miners at Galice Creek. On October 24, the Rogues attacked supply wagons; burned cabins, barns, and fences; drove out homesteaders; and killed livestock. Indian agents tried to corral them and move them to their reservations.

August V. Kaust was surveying a coast-to-gold field road when he stumbled on one of the main Indians hideouts on Grave Creek. The volunteers quickly gathered 250 men to march on the spot. On October 31, the volunteers attacked the Indian camp. The Indians led them over the top of a hill, where they retreated into a densely wooded area with plenty of cover. The Indians laid down a steady barrage of bullets and arrows. The white men had to retreat. The battle was later known as the Battle of Hungry Hill. The volunteers regrouped and attacked on November 25. The battle was short and indecisive. The volunteers retreated to Fort Lane for the winter.

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