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PERSONAL MEMOIRS
P. H. SHERIDAN.
IEditor's Note: The foUowins excerpts are taken from
VoL I of the Phil H. ~fheridan Memoirs, published in
1888, courtesy of Cad Francis. Sheridan was a
lieutenant at Ft. Yamidll whem he had returned in May
1857. The Civil War would within approximately a half
decade make him a general.
~.~ENERAL UNITED STATES ARMY.
CHARLES L. WEBSTER & COMPANY,
x888.
THEIR DOCTORS.
These villainous doctors might be either men or
women, and any one of them finding an Indian
ill, at once averred that his influence was the cause,
offering at the same time to cure the invalid for a
fee, which generally amounted to about all the
ponies his family possessed. If the proposition
was accepted and the fee paid over, the family, in
case the man died, was to have indemnity through
the death of the doctor, who freely promised that
they might take his life in such event, relying on
his chances of getting protection from the furious
relatives by fleeing to the military post till time
had so assuaged their grief that matters could be
compromised or settled by a restoration of a part
of the property, when the rascally leeches could
again resume their practice. Of course the serv-
ices of a doctor were always accepted when an
Indian fell ill ; otherwise the invalid's death would
surely ensue, brought about by the evil influence
that was unpropitiated. Latterly it had become
quite the thing, when a patient died, for the doctor
to flee to our camp--it was so convenient and so
much safer than elsewhere--and my cellar was a
favorite place of refuge from the infuriated friends
of the deceased.
gJlJIAIB It • QI Q 900QDOt tt 0
Finally these peculiar customs brought about
,the punishment of a noted doctress of the Rogue
River tribe, a woman who was constantly working
in this professional way, and who had found a
victim of such prominence among the Rogue Rivers
that his unlooked for death brought down on her
the wrath of all. She had made him so ill, they
believed, as to bring him to death's door notwith.
• standing the many ponies that had been given
&er to cease the incantations, and it was the con-
viction of all that she had finally caused the man's
death from some ulterior and indiscernible motive.
His relatives and friends then immediately set
about requiting her with the just penalties of a
perfidious breach of contract. Their threats in-
duced her instant flight toward my house for the
~sual protection, but the enraged friends of the
dead man gave hot chase, and overtook the witch
justinside the limits of the garrison, where, on the
parade-ground, in sight of the officers' quarters,
,and before any one could interfere, they killed
&er. There were sixteen men in oursuit of the
~octress, and sixteen gun-shot wounds were found
.in her body when examined by the surgeon of
the post. The killing of the woman was a fla-
grant and defiant outrage committed in the teeth
of the military authority, yet done so quickly that
we could not prevent it, This necessitated severe
measures, both to allay the prevailing excitement
and to preclude the recurrence of such acts. The
body was cared for, and delivered to the rein.
tires the next day for burial, after which Captain
Russell directed me to take such steps as would
put a stop tothefanatical usages that had brought
about this murderous occurrence, for it was now
seen that if timely measures were not taken to
repress them, s~milar tragedies would surely
folloW.
Knowing all the men of the Rogue River tribe,
and speaking fluently the Chinook tongue, which
they all understood, I went down to their village
~he following day, after having sent word to the
tribe that I wished to have a council with them.
The Indians all met me in council, as I had desired,
.and I then told them that the men who had taken
part in shooting the woman would have to be deliv-
ered up for punishment. They were-very stiff with
me at the interview, and with all that talent for cir-
cumlocution and diplomacy with which the Indian
is gifted, endeavored to evade my demands and
delay any conclusion. But I was very positive~
would hear of no compromise whatever, and de-
manded that my terms be at once complied with.
No one was with me but a sergeant of my com-
pany, named Miller, who held my horse, and as
the chances of an agreement began to grow remote,.
I became anxious for our safety. The conversa-
tion waxing hot and the Indians gathering ciose
in around me, I unbuttoned the flap of my pistol
holster, to be ready for any emergency. When
the altercation became most bitter I put my hand
to my hip to draw my pistol, but discovered it
was gone--stolen by one of the rascals surround-
ing me. Finding myself unarmed, I modified my
tone and manner to correspond with my helpless.
condition, thus myself assuming the diplomatic
side in the parley, in order to gain time. As soon
as an opportunity offered, and I could, without
too much loss of self.respect, and without
damaging my reputation among the Indians, I
moved out to where the sergeant held my horse,
mounted, and crossing the ¥amhill River close by,
called back in Chinook from the farther bank
that" the sixteen men who killed the woman must
be delivered up, and my six-shooter also." This.
was responded to by contemptuous laughter, so I
went back to the military post somewhat crest-
fallen, and made my report of the turn affairs
-j
had taken, inwardly longing for another chance
to bring the rascally Rogue Rivers to terms.
When I had explained the situation to Captain
Russell, he thought that we could not, under any
circumstances, overlook this defiant conduct of
the Indians, since, unless summarily punished, it
would lead to even more serious trouble in the
future. I heartily seconded this proposition, and
gladly embracing the opportunity it offered, sug-
gested that if he would give me another chance,
and let me have the effective force of the garrison,
consisting of about fifty men, I would chastise
the Rogue Rivers without fail, and that the next
day was all the time I required to complete ar-
rangements. He gave me the necessary author-
ity, and I at once set to work tobring about a
better state of discipline on the reservation, and to
put an end to the practices of the medicine men
(having also in view the recovery of my six-
shooter and self-respect), by marching to the vil-
lage and taking the rebellious Indians by force.
In the tribe there was an excellent woman call-
ed Tighee Mary (Tighee in Chinook means ~:hief),
who by right of inheritance was a kind of queen
of the Rogue Rivers. Fearing that the insubor.
dinate conduct of the Indians would precipitate
further trouble, she came early the following morn-
ing to see me and tell me of the situation Mary
informed me that she had done all an her-power
to bring the Indians to reason, but without avail,
and that they were deterhained to fight rather
than deliver up tlae sixteen men who had engaged
in the shooting. She also apprised me of the fact
that they had taken up a position on the Yamhill
River, on the direct road between the post and
village, where, painted and armed for war, they
were awaiting attack.
On this information I concluded it would be
best to march to the village by a circuitous route
instead of directly, asat first intended, so I had
the ferry-boat belonging to the post floated about
a mile and a half down the Yamhill River and
there anchored. At x l o'clock that night I
marched my fifty men out of the garrison, in a
direction opposite to that of the point held by the
Indians, and soon reached the river at the ferry-
boat. Here I ferried the party over with little
delay, and marched them along the side of the
mountain, through underbrush and fallen timber,
until, just before daylight, I found that we were
immediately in rear of the village, and hence in ,,
rear, also, of the line occupied by the refractory
Indians, who were expecting to meet me on the
direct road from the post. Just at break of day
we made a sudden descent upon the village artd
• took its occupants completely by surprise, even
capturing the chief of the tribe, "Sam," who
was dressed in all his war toggery, fully armed
.* t*
and equipped, in anticipation of a fight on t ta~
road where his comrades were in position. I at
once put Sarrt,under guard, giving orders to kill
him instantly if the Indians fired a shot; then
forming my line on the road beyond the edge of
the village, in rear of the force lying in wait for a
front attack, we moved forward. When the hos-"~
tile party realized that they were completely cut
off from the village, they came out from their
stronghold on the river and took up a line in my
front, distant about sixty yards with the appar-
ent intention of resisting to the last.
OQOOOaOOOQO0 O0]DOQ
The insubordinate Indians were under com-
mand of "Joe," Sam's brother, who at last sent
me word that he wanted to see tire, and we met
between our respective lines. I talked kindly to
him, but was firm in my demand that the men
who killed the woman must be given up and my
six-shooter returned. His reply was he did not
think it could be done, but he would consult his
people. After the' consultation, he returned and
notified me that fifteen would surrender and the
six-shooter would be restored, and further, that
we could kill the sixteenth man, since the trib~
Wished to get rid of him anyhow, adding that$. ~ ..... :~:
was a bad Indian, whose bullet no doubt had
given the woman her death wound. He said
that if I assented to this arrangement, he would
require all of his people except the objectionable
man to run to the right of his line at a precon-
certed signal. The bad Indian would be ordered
to stand, fast on the extreme left, and we could
open fire on him as his comrades fell away to the
right. I agreed to the proposition, and gave Joe
fifteen minutes to execute his part of it. We
then returned to our respective forces, and a few
minutes later the fifteen ran to the right flank as
agreed upon, and we opened fire on the one Ind-
ian left standing alone, bringing him down in
his tracks severely wounded by a shot through
the shoulder.
While all this was going on, the other bands of
the reservation, several thousand strong, had occu-
pied the surrounding hills for the purpose of wit-
nessing the fight, for as the Rogue Rivers had
been bragging for some time that they could whip
the soldiers, these other Indians had come out to
see it done. The result, however, disappointed
the spectators, and the Rogue Rivers natur~?~,
lost caste. The fifteen men now came in and
laid down their arms (including. my six-shooter)
in front of us as agreed, but I compelled them to
take the surrendered guns up again mad carry
them to the post, where they were deposited in the
block-house for future security. The prisoners
were ironed with ball and chain, and made to
work at the post until their rebellious spirit was
broken; and the wounded man was correspond-
ingly punished after he had fully recovered. An
investigation as to why this man had been selected
asthe offering by which Joe and his companions
expected to gain immunity, showed that the fel-
low was really a most worthless character, whose
death even would have been a benefit to the tribe.