Transcriptions of Crescent City Herald, December, 27, 1854 and November 29, 1854

1854q  The Indians. Crescent City Herald, December 27, 1854:2

“THE INDIANS- On our outside page will be found the report of the committee, appointed by the settlers in Smith River Valley to look into and ferret out the causes of the late movements amongst the Indians.- The suspicious circumstances are as following: The removal of their provisions- the presence of Rogue River, Chetco, and Klamath Indians- the discovery of secret and carefully concealed paths by which it seems the different tribe communicate with each other.  The exposed situation of the settlers will be appreciated from the fact that if the Indians should at a time of high water succeed in capturing the ferry boat near the mouth of the river, all communication between the settlers and Crescent City would be cut off. The Indians, however, being now fully aware of having roused the vigilance of the Whites and dreading the consequences of an attack, no further disturbances have taken place.    

“The Late Indian Difficulty- -Its circumstances and Results.

The Facts connected with the late Indian murder, the development of the evidence which exposed the guilty parties, and the mode of their apprehension, are worthy of note and comment, because the case furnishes a good example and demonstrates a wholesome rule for restraining the barbarity unfortunately too common among both races in this country. With this view the subjoined narrative of the facts is given: On the 1st inst., Messrs, A. French, Cole Collier, Henry Morton, and ------ McGrew went on a hunting excursion into the hills ten or twelve miles east of this place, and on Saturday the 4th, those lasted named returned and found on inquiry that Mr. French, supposed to have come in on Thursday, had not been seen. A party of eight or ten, the writer among them, went out to the hills between Mill creek and the South Fork of the Smith’s River, where the hunting party had been, and made an ineffectual search, for two days. On returning, we found various vague statements of a murder, derived from the Indians, and the community in a high state of excitement. Some were urging retaliation by an indiscriminate  slaughter of the Indians, and others, more considerate, advocated a further search for the body, with a view of proving the crime, ascertaining the guilty, and accomplishing the ends of justice, without harsh and impolitic inhumanity.

                Several public meetings were held, and pursuit to resolution, on Wednesday night, the 8th inst., nearly all the Indians in the Rancherias in the vicinity were arrested and confined for the purpose of eliciting testimony. So far all the evidence emanated from a young squaw who lives on the Point, and who had been out to the hills gathering acorns, and was to this effect:- She saw the four white men going out; they asked where there was water- on that evening, mow a Klamath Indian, carrying a gun, his son Jim, a Narpa Indian and two squaws went up to the acorn houses, slept there two nights and left early in the morning- and that she herd the narpa Indian had urged Mow to aid him in killing a white man and offered him a squaw, his sister, as an inducement. It was also otherwise known to that whites that said three Indians had come up from the Klamath and gone over there. 

                Mow, from the earliest settlement of the whites on this coast, had distinguished himself, above all other Indians, as a friend, and was known far and near for his courage among his people, as well as his many good offices towards the Whites. Hence many who knew him best and had tried him longest, disbelieved him guilty of the charge. Yellow Mow (Cur-erseley) known as his brother, was released from custody and sent to surprise him of the charge and tell him to come up and confront it, as he believed he would do. He broke his parole, never returned, and as it afterwards appeared, never went to deliver the message to Mow, who had, meantime, returned to Klamath.

                On the Morning of the 9th, the plan was changed, all the Indians were released, and a public meeting was held, and a company raised to make a further search and “and take such further steps as they deemed proper,” which everybody understood. To precipitate matters and prevent any peaceful solution of the case, some white men if the baser sort, went among the Indians that had been gathered on the Point, and caused them to fly by telling them that the whites were going to kill them all, thus to give color to the assertion that all were guilty and should be exterminated. This course was deemed unjust, unsatisfactory to the community and dangerous to individuals going alone in the country. Better counsels prevailed. It was determined to take what evidence was already obtained to the scene of the alleged murder, and connect it, if possible, with any further testimony to be obtained from other squaws who were at their summer huts, where French had been last seen on the morning of the 2d. It was certain that all evidence must be derived from the Indians, and that it would, at best, be doubtful, unless corroborated by circumstances, for natural mendacious, timid and suspicious, they had been rendered more so by harsh measures on former occasions. It was therefore necessary to proceed quietly- the whites had become better acquainted with their language, and might, by assuring them that only the guilty should suffer, turn them as a police among themselves. Accordingly, the young squaw and five or six other Indians were to be taken out with the second searching party, on the 9th and on the 10th, the other squaws were thoroughly interrogated, from one of whom the following further facts were elicited: That on the night after the three Indians and the two squaws (Mow’s daughter and a Narpa squaw) went up there, they slept at her hut; that she learned from them that they had come up from Klamath together and slept on the plain not far from French’s house, on the 30th, that next day Mow and his son went to town, the Narpa who had gone to the Klamath with his sister in a canoe, saying he did not wish to see many Whites.  The squaw was crying very much that night at the acorn hut, and urging the two men to kill Whites in revenge for the Death of her two brothers who had been killed at Narpa some months since. The Narpa Indian exclaimed vehemently several times that he wanted to kill a White man, and urged Mow to come with him to find one alone and kill him. Mow repeatedly refused, referring to his long relationship with the whites; until he was pliced with the offer of a women, when he gave way, saying “soon, soon.”  That the Narpa Indian said, if he killed a white man, he would take nothing home, but would, put the body and all in the water and cover with rocks and sticks. Next morning (the 2d) early the three went out along the road the whites had taken to camp, Narpa carrying the gun, and Mow his bow and arrows; and returned that night by a different route and down the wooded valley. No conversation occurred among them that night, except that their squaws asked them if they wanted any salmon, which they declined, and only said they would start early in the morning.

                When these particulars were reported to the party at campo by the write, who had conducted the examination in the presence of G. Hayes and two or three others, the searching party started out to search in the direction of which these three Indians had returned, and in less than two hours search, the body was found on the 10th. It being too late to gather all the party, the body was not removed until the next day. The next day the body was taken up and interred in the presence of the whole party, and of the Indians who had been taken out. The body had been disemboweled and carried a considerable distance down a ravine and carefully concealed with stones and chunked beneath a log. The wolves had disinterred and partially consumed the left side, arm and leg. Several knife wounds were found in the breast, one on the left side, and two cuts on the forehead and one on each hand, the latter being the only appearance of a scuffle or attempt to ward blows. None of his apparel, except the hat; even a finger ring was left on him. His gun and accoutrements were gone, were taken. Here is proof of the crime, with such circumstances as no room left for reasonable doubt as the two guilty parties.

(Concluded in out next.)”

Transcriptions of Crescent City Herald, December, 27, 1854 and November 29, 1854