Story

Trail of Tears

In 1854, the Oregon Territory Legislature passed a law making it illegal to sell guns or ammunition to Indians.

By then the Cow Creek Umpquas had been drawn into the Rogue Indian Wars to help their cousins to the south. In 1854, Superintendent Palmer visited several bands of Umpqua Indians, and he reported:

"I found many of them wretched, sickly and almost starving ... They said, truly, they were once numerous and powerful, but now few and weak; that they had always been friendly to the non-Indians, and desired them to occupy their lands; that they wanted but a small spot on which they might live in quiet. Many of their number they said had been killed by the non-Indians, in retaliation for wrongs committed by Indians of other tribes, but they had never offered violence in return."

Chief Miwaleta, who negotiated the Cow Creek Umpqua Treaty for the Indians, had been opposed to joining the Indian Wars. He wanted his people to live in peace with the non-Indians. However, he died shortly after the treaty was negotiated. His successor led the Cow Creek Umpquas into the Rogue Indian Wars.

In September, 1855, hostilities broke out again as Volunteers moved to exterminate or remove all Cow Creek Umpqua and Rogue Indians. Hard fighting ensued and many Rogues took refuge along the Umpqua River where they and the Cow Creek Umpquas were rounded up and held against their will.

In 1856, these Indians were removed from the area and marched some 150 miles northwest to the Grand Ronde Reservation on the Yamhill River. This became the Umpqua Trail of Tears. See Map 8 for details. Other Rogues surrendered after more fighting and were forced onto the Siletz reservation as shown in Map 9.

Many other Cow Creek Umpquas went into hiding in their homeland. These fugitives sought safety in the most remote areas of their traditional use area in the Cow Creek drainage in the west and in the upper reaches of the south Umpqua River to the east.