John spent the remainder of
his days,--a captive yet unconquered save by death. As previously
stated, in point of courage, cunning, savage ferocity and soldierly
ability and generalship, Tyee John has had few equals and no superiors
on the North American continent.

It was not my purpose to attempt a detailed history of the Rogue River
war as that task were better left to the historian with leisure to delve
into the musty records of the past, but I sincerely hope that when the
true story of that bloody time is written the kernel of truth will be
sifted from the mass of chaff by which it has thus far been obscured. My
purpose is merely to give the facts in a general way as I received them,
and the conditions surrounding the pioneers of which I was one. The true
story of the Rogue River war is but a duplicate of many other Indian
wars. It is a story of incompetent, bigoted, self-opinionated, Indian
agents, wedded to form and red tape, without any of common sense or
"horse sense," required in dealing with conditions such as existed prior
to the breaking out of he war.

The early immigrants to the Oregon, and indeed, to the Pacific coast,
merely sought to better their conditions. They came with their flocks
and herds, their wives and their children, their school books and their
Bibles, seeking not to dispossess or rob the occupants of the land. They
found a vast empire, of which the natives were utilizing but a small
portion. There was room for all and to spare. The natives at first
received the white strangers with kindness and hospitality. There were
exceptions even to this rule, but it was the exception. The white man's
property soon excited the cupidity of the Indian, and knowing no law but
the law of might, he sought to possess himself of the same. And right
here I want to say, that from an experience covering more than half a
century, the only thing an Indian respects on earth, is Power. Courage
he respects for the simple reason that courage is power. And I might
further add, that this rule applies with equal force to the white as
well as to the copper-colored savage.

Treaties had been made with the Rogue Rivers and the Umpquas but in a
true sense were not treaties, but, on the part of the Government, merely
bribes to be good. They moved to reservations, enjoyed the blankets and
other good things provided by the Government so long as it suited them.
Then they would steal out of the reservations, rob, murder and pl