TALENT NEWS.

VOL. I.
SEPTEMBER 15, 1892.
NO. 16.

  The TALENT NEWS is published the
1st. and 15th. of each month.
  Terms:                 25 cents a year.
EDWARD ROBISON,           Editor.
  Entered at the Talent Post Office as second
class mail matter.

THE SISKIYOU MASSACRE
OF 1855.


BY D. P. BRITTIAN.


  On september 24th, 1855, Harrison
Oatman, Cal. Fields and I started from
Phoenix with ox teams, loaded with flour,
for Yreka, Cal. We camped the first
night on Neal Creek. The road over Sis-
kiyou mountains was very rough. Fields
had been over the road before, but Oatman
and I had not; so Fields went in the lead
with his team of four yoke of oxen. We
had to "double teams" up bad hills as
that was before the toll road was made.
  When we got near the summit of the
mountain Fields said, "This is the last
place we have to double; we will get to
the top this time."
  Oatman and Fields started up while I
remainded with my team. When they got
near the top, the Indians that were wait-
ing the in brush fired on them, killing
Fields the first fire. Oatman ran up the
mountain. Just at this time a Mr. Cun-
ningham met them, jumped out of his
wagon and ran with Oatman, the Indians
whooping the war-whoop and shooting at
the men as they ran. Cunningham was
shot in the hip and fell. Oatman past
him and ran on to the top of the hill
where he met a man on horse back and
told him what had happened. The horse-
man rode back to Mountain House, three
miles, for assistance. Four men, well
armed came as quick as possible. When
I heard the firing I ran up to see what
hap happened. I was sure our men were
both killed. When I got within twenty
steps of the wagons I saw an Indian. he
got behind a tree and pointed his gun to-
wards me. Just then I saw another In-
dian on the other side of a wagon empty-
ing flour out of the sacks. When I saw
what was done I stared back to my team.
  As I started, the Indian behind the tree
fired at me; then I got scared and ran on
to where the toll-house now stands, two
miles. There I caught up with a pack
train with twenty mules, in charge of a
white man and a Spaniard, and, inform-
ing them what had happened, asked for
  an animal to ride. They at once hurried
their animals, declaring the Indians
would kill every one of us before we could
get out. I jumped on the bellhorse, the
men telling me to run him as fast as pos-
sible and not let any grass grow under his
feet. I had no bridle, nothing but the bell
strap to guide the horse with. I whipped
with a short rope and my hat and I think
I made the best time that any man and horse
ever made for four miles down that
mountain to where Major Baron's place
now is. James Rusell, now living in Ash-
land, was there then. Six men, armed
and mounted, started to the place of the
massacre. I came three miles farther
on, got a horse and gun and started back
to join the men, They had met the men
that came from the other way, at the wag-
ons, where Field's body was found, strip-
ped of its clothing. by this time it was
getting dark and they could not find Cun-
ningham. Thirteen oxen were killed in
the road. The men brought Field's body
down to my wagon, saying it was Oat-
man's, and that Fields was at the house
on the other side of the mountain.
  The men urged me to lie down as I was
about tired out. Men were sent to Peoe-
nix, but no one wanted to tell Mrs. Oat-
man her husband was killed. Before day-
light the mistake was discovered and
word was at once sent to Mrs. Oatman a-
bout the trouble. At daybreak parties set
out to hund for the lost boy. Cunning-
ham, and found him about fifty yards
from the wagons, killed and his body
stripped of clothing. He was brought
down and burried in the Hill grave-yard.
  Fields was burried east of the present
town of Talent, near Bear Creek. Harri-
son Oatman now live in Portland.

  Col. Streator has turned spiritualist. He at-
tended the great spook camp at Lilydale, N.Y.
and received a communication from an old law-
yer long sinced "passed over," to the effect that
while the colonel's action in hanging Iams up
by the thumbs "raised hell on earth," it is justi-
fied by the counsel of spirtis, by whose assistance
he will come out all right.


  The cholera is working its way westward and
general alarm prevails throughout the eastern
portions of the United States. All vessels ar-
riving from Europe will be quarantined and
the Atlantic cities will be put in a state of de-
fense by energetic efforts at cleansing. The
mayor of San Francisco has ordered the flush-
ing of the sewers and a general cleaning up of
Chinatown and other filthy parts of the city.
  Wouldn't it be well to keep large cities con-
tinuously in a state of defense against contagious
diseases?




[second side]



TALENT NEWS.
September, 15th           1892.


A WATERMELON RAID THAT
DIDN'T SUCCEED


  We are informed that several bo-hoys
attempted to raid Mr. Harvey's water-
melon patch on Sunday night of the 4th
inst., presumably after church service.

  Each raider captured a large melon and
was bravely marching off when bang went
a gun behind them and shot came whiz-
zing among the crowd in uncomfortable
proximity. One stumbled into some
bushes and was captured; another was
"stood up," and the balance are running
yet--at least they were when last heard
from. The "stood up" raider was "induc-
ed" to divulge the names of his partners
and the next grand jury may have an in-
teresting case.

  A large audience gathered at the Dunkard
church on the evening of the 3rd inst to witness
communion and the Lord's supper. While the
former may have seemed very odd, perhaps fun-
ny, to some, we were pleased to note the re-
spectful attention of all present. In our next
we shall endeavor to give a brief account of the
origin and general belief of this sect.

  The dance at the U. M. L. Hall on the even-
ing of the 3rd inst. was a success, a large num-
ber being present.

  L. Shideler and family have returned
from their camp at Mountain Springs to
their Medford home.

  Melvin Atwater and family returned
from Crescent City on the 7th, inst., to re-
main on Wagner Creek for the winter.
  They did not find what they expected
over there.

  J. T. Wornock made a hasty trip to
Washington last week returning with his
other child, a bright 3-year-old lad.

  Mrs. Wolenweber, of Vancouver, Wash-
ington, arrived in Talent on Friday last
on a visit to her aunt Mr. John Abbott,
whom she has not seen for twenty years.
  She will remain for several weeks.

  A tame pigeon flew in at our office win-
dow the other day, presumably to call on
the editor, but we were absent. After
leaving unmistakable evidences of his
presence about the room, our winged vis-
itor wound up by making what might be
called a pigeon "pi" of a lot of type in the
galley. Had we been in about that time
there might have been a pigeon pie of
another kind at our house, shortly after.

  Dolsie Netherland returned from California
a short time since.
    M. H. Coleman of Phoenix has rented
his farm to his son, W. R. Coleman and
will move to Wagner Creek about the 1st
of Oct.

  Mrs. Ida Fenton, NEE Brittian, and Mrs. Sarah
Vantine, NEE Morton, arrived from Washington
last Tuesday on a visit to relatives and friends.

  The forest fire on upper Wagner Creek is still
working its way down, having reached Rail
Gulch. No serious damage thus far.

  The Talent school will commence next Mon-
day, J. Beaty and Miss Roberts, teachers.

  Frank Robison, Dalton Brophy and J. Bee-
son called at our office since last issue.

  Smoky? Well, somewhat.

  A fair audience listened to Ira Wakefield's
speech on finance last Thursday evening in the
U. M. L. Hall. The speaker seems to have an
inexhaustible fund of anecdotes with which to
illustrate his remarks and to hold the attention
of his audience. After a few preliminary re-
marks the speaker asked abrubtly: "How many
here have any money?" The question naturally
caused the thoughts of each to revert to frequent
"hold-ups" of late and of course no one deem-
ed it entirely prudent, in the presence of so
many political reformers to expose his pocket fi-
nancial condition; so no one responded. This
was as the speaker expected and he gave prom-
ise that when the People's Party got hold of
Uncle Sam's purse strings, there would be such
a scatterment of greenbacks as would fill every
pocket in the country. The speaker adopted the
Kindergarten style of illustration. Fishing a
few silver coins from his pocket and making his
hat do duty as a custom house and a spectacle
case as a ship loaded with imported sugar, the
speaker transformed himself into a plutocrat
banker and proceeded to expose the true inward-
ness of the banking system. Holding up a half-
dollar he asked: "Can anyone tell me what
makes this piece of silver worth four bits?"
  No one responded. Had we not been so ex-
cruciating bashful, we might have aired our
wisdom by informing him that it was allowing
to the words: "In God we trust," on the coin.
  Producing a few pices of paper, which for
the time he called greenbacks, he asked the au-
dience to be sure and remmber the date of
their issue, which he gave as Feb., 1862, "just
before the battle of Bull Run." But we were
at once reminded of the old song:
"'Twas on July the twenty first,
In Eighteen sixty one
That McDowell met Beauregard
At the battle of Bull Run."
  We were informed that at least one man in
the United States is worth $800,000,000, which
great wealth is made possible through the nefa-
rious workings of the old parties. The speaker's
opinion of the G. O. P.s was illustrated in this
wise: A negro preacher told his hearers that
there were "but two roads dat lead from dis
worl' to de nex; one leads to hell and de toder
to damnation." So if we march with either of
the old parties, we know our destination.
  Tho' somewhat exaggerated in some of his
statements and conclusions, the speaker made
many good hits, winding up with the suggestion
that we ought to "raise less wheat and more
hell."

  The New York World uses about 100 tons of
paper for each issue, exceeding the amount used
by the Talent News by several pounds.

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