Plumas County CA Archives History - Books .....Historical Reminiscences - Indian Troubles In Indian Valley 1882 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/copyright.htm http://www.rootsweb.com/~usgenweb/ca/cafiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com January 4, 2006, 7:18 pm Book Title: Illustrated History Of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties INDIAN TROUBLES IN INDIAN VALLEY. In the fall of 1853 considerable trouble was had between some of the whites and red men, in the north arm of Indian valley, though no general outbreak occurred. In October of that year a horse belonging to A. C. Light was stolen by a couple of Indians, from his ranch in the north arm. The thieves were captured and taken to the ranch of Jobe T. Taylor, to be tried next day by the settlers. Both had their arms tied, and were guarded in Taylor's bar-room by Light. Late in the night Mr. Light went out for wood to replenish the fire, when his prisoners took advantage of his absence, untied each other with their teeth, threw off their blankets, and ran. The alarm was given, and Light pursued one, while Jobe Taylor and A. J. Ford followed the other. Light emptied his revolver at the fugitive, but with no effect, and his man got away. The other one was overtaken, and, showing fight, was shot dead by Taylor. The Indian was buried by the settlers. Several "big talks" were had by his people about taking the body up, and burning it, according to their customs; but not long after, they adopted the civilized plan of burying the dead. The old pioneer farmer, Jobe T. Taylor, early realized the importance of cultivating the goodwill and securing the confidence of the natives in and around Indian valley. Accordingly, upon the first favorable opportunity that presented itself, he convened at Taylor's ranch (now Taylorsville) representatives of the whites and Indians, to agree upon some amicable plan of adjusting difficulties. The settlers were represented by J. T. Taylor, R. D. Smith, W. T. Ward, A. J. Ford, and others. Among the Indians were Cheebeelicum, their chief (called by the whites Civilicum), and a large number of their principal braves. The meeting was held in November, 1853. An Indian boy, Jack, acted as interpreter. The boy had been to the Atlantic states with a man who lived in Little Grass valley. The result of the powwow was satisfactory to all parties concerned. The Indians of Indian and American valleys, according to their own statements, had long been subject to periodical incursions from neighboring tribes—the Pit River, Mill Creek, Hat Creek, and others—all of whom were denominated as "Picas," or enemies. There and then a pledge was made, that the rights and wrongs of each class should be considered in common, and that equal justice should be meted out to white man and to Indian when any wrong had been done. But a short time elapsed before the good faith manifested in the treaty-making was put to the test by both races in two different occurrences. On the eighteenth of December, 1853, George Rose, a blacksmith, entered Taylor's house and called for a drink. Jobe Taylor was behind the bar, and near the stove was seated an old Indian. Perceiving him, Rose asked, " What business has that d------d Indian in this house?" Taylor replied that he was a good Indian, and only wanted to get warm. Rose walked up to the poor native, pulled his revolver, and shot him dead. The brutal murderer then mounted his horse and rode away. The next day a posse of settlers went to arrest Rose, and found him barricaded in his shop, three miles below Taylor's. When the crowd was within fifty yards of the place, Rose ordered them to stop. After parleying some time, Rose agreed to let Fayette Gibson advance alone and enter his cabin. In a few moments Gibson managed to get the drop on him, and made him throw up his hands. He was then disarmed and taken to Taylor's ranch, where preparations were made to try him. W. T. Ward acted as judge, and the following persons as jurymen: J. B. Pribble, Thomas Watson, M. Hussey, Fayette Gibson, Jackson Brown, M. A. Dunlap, R. Hough, S. P. Davis, S. H. Opdyke, J. McKinney, Henry Ellis. The guardsmen of Rose were William Logan, Jobe T. Taylor, John Decker, Jackson Ford, and six others, who were instructed to see that the prisoner did not escape, and that the sentence be carried into execution. Following is the verdict: INDIAN VALLEY, Dec. 19,1853. We, of the jury in the case of George Rose for shooting an Indian on the 18th inst., find the prisoner guilty of murder in the first degree. [SIGNED.] J. B. PRIBBLE, Foreman. Then followed the names of the jury. The order of the court, set down in writing, read as follows: We, the undersigned, appoint the 20th inst., before 2 o'clock p. M., for the execution of the above-named prisoner. W. T. WARD, President. GEO. E. R. ST. FELIX, Secy. The sentence of the court was fully carried out at the appointed time. The other case referred to occurred about the middle of January, 1854. An Indian, son of the North Arm chief, Rattlesnake, stole all the eatables and blankets from the cabin of Isaac Hall and Howard Vandegriff, at the Hall ranch. He was pursued, captured, and taken to the house of W. T. Ward, where he was tried by a jury of six men, of whom J. B. Pribble was foreman. He was sentenced to be hung, and the execution was held between the ranches of Ward and Hall, on the north side of the valley. A number of Indians were present, who perfectly acquiesced in the proceedings. Additional Comments: Extracted from: Illustrated History of Plumas, Lassen & Sierra Counties San Francisco: Fariss & Smith (1882) File at: http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/ca/plumas/history/1882/illustra/historic98nms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.net/cafiles/ File size: 6.1 Kb