Hysterical Journey To Historic Places

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DIRTY MUSKETS



At some point during the Ice Ages a mountainside in the Cascade Range along the Columbia River fetched loose and landed in the river. The river got backed up for a while but the water soon channeled through the obstruction and rolled merrily along to the sea. Three small islands were formed upon which native inhabitants, the Klickitats, Chinooks, and Yakimas, in due course found good fishing. The tribes lived in harmony until whites started crowding into Oregon and became a problem. A few whites were okay. Those with Hudson Bay Company were useful trade partners and good neighbors, but they had mysteriously departed. The rush of white settlers flooding down the river to settle in Oregon was not acceptable. By spring of 1856 hostilities had broken out. On March 26 a small group of soldiers near those islands were attacked. A platoon of reinforcements led by LT Phillip H. Sheridan came upriver by boat from Ft Vancouver, while a larger command led by LTC Edward Steptoe came down from Ft Walla Walla. Steptoe had a detachment of artillery. The hostiles were engaged on Bradford Island on March 27. A musket ball passed by near Lt Sheridan’s nose and killed a soldier standing behind him. The artillery was frightening, but ineffective, and the hostiles fled the island overnight. Next morning some Indians living at peace on the island came in to surrender. They had not participated in the fighting and local settlers vouched for them. LT Sheridan, still upset by the danger to his nose, did not believe them. He inspected their muskets and found powder residue in the barrels. The evidence of dirty muskets was all he needed. With his usual aplomb in such situations, the department commander, George Wright, found those Indians guilty and they were hung on the spot. Apparently the Army thought that Indians sometimes cleaned their muskets. Bonneville Dam was later built across those three islands. The photo shows the north end of Bradford Island where those peaceful Indians took refuge during the fight.

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Photos

DIRTY MUSKETS
The photo was taken from a vantage point along a hiking trail on the south side of the river near Bonneville Dam. It is 0.68 miles eats of the trailhead parking lot. Visitors should also plan to see the dam.