Rogue River: Local History
Southwest Oregon
3,
4 or 5
days
April - September
Class III+ |
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The river we now call the Rogue has been known by a
variety of names over the years. Trappers called it
Tutuni, with various spellings, meaning rogue or rascal
Indians. For the same reason, French trappers called it
La Riviere aux Coquins, the River of the Rogues, and
Henry Eld of the Wilkes Expedition in 1841 wrote in his
journal about the Rascally River. The river was also
known for a short time as McLeod’s River, after an early
explorer, and by the Territorial Legislature as Gold
River.
Tribes speaking two different languages occupied the
Rogue River valley and surrounding area.Prior to the
arrival of the Europeans. The Tutuni lived along the
coast, at the mouth of the river and for a distance
upstream. In 1854 the Tutuni population was estimated at
1,311 people; 383 remained in 1910. The Takelma tribe
lived along middle sections of the Rogue, as well as
along the Illinois River, a tributary of the Rogue.
(Takelma, by the way, means “those who dwell along the
river”.) In 1780 the tribe’s population was estimated at
500; only one person remained in 1910.
The Tutuni lived in large permanent villages made
possible by a plentiful, year-round supply of food. They
relied heavily on food from the sea, including salmon,
shellfish, seaweed, and occasional whale-meat. Deer and
elk, as well as berries and seeds were also included in
their diet.
The Takelma, on the other hand, were semi-nomadic,
and moved from place to place as food supplies became
scarce. They relied on deer and other game, berries and
root plants for their sustenance.
The Takelma were more aggressive than the Tutuni. The
Takelma raided their neighbors to the west for food,
other supplies, and slaves. Slaves were, in turn, often
traded to the Klamath Indians to the east.
These raids aside, until about 1850 the Rogue River
country was a relatively peaceful place. The Takelma’s
reputation for aggression, combined with a report by
explorer McCloud that described the area as “destitute
of beaver” kept the encroaching tide of outsiders at
bay. But two events changed this.
One was the 1850 Land Act, which promised 320 acres
to each Oregon settler over 18 years of age.
(Eventually, 2.5 million acres were given away under the
provision of this law.) The other event was the
discovery of gold, first on Josephine Creek along the
Illinois River in 1850, and then near Jacksonville in
1851.
Soon, settlers and miners were flocking to the Rogue
River country. By 1853 most of the rivers and creek beds
of southwestern Oregon were being prospected for gold.
Signs of this busy period in the Rogue’s history remain
at numerous sites along the river today.
Miners and settlers in large numbers cut trees,
hunted wildlife, and took over lands that were the homes
of the Tutuni and Takelma. Displaced natives resorted to
harassing wagon trains and disrupting mining operations
in defense. Skirmishes and counterattacks grew into a
conflict that came to be known as the Rogue Indian War.
This 8 month war began in October of 1855 with the
Battle of Hungry Hill, near Grave Creek, and ended the
following May with a battle south of Illahe at Big Bend.
Most of the war was fought in the remote, winding
canyons of the Rogue.
The end result of the conflict, as with similar
conflicts elsewhere, was that those Indians who survived
were relocated — in this case, to the Grande Ronde and
Siletz reservations.
By 1857 no Indians remained in their former homeland.
But although there had been a large influx of newcomers
earlier in the decade, further settlement occurred
slowly, due to the ruggedness of the river canyons.
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