You find treasure stories in unusual places.

While reading the Genealogical Forum of Oregon Bulletin (June, 1999), I saw the following, first printed 11/4/1851 in the Oregon Spectator:

"Horse Thieves-Exciting News! The exciting news contained in the subjoined extract from a letter, will take our readers by surprise. We regret exceedingly that there are such renegades in our land. It is only a development of the principles inculcated by the Statesman; it has sown the seed and the country is about to reap the harvest.

Dalles of the Columbia. October 23, 1851 Dear Sir:--Nothing new has transpired since we left Oregon City, only that there is a party of men here from Chasta City, of twenty, after horse thieves. I presume you know Antoine, the Indian that Rogers took through with him to California when we went through. He and another by the name of Joe, a Yacoma (Yakima) Indian, were concerned with the thieves. The thieves are Charley Smith, Reason Haynes, and Terwilliger, son of Terwilliger at Portland. They had got near Barlow's Gate (on the eastern slope of Mt. Hood), with their stolen horses amounting to about 300, when these two Indians took it in their heads that they might as well own the property as the white men, and murdered those three men. The party that was in pursuit of them found the bodies and recognized each of the murdered men. It is supposed that there is a party of twenty-five men at the Grand Ronde with about 300 horses from the Chasta (Shasta -- in northern California) mines, who intend to spend the winter there, these are a club that was formed at Chasta city this fall, of horse thieves, who are on their way to the States, but as yet we have not heard of them here. P.S. Bye-the-bye, they have got Antoine the Indian in irons at the Garrison just at this moment. They have just god a white man by the name of Markham, a lad of 18 years of age he was been selling horses for a mere song, stolen property by way of Willamette valley -- There is a file of soldiers consisting of 10 men going with this party over to Yacoma after this companion of Antoine's, conerning the murder of these three men, they are going to start to-morrow morning. Antoine reports that this young man has $4,000 in gold dust with him, that he took from Charley Smith and party after they had murdered them. There is a great excitement hre about this affair. I should not wonder if we would have a second Cayuse war. The Indians do not know what to make of it. This party of men have a sworn constable from Chasta City, with them, with the power to take all the horse thieves he may find east of the Cascade mountains, in the American territory. He has even taken up a man for selling a horse belonging to Rev. Mr. Rosseau, but Mr. R. has got the value of his horse.

Respectfully, Wm. McKay