Chapter 176: Chapter 155: A “Minor” Skirmish

Peel Creek, Oregon Territory
March 1st, 1832

Jonas Bowles trudged through the forest with his friends and handled his rifle carefully. They were entering British territory and the members of the expedition knew that they needed to be on high alert at all times. The British had a few Native American allies that were more than willing to shoot at any "trespassers," but they were usually bunched around the town of Melville (AN: Medford, Oregon). Bowles and eleven other people were heading much further west, a territory that was right next to the Pacific Ocean itself. And from the rumors he had heard from Native Americans, it contained gold reserves that were unexploited... Yet.

"Watch your step," Bowles said as he gestured towards a tree root directly in their path.

"Damn," Jasper Wise, one of his close friends and an African American from Virginia, mumbled, "We've been walking for ages already, you sure we're going in the right direction?'

"We're almost there. I'm sure of it."

Wise looked into the masses of trees around them and frowned, "Wish they left some gold for the rest of us so we wouldn't have to sneak into British lands."

"It won't be a problem," Little River replied with a heavy accent. He was a member of the Siuslaw Tribe, a small group whose ancestral homelands were near the Anglo-American border, "Mr. Bowles is correct, we are near the place where the gold is. This area is home to the Wishram Tribe. If we meet a member of that tribe, I should be able to speak to them and we should be able to escape without any difficulties. If we remain undiscovered, then we should be able to stay for some time and return back to the land of the Americans with gold in our hands."

"Is the Wishram Tribe... friendly?"

Little River gripped the old musket he had in his hand, "Sometimes, sometimes not. Usually, they do not attack unless attacked upon. If we encounter them, do not fire upon them and wait to see their reaction."

The African American man snorted, "That's reassuring."

"Calm down, we'll be fine," The white Virginian that was leading the group stated.

For the next half an hour, the group remained silent and trekked through the vast forest quietly. They used the Williamette River as their guide, making sure that the water source was always to their right. Finally, after a long journey, they arrived at Peel Creek, the place that was rumored to contain untouched gold.

"Right, looks clear," Bowles pulled out some of his tools and immediately went about his way to find some gold. The other members of the expedition reacted the same way. Luckily for them, they all managed to find a few pieces of gold that would fetch a decent price back in San Francisco.

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Unfortunately, that was when things started to go wrong.

Half a dozen white men emerged from the forest with arms, making Bowles throw down his mining instruments and picking up his rifle. One of the men stepped forward and yelled with a firearm in his hand, "Who the hell are you?"

"Just some settlers looking for some land to settle into," The American called back, trying to imitate that accent of the voice, "We're not looking for any trouble."

"You're a Yank, aren't you? You trying to invade us?"

"If we were invading, we would've shot first! We're here to explore the land, nothing else!"

The British man scowled, "Doesn't look like you're here to "explore." What are you here for then?"

Just then, a group of unrecognizable Native Americans walked out of the woods and behind the group of Americans. Someone in Bowles' group fired at the Native Americans while panicking, which only resulted in the others firing towards the other Native Americans and even the British as well. The man that Bowles was talking to fell onto the ground with a nasty gunshot wound in his chest.

The response was instantaneous.

All three groups (the Native Americans, the Americans, and the British) started to fire upon each other. Some of them entered into melee combat, while others landed on the ground after being shot. Bowles managed to last all about five minutes before being shot by a British settler.

However, the American group just managed to beat back their enemies and flee into American territory with their wounded in tow. By the end of the firefight, five of the six British settlers laid dead, while three Americans and five Native Americans were deceased as well.

The news would reach Columbia two months later, which would then be sent overseas to Great Britain...

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