Clash on the Coquille

In August of 1851 an exploratory party from Port Orford was involved in a deadly fracas on the north bank of the Coquille near here, leaving five dead. The group, led by William Green T’Vault, had been dispatched by Capt. William Tichenor to find a route from the coast inland to the Rogue Valley but got lost and were struggling to return down the Coquille when they encountered a few Indians who at first appeared to help them toward the coast. As they neared a Coquille village about two miles from the coast, however, a deadly fight broke out, possibly due to a disagreement or a misunderstanding—or, according to T’Vault’s own account, an attempt to steal their guns. Four escaped with injuries, including T’Vault and Cyrus Hedden, who was one of the survivors of the Battle Rock incident.