Dave Evans bought a herd of big steers in 1862 at Port Orford. He got them at a bargain price, but faced a difficult challenge of herding them along the Oregon Coast.
Evans and his crew juggled them along the ocean, keeping them together for 40 miles to the mouth of the Rogue River. They faced a new challenge at the river crossing. An old sea captain warned Evans to wait for a slack tide to avoid strong tidal currents. The captain also pointed to some Indians in canoes upriver. He said as soon as the cattle started crossing the river, the Indians would paddle down and frighten them, and claim any that drowned for meat.
Evans and the Captain met with the Indians to work out a deal. If they would string their canoes across the channel to keep the cattle from going out to sea, he would give them a live steer. The cattle went across and the Indians got their steer.
Evans knew all along that there was never any danger of the steers swimming out to sea.
Source: White, Loring, and Jim Souther. "L.T. Thompson's Narrative of the Evans and Bailey Fight With The Indians." The Journal of the Modoc County Historical Society, vol. 1, 1979, pp. 14-15.
