Cayuse Five

In 1824, John McLoughlin and his wife Marguerite moved to the Pacific Northwest, aiming to make money off the fur trade.

This was a post in a select spot, with tens of thousands in nearby Native American communities, plus it was at the center of important trade routes connecting to the Columbia River.

According to Cayuse tradition, there was no question of their right to dispose of a doctor (medicine man, or tewat) whose patients were dying of disease.

The judge Orville C. Pratt rejected defense arguments that the killings agreed with Cayuse law, as well as that the attack occurred before the Oregon territorial government was founded.

Before hanging, the one named Tomahas is reported to have said, "Much like your savior Jesus Christ gave himself for you, we are giving ourselves up for our people in order to stop the Cayuse War.