The Gila Expedition or Morehead War was an 1850 California militia attack on the Quechan, in retaliation for the Glanton Massacre, which had taken place near the confluence of the Gila River and Colorado River in Arizona.
Lincoln, the Quechan set up a ferry business to transport people, beasts and goods across the Colorado River on their way to the California Gold Rush.
For a while they took over Lincoln's ferry operation, killing Mexican and American passengers for their goods and money.
In revenge, the Quechan attacked, killed and scalped Glanton and most of the gang in 1850.
[2] Later that year, the California state government recruited men for $6 a day to attack the Quechan.