I. alarm, for it will be a broken-hearted, broken-spirited band, Mortis

filled only with the desire to live at peace with their surroundings,

\ and lay their bones in the soil their ancestors have claimed for a

a { generations past.” March, 1885, satel

hare “The Nez-Pereés and Cayuses were, by all means, the great- tion |

est tribes west of the Rocky Mountains. Why, they used to built

roam as far east as the Missouri river on their hunting expedi- othes

tions, and if they chanced to meet a war party of any tribe, they and t¢
i | were ready and prepared to uphold by strength of arms the glory the ei
j of the West. . Was 0

An officer who fought in the rebellion, told me that some of wldic

the fiercest and most valiant fighting he ever engaged in was with

Sv slo

the
yuld
Lion
iflu-
ired

ad-
iced
ons.

the
red,
e at
hem
ath.
stice

f all
their

Ss oO

Inprans, CONTINUED.

the Nez-Pereés. They, he said, maintained a solid front in
battle, and fired and manceuvered as if they had been drilled by a

graduate of West Point.”

But they ouvt-manceuvered and whipped such graduates.

“Srory oF Cou. STEPTOR’S DEFEAT BY THE SPOKANE INDIANS.
AND Cou. WRIGHT'S VICTORY OVER THE SAME AND

THEIR HORSEs.

By L., in “ Oregonian.”

In the spring of 1858, some Palouse Indians stole some stock
belonging to the Government from the vicinity of Fort Walla
Walla, of which Lieutenant-Colonel Steptoe was in command, at
the same time certain complaints of disturbances and dangers
caused by Indians, and suffered by miners in or proceeding to the
Colville mines, were also brought to the same officer’s notice.
Two miners coming overland from Thompson river, British
Columbia, to Colville, had fallen victims to the savage ferocity of
some natives, of what tribe it is impossible to say. Sueh being
the ease, Steptoe judged it proper to conduct an armed expedition
o Colville to inquire into the matter, and punish the murderers
and restore order. On his return he “ allowed” (Steptoe was a
Southerner) to stop in at the home of the Palouses and see about
the stock they had lifted. The Palouses were not, on the whole,
very desirable neighbors. If there ever existed a people to which
they might fairly be compared, it must have been the ancient
Seoteh borderers, whose business was theft, and whose numbers,
asin the ease of the Indian tribe, were recruited from the worst
and most desperate individuals of all the neighboring nations.
Notice must here be taken of the beginning of the trouble—the
proposed government military road from Walla Walla to Fort
Benton, on the upper Missouri. [This road alone cost the Govern-
ment more than would have opened 1,000 miles of river naviga-
tion free to the people, down to the sea. And it was not half
built. And the Government spent ten times as much on each of
other roads that were never even open to travel.| The military
and topographical engineers had pronounced it practicable, and
the seeretary of war had ordered the survey. Lieutenant Mullan
was ordered to perform the work, and was to have an escort of
soldiers from Walla Walla. He was to set out in May, 1858, but
so sluw were the motions of the authorities that the Indians heard

Pipe oewena eter a yess

:
ou alaagsoaieoatte ee OEE

172 INDIANS, CONTINUED.

of it, and immediately concluded that it was but a move designed
for taking away their country. They became nervous, and their
spirits being preyed upon by designing men, they combined for
resistance,

It is proven by good evidence that when Steptoe and his 150
men set out on May 6, 1858, to march north-east from Walla Walla,
the supply of ammunition which was intended to be taken, was
taken back to the magazine because there was no room for it in
the packs of the 100 mules. So the men set out with only the
ammunition carried in their cartridge boxes. Hence oecurred the
disaster. The force consisted of two howitzers, five company
officers, and 152 men.

The line of march led through what are now Columbia and
Garfield counties, and the Snake river was reached at Alpowa
creek, where a small band of Nez-Pereés resided, whose chief,
Timothy—a Christian Indian—was a firm friend of the Whites,
and who still continues to live at the spot. Timothy, with three
warriors, joined the command—a circumstance upon which de-
pended the lives of all. Marching north, the expedition ap-

‘proached four lakes, (the medical lakes) where a great body of
Indians were met, who threatened violence if the troops did not
at once turn back and get out of the country. It was resolved to
return to Walla Walla. They broke camp at three o’clock in the
morning, followed by all the noisy horde of savages, who seemed
intent on fighting, and only waited for the troops to strike the first
blow. Saltees, a Cour d’Aléne chief, appeared, accompanied by
Father Josef, the missionary to that tribe, and held a conference
with Steptoe, the missionary interpreting. The chief then shouted
something to his followers, when Levi, of the Nez-Percés, struck
him on the head with a whip handle, exclaiming, “ What for
you tell Steptoe you no fight, and then say to your men, wait
awhile? You talk twotongues.” [Getting civilized likea Governor. |

The fight began as the command approached Pine ereek. Ap-
proaching this creek, the command passed down a ravine, and on
reaching the stream the Indians commenced firing from the
brush on the south side and from various elevated points near by.
Lieutenant Gaston charged forward and cleared a way to the
highlands southward, and the entire force gained a commanding
position. The howitzers were unlimbered and opened on the foe,
and one or two charges were made. Two privates were wounded

and a blundering soldier killed a friendly Nez-Pereé, mistaking

how
was
purs
wait
end
surr
save
But |
Nez-!
but
escay
’
arriv
file, a
wou
the }
bee
and }
India
sake,
trooy
r

lown

a

med
their
| for

3 150
alla,
was
it in
y the
| the
pany

and
pow
shief,
nites,
three
1 de-
1 ap-
ly of
L not
ed to
n the
smed
first
1 by
‘ence
uted
ruck
for
wait
10r. |
Ap-

1 on
the
‘by.
the
ling
foe,
ded

king’

INDIANS, CONTINUED. 173

him for an enemy. Again the retreat was resumed and continued
through the forenoon, the Indians following closely and fighting
with the troops in the rear. As long as their ammunition held
out they were kept at bay, but Gaston’s men having fired their last
cartridge, he (Gaston) sent to Steptoe requesting him to halt long
enough to procure ammunition, The request was not granted.
On arriving at Cache creek, word was passed that Lieutenant
Gaston was killed, and the order to halt was given. A violent
struggle took place over his body, the Indians securing it. Tay-
lor was killed there and two privates, Barnes and DeMay, were
killed or mortally wounded, and another one was wounded by an
arrow from a dying savage. Lieutenant Gregg called on the
main body of troops for volunteers to relieve the rear guard, but
only ten men responded. He ordered them to fall in behind him,
but looking back directly after, found himself all alone, The
heroic rear guard repulsed the Indians, however, and the com-
mand went into camp on the spot. Pickets were thrown out, and
such of the dead as could be found were buried here. The
howitzers were also buried, but the pack train and provisions it
was decided to leave for the Indians, in order to delay their
pursuit. The savages were encamped in plain sight in the bottom
waiting the morrow, when they would make a last onslaught and
end the contest with a general massacre. Their sentinels had
surrounded the camp, and were guarding all the avenues of exit
save one, which it was not supposed ive soldiers could traverse.
But this became their salvation, for the pass was known by the
Nez-Pereé, Timothy, and through it he led the troops to safety.
But for him, probably, not one of the command would have
escaped.

The night was dark and cheerless, and when the proper time
arrived the entire force mounted and followed the chief in single
file, as noiselessly as possible, through the unguarded pass. Two
wounded soldiers, MeCrossen and Williams, the one shot through
the hip, the other with his back broken, who, tied upon horses,
begged to be killed at once rather than be tortured by such a ride,
and becoming untied, were left alive on the trail, a prey to the
Indians—a fearful fate, too horrible to contemplate. “ For God's
sake, give me something to kill myself with,” they cried, as the
troops disappeared in the darkness.

Through the night the rapid trot or gallop was kept up, fol-
lowing the faithful Nez-Pereé.,

aes pao

pcr FA RMS ALOE OS Sok TE.

174 INDIANS, CONTINUED.

a

The wounded were left to take care of themselves, and the
line of demoralized and frightened troops passed southward, put-
ting whatever of distance they might between themselves and the
enemy for twenty-four hours. They rode ninety miles, and
reached the Snake river four miles below where they crossed it on
the march northward. Going up to Timothy’s village, that de-
voted chief summoned his own men and put them on guard, while
the exhausted cavaleade was ferried across to their haven of
refuge, the south side of the Snake.

On the 24th of September, Steptoe’s force reached the Pataha,
where he was joined by Captain Dent, who brought supplies and
reinforcements. Here, too, came Chief Lawyer, with a formid-
able war party of Nez-Percés, who begged the defeated troops to
return with him and try the fortunes of war again with the
Northern Indians. But was rejected. Considering the gallant
behavior of the Nez-Percés, two of the four only escaping alive
from the fight, and the services they rendered subsequently, their
treatment by the Whites was contenptible. And Steptoe, in an
official letter, to swell the number (00 to 600) of enemies which
had been encountered, falsely stated that some of the Nez-Percés
were engaged in the attack, and omitted to mention their offer of
reinforcements. Then Steptoe was promoted, and then he joined
the Southern Confederacy.”

“General Clarke at onee sent up four companies from San
Francisco to re-inforce the troops at Walla Walla. Keyes came
up im charge of the expedition, with orders to report to Col. Geo.
Wright at Walla Walla. The march of 177 miles over land from
the dalles |rapids of the Columbia river] was very exhaustive, as
it was late in June. At that time (1859) the sound of a steam-
boat whistle had never been heard above Celilo, He built a small
fort near the mouth of Tu-Canyon, where he left one company of
artillery, under command of F. O. Wyse. The party, numbering
about 900 men in all, crossed Snake river in boats on the 25th of
August, and five days later met the red foe at the Four Lakes,
where a battle was fought, which showed the Indians that Hudson
Bay muskets were neo match for the long-range rifles of the troops.
This battle, which ts known as the battle of Spokane Plains, ended
about fourteen miles frem where it began, and was fought in the
smoke of /urning grass. Not a soldier was killed or wounded.
The Indian less was ever ninety. [May be so.]

Om the sth of September, Col. Grier captured a band of 900

ap
it,
S.
in
doy
fat
del
ho
the
wh
hin
han
sear
24t]
‘Ow
sect
He

an u
and
ca

fore
Isla:
Afri

zatic

Mos
Grove

serv:

dent
kno

the
put-
the
and
ton
de-
hile
1 of

aha,
and
mid-
is to
the
lant
ilive
their
n an
hich
arces
er of
ined

San
ame
Teo.
rom

1 as
bam-
nall
y of
‘ing
h of

kes,

son
yps.
ded
the
ed.

900

INDIANS, CONTINUED. 175

horses. These he drove intocamp. The officers and the quarter-
master were allowed to select a certain number; two were given
to each friendly Indian; and, on the following day, the remaining
690 horses were driven into a high enclosure, and shot down as
fast as they entered. Toward the last the soldiers seemed to ex-
ult in the bloody task, for such is the ferocious character of men,
While the work of destruction was going on, I saw an Indian
approaching our camp, carrying a long pole with a white flag on
it, and in the cleft end of the pole was a letter from Father Josef,
S. J., at the Cour d’Aléne mission. He informed Col. Wright that
in consequence of our victories, the hostiles were greatly cast
down, and wished him to be their intercessor for peace. The
father added in his communication, that the friendly Indians were
delighted at our victories, as they had been threatened by the
hostiles for not fighting. On the 22d the command camped on
the Nedwall, a tributary of the Spokane, and in came old Owhi,
who had been wounded on the Spokane plains. Wright ordered
him to be put in irons at once. That afternoon six Indians were
hanged, in squads of three, each. A messenger was then sent in
search of Qualehin, the son of Owhi, who came into camp on the
24th. He asked to see his father, and Col. Wright answered :
‘Owhi mitlite yawa.’ (Owhi is over there.) As he said this a
section of the guard sprang upon Qualchin and disarmed him.
He had the strength of a Hercules, and notwithstanding he had
an unhealed wound in his side, it took six men to tie his hands
and feet. Within an hour, from his entry into Col. Wright's
‘amp, he was hanged, by order of that stern, old warrior.”

Yet, he had no more right in their country with an armed
foree, than Bismarck has against the natives of the Samoan
Islands at this time, 1889; or the English to foree rum into
Africa, or opium into China, in the name of Christ and civili-
zation.

“THE CHIEF Moses OUTRAGE, 1883.

The Oregonian has contained an account of the arrival of chief
Moses at Fort Van Couver, to protest against the action of the
Government in restoring to the public domain a portion of the re-
servation, granted to Moses and his people a few years ago.

By orders, dated April 9th, 1879, and March 6th, 1880, Presi-
dent Hayes set apart for chief Moses and his people, what is
known as the Chief Moses Indian Reservation in the big bend of

176 INDIANS, CONTINUED.

the Columbia river. It contains about three million acres, and
some mining districts, supposed to be valuable. It will be re-
membered, that the reservation was set apart after a long con-
ference with Moses, who visited Washington and came back with
the assurance, that he would never in future be dispossessed of
the grant.

On the 28rd of February last, President Arthur issued an
order, restoring a tract about 15 miles wide and 100 miles long to
the public domain, The strip is at the northern boundary of the
reservation. What influence brought about this action by the
President, is not known here. That he should have taken such a
step, when the faith of the Government was pledged, that the re-
servation would not be disturbed, and that step, too, without con-
sulting Moses’ tribe, is a [masonic] mystery.

It is a part of the grievance of chief Moses, that he was not
consulted in the matter of taking away his land, Even to this
time he has not received official notification of the President's
action. Jfis first hint of the order was the presence on his re-
servation of miners and squatters, [themselves, or in the interest
of a gang of masons, having big influence at court,| who staked
out claims, selecting in many instances lands oceupied by Indian
families. A better scheme to excite the anger of the Indians could
not have been devised, and it is surprising that the outrage did
not result at once in bloody warfare. And, in truth, only the pro-
mise of Moses, to have the matter fixed to their satisfaction, re-
strained his people from summary measures. The country has
seen, in the case of the Musell slough settlers in California, | that
were plundered of their homes by a gang of masons, having con-
trol of the courts,| how white men feel under similar provocation,
and from that can, perhaps, understand the spirit which Moses
had, and has still, to combat.

For a long time past it has been known, that rich gold and
silver bearing ledges existed in the mountains within the limits of
chief Moses’ reservation, but it has not been so well known, that
men [masons], owning immense wealth, have an interest in these
mines, and that to their influence, and solely for their benefit, has
such a large slice been taken from the Indians, without a why or
wherefore, [and given to the gang. Practical miners and real
citizens could never have thus acquired valuable property.— Here-
after, when the people were trying to repel a fraudulent invasion
of Chinese, it will be seen, how these charitable brethren wrung

INDIANS, CONTINUED. 177

their hands in horror at “violating the plighted faith of the
Government,” as they were making money out of them, and how
they made money out of the Chinese war, as they do in that of
the Indian. |

The country so thrown open contains fifteen hundred square
miles of territory, and, outside the mineral bearing region, con-
tains land of very little value.

It is known that the Indians are deeply dissatisfied with the
act of the Government. That this act of bad faith rankles in their
hearts as a most inexcusable and wanton injury. They cannot
but interprete it as a further declaration, that the Indians have
no rights, which the white man or his government is bound to re-
spect. They cannot look upon it in any other light, than as a most
perfidious violation of the plighted faith of the Government.
Moreover, they look upon it merely as an initial encroachment,
which will be followed by others, until their lands are wholly
taken away, leaving them no dwelling place they can call their
own,

What has heretofore happened in similar circumstances need
not be recited in detail here. The Indians are not numerous.
They can muster perhaps 600 men. But aless number of Modocs
and a less number of Nez-Pereés fought with a courage that won
the admiration of the country, while they made its army mourn
the loss of great numbers of its best officers and men, terrorized
the country for hundreds of miles, and cost the Government tre-
mendous exertions and millions of money [for the gang] to sub-
due them, The causes of these risings bear a close parallel to the
complaints now made by Moses and his people. In each ease it
was an attempt to deprive the Indians of their dwelling place
without their consent.

It is not to be supposed that the President has acted in this
matter upon his own motion. By whom were the representations
made which led to the order? In case of an outbreak on the
part of these Indians somebody will have to answer this question,
[on the contrary, they are sworn to “ever conceal and never
reveal” these masonic mysteries|. It may be that the delegate
from Washington territory could tell about the influence that
secured the executive order. [But he was a mason himself].

The [masonic] policy of perfidy and robbery is as poor in
point of expediency as it is poor in point of morality. We have
paid for these things hitherto in murdered families, depopulated

12

;
/

Cae iat np coma AS EER

178 INDIANS, CONTINUED.

settlements, men slain in battle, and untold sums of money ex-
pended in Indian wars. The Indian is a strange compound of
hasty spirit and stubborn fatalism. He acts from an impulse,
dismissing prudence, and taking no thought of consequences ;
and when overcome, he accepts his fate with indifference or forti-
tude, He reasons that he might as well die at once as to be
stripped of his home, have no abiding place and no means of
living ; and hence the motive from which he aets is a mixture re-
sulting from a sense of injury, a desire of revenge, and a feeling
of despair.

But the weakness of these Indians let no one despise. Weak,
indeed, they are; but the poor reptile, trodden upon, has the in-
stinet of self-preservation, and may fatally sting.

If it was deemed so necessary to get back a part of Moses’
reservation, the honest way would have been to open a negotia-
tion with him and his people, and satisfy them for the land.

The [linked] politicians who shared in the attempt to rob
Moses and his people of their land, the crowd who hoped for profit
from this crime, and those who from principle, or the lack of it,
or from habit, ery down the red man [and the white] without re-
gard to the merits of his cause, have attempted to justify the
careless [?] act of the President. Unable to make out a case
which could demand respect, with the simple truth, they have not
hesitated to misrepresent the facts—in other words, they have
lied.

It is the opinion of officers now on the reservation, that if
the old chief should begin hostilities, he would be joined by the
disaffected living near him, and that he could muster a force suf-
ficiently strong to spread desolation over the whole of north-
eastern Washington, [which would be a mint for the gang]. But
warfare on Moses’ part has never been feared, unless, forced by
the passions of his people, he should have to abandon them or
lead them.”

“ During the past ten years the Government has expended
nearly $70,000,000 in caring [?] for the Indians [?]. The total
number attached to agencies is only 246,000, and of these 60,000
in Indian Territory, 7,700 in Wisconsin, and 5,000 in New York,
are supposed to be at least partially self-supporting.”

‘MUOVSSV]T NVIGNT NW

S35 ee DOH. D
_ — OoO5m Os
ono PSaezge

00

vy
v ¥ NN:
"2,3 WY

SY
W on
5°
=f a3 oi
=a daa2 5
So EE FE EPPS =|
ote ol] =I) sy
In ——<—<— —
=
dv
SF
° >
ee S\N
oo \N G
NF