An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 20

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172

USA > Washington > Skagit County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 20
USA > Washington > Snohomish County > An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington > Part 20

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INTRODUCTORY

had been brought back to where the guard and prisoners were, some of the troops became badly excited and called out, "Shoot the damned Indians and kill them!" Several shots were fired and two or three of the Indians fell, though they were not attempting to escape. Then Peo-peo-mox-mox sprang off his horse, and walking towards those who were firing. said: "You don't need to kill me -I am not Jesus Christ!" and with these words he fell. The biting sarcasm of the dying words of Peo-peo-mox-mox. if these were his words, can only be appreciated when we remember that they were uttered by a savage who could not be made to under- stand why the white men had, according to their own account, killed their own God. It should be stated, however, that in answer to a direct question as to whether any such language was used, Samuel Warfield, the slayer of Peo-peo-mox-mox, stated that the only foundation for the story was some- thing that occurred on the evening previons. Wolf Skin, he says, attempted to escape. He was imme- diately recaptured and while being tied to prevent a repetition of this attempt, said: "That is as much as could be expected of you. Christ died for his people, and I can die for mine." whereupon one of the volunteers rejoined. "Christ did not run," raising a general laugh.

It is but fair to add the account of the killing given by Mr. Warfield, the man who actually took the life of the Walla Walla chieftain. At the request of the writer, he furnished the following statement :

"Amos Underwood and I were guards over the six Indian prisoners. Peo-peo-mox-mox, Klickitat Jimmy, or Wolf Skin, Nez Perce Billy and three others. About four o'clock in the evening there were a number of soldiers around the guard and prisoners. Word was sent two or three times for those soldiers to come to the front; but they did not go. Finally. Colonel Kelly came and ordered them to the front. I said to the colonel, 'I want to go to the front. What will we do with these prisoners?' He replied. 'Tie them and put them in the house, if they will submit to you ; if not, put them in anyhow.' Major Miller was there present among the wounded, having been shot in the arm. Just at that time Wolf Skin pulled his knife from his legging and struck at Major Miller, cutting his arm as it was thrown up to ward off the blow. In an instant some one broke a musket over the Indian's head. killing him. Then the fight began. Five of the Indian prisoners were killed, either being shot or struck over the head with the guns, Peo-peo-mox-mox being the last one. I showed him how to cross his hands so that I could tic him and put him in the house as the colonel had told 11s, when he grabbed my gun and tried to wrench it around so as to shoot me. I jumped back and grabbed him by the collar and threw him down. still keeping hold of my gun. I also shot at him,

but missed, he being too close. He caught me by the breeches leg and tried to regain his feet. I again jumped back from him as he tried to get up, struck him over the head with my gun, settling him for all time."

This account of Mr. Warfield is probably sub- stantially correct as far as it goes, but it leaves open the question as to what incited Wolf Skin to draw his knife. One of the volunteers confessed that he became so excited by the fact that the whites at the front were being hard pressed and that some of them were killed and wounded that he completely lost his head and rushed back, shouting, "Shoot the Indians and kill them!" This and the attempted tying of their hands inspired the Indians with a belief that they would certainly be murdered, cans- ing them to offer resistance, with the melancholy results heretofore given. If this surmise is correct, neither the Indians nor their guards could be very much blamed, the real cause of the tragedy being the hare-brained man whose wild shoutings alarmed the Indian prisoners. It is hard to understand how the officers could justify their conduct in retaining the Indians at all any longer than they wished to stay. They came under flag of truce, and if Colonel Kelly's report is true, remained voluntarily as hostages, and when they were no longer willing to stay they should have been set at liberty. Nathan Olney, the Indian agent, is quoted as having said : "If you let Peo-peo-mox-mox escape. our hides will not hold shucks." Whether this was true or not, the whites were not justified in retaining any advan- tage gained by disrespect of a flag of truce and the honors of war, and the officers cannot therefore escape censure as being ultimately responsible for the massacre of the Indians.

Next day the battle was renewed. No better narration of its subsequent events can be given than that furnished by Kelly's report, which is therefore reproduced in extenso.

Early on the morning of the 8th the Indians appeared with increased forces, amounting to fully six hundred war- riors. They were posted as usual in the thick brush by the river-among the sage bushes and sand knolls and on the surrounding hills. This day Lieutenant Pillow, with Company A. and Lieutenant Hannon, with Company H, were ordered to take and hold the brush skirting the river and the sage bushes on the plain. Lieutenant Fellows, with Company F, was directed to take and keep posses- sion of the point at the foot of the hill. Lieutenant Jeffries, with Company B. Lieutenant Hand, with Com- pany I, and Captain Cornoyer, with Company K. were posted on three several points on the hills, with orders to maintain them and to assail the enemy on other points of the same hills. As usual, the Indians were driven from their position. although they fought with skill and bravery.

On the 9th they did not make their appearance until about ten o'clock in the morning, and then in somewhat diminished numbers. As I had sent to Fort Henrietta for Companies D and E and expected them on the 10th, I thought it best to act on the defensive and hold our posi- tions, which were the same as on the 8th, until we could get an accession to our forces sufficient to enable us to assail their rear and cut off their retreat. An attack was

THE YAKIMA WAR

made during the day on Companies A and H. in the brush- wood, and upon B on the hill, both of which were repulsed with great gallantry by those companies with considerable loss to the enemy. Companies F, l and K also did great honor to themselves in repelling all approaches to their positions, although in doing so one man in Company F and one in Company I were severely wounded. Darkness as usual closed the combat by the enemy withdrawing from the field. Owing to the inclemency of the night, the companies on the bill were withdrawn from their several positions, Company B abandoning its rifle pits which were made by the men of that company for its protection. At early dawn of the next day the Indians were observed from the preceding our camp to be in possession of all points held by us on day. Upon seeing them, Lieutenant McAuliff, of Company B. gallantly observed that his com- pany bad dug those holes, and after breakfast they would have them again; and well was his declaration fulfilled, for in less than an hour the enemy was driven from the pits and fled to an adjoining hill which they had occupied the day before. This position was at once assailed. Cap- tain Cornoyer, with Company K and a portion of Com- pany I. being mounted, gallantly charged the enemy on his right flank, while Lieutenant McAuliff, with Company B, dismounted, rushed up the hill in the face of a heavy fire and scattered them in all directions. They at once fled, to return to this battle-field no more, and thus ended our long contested fight.

The winter following the battle of the Walla Walla was an exceedingly severe one, and the suf- fering of the soldiers was sometimes extreme. The late W. C. Painter, of Walla Walla, was wont to describe his experience of trying to sleep with scant shelter and scantier covering and the thermometer at twenty below zero. Mrs. Victor quotes one of the volunteers, whose name she does not reveal, as having said :

"On the night of December 21st the snow fell from six to eight inches deep, and the mercury stood about twenty degrees below zero. Next morning it fell to my lot to go on guard. My raiment consisted of an old slouch hat, an old coat, a flannel shirt, a threadbare pair of pants, and an old pair of shoes without socks. I had run through my shoes during the battle, but found an old pair in a cache which answered the purpose. I donned my raiment, tied a string around my pants to keep them from slipping above my knees, and at six o'clock was ready for duty. My beat being one mile from camp, I trudged along through the snow until I reached my station, and then passed off the time as best I could. * *

When I examined my feet, strange to say, they were not very badly frozen, only the tops and sides were raised up in blisters. Several of the boys who had no shoes took rawhide and sewed it up in shape something like a moccasin. This beat bare feet to wade through the snow with. But the boys seemed to be content. Our tents were small and thin ; our blankets were smaller and thinner. I had two of those long, narrow, thin blankets, one blne and one green, that were not long enough to reach from my nose down to my feet, and a saddle blanket ; this constituted my bed."

But it is now time to return to Governor Ste- vens, who, as hitherto stated, had set out for the

Blackfoot country upon completing his negotia- tions at the Walla Walla council. Having succeeded in inducing the dreaded Blackfeet to treat for the sale of their lands and started upon his return to Olympia, he had reached Hellgate in the present Montana, when a detachment of Nez Perces met him and gave him information of the war and his own isolated and imperiled position. It would require all the tact, ingenuity and daring of this eminent man to run the gauntlet of these multiplied dangers in safety, but the doughty governor was equal to the task. How he acted under these trying circumstances may best be told in his own language :

The result of our conference (with the Nez Perces) was most satisfactory. The whole party, numbering four- teen men, among whom were Spotted Eagle, Looking Glass and Three Feathers, principal chiefs among the Nez Perces, expressed their determination to accompany me and share any danger to be encountered. They expressed a desire that after crossing the mountains, I should go to their country, where a large force of their young men would accompany me to The Dalles and protect us with their lives against any enemy.

Having replenished my train with all the animals to he had. on November 14th we pushed forward. crossed the Bitter Root mountains the 20th, in snow two and a half to three feet deep, and reached the Coeur d'Alene mission the 25th, taking the Coeur d'Alenes entirely by surprise. Tbey bad not thought it possible that we could cross the mountains so late in the season.

With the Coeur d'Alenes 1 held a council, and found them much excited, on a balance for peace or war, and a chance word might turn them either way. Rumors of all kinds met us bere : that the troops had fought a battle with the Yakimas and drove them across the Columbia towards the Spokanes, and that the Walla Wallas, Cayuses and Umatillas were in arms, and that they had been joined by a party of Nez Perces. The accounts were of so contra- dictory a nature that nothing certain could be ascertained from them, excepting that the several tribes below were in arms, blocking up our road, and had threatened to cut off my party in any event. However. I determined to push on to the Spokanes.

Tbe Spokanes were even more surprised than the Coeur d'Alenes on seeing us. Three hours before my arrival they bad heard that I was going to the settlements by way of New York. I immediately called a council ; sent to Fort Colville for Mr. McDonald, in charge of that post of the Hudson's Bay Company: sent also for the Jesnit fatbers at that point. They arrived. A council was held, at which the whole Spokane nation was represented. The Coeur d'Alenes and Colville Indians also were present.

The Spokanes and Colville Indians evinced extreme hostility of feeling; spoke of the war below; wanted it stopped : said the whites were wrong. The belief was cur- rent that Peo-peo-mox-mox would cut off my party as he had repeatedly threatened. They had not joined in the war, but yet would make no promise to remain neutral. If the Indians now at war were driven into their country, they would not answer for the consequences ; probably many of the Spokanes would join them. After a stormy council of several days, the Spokanes, Coeur d'Alenes and Colvilles were entirely conciliated and promised they would reject all overtures of the hostile Indians and continue the firm friends of the whites.

Having added to my party and organized, etc., we thence made a forced march to the Nez Perce country. Mr. Craig had received letters which informed me that the whole Walla Walla valley was blocked up with hostile Indians, and the Nez Perces said it would be impossible to go through.

INTRODUCTORY

I called a council and proposed to them that one hun- dred and fifty of their young men should accompany me to The Dalles. Without hesitation, they agreed to go. Whilst in the council making arrangements for our move- ments, news came that a force of gallant Oregon volun- tvers, four hundred strong, had met the Indians in the Walla Walla valley, and after four days' hard fighting, having a number of officers and men killed and wounded, had completely routed the enemy. driving them across Snake river and toward the Nez Perce country. The next day I pushed forward, accompanied by sixty-nine Nez Perces, well armed. and reached Walla Walla without encountering any hostile Indians. They had all been driven across Snake river below us by the Oregon troops.

It is now proper to inquire what would have been the condition of my party had not the Oregon troops vigor- ously pushed into the field and gallantly defeated the enemy.

The country between the Blue mountains and the Columbia was overrun with Indians, numbering one thou- sand to twelve hundred warriors, including the force at Priests' rapids under Kamiakin, who had sworn to ent me off ; it was completely blocked up. One effect of the cam- paign of the regulars and volunteers in the Yakima country under Brigadier-General Rains was to drive Kamiakin and his people on our side of the Columbia river, and thus endanger our movement from the Spokane to the Nez Perce country. Thus we had been hemmed in by a body of hostile Indians through whom we could have only forced our way with extreme difficulty and at great loss of life. We might all have been sacrificed in the attempt. For the opening of the way to my party I am solely indebted to the Oregon volunteers. Peo-peo-mox-mox, the celebrated chief of the Walla Wallas, entertained an extreme hostility toward myself and party, owing to imaginary wrongs he supposed to have been inflicted upon him in the treaty concluded with the Cavuses and Walla Wallas last June, and had been known repeatedly to threaten that I never should reach The Dalles. He was the first to commence hostilities by plundering Fort Walla Walla and destroying a large amount of property belonging to the United States Indian department.

At Walla Walla I found some twenty-five settlers-the remainder having Hed to The Dalles for protection. With these were one hundred friendly Indians. Special Indian Agent B. F. Shaw, colonel in the Washington territory militia, was on the ground, and 1 at once organized the district, placed him in command and directed him, if nec- essary, to fortify, at all events to maintain his ground should the Oregon troops be disbanded before another force should take the field. The Nez Perce auxiliaries were disbanded and returned home.

Thus we had reached a place of safety unaided, except- ing by the fortunate movements of the Oregon troops. Not a single man had been pushed forward to meet us, and though it was well known we should cross the moun- tains about a certain time, and arrive at Walla Walla about the time we did. Why was this? Arrangements had been made with Major Rains by Acting-Governor Mason to push forward a force under Colonel Shaw to meet me at Spokane about the time of my arrival there. A company had been enlisted, organized and marched to Fort Vancou- ver to obtain equipments, rations and transportation. which Major Rains had promised both Governor Mason and Colonel Shaw should be promptly furnished them. Some little delay ensued. and in the meantime Major- General Wool arrived, who immediately declined equip- ping the company, as promised by Major Rains, and stated that he could not in any manner recognize volunteers or furnish them equipments or transportation, and declined to supply their places with regular troops, of whom. at Van- couver alone, were some three hundred and fifty men.

The report then goes on to make grave accu-

sations against General Wool. "All history," says Professor Lyman, "abounds in instances of intense personal feuds and disagreements, but our Pacific coast history seems to have been especially fruitful of them. That between General Wool, with some of the officers who echoed his opinions, the regulars, in short, on one side and Governor Stevens, sup- ported by the volunteers and the nearly united people of the territory on the other, was particu- larly acrimonious." The following is an extract from Stevens' report showing the ground of his complaint against Wool :

"When remonstrated with by Captain William Mckay, in command of the company to push forward to my assistance, when informed of the object for which the company was enlisted, and that if it was not pressed forward at once, or if some other force was not sent, Governor Stevens and his party would be in the most imminent danger. the general replied that in his opinion the danger was greatly exaggerated. That probably Governor Stevens would be able to protect himself, but if he could not, then Governor Stevens could obtain an escort from General Harney.

"What a reply was that! A moiety of the Indians now in arms had defeated a detachment of one hundred United States regulars; Major Rains had placed on record his opinion that an insufficient force would be defeated by these Indians, and my party was supposed to number no more than twenty- five men. Yet Major-General Wool very coolly says, 'Governor Stevens can take care of himself." So, too, in the remark that I could obtain aid from General Harney. Did General Wool know that the distance from Fort Benton to the supposed position of General Harney was greater than the distance from Fort Benton to The Dalles, and that to obtain aid from him would require not less than six months, and that an express to reach him must pass through the entire breadth of the Sioux? Such ignorance shows great incapacity and is inexcusable.

"Mr. Secretary, Major-General Wool, com- manding the Pacific Division, neglected and refused to send a force to the relief of myself and party when known to be in imminent danger, and believed by those who were less capable of judging to be coming on to certain death, and this, when he had at his command an efficient force of regular troops. He refused to sanction the agreement made between Governor Mason and Major Rains for troops to be sent to my assistance and ordered them to dis- band. It was reserved for the Oregon troops to rescue tis.

"The only demonstration made by Major Rains restilted in showing his utter incapacity to command in the field. As has heretofore been said, his expe- dition against the Yakimas effected nothing but driving the Indians into the very country through which I must pass to reach the settlements.

"I therefore prefer charges against General

THE YAKIMA WAR

Wool. I accuse him of utter and signal incapacity, of criminal neglect of my safety. I ask for an investigation into the matter and for his removal from command."

In January, 1856, Governor Stevens reached his capital at Olympia and found that the storm of war was raging on the west as on the east side of the Cascade range. In October, 1855, the Indian situ- ation became threatening, so much so that Acting- Governor Mason called for the organization of four additional companies, to be considered as a reserve force, their members a species of minute men, ready for immediate action in case of necessity. Block- houses were erected by the settlers and other defen- sive measures adopted. The war was given incep- tion in the manner usual to savages, namely, by the indiscriminate massacre of defenseless settlers. In a letter dated November 5th, Christopher C. Hewitt thus describes the dire results of the outbreak to the unoffending people of White river, upon whom the first blow fell.

"We started Monday morning (October 29th) for the scene of action. After two days' hard work we made the house of Mr. Cox, which we found robbed. We next went to Mr. Jones', whose house had been burnt to the ground ; and Mr. Jones, being sick at the time, was burnt in it. The body of Mrs. Jones was found some thirty yards from the house, shot through the lower part of the lungs, her face and jaws horribly broken and mutilated, apparently with the head of an axe. The bones of Mr. Jones were found, the flesh having been roasted and eaten off by hogs. Mr. Cooper, who lived with Mr. Jones, was found about one hundred and fifty yards from the house, shot through the lungs. After burying the bodies, we proceeded to the house of W. H. Brown, a mile distant. Mrs. Brown and her infant, apparently ten months old, we found in the well, the mother stabbed in the back and head and also in the lower part of the left breast, the child not dressed but no marks of violence noticeable upon it. Mr. Brown was found in the house, literally cut to pieces. We next went to the house of Mr. King, or to the site of it, for it had been burnt to the ground. Mr. King and the two little children were burnt in the house, and the body of Mr. King, after being roasted, had been almost eaten up by hogs. Mrs. King was some thirty yards from the house. She had been shot through the heart and was horribly mutilated. Three children were saved, one the son of Mr. King and two of Mr. Jones."

On hearing of the outbreak, General Wool sent additional troops and the regulars and volunteers carried on such warfare with the wily Indians as the nature of the country would permit. But the winter season, which is very rainy on the sound, and the dense primeval forest that covered the land, rendered campaigning against an elusive enemy ex- ceedingly difficult and unsatisfactory. In the desul- tory fighting which followed the outbreak, a nut-

ber of regulars lost their lives, among them the gal- lant and manly Lieutenant William A. Slaughter, and though losses were also inflicted upon the In- dians, little was accomplished toward the winning of a permanent peace.

Upon his arrival, Governor Stevens, with his usual vigor and resourcefulness, set about the onerous task of placing the territory on a satisfac- tory war footing. He contended that the volunteers who had been mustered into the service of the United States had been treated badly, so that it was proper that volunteers thereafter enlisted should be under the direction of the territorial authorities alone. As the term of enlistment of those volun- teers called out by Acting-Governor Mason was about to expire, he issued a proclamation calling for six companies, reciting as the occasion for his so doing that "during the past three months a band of hostile Indians had been spreading aların amongst the settlers residing on Puget sound, mur- dering the families, destroying property, causing claims to be abandoned, and preventing the usual avocations of the farmer, whereby a large portion of the territory had become deserted ; and positive want, if not starvation, stares us in the face during the coming year.'

Three days after this proclamation was issued, an event happened which effectually proved that the call of the executive was not unwarranted. It had been impossible for the hostile Indians to secure the co-operation and support of all their race residing upon the sound, many remaining friendly to the whites. In order to win over to hostility these friendly and neutral tribes. a bold move was determined upon by the red men in arms, one "utterly inexplicable, considering their usual mode of warfare." At 8:30 o'clock in the morning an attack was made on the town of Seattle, notwith- standing the fact that an American armed vessel was lying at anchor in the harbor. All day long the firing continued. Two white men were killed and a number of Indians, just how many could not be ascertained, though a shell from the United States ship (the Decatur) is said to have killed five. The Indians were not successful in their attempt to seize the town. Had they been, "thereby would have been settled the question by the great number of Indians upon the reservations who yet doubted as to which party should have their allegiance."

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An illustrated history of Skagit and Snohomish Counties; their people, their commerce and their resources, with an outline of the early history of the state of Washington, Part 20

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.) Publication date: 1906 Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company Number of Pages: 1172

Author: Inter-state Publishing Company (Chicago, Ill.)
Publication date: 1906
Publisher: [Chicago] Interstate Publishing Company
Number of Pages: 1172