USA > Washington > History of Washington; the rise and progress of an American state, Vol. II > Part 24
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"The Cayuses are the most treacherous and intractable of all the Indian tribes in this country, and had on many former occasions alarmed the inmates of the mission by their tumultuous proceedings, and ferocious threats; but unfor- tunately these evidences of a brutal disposition were dis- regarded by their admirable pastor, and served to arm him with a firmer resolution to do them good. He hoped that time and instruction would produce a change of mind, a better state of feeling towards the mission; and he might have lived to see his hopes realized had not the measles and dysentery, following in the train of the immigrants from the United States, made frightful ravages this year in the upper country, many Indians having been carried off through the violence of the disease, and others through their own impru- dence. The Cayuse Indians of Waiilatpu, being sufferers in this general calamity, were incensed against Dr. Whitman for not exerting his supposed supernatural powers in saving their lives. They carried this absurdity beyond the point of folly. Their superstitious minds became possessed with the horrible suspicion that he was giving poison to the sick instead of wholesome medicine, with the view of working the destruction of the tribe, their former cruelty probably adding strength to this suspicion. Still some of the more reflecting had confidence in Dr. Whitman's integrity, and it was agreed to test the effects of the medicine he had furnished, on three of their people, one of whom was said to be in perfect health. They all un- fortunately died. From that moment, it was resolved to destroy the mission. It was immediately after bury- ing the remains of these three persons that they repaired to the mission and murdered every man found there."
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Ogden's trip up the river required twelve days, and eight had elapsed after the massacre before he received news of it and was prepared to start. During all this time-the sav- ages held the women and children prisoners at Waiilatpu. They had apparently planned to dispose of them as they would have disposed of the widows and orphans of their savage enemies if in their power. Some of them had long wished for white wives. They had often proposed to buy the daughters of the emigrants, and could never under- stand why they refused to sell them. They had sometimes offered troops of horses for a single girl, but never had one of these offers been accepted .* The white men whom they had longest known, those connected with the Hudson's Bay Company, had bought their women for wives. If the white men would buy as the Indian did, why would they not sell as the Indian did? Perhaps it was because of their pride. If so a time had come when this pride no longer stood in their way.
But most of them were restrained from carrying their purpose, with regard to these helpless widows and orphans, into immediate execution by a wholesome fear of what other white men might do. They had no sooner finished their murderous work than they seem to have begun to be alarmed by what the settlers west of the mountains might possibly do to avenge it. They were in doubt also as to what the Hudson's Bay Company might do. Dr. McLoughlin had
* They continued to make these offers long after the Whitman mas- sacre. In 1853 an Indian in eastern Oregon very much admired a young sister of George H. Himes, the present secretary of the Oregon Historical Society, and was so persistent as to cause her mother much alarm. One morning he brought to the train a drove of four or five hundred horses, all of which he was willing to give for her. He was driven away with difficulty.
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more than once made them understand that he regarded all white men and women as equally under his protection. McBean had sent them word that they had already gone too far and must go no farther. They knew perfectly well that if the settlers and the Hudson's Bay people united they could destroy them. They had better arms and more abun- dant supplies, and knew better how to make war. Even if the Hudson's Bay Company should remain neutral, and should supply the settlers with arms and ammunition, and withhold these from themselves, the contest would be unequal and their own punishment would be severe. These con- siderations, or something similar, seem to have restrained the more conservative and reasonable among them, though they were not able to control all of their tribesmen, and during the thirty days they were held in captivity, the women and children were kept in a constant state of suspense and alarm. They were herded together in a large square adobe building, containing five rooms, one being a bedroom, and the others large living rooms. The Indians supplied them with plenty of food but tortured them with their company. "We had to prepare food for them," says Mrs. Pringle, "of which they would make us eat first for fear that we had put poison in it. The women seldom came around. When night came and the beds were made down the Indians would take possession of them, and we would frequently have to sit up until midnight before they would leave."
On the 5th of December one of the young Sager girls died, and three days afterwards Helen Meek also died. On the day following the burial of the victims by Father Brouillet, one of the men who had been employed at the saw mill, which was twenty miles away, came to the mission for some provisions and was killed. A few days later the two young
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men who were sick and unable to leave their rooms on the day of the massacre, were brought to the building where the other prisoners were kept. One of these had spent the night after the massacre alone in his room, supposing that he was the only person at the mission who had escaped alive. One evening these two sick men were attacked by the savages, as they lay in their beds, and butchered in the presence of the other prisoners, all of whom supposed that they were to be killed also. Late that evening there was a knock at the door and a voice in English called for Mary Smith. The caller proved to be her father, who, with his family and another family named Young, had been employed in the saw mill, and had now been brought down to the mission to be murdered, but word having come from Fort Walla Walla that no more murders were to be committed, their lives were spared, and the men were kept at work in the grist mill until their rescuers arrived.
One evening a young Indian came to the house and looked carefully among the captives until he found Miss Bewley, who was still quite sick and kept to her bed most of the time. He tried to prevail upon her to be his wife, but she told him that he had a wife and she would not have him. Finding that neither persuasion nor threats availed, he seized her, dragged her out of the house and tried to place her upon his horse. She resisted, pleaded with him, and threatened to tell the chief of his conduct, and at last began to scream. He pressed his hand over her mouth and a struggle followed, and he finally threw her with violence upon the ground. After this he left, and a few days later Five Crows, a chief of the Umatillas, came for her and carried her away to his lodge where he kept her as his wife until she was rescued. The evening after she left the other Indian who had so
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violently abused her, came with a wagon and ropes and another man to assist him in carrying her away, and was very angry when he did not find her. "This Indian," Mr. Spalding says, "was Hezekiah, son of the principal Cayuse chief, and one often mentioned in my letters as one of our most diligent scholars-three winters in our school at Clear Water (Lapwai) and a member of our church."
Previous to this the Indians had held a council to decide what to do with their prisoners. Many speeches were made. One could see no use in bothering further with them; the quickest way to get rid of them was to kill them. It was finally decided that they should be kept until spring, if neces- sary, and then sent to the Willamette. The prisoners were frequently informed that they would be killed if their country- men should begin war, or attempt their rescue. A few even- ings later another council was held, at which all the women and children were required to be present. The object of it was to try to persuade all the older girls to take young chiefs for their husbands, so as to protect themselves and the others from violence.
During the whole time that they were in captivity those who were able to sew were compelled to do so for the Indians. All the new goods at the station were brought to them to be made into shirts and garments of various kinds. Sometimes they sought to make them work on the Sabbath, as if it were a special delight to compel them to do what they knew they had been taught not to do.
Knowing the brutal nature of the savages the women and older girls lived in constant terror of them. They watched with anxious fear for their coming in the morning, and only felt safe after they had departed at night. "It was my
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custom," says Mrs. Pringle, "to take my little sister, who was three years old and had been ill a long time, in my arms, and sit down behind the stove and await their coming, resolved to die with her if they should murder us. Oh, what anxious days those were : how slowly the hours seemed to drag along! And yet in all our anxiety and sorrow, the children would sometimes sit together and sing hymns, and sometimes the Indians would sing with them."
But while some of the Indians were thus torturing their captives, others were anxiously making plans for conciliating the settlers in the Willamette. Mr. Spalding was appealed to. He had narrowly escaped the massacre, and his daughter was among the captives. He was returning to Waiilatpu on Wednesday afternoon from Umatilla, whither he had gone on the Saturday previous with Whitman, when he met Father Brouillet, who had just finished burying the victims of the massacre. The place of meeting was only about three miles from Waiilatpu. The priest had with him his interpreter and a young Indian had followed them from the camp of the Cayuses, as he suspected, for the purpose of murdering the missionary if he should meet them. Happily he had dis- charged his pistol just before they met, and having no other weapon, he turned his horse about and started back toward the camp. As soon as he was safely out of hearing the father informed Mr. Spalding of what had occurred and warned him of his own danger. He also was able to tell him that his daughter was alive, and that the Indians had assured him that the women and children should not be killed. Then giving him some food that he was carrying for his own use, he urged him to leave the beaten trail, make a wide detour, and hasten to his own mission as rapidly as possible. This he did, but his horse escaped from him at night, when still
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ninety miles from his station, and he was obliged to com- plete the journey on foot, arriving on Monday evening, one week after the massacre. He found that Canfield, the wounded man who had left Whitman's just after the massacre began, had arrived on Saturday evening, two days earlier. On his arrival Mrs. Spalding had dispatched two friendly Nez Perces to rescue her daughter if possible, and also to learn whether her husband had escaped. So far the Indians at Lapwai had made no attempt at violence, but when news of what had happened at Waiilatpu began to get about among them some became threatening. For a time it seemed that the station would be plundered and all its inmates murdered, or left to perish on the plains, but the majority of the tribe rallied to their protection, and promised to defend them from the Indians if they in turn would protect them from the settlers when they should come.
Mr. Spalding and his wife were thus placed in a most try- ing position. With his daughter a captive among Indians of a neighboring tribe, who had murdered her protectors, and himself and wife and all their coworkers at the mercy of other excited Indians, some of whom were already inclined to violence, it is hardly surprising that he should have consented, as he did, to send a written appeal to Governor Abernethy for peace.
The Indians also consulted with Bishop Blanchet at Uma- tilla, and at their solicitation he prepared the following letter to Governor Abernethy, which four of the principal chiefs signed :
"The principal chiefs of the Cayuses, in council assembled, state: 'That a young Indian (Joe Lewis), who understands English, and who slept in Dr. Whitman's room, heard the Doctor, his wife and Mr. Spalding express their desire of
PETER SKEEN OGDEN.
This famous factor of the Hudson's Bay Company came to the coast in the service of the Northwest Company. He built Fort Walla Walla in 1818, and twenty-nine years later held a council with the Indians there, at which he ransomed the women and children who had been at Waiilatpu when Dr. Whitman and others were massacred. He died at Oregon City in 1854. During his long connection with Hudson's Bay Company he explored most of the country west of the mountains and discovered many of its prominent lakes and mountain peaks, including Mount Shasta. He was one of the chief factors left in charge of the company's interest on the coast on McLoughlin's retirement.
THE RISE AND PROGRESS
bas ,8181 Ai sils W sliSW fTOI Hiud SH Vasqmo? ansibnI adt dtiw lindos is bisd 1sus1 216543Hin shows anfield, the notblid bra wamow adt bemoenetischmidvass stentsthe massacre bas nsmtidW Ja gody uqtslijst is goed bsd odw
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days earlier.
Hi VJIS HORSTO JE b9Ib 9H
a'ndabusH . dirw noitsomdobloghol dit galiu tagr two friendly dasw unuoa ods fo taoty borblakshad vasqmod ksa and also to Anonimoig ati lo vasi bagaib bas anistavom art }o .stasde frioM ghibuoni aussq histhuom SGaBa bas ayer the Indians grit to synsda intial enotosh teinopart the isdonew, Hit when news a'nildsvopHappened. attugasiabout among firm pome became threatening. For a time it seemed that de marion would be plundered and all its inmates murdered, ur left to perish on the plains, but the majority of the tribe rallied to their prototoo, and promised to defend them Than the Indians if they in turn would protect them from the worders when they should come
Mr. Spalding and his wife were thus placed in a most try- position. With his daughter a captive among Indians . neighboring tribe, who had murdered her protectors. Mowelf and wife and all their coworkers at the mercy low excited Indians, some of whom were already inclined , it is hardly surprising that he should have Mul he did, to send a written appeal to Governor lir paice.
Tako consulted with Miboo Buchet at Uma- mitation be prepat-o tve following letter
B
-om which Jour | the principal chiefs
Wwwof the Carwas, in council assembled, State- Por Indian (Joe L wis), who understands English,pt in Dr. Whowwan's room, heard the Doctor, ho- Mr. Spalding express their desire of
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possessing the land and animals of the Indians; that he stated also that Mr. Spalding said to the Doctor: 'Hurry giving medicines to the Indians that they may soon die'; that the same Indians told the Cayuses : 'If you do not kill the Doc- tor soon, you will all be dead before spring'; that they buried six Cayuses on Sunday, November 24th, and three the next day; that the schoolmaster, Mr. Rogers, stated to them, before he died, that the Doctor, his wife and Mr. Spalding poisoned the Indians; that, for several years past, they had to deplore the death of their children, and that, according to these reports, they were led to believe that the whites had undertaken to kill them all, and that these were the motives which led them to kill the Americans. The same chiefs ask at present :
" Ist. That the Americans may not go to war with the Cayuses.
"2d. That they (the Americans) may forget the lately committed murders, as the Cayuses forget the murder of the son of the great chief of the Walla Wallas, committed in California .*
"3d. That two or three great men may come up and conclude peace;
"4th. That as soon as these great men have arrived and concluded peace, they may take with them all the women and children;
"5th. That they give assurance that they will not harm the captives before the arrival of these two or three great men;
"6th. That they ask that Americans may not travel any more through their country, as their young men might do them harm."
* This refers to the killing of Elijah Hedding.
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With this manifesto the bishop also sent a letter in which he says :
"After an interview with the chiefs separately, I succeeded in assembling them in council, which was held yesterday, and lasted four hours and a half. Each of the chiefs delivered a speech before giving his opinion. The docu- ment which accompanies the present will show you the result. It is sufficient to state that all these speeches went to show that hostilities had been instituted by the whites; that they abhor war; and that the tragedy of the 29th of November had occurred from an anxious desire of self preservation; and that it was the reports made against the Doctor and others which led them to commit this act. They desire to have the past forgotten, and to live in peace as before. Your Excellency has to judge of the document which I have been requested to forward to you .. Neverthe- less, without having the least intention to influence one way or the other, I feel myself obliged to tell you, that by going to war with the Cayuses you will undoubtedly have all the Indians of the country against you. Would it be to the interest of the young colony to expose herself? But that you will decide with your council."
Being in this state of mind the chiefs were only too willing to meet Ogden in council when he arrived. He reached Fort Walla Walla on December 19th, and immediately dis- patched couriers to all the chiefs and head men of the Cayuse nation, and to all the neighboring tribes, and on the twenty- third a general council was held, which continued until late at night. The Indians meantime, having had time for reflec- tion, had become more and more alarmed about the conse- quences that were likely to follow their bloody work. They doubtless realized that he could make no agreement with
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them that would bind the Americans, but they knew also that by delivering up their captives on reasonable terms, they would do something to prepare the way for negotiation with those whom they far more seriously dreaded. Ogden opened the council with this address.
"I regret to observe that all the chiefs whom I asked for are not present. Two being absent, I expect the words I am about to address to you to be repeated to them, and your young men on your return to your camp. It is now thirty years since we have been among you. During this long period, we have never had any instance of blood being spilt, until that inhuman massacre, which has so recently taken place. We are traders, and a different nation from the Americans. But recollect, we supply you with ammunition not to kill the Americans. They are the same color as our- selves, speak the same language, are children of the same God; and humanity makes our hearts bleed when we behold you using them so cruelly. Besides this revolting butchery, have not the Indians pillaged, ill-treated the Americans, and insulted their women when peaceably making their way to the Willamette ? As chiefs, ought you to have con- nived at such conduct on the part of your young men ? You tell me the young men committed the deed without your knowledge. Why do we make you chiefs if you have no control over your young men? You are a set of hermaphrodites, and unworthy of the appellation of men as chiefs. You young, hot-headed men, I know that you pride yourselves upon your bravery, and think no one can match you. Do not deceive yourselves. If you get the Americans to commence once, you will repent it; and war will not end until every one of you is cut off from the face of the earth. I am aware that a good many
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of your friends and relatives have died through sickness. The Indians of other places have shared the same fate. It is not Dr. Whitman who poisoned them; but God has commanded that they should die. We are weak mortals, and must submit; and I trust you will avail yourselves of the opportunity. By so doing, it may be advantageous to you; but at the same time remember that you alone will be responsible for the consequences. It is merely advice that I give you. We have nothing to do with it. I have not come here to make promises, or hold out assistance. We have nothing to do with your quarrels; we remain neutral. On my return, if you wish, I shall do all I can for you; but I do not promise you to prevent war.
"If you deliver me up all the prisoners, I shall pay you for them on their being delivered; but let it not be said among you afterwards that I deceived you. I and Mr. Douglas represent the company (H. B. Co.) but I tell you once more we promise you nothing. We sympathize with these poor people, and wish to return them to their friends and relatives by paying you for them. My request in behalf of the families concerns you, so decide for the best."
To this the chiefs severally replied, and the terms on which the prisoners were to be surrendered was agreed upon. It was also arranged that Mr. and Mrs. Spalding, and the other Americans at Lapwai, should be delivered up, and on the evening of December 29th the captives from Waiilatpu were brought to the fort, and the property agreed upon was delivered to the Indians on the following day. On the next day the party from Lapwai arrived, and on the first day of January 1848 Ogden and the captives, fifty-two in number, left for Fort Vancouver.
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The following is the list of the captives ransomed: Missionary children adopted by Dr. Whitman, viz. Mary T. Bridger; Catherine Sager, aged 13; Elizabeth Sager, aged 10, Matilda J. Sager, 8; Henrietta N. Sager, 4; Emigrants, Joseph Smith; Mrs. Hanna Smith; Mary Smith, aged 15 years; Edwin Smith, 13; Charles Smith, II; Nelson Smith, 6; Mortimer Smith, 4. Mrs. Eliza Hall; Jane Hall, aged 10 years; Mary Hall, 8; Ann E. Hall, 6; Rebecca Hall, 3; Rachael M. Hall, I; Elam Young; Mrs. Irene Young; Daniel Young, aged 21 years; John Young, 19; Mrs. Harriet Kimball; Susan Kimball, aged 16 years; Nathan Kimball, 13; Byron M. Kimball, 8; Sarah S. Kimball, 6; Mince A. Kimball, 1; Mrs. Mary Sanders; Helen M. Sanders, aged 14; Phoebe L. Sanders, 10; Alfred W. Sanders, 6; Nancy I. Sanders, 4; Mary A. Sanders, 2; Mrs. Sally A. Canfield; Ellen Canfield, 16; Oscar Canfield, 9; Clarissa Canfield, 7; Sylvia A. Canfield, 5; Alvery Canfield, 3; Mrs. Rebecca Hays; Henry C. Hays, aged 4; also Eliza Spalding, Nancy E. Marsh, and Lorinda Bewley.
For the release of these people the Hudson's Bay Company gave sixty-two blankets, sixty-three cotton shirts, twelve company guns, six hundred rounds of ammunition, thirty- seven pounds of tobacco, and twelve flints. Mr. Ogden also received from Telau-ka-ikt, of property belonging to the mission, for the use of the captives, seven oxen, large and small, and sixteen bags of coarse flour.
In due course the rescued people were delivered to their American friends at the Willamette, and in acknowledgment of the services rendered by Chief Factor Ogden, and the Hudson's Bay Company, in arranging their rescue, Governor Abernethy sent the following letter to the chief factors, Douglas and Ogden :
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"Their (the captives') condition was a deplorable one, subject to the caprice of the savages, exposed to their insults, compelled to labor for them, and remaining constantly in dread lest they should be butchered, as their husbands and fathers had been. From this state, I am fully satisfied, we could not have relieved them. A small party of Americans would have been looked upon with contempt; the approach of a large party would have been the signal for a general massacre. Your immediate departure from Vancouver, on receipt of the intelligence from Waiilatpu, enabling you to arrive at Walla Walla before the news reached them of the American party having started from this place (Oregon City), together with your influence over the Indians, accom- plished the desirable object of relieving the distressed."
Notwithstanding this frank and well deserved acknowl- edgment of the services rendered, there were some among the settlers who, in after years, professed to believe that the Hudson's Bay Company, through its officers and servants, had instigated the massacre. They reported also that Mc- Bean had refused the fugitives an asylum at Fort Walla Walla, but none of the fugitives themselves supported the charge. On the contrary they had the amplest reasons to defend the Company. More than twenty years later when the evidence was taken to determine the amount of compen- sation to be paid the Company by the government, for the property and improvements it had made in Washington and Oregon, only one of the many witnesses examined, ventured to reassert this charge, but his statements were so obviously absurd, that the counsel for the government, Hon. Caleb Cushing, ex-attorney general, made no effort to substantiate them, although it would manifestly have been desirable to do so, if it had been possible. But the whole
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