USA > Washington > Benton County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 17
USA > Washington > Kittitas County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 17
USA > Washington > Yakima County > History of the Yakima Valley, Washington; comprising Yakima, Kittitas, and Benton Counties, Vol. I > Part 17
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111
"The din of men, the noise of women, the screaming of children, the tramp- ing of horses, and the howling of dogs, was more than can well be described. Let the reader picture to himself a great city in an uproar-it will afford some. idea of our position. In an Indian camp you see life without disguise ; the feel- ings, the passions, the propensities, as they ebb and flow in the savage breast. In this field of savage glory all was motion and commotion; we advanced through groups of men and bands of horses, till we reached the very centre. of the camp and there the sight of the chiefs' tents admonished us to dismount and pay them our respects, as we depended on them for our protection.
"Our reception was cool, the chiefs were hostile and sullen, they saluted us in no very flattering accents. 'These men are the ones,' said they, 'who kill our relations, the people who have caused us to mourn.' And here, for the-
ยท150
HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
first time, I regretted we had not taken advice in time, and returned with the couriers; for the general aspect of things was against us. It was evident we stood on slippery ground : we felt our weakness. In all sudden and unex- pected rencontres with hostile Indians, the first impulse is generally a tremor or sensation of fear, but that soon wears off; it was so with myself at this mo- ment, for after a short interval, I nerved myself to encounter the worst.
"The moment we dismounted, we were surrounded, and the savages, giving two or three war-whoops and yells, drove the animals we had ridden out of our sight ; this of itself was a hostile movement. We had to judge from appear- ances, and be guided by circumstances. My first care was to try and direct their attention to something new, and to get rid of the temptation there was to dispose of my goods; so without a moment's delay, I commenced a trade in horses ; but every horse I bought during that and the following day, as well as those we had brought with us, were instantly driven out of sight, in the midst of yelling and jeering; nevertheless, I continued to trade while an article re- mained, putting the best face on things I could, and taking no notice of their conduct, as no insult or violence had as yet been offered to ourselves person- ally. Two days and nights had now elapsed since our arrival, without food or sleep; the Indians refused us the former, our own anxiety deprived us of the latter.
"During the third day I discovered that the two women were to have been either killed or taken from us and made slaves. So surrounded were we for miles on every side, that we could not stir unobserved; yet we had to devise some means for their escape, and to get them clear of the camp was a task of no ordinary difficulty and danger. In this critical conjuncture, however, something had to be done, and that without delay. One of them had a child at the breast, which increased the difficulty. To attempt sending them back by the road they came, would have been sacrificing them. To attempt an unknown path through the rugged mountains, however doubtful the issue, appeared the only prospect that held out a glimpse of hope; therefore to this mode of escape I directed their attention. As soon as it was dark, they set out on their forlorn adventure, without food, guide or protection, to make their way home under a kind Provi- dence !
"'You are to proceed,' said I to them, 'due north, cross the mountains, and keep in that direction till you fall on the Pisscows River; take the first canoe you find, and proceed with all diligence down to the mouth of it and there await our arrival. But if we are not there in four days, you may proceed to Oakan- agan, and tell your story.' With these instructions we parted; and with but little hopes of our ever meeting again. I had no sooner set about getting the women off, than the husbands expressed a wish to accompany them; the desire was natural, yet I had to oppose it. This state of things distracted my atten- tion ; my eyes had now to be on my own people as well as on the Indians, as I was apprehensive they would desert. 'There is no hope for the women by going alone,' said the husbands, 'no hope for us by remaining here; we might as well be killed in the attempt to escape, as remain to be killed here.' 'No,' said I, 'by remaining here we do our duty; by going, we should be deserting our duty.' To this remonstrance they made no reply. The Indians soon perceived that
151
HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
they had been outwitted. They turned over our baggage, and searched in every hole and corner. Disappointment creates ill-humour ; it was so with the Indians. They took the men's guns out of their hands, fired them off at their feet, and then, with savage laughter, laid them down again ; took their hats off their heads, and after strutting about with these for some time, jeeringly gave them back to their owners; all this time they never interfered with me, but I felt that every insult offered to my men was an indirect insult offered to myself.
"The day after the women went off, I ordered one of the men to try to cook something for us; for hitherto we had eaten nothing since our arrival, except a few raw roots which we managed to get unobserved. But the kettle was no sooner on the fire than five or six of the warriors with spears bore it off, in savage triumph, with the contents: they even emptied out the water, and threw the kettle on one side; and this was no sooner done than thirty or forty ill-favoured wretches fired a volley in the embers before us, which caused a cloud of smoke and ashes to ascend, darkening the air around us : a strong hint not to put a kettle any more on the fire, and we took it.
"At this time the man who had put the kettle on the fire took the knife with which he had cut the venison to lay it by, when one of the Indians, called Eyacktana, a bold and turbulent chief, snatched it out of his hand; the man, in an angry tone, demanded his knife, saying to me, 'I'll have my knife from the villain, life or death.' 'No,' said I. The chief seeing the man angry, threw down his robe, and grasping the knife in his fist, with the point downwards, raised his arm, making a motion in advance as if he intended using it. The crisis had now arrived! At this moment there was a dead silence. The Indians were flocking in from all quarters; a dense crowd surrounded us. Not a mo- ment was to be lost ; delay would be fatal, and nothing now seemed to remain for us but to sell our lives as dearly as possible. With this impression, grasping a pistol, I advanced a step towards the villain who held the knife, with full determination of putting an end to his career before any of us should fall ; but while in the act of lifting my foot and moving my arm, a second idea flashed into my mind, admonishing me to soothe, and not provoke, the Indians, that Providence might yet make a way for us to escape; this thought saved the In- dian's life and ours too. Instead of drawing the pistol, as I intended, I took a knife from my belt, such as travelers generally use in this country, and pre- sented it to him, saying, 'Here, my friend, is a chief's knife, I give it to you ; that is not a chief's knife, give it back to the man.' Fortunately, he took mine in his hand; but, still sullen and savage, he said nothing. The moment was a critical one; our fate hung on as by a thread; I shall never forget it! All the bystanders had their eyes fixed now on the chief, thoughtful and silent as he stood; we also stood motionless, not knowing what a moment might bring forth. At last the savage handed the man his knife, and turning to his people holding up the knife in his hand, exclaimed, "Sheaugh. Me-yokat-Waltz"- Look, my friends, at the chief's knife: These words he repeated over and over again. He was delighted. The Indians flocked round him : all admired the toy, and in the excess of his joy he harangued the multitude in our favour. Fickle indeed, are the savages! They were now no longer enemies, but friends! Sev- eral others, following Eyacktana's example, harangued in turn, all in favour of
152
HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
the whites. This done, the great men squatted themselves down, the pipe of peace was called for, and while it was going round and round the smoking. circle, I gave each of the six principal chiefs a small paper-cased looking-glass and a little vermilion, as a present ; and in return they presented me with two horses and twelve beavers, while the women brought us a variety of eatables.
"This sudden change regulated my movements. Indeed, I might say the battle was won. I now made a speech to them, in turn, and as many of them. understood the language I spoke, I asked them what I should say to the great white chief when I got home, when he asks me where are all the horses I bought from you. What shall I say to him? At this question it was easy to see that their pride was touched. Tell him,' said Eyakctana, 'that we have but one mouth, and one word; all the horses you have bought from us are yours; they shall be delivered up.' This was just what I wanted. After a little counselling among themselves, Eyacktana was the first to speak, and he undertook to see them collected.
"By this time it was sun-down. The chief then mounted his horse, and desired me to mount mine and accompany him, telling one of his sons to take my men and property under his charge till our return. Being acquainted with. Indian habits, I knew there would be repeated calls upon my purse, so I put some trinkets into my pocket, and we started on our nocturnal adventure ; which I considered hazardous, but not hopeless.
"Such a night we had! The chief harangued, travelled and harangued, the whole night ; the people replied. We visited every street, alley, hole and corner of the camp, which we traversed lengthway, crossway, east, west, south and north, going from group to group, and the call was 'Deliver up the horses.' Here was gambling, there scalp dancing; laughter in one place, mourning in another. Crowds were passing to and fro, whooping, yelling, dancing, drum- ming, singing, men, women and children were huddled together; flags flying,. horses neighing, dogs howling, chained bears, tied wolves, grunting and growl- ing, all pell-mell among the tents; and, to complete the confusion, the night was dark. At the end of each harangue the chief would approach me, and whisper in my ear, 'She-augh tamtay enim'-I have spoken well in your favour-a hint for me to reward his zeal by giving him something. This was repeated con- stantly, and I gave him each time a string of beads, or two buttons, or two rings. I often thought he repeated his harangues more frequently than neces- sary, but it answered his purpose, and I had no choice but to obey and pay.
"At daylight we got back ; my people and property were safe; and in two hours after my eighty-five horses were delivered up, and in our possession. I was now convinced of the chief's influence and had got so well into his good graces with my beads, buttons, and rings, that I hoped we were out of all our troubles. Our business being done, I ordered my men to tie up and prepare for home, which was glad tidings to them. With all this favourable change, we were much embarrassed and annoyed in our preparations to start. The savages interrupted us every moment. They jeered the men, frightened the horses, and kept handling, snapping, and firing off our guns; asking for this, that, and the other thing. The men's hats, pipes, belts and knives were constantly in their hands. They wished to see everything, and everything they saw they wished
153
HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
to get, even to buttons on their clothes. Their teasing curiosity had no bounds ; and every delay increased our difficulties. Our patience was tried a thousand times ; but at last we got ready and my men started. To amuse the Indians however, till they could get fairly off, I invited the chiefs to a parley, which I put to a stop as soon as I thought the men and horses had got clear of the camp. I then prepared to follow them, when a new difficulty arose. In the hurry and bustle of starting, my people had left a restive, awkward brute of a horse for me to ride, wild as a deer, and as full of latent tricks as he was wild. I mounted at least a dozen times; in vain I tried to make him advance. He reared, jumped and plunged ; but refused to walk, trot, or to gallop. Every trial to make him go was a failure. A young conceited fop of an Indian, thinking he could make more of him than I could, jumped on his back; the horse reared and plunged as before, when, instead of slackening the bridle as he reared, he reined it tighter and tighter, till the horse fell right over on his back, and almost killed the fellow. Here Eyacktana, with a frown, called out, 'kap-sheesh she-eam'-the bad horse-and gave me another; and for the generous act I gave him my belt, the only article I had to spare. But although the difficulties I had with the horse were galling enough to me, they proved a source of great amusement to the Indians, who enjoyed it with roars of laughter. Before taking my leave of Eyacktana, it is but justice to say that, with all his faults, he had many good qualities, and I was under great obligations to him.
"I now made the best of my way out of the camp, and, to make up for lost time, took a short cut ; but for many miles could see nothing of my people, and began to be apprehensive they had been waylaid and cut off. Getting to the top of a high ridge, I stopped a little to look about me, but could see nothing of them. I had not been many minutes there, however, before I perceived three horsemen coming down an adjacent hill at full tilt. Taking them for enemies, I descended the height, swam my horse across a river at the bottom of it, and, taking shelter behind a rock, dismounted to wait my pursuers. There I primed my rifle anew, and said to myself, "I am sure of two shots, and my pistols will be more than a match for the other." The moment they got to the opposite bank, I made signs for them to keep back, or I would fire on them; but my anxiety was soon removed by their calling out, "As-nack-shee-lough, as-nack-shee-lough"-your friends, your friends. These friendly fellows had all the time been lurking about in anxious suspense, to see what would become of us. Two of them were the very couriers who had, as already stated, strongly tried to turn us back. I was overjoyed at this meeting ; yet still anxious, as they had seen nothing of my men, to find whom we all set off, and came up with them a little before sundown. When we first discovered them they were driving furiously ; but all at once the horses stood still. I suspected something, and told the Indians to remain behind, while I alone went on to see what was the matter; when, as I had expected, seeing four riders following them at full gallop, they might receive us; and we should have met with a warm reception, for McKay, although young, was as brave as a lion. But they were soon agreeably surprised, and the matter was soon explained. I then made signs for the Indians to come forward. The moment we all joined together, we alighted, and changed horses, and drove on until
154
HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
midnight, when we took shelter in a small thicket of woods, and passed the night with our guns in our hands.
"At dawn of day we again set off ; and at three o'clock in the afternoon reached the banks of the Columbia, some six miles beyond the mouth of the Pisscows River, where we considered ourselves out of danger. I then started on ahead, in company of the friendly Indians, to see if the two women had arrived ; and, as good luck would have it, we found them with a canoe ready to ferry us across. They had reached the place about an hour before us; and we will give our readers a brief outline of their adventures."
Perhaps still more vividly illustrating the kind of men that made the first trails across the wilderness was the experience of John Colter. He had been a member of the Lewis and Clark party, but on the return he decided to go trapping in the Rocky Mountains.
After many adventures and changes he fell in with a party headed by Manuel Lisa, of the Missouri Fur Company. Lisa proceeded with his party to the mouth of the Bighorn River, and there established a fort. Desiring to notify the Indians of the arrival of the party, Lisa sent Colter all alone on a journey of several hundred miles to the Crows, on Wind River, and to the Blackfeet, at the Three Forks of the Missouri. On this journey Colter became an unwilling participant in a battle between those two contending tribes. He was on the side of the Crows, and after rendering efficient aid to his side in winning a victory, was severely wounded in the leg. Nevertheless, nothing daunted, he set forth across the ranges of towering, snowy peaks to reach Lisa's Fort. He succeeded in the solitary and desperate undertaking, and in the course of it discovered Yellowstone Lake and the geyser region, which now makes the Yellowstone Park one of the wonders of the world. Returning to the mountains, Colter was captured by the savage and cruel Blackfeet. Wishing to have a little sport with their hapless victim, the Indians stripped him and asked him if he was a fast runner. From his knowledge of their customs he understood that he was to be put up in a race for life against several hundred Indians. He gave them to understand that he was a poor runner, though as a matter of fact he was very fast. Accordingly, they gave him several hundred yards start on the open prairie, with the Jefferson fork of the Missouri six miles distant. Away he sped with the whole pack behind him like a band of wolves. with the war whoop ringing over the plain. With his naked feet torn and bleeding from cactus, Colter soon outdistanced most of the pursuers, but half-way across the plain, glancing over his shoulder, he saw that one swift Indian, armed with a spear, was gaining on him. With the violence of Colter's exertions the blood was streaming from his nostrils down the front of his body, and just as the Indian was almost within striking distance Colter sud- denly stopped and turned, a ghastly spectacle, with extended arms. The Indian was so disconcerted with the unexpected move that in endeavoring to wield his spear he lost his footing and fell. Instantly picking up the spear, Colter pinned his assailant to the ground and on he went again toward the river. The foremost of the pursuing Indians, finding their expiring comrade, paused long enough to set up a hideous howl and then rushed on. But Colter, though almost at the limit of his strength, drove himself on to the river ahead of the band,
155
HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
and, breaking through the copse of cottonwoods which skirted the stream, he plunged in. Just below was a small island against which drift had lodged. Diving beneath the drift, Colter managed to find a crack between the trees where he might get his head in the air. There he remained undiscovered all night, while the savages were shrieking around like so many devils. In the early morning he let loose from the drift and floated and swam a long ways down the stream, and when day fairly broke had got beyond the immediate vicinity of his enemies. But in what a horrid plight! Stark naked, with no food and no weapons for game, the soles of his feet pierced thick with the cruel spikes of the cactus! Yet such is the endurance of some men that in seven days during which his only subsistence was roots dug with his fingers, Colter made his way to Lisa's Fort. The story was told by Colter to Bradbury, who narrated it in his book, "Travels in North America." Irving used it in his "Astoria," and it also appears in Chittenden's "American Fur Trade." "Such was Life in the Far West."
HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY
It is not possible to give lengthy details of the subsequent interesting and important history of the Hudson's Bay Company, but the part which it enacted in Oregon history was so great that we must give a brief view of its organiza- tion in Oregon with its capital at Vancouver.
We have already mentioned the important fact that in 1821 the two great Canadian companies, the North-West and the Hudson's Bay, decided to unite. With the union, the great era of fur trade in the Columbia Basin fairly began, to continue about twenty-five years, yielding then to the American immi- grant. That twenty-five years of the dominance of the great Fur Company contained nearly all the poetry and romance as well as the profit and states- manship of the business. The entire region of the River, as well as that of the Puget Sound country, was mapped out in a most systematic manner with one chief central fort, Vancouver on the Columbia. A more magnificent location for the purpose cannot be conceived. It is now the site of a flourishing city and of the United States Fort Headquarters for the Northwest, generally conceded to be the finest fort location in the United States. At this date, 1918, it is headquarters for gathering air-plane spruce lumber. Fort Vancouver was established in 1825, upon a superb bench of land gently sloping back from the river for two miles. Great trees fringed the site, Mount Hood lifted its pin- nacled majesty sixty miles to the eastward, the sinuous mazes of the Willamette Valley stretched out far southward, while the lordly river was in full view a dozen miles up and down. Every natural advantage and delight which wild nature could offer was here in fullness. Ships could readily ascend the hundred miles from the ocean to unload their merchandise and take on their cargoes of precious furs, the furs collected at the outlay of so much toil and suffering over the area of hundreds of miles. Every species of fish and game abounded in the waters and along the banks of the river. Deer and elk tossed their antlers between the stately firs of the upland and pheasants and grouse whirred among the branches. Geese, cranes, ducks and swans, in countless numbers,
156
HISTORY OF YAKIMA VALLEY
darkened the lagoon amid the many islands enclosed by the mouths of the Willamette and the adjacent water of the larger stream. Fish of many varie- ties, the royal Chinook salmon, king of food fish, being at the head in beauty and edibility, though surpassed in size by the gigantic sturgeon, which some- times weighed a thousand pounds, abounded in the river. No epicure of the world's capitals could command such viands as nature brought to the doors of the denizens of Fort Vancouver.
The fort itself was laid out on a scale of amplitude suitable to the spacious- ness of the site. It was enclosed with a picket wall twenty feet high, with massive buttresses of timber inside. This enclosure was a parallelogram seven hundred and fifty by five hundred feet. Inside were about forty buildings, the Governor's residence of generous dimensions being in the center. Two chapels provided for the spiritual needs of the company, while schoolhouse, stores, "bachelors' halls," and ships of various kinds attested the variety of the needs. Along the bank of the river, outside the enclosure, lay quite a village of cot- tages for the married employes, together with hospital, boathouses, granaries, warehouses, threshing mills, and dairy buildings.
Taken altogether Fort Vancouver was the model fort of the western slope. Moreover, the fertile soil and genial, humid climate soon encouraged the fac- tors of the company to experiment with gardens and orchards, and, within a few years after founding, fifteen hundred acres of land were in the finest state of productivity, while three thousand head of cattle, twenty-five hundred sheep, three hundred brood mares, and over a hundred milch cows, added their boun- teous contributions to the already plentiful resources of the fort.
With this rich larder, with the spacious buildings, with the annual arrivals and departures of ships by sea and fleets of bateaux by river, with hunting trips and Indian policies, with the intercoast traffic with the Russians on the north and the Spaniards on the south, there was as much to engage and delight the minds of these people as if they had lived in the heart of civilization.
Any account of Fort Vancouver would be incomplete without some refer- ence to Dr. John McLoughlin, chief factor of the company in the Columbia district from 1824 to the time of his retirement from the company in 1846 and settlement at Oregon City, Oregon, as an American citizen. Rarely has any one in the stormy history of the Columbia Basin received such unvarying and unqualified praise as has this truly great man. Physically, mentally, and morally, Doctor McLoughlin was altogether the king of the fur traders. Six feet four inches in height, his noble and expressive face crowned with a great cascade of snowy hair, firm yet kindly, prompt and business-like yet sympathetic and helpful, "White Eagle," as the Indians called him, was a true-born king of men.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.