History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington : from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume I, Part 6

Author: Durham, Nelson Wayne, 1859-1938
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 880

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When Captain Black, having brought the Raccoon to anchor in front of the es- tablishment, saw the primitive appearance of the fort, he could scarcely believe his eyes. He had been led to believe that the Americans had built there a great and wealthy establishment, and all through the long voyage he and his fellow officers had indulged anticipations of the rich prize money that would come to them with the fall of Astoria. He inquired if there were not larger and more pretentious buildings somewhere in the vicinity, and when told that he had seen the entire establishment, cried out:

"Is this the fort about which I have heard so much talking? D -- n me, but I'd batter it down in two hours with a four-pounder !"

And when he learned of the canny transaction by which the rich furs of the enemy had passed to a British subject, and his last expectation of prize money went vanishing into thin air, he grew furiously angry, and demanded the taking of an inventory of the property purchased of the Americans, "with a view to ulterior measures in England for the recovery of the value from the Northwest company."

260

OLD BLOCKHOUSE OF HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY ON MARCES FLAT. STEVENS COUNTY, WASHINGTON

5 PUBLIC IT NOT

SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE

But as he cooled off the ludierousness of the affair evidently dawned on his sense of humor, for the "ulterior measures" were never taken.

Less than $40,000 was allowed by the Northwest company for furs worth in excess of $100,000, and goods and merchandise intended for the Indian trade were taken over at less than a third of their true value. The following estimate was made of the furs on hand and the prices paid for them compared with their real value:

17,705 lbs. beaver parchment, valued at. $ 2.00 worth

$ 5.00

465 old coat beaver, valued at.

1.66

worth

3.50

907 land otter, valued at.

.50

worth 5.00

68 sea otter, valued at.

12.00

worth $45 to 60.00

30 sea otter, valued at. 5.00 worth

25.00

Nothing was allowed for 179 mink skins worth 50 eents each; twenty-two rac- eoons, worth 40 cents caeh; twenty-eight lynx, worth $2 each; eighteen fox, worth $1 each; one hundred and six fox, worth $1.50 each; seventy-one black bear, worth $+ each; and sixteen grizzly bear, worth $10 each.

But the deed was done, and could not be cured by repining or reproaches; and with Astoria also went Spokane House, Okanogan and the other trading posts of the Astor company. Captain Black of the sloop-of-war took possession of Astoria in the name of his Britannie Majesty, floated the British flag above it, and re- christened the place "Fort George." As this official aet carried with it a elaim to all the territory in possession of British subjects, Spokane passed under the British ensign, and continued British territory till, the war ended, by the treaty of Ghent the contraeting powers agreed to restore the status ante-bellum, and surrendered each the territory it had acquired by conquest or occupation from the opposing power, when Astoria was theoretically returned to the United States, although the Northwest company remained there in undisputed possession for a number of years.

Let us now take up the sequel to Mr. Clarke's ill-advised hanging of the Indian thief at the mouth of the Palouse river.

A few months subsequent to this event, John Reed, a warm-hearted old Irish- man, was sent with a party to trap beaver in the country around the upper reaches of Snake river, consisting of four Canadians, Giles Le Clerc, Francois Landry, Jean Baptiste Tureot, and Andre La Chappelle, and two half breed hunters, Pierre Dorion and Pierre Delaunay. Pierre Dorion was a son of that French Dorion who had accompanied Lewis and Clark across the continent. Dorion père had taken a Sioux wife, and the produet of that allianee was a numerous progeny as wild and adventu- rous as the wild west had ever yielded. It is narrated that the Dorion family were participants in numerous drunken debauches, and that on one of these occasions, the son Pierre engaged in a rough and tumble fight on the cabin floor with his worthy parent, and in a drunken rage was just in the aet of scalping the author of his being, when the elder Dorion eried out: "Oh, my son, my son. Don't do that. You are too honorable to take your father's scalp!" An appeal which Pierre could not resist.

When Wilson P. Hunt, who had been entrusted with the leadership in 1810 of Mr. Astor's overland expedition from Montreal to the Columbia, was strengthening his party at St. Louis, he employed Pierre Dorion as interpreter, and with Pierre on that frightful journey came his squaw and their two children. Mr. Hunt's party

SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE

took eleven months to traverse the vast expanse between northern Missouri and the mouth of the Columbia, suffered the loss of several members by drowning and desti- tution, and experienced hardships, dangers and sufferings far greater than those en- countered by Lewis and Clark. But through them all the Dorions came unscathed, Madame Dorion, in fact increasing the party by one en route; and when Reed was dispatched on this detached hunting trip, along went Pierre and his heroic squaw.

Irving has treated the events that followed with a graphie pen:

"In the course of the autumn, Reed lost one man, Landry, by death. Another one, Pierre Delaunay, who was of a sullen, perverse disposition, left him in a moody fit, and was never heard of afterward. The number of his party was not, however, reduced by these losses, as three hunters, Robinson, Hoback and Rezner, had joined it.

"Reed now built a house on the Snake river for their winter quarters; which being completed, the party set about trapping. Rezner, Le Clere and Pierre Dorion went about five days' journey from the wintering house, to a part of the country well stocked with beaver. Here they put up a hut and proceeded to trap with great success. While the men were out hunting. Pierre Dorion's wife remained at home to dress the skins and prepare the meals. She was thus employed one evening about the beginning of January, cooking the supper of the hunters, when she heard foot- steps, and Le Clere staggered, pale and bleeding, into the hut. He informed her that a party of savages had surprised them while at their traps, and had killed Rezner and her husband. He had barely strength left to give this information when he sank upon the ground.

"The poor woman saw that the only chance for life was instant flight. With great ditheulty she caught two of the horses belonging to the party. Then collecting her clothes and a small quantity of beaver meat and dried salmon, she packed them upon one of the horses and helped the wounded man to mount upon it. On the other horse she mounted with her two children, and hurried away from this dangerous neighborhood, directing her flight to Mr. Reed's establishment. On the third day she deseried a number of Indians on horseback proceeding in an casterly direction. She immediately dismounted with her children, and helped Le Clere to dismount, and all concealed themselves. Fortunately they escaped the sharp eyes of the savages, but had to proceed with the utmost caution. That night they slept without fire or water; she managed to keep her children warm in her arms, but before morning poor Le Clere died.

"With the dawn of day the resolute woman pursued her course, and on the fourth day reached the house of Mr. Reed. It was deserted, and all round were marks of blood and signs of a furious massacre. Not doubting that Mr. Reed and all his party had fallen victims, she turned in fresh horror from the spot. For two days she continued hurrying forward, ready to sink for want of food, but more solicitous about her children than herself. At length she reached a range of the Rocky moun- tains, near the upper part of the Walla Walla river. Here she chose a wild. lonely ravine as her place of winter refuge.

"She had fortunately a buffalo robe and three deerskins; of these, and of pine bark and cedar branches, she constructed a rude wigwam, which she pitched beside a mountain spring. Having no other food, she killed the two horses and smoked the flesh. The skins aided to cover her It. Here she dragged out the winter with no other company than her two children. Toward the middle of March her provi-

SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE

sions were nearly exhausted. She therefore packed up the remainder, slung it on her back, and, with her helpless little ones, set out again on her wanderings. Cross- ing the ridge of mountains, she deseended to the banks of the Walla Walla, and kept along them until she arrived where that river throws itself into the Columbia. She was hospitably received and entertained by the Walla Wallas, and had been nearly two weeks among them when two canoes passed."

These proved to contain a party from Astoria, ascending the Columbia to Fort Okanogan, the occupants of which were surprised by hearing a childish voice ery out in French :

"Arrêtez donc! arrêtez donc!" (Stop therc, stop there!) It was one of Do- rion's children, joyously hailing friends ; and it is pleasing to add that the party generously rewarded the friendly Walla Wallas for their kind treatment of the brave widow and her children.

Although the supposition was never actually verified, it was believed by the Astorians that the Reed party were massacred by relatives of the Indian hanged at the mouth of the Palouse. It was known that they were greatly enraged by that high-handed act of vengeance, and friendly Indians had frequently warned the tra- ders that the family and friends of the victim were threatening retaliation.

CHAPTER IV

ODD CHARACTERS AT SPOKANE HOUSE

INDIANS PASSIONATELY FOND OF TOBACCO-HIAALCYON DAYS FOR THE SPOKANES-A FIERY HIGHLAND SCOT-TAKING AN INDIAN WIFE-WAR NARROWLY AVERTED- FLATIIEAD GIRLS SCORN WHITE SUITORS- OTHERS NOT SO FASTIDIOUS- GARDENS PLANTED ON THE SPOKANE-STRANGE INDIAN CHIEF NEAR LOON LAKE-REMARK- ABLE CAREER OF A FREE TRADER.

The pipe, with solemn interposing puff, Makes half a sentence at a time enough. The dozing sages drop the drowsy strain, Then pause and puff-and speak, and pause again. -Cowper.

A FFAIRS at Spokane House were little altered by the change of ownership, government and flag. The brigades came and the brigades went between the Spokane and the Columbia. The voyageurs tugged at the cordelle quite as hard as before, and the thieving Wishram Indians at the Caseades grew even more thievish. and attacked with growing audacity the various parties as they made the arduous portage. The officers and their men fared as before on dried salmon, horse meat. and in a pinch now and then, on stewed dog.

Occasionally supplies ran low at Spokane House, and the Indians watched longingly for the coming of the brigade with new stoeks of tobacco and ammunition. On one oeeasion, these commodities were entirely lacking for two months, and when the supplies finally arrived there was great rejoicing of savage hearts. "The whole tribe assembled round the fort and viewed with joy the kegs of powder and the bales of tobacco as they were unloaded from the horses," says Cox. "A large circle was formed in the courtyard, into the center of which we entered, and having lit the friendly calumet, smoked a few rounds to celebrate the meeting. A quantity of tobacco was then presented to caeh man, and the chief delivered an oration."

"My heart is glad to see you." he said ; "my heart is glad to see you. We were a long time very hungry for tobacco, and some of our young men said you would never come back. They were angry and said to me, "The white men made us love tobacco almost as much as we love our children, and now we are starving for it. They brought us their wonderful guns, which we traded from them; we threw by our arrows as useless, because we knew they were not so strong to kill the deer as the guns: and now we are idle with our guns, as the white men have no fire-powder

SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE

or balls to give us, and we have broken our arrows and almost forgotten how to use them. The white men are very bad and have deceived us.' But I spoke to them and I said. 'You are fools; you have no patience. The white men's big canoes are a long time coming over the great lake that divides their country from ours. They told me on going away that they would come back, and I know they would not tell lies.'"

Turning, then. to the assembled Indians, he continued: "Did I not tell you that the white men would not tell lies? You are fools, great fools, and have no patience. Let us now show our joy at meeting our friends : and tomorrow let all our hunters go into the plains, and upon the hills, and kill birds and deer for the good white men."

The red hunters kept their promise, and for several weeks following the tables at Spokane House were plentifully supplied with grouse, wild geese and dueks.

These were haleyon times for the Spokanes. The fur traders had brought them many of the good things of civilization, and as yet few of its curses. By a compact, faithfully kept. between the rival establishments, intoxicants were withheld from these children of the forests and the plains; the white man had not yet appropriated their lands, nor driven the edible game from the country. They had brought more comfortable raiment, beautiful ornaments of glass and brass, knives, axes and hatchets, the luxury of tobacco and many good things to cat. A market had been made for the Indians' furs. and with the goods exchanged for these peltries, the Spokanes bought buffalo robes from the tribes to the cast, and many horses from their neighbors. the Nez Perees. From comparative poverty they had been lifted into prosperity. Small wonder then, that they idolized these "good white men." and dwelt with them in love and friendship. And small wonder too, that in after years, when the old men recalled the happy, prosperous years before General Wright swept into their country with "hoof and with steel" and destroyed their great bands of horses and burned their granaries and storehouses, "the tears ran down their checks like rain."

One of the odd characters at Spokane Ilonse was MeDonald. a tall, red-headed Scot from the Highlands. Until a youth he had heard no other tongue than Gaclic, but the educational advantages of Glasgow had given him, at one time. a pretty good knowledge of pure English. Then he drifted across the water to Canada, and added French to his vocabulary. Years of experience on the frontier had taught him several Indian dialeets, and now at Spokane House he had fallen into a habit of mixing his thoughts "in a most strange and Indierous melange." When angry he would swear in half a dozen tongues at once. His great height of six feet four, broad shoulders, bushy whiskers, and long red locks that had not felt the scissors for years, gave him a wild and uncouth appearance, though he was at heart good- natured and inoffensive, easily thrown into a passion and as easily mollified. He had acquired a Spokane wife and two children, and passed most of his time among his wife's relatives, by whom and by the Indians generally he was respected and beloved.

One day, just as the men were sitting down to dinner. a workman, followed by a native, burst into the dining room and urged the company to hasten to the village and prevent bloodshed, as MeDonald was about to fight a duel with one of the chiefs. They ran to the Indian encampment, where MeDonald was found, shifting

SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE

a shotgun from one hand to the other, while he urged the chief to come on and fight. "You raseal, you dog. you toad !" he shouted; "will you fight?"

"I will." the chief replied in temperate tones, "but you're a foolish man. A chief should not be passionate. I always thought the white chiefs were men."

"} want none of your jaw. I say you cheated me. You're a dog! Will you fight?"

"You are not wise," answered the chief. "You get angry like a woman; but l will fight. Let us go to the woods. Are you ready?"

"Why. you d-d rascal." retorted MeDonald, "what do you mean? I'll fight you here. Take your distance like a brave man, face to face, and we'll draw lots for the first shot, or fire together, whichever you please."

"You are a greater fool than I thought you were," remarked the plaeid Indian ; "whoever heard of a wise warrior standing before his enemy's gun to be shot at like a dog. No one but a fool of a white man would do that."

"What do you mean?" asked MeDonald; "what way do you want to fight?"

"The way that all red warriors fight: Let us take our guns and go into the woods : you get behind one tree. and I will stand behind another, and then we shall see who will shoot the other first."

"You are afraid, and you are a coward."

"I'm not afraid, and you are a fool."

"Come on then ; d-n my eyes if I care! Here's at you your own way."

They were starting for the trees when the men interfered, had the combatants disarmed, and indueed the wild Scot to return to the fort.

For sheer love of fighting MeDonald occasionally joined the Flatheads in their warlike excursions into the country of the Blackfeet, on the eastern slopes of the Rocky mountains. The following anecdote, which was related to Cox, by several Indians, will show his steady courage and reckless disregard of danger:

In the summer of 1812, at the buffalo plains. they fell in with a strong party of Blackfeet, and a severe contest followed. McDonald was to be seen in every direc- tion, in the hottest of the fire, cheering and animating his friends; and they at length succeeded in driving the Blackfeet to take shelter in a thick eluster of trees, from whence they kept up a constant and galling fire on the Flatheads, by which a few were killed and several wounded. In vain he exerted all his influence to induce his friends to storm the trees and drive the enemy from his cover. The Flathead mode of attack was extremely foolish, and productive of no benefit; for each warrior advanced opposite the spot from which the Blackfeet fired, and after exehanging a random shot into the trees, instantly galloped away.

McDonald, vexed at this puerile method of fighting, offered to take the lead himself to dislodge the enemy : but, with the exception of the war chief, they all re- fused to join him. He therefore resolved to try the effect of example, and putting his horse into a smart trot, rode opposite the place from whence the chief fire of the Blackfeet proceeded. He then dismounted, took deliberate aim at the head of a fellow which had just popped from behind a tree, and fired. The bullet entered the Black foot's mouth and he fell. A shower of balls instantly whizzed about MeDon- ald and his horse; but he, undismayed. reloaded, while his friends besought him to retire. He covered another in the same manner. who also fell. after which he cahnly remounted and galloped to his party uninjured. A prisoner who was subsequently

SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE

taken said that the only two killed who had taken refuge among the trees, were both shot in the head by the "big white chief," as they termed MeDonald.

A few years later MeDonald suffered wounds in one of these forays against the Blackfeet from which he never quite recovered. A bullet brought him down, when half a dozen savages rushed upon him and began hacking his skull with their toma- hawks. The scalping-knife was out, and poor MeDonald would soon have been dis- patched had not the war chief and several others of the Flatheads rushed to his re- lief, and. after killing three of the Blackfeet, rescued their courageous ally.

In the winter of 1811-15 occurred an incident which threatened, for a while, to impair the friendly relations between the traders and the Spokanes. One of the junior clerks. grown weary of the single state, resolved to seek an Indian wife, and engaged the interpreter to make inquiries in the village regarding the eligible list of unmarried women. A comely damsel, 17 years of age. listened approvingly to the in- terpreter's overtures, and the negotiations were successfully taken up with her mother and brothers, her father having died a few years previously. Blankets and kettles were presented to her principal relatives, and beads, hawkbells and other trifles dear to the Indian heart were distributed among the other members of the community.

Then followed the delivery of the bride to her future lord and master of the paleface race. Her mother brought her to the gate of the fort about 9 o'clock in the evening, and after an apathetic and matter-of-fact parting, the young damsel was delivered to one of the men's wives, called "the seourer," who thoroughly eleansed her head and body of the paint and grease with which she had been decorated ae- cording to the savage idea of personal adormnent. After these ablutions, she was passed along to the dressmaker, who cast aside her leathern chemise and decked her out in softer raiment of civilization. "And the following morning. when she appeared in her new habiliments," runs the chronicle, "we thought her one of the most engaging females that we had previously seen of the Spokane nation."

For several days everything went merry as a marriage bell, and the young couple seemed devotedly attached to each other : but one afternoon the occupants of the fort were alarmed by the sudden appearance of a number of well mounted young warriors, who galloped into the courtyard of the fort, armed and apparently bent on serious business. The young bride, when her eye fell on the foremost horseman, seented trouble and promptly fled for refuge into the storeroom, where she con- cealed herself.

Dismounting, the leader of the band demanded a conneil with the principal white chief, requesting, at the same time, that the other chiefs would also appear and listen to his complaint. These having assembled, he addressed them, in sub- stance as follows:

"Three snows have passed away since the white men came from their own country to live among the Spokanes. When the Evil Spirit thought proper to dis- tress the white people by covering the water of the rivers with ice, so that they could not 'catch any fish, and sent snow over all the mountains and plains, by means whereof their horses were nearly destroyed by wolves. when their own hunters, in fact, could not find an animal, did the Spokanes take advantage of their afflictions? Did they rob them of their horses like Sinapoil (San Poil) dogs? Did they say, the white men are now poor and starving; they are a great distance from their own

GRAND COULEE IN THE BIG BEND COUNTRY

Sketched by artist with Governor Stevens

MARCUS WIHTMAN'S GRAVE Near Walla Walla

OKANOGHA

BREWSTER

SITE OF THE ASTOR TRADING POST, ESTABLISHED IN IS11

OLD FORT WALLA WALLA On the Columbia

OLD FORT OKANOGAN

Founded in ISHI by John Jacob Astor. Sketched in the '50s by Governor Stevens' Expedition

THE NEA .UPP PUBLIC LIBRARY

ABTOR LEHOA TILDEN FLUNDATIUND

1 Thr it PUBIR LIBRARY

ANTOR LENOX TERIA QUADRATIONE

SPOKANE AND THE INLAND EMPIRE

country and from any assistance, and we can easily take all their goods from them, and send them away naked and hungry? No, we never spoke or even thought of such bad things. The white men came among us with confidence, and our hearts were glad to see them; they paid us for our fish, our meat and our furs. We thought they were all good people, and in particular their chiefs ; but I find we were wrong in so thinking."

Here the native orator paused for a moment, and then, resuming, added: "My relations and myself left the village several days ago for the purpose of hunting. We returned home this morning. Their wives and their children leaped with joy to meet them, and all their hearts were glad but mine. I went to my tepee and called on my wife to come forth; but she did not appear. I was sorrowful and hungry, and went into my brother's tepee, where I was told that she had gone away and had become the wife of a white chief. She is now in your house. I come, therefore, white men, to demand justice. I first require that my wife be delivered up to me. She has acted like a dog, and I shall live no more with her ; but I shall punish her as she deserves. And in the next place I expect, as you have been the cause of my losing her, that you will give ample compensation for her loss."

The interpreter was directed to explain that the grievance of the injured hus- band lay against the relatives of the woman, and not against the white people; that if the young chief had been aware that she was married he would not have coveted her or taken her to his lodge; that he was willing to give her former lord reasonable compensation for his loss, but he could not deliver her to him to be punished, and would not surrender her unless the husband would agree not to hurt her.

The angry and jealous Indian refused to make any promise, and insisted on the woman's restitution, but as the traders had reason to fear that her life would be taken, they refused to yield.

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History of the city of Spokane and Spokane County, Washington : from its earliest settlement to the present time, Volume I, Part 6

Author: Durham, Nelson Wayne, 1859-1938 Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 880

Author: Durham, Nelson Wayne, 1859-1938
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 880