roughly demanded his property, and declared that he would take it himself if it was not promptly surrendered. Thereupon Elijah Hedding deliberately loaded his rifle, and turning to the American said significantly: "Go, now, and take your mule." The white man, considerably alarmed, asked Elijah if he intended to kill him. "O, no," carelessly replied the young chief, "I am only going to shoot that eagle on yonder tree." But his looks and manner belied his tongue, so the American thought it best to leave the mule.
On the following Sunday some of the natives attended religious services at Sutter Fort. After the close Elijah was invited into another apartment, together with his uncle. Here they were menaced, and subjected to much wordy abuse. Finally the man who had had the dispute about the mule said to Elijah, "Yesterday you were going to kill me; now you must die," at the same time drawing a pistol. Elijah said, "Let me pray a little first;" and dropping on his knees, was shot dead in that attitude.
Such was the story as told by Ellis to White,[1] and as reported by the latter to the secretary of war. As Elijah was a convert, the same version was generally accepted by the missionaries;[2] but the truth of the matter is, that Elijah was a turbulent fellow, and met his death in a quarrel which he himself provoked. This side of the story I have, however, related in detail elsewhere.[3]
Having made the most of his story, and put forth his finest arts to impress White with a proper sense of the enormity of the crime which had been committed, the wily Ellis went on to talk about the
- ↑ White's Or. Ter., 49–50.
- ↑ Parrish's Or. Anecdotes, MS., 90; Mission Life Sketches, 203. This latter is a work of 229 pages, 16mo, and appears to have been published as a contribution to Sunday-school literature. The author's name is not given, but from what he says of himself I infer he was H. K. W. Perkins, who came with the mission family of 1840. His account of Elijah's death is substantially the same as White's.
- ↑ Hist. California, this series. See also Revere's Tour of Duty, 154; Larkin's Doc. Hist. Cal, MS., iii. 227.
