The Early Indian Wars of Oregon/Cayuse/Chapter 5
CHAPTER V.
CAUSES OF THE CAYUSE HOSTILITIES DR. WHITMAN WARNED IMMIGRATION OF 1847 AMERICANS AT WAIILATPU ARRIVAL OP CATHOLIC PRIESTS WHITMAN S FEARS SICKNESS AMONG THE INDIANS WHITMAN AND SPALDING AT UMATILLA THE MASSACRE AT WAIILATPU DEATH OF DR. AND MRS. WHITMAN AND SEVEN OTHERS ESCAPES, AND CAPTIVES REV. J. B. A. BROUILLET ESCAPE OF MR. SPALDING CANFIELD REACHES LAPWAI COURAGE OF MRS. SPALDING CONDUCT OF THE NEZ. PercéS SPALDING S LETTER TO BROUILLET A COUNCIL HELD AT THE CATHOLIC MISSION INDIAN MANIFESTO OGDEN S ARRIVAL AT FORT WALLA WALLA ANOTHER COUNCIL RANSOM PAID FOR THE CAPTIVES ANXIETY OF OGDEN DEPARTURE FOR VANCOUVER HORRORS OF THE CAPTIVITY SUSPICIONS AND MISTAKES OF CAPTIVES SUBSEQUENT CONTROVERSIES OGDEN DELIVERS THE RELEASED AMERICANS TO GOVERNOR ABERNETHY ENDLESS DISCUSSION OF CAUSES THE REAL CAUSE.
To UNDERSTAND how the Cayuse war so suddenly broke out, it is necessary to go back to 1842, when Dr. Whitman went east, as the Indians understood, to bring enough of his people to punish them for their acts of violence towards him. They saw him return with a large number, but with no fighting men; and none of those who came re mained in their country. This was a failure they were quick to take advantage of, and while it had in it no cause for war, they felt more free to practice their annoy ances and thefts on Americans, while th^y exhibited their contempt for their former teachers by abandoning the schools. From 1843 to 1847 there was very little progress made in the education of the Cayuses and Nez^gerces, and, in fact, Dr. Whitman and Mr. Spalding had almost ceased to teach, except by example, but attended to the affairs of their stations, and waited, as did all Oregon, for the act of congress which was to give this country the protection of the government of the United States.
In 1844 Dr. Whitman was able to secure help from the passing immigration, a number of families wintering at his station. He also adopted a family of orphan children, seven in number, whose parents had died on the journey, three boys and four girls.
in the spring the immigrants went on to the Walla met valley, and in the autumn of 1845 and 1846 there were other families who wintered at Waiilatpu.
During all this time the Cayuses had been growing more insolent and threatening, and the gentlemen of the Hudson's Bay Company, who knew the Indian character thoroughly, frequently entreated the doctor to go away. But the hope of the safety to be extended from his gov ernment, kept him at his post, until the growing impa tience of the Indians, after the unfortunate California ( expedition, finally convinced him of the imminence of the danger, and caused him to arrange for a possible removal to The Dalles by purchasing the property of the Methodist mission at that place, which he put in charge of his nephew, Perrin B. Whitman.
At the same time, however, such was the courageous persistency of the man, that he, as late as September, 1847, purchased machinery for a new flouring-mill for Waiilatpu and transported it to his station, telling Joel Palmer, whom he met on the Umatilla, that he was going on, just as he always intended, but if the Indians continued their hostile policy, he should break up the mission, and make his home at The Dalles. To a body of the immigrants on the Umatilla he delivered an address, advising great caution, and expressing his apprehensions of an Indian war as the result of any indiscretions on the part of the new comers. John E. Ross has said, that acting on Whitman s advice, his party encamped early, took their evening meal, and when it was dark moved to a secluded spot away from the rond to avoid being molested, and getting into an affray. James Henry E;own has spoken of the doctor s warnings to the immigrants of that year; and so has Ralph C. Geer, J. W. Grim, and Peter W. Crawford. Crawford kept a journal, and from that record many facts have been gath ered. The evidence is ample that Dr. Whitman knew upon what dangerous ground he was treading.
Blood had already been spilled at The Dalles, a Mr.
Shepard from St. Louis being killed, and two others
wounded. This affair was begun by the usual thieving of
the Indians. The men robbed appealed to Rev. A. F.
Waller, who advised them to take some Indian horses and
hold them until the property was restored. This brought
on an attack, with the result of a skirmish, and about the
same number of killed and injured on both sides. Many
families were robbed between the Umatilla and The
Dalles, their property being carried to a distance from the
road and cached. Mrs. Geer came near being killed at
the crossing of Des Chutes by an Indian. Four families
left near John Da} T river with their wagons, while the men
of the party were looking for stolen cattle, had everything
taken from them, even to the last vestige of clothing, the
women and children being left naked. They had managed
to conceal a bolt of white muslin, out of which they had
hastily made a covering when Ross company overtook
them and gave them some blankets. By building a fire
on the sand to warm it, they were made passably comfort
able through a frosty September night. These outrages
were known to Dr. Whitman, and still he remained.
That he was much alarmed, however, seems to be shown by the large number of persons over seventy in all whom he gathered about him at his station for the winter. Thanks to Mr. Crawford s journal, we are able to obtain some account of this temporary colony. From the train to which Crawford belonged he drew Joseph and Hannah Smith, with five children one of them a daughter aged fifteen years. Smith was sent to the sawmill, about twenty miles from the mission; and Elam Young, his wife, and three sons, the eldest aged twenty-four, the second twenty- one, also were sent to the sawmill, where Young was to get out the timbers for the new gristmill at the mission. Isaac Gilliland was employed as a tailor at the mission; Luke Saunders and wife as teachers. The latter had five children, the eldest a girl of fourteen years. Miss Lori rid a Bewley, and her brother Crockett A. Bewley, were also
employed, the young woman as assistant teacher. There
were besides, engaged for different service, Mr. and Mrs.
Kimball, with five children, the elder a girl of seventeen
years; William D. Canfield, a blacksmith, his wife Sally
Ann, and five children, the elder a girl of sixteen; Peter
D. Hall, his wife and five children, the elder a daughter
of ten ; Josiah Osborne, a carpenter, and his wife Margaret,
with three young children; Mrs. Rebecca Hays, and one
young child; Mr. Marsh, and daughter aged eleven; Jacob
Hoffman, and Amos Sales in all fifty-four persons.
Besides these there were the mission family consisting of the Dr. and Mrs. Whitman ; their seven adopted chil dren; Andrew Rogers, teacher; Eliza, daughter of H. H. Spalding, aged ten years; two half-caste children, girls, daughters of James Bridger and Joseph L. Meek; two sons of Donald Manson of the Hudson's Bay Company, who were attending school; Joseph Stanfield, a Frenchman; a half-breed tramp, named Joe Lewis, whom Dr. Whitman had taken in and given employment; and another man of mixed blood, named Nicholas Finlay, making together seventy-two persons at the mission and mill, thirteen of whom were American men, besides several boys able to bear arms.
It is evident that so many people were not needed at the mission, where nothing was being done but preparing to build the mill. The school at this time, excepting the children of the immigrants themselves, consisted only of the few half-caste children already named, and the Sager family, adopted by the Whitmans.
About the time Dr. Whitman engaged these people to remain with him until spring, he had a fresh cause of dis quiet in the arrival of a party of Catholic priests in his neighborhood, one of whom was invited by Tauitowe, the Catholic chief, to settle among the Cayuses. At the very time he was bringing up his mill machinery from The Dalles, he encountered the Rev. A. M. A. Blanchet at Fort Walla Walla, and with his usual straightforwardness,
addressed him thus: "I know very well for what purpose
you have come." "All is known," replied Blaiichet; "I
come to labor for the conversion of the Indians, and even
Americans, if they are willing to listen to me."
That was fair and open, and no man knew better than the doctor that the Catholic had as much right to be there as the Protestant; but he did not like it, and so he told the bishop, declaring he would do nothing to assist him, even to sell him provisions, showing by his manner how deeply he was stirred, and sorrowfully hurt by what he considered a dangerous interference at that time. This conversation occurred on the twenty-third of September.
At that time, and for several weeks after, Thomas McKay was stopping at the fort, being ill, and Dr. Whitman was in attendance upon him. So insecure did he feel himself that he requested McKay, whose influence with the Indians was almost unlimited, to spend the winter with him at Waiilatpu. To this McKa} 7 replied that he could not do so, on account of his affairs in the Wallamet valley, but if the doctor so desired, he would exchange places with him: and the doctor promised to see the property, but did not, owing to the exigence of affairs at hand.
On the fourth of November there was a meeting of the Cay use chiefs at Fort Walla WalJa to determine whether they should receive Catholic teachers, and where, in case they did so, the bishop should build his house. The ques tions asked by the chiefs, Tiloukaikt, Camaspelo, Tam- sucky, and others, were whether the Pope had sent Blanchet to ask land for a mission, to which the bishop replied that it was the Pope who sent him, but not to take land only to save their souls; but that having to live, and being poor, he must ask a piece of land to cultivate for his support. The chiefs wished to know if the priests made presents; if they would cause the lands of the Indians to be ploughed; would aid in building their houses, or feed and clothe their children, to all of which Blanchet answered " No." All this was said openly, by an interpreter at the fort, and
the chiefs retired to * confer together. Tiloukaikt finally
said that as Tauitowe desired it, the bishop should send
one to visit his land, and select a site for a mission.
On the eighth of November Brouillet went by order of the bishop to Waiilatpu to look at Tiloukaikt s land, who, with Indian fickleness, had changed his mind, and refused to show any. He told the priest that he had no place he could give him but Whitman s, whom he intended to send away ; to which Brouillet replied that he would not have that place. Immediately afterwards he accepted Taui- towe s house on the Umatilla, which he, with Rev. Mr. Rosseau, set about repairing, and moved into on the twenty- seventh of November. In the meantime, Dr. Whitman had several times met Bishop Blanchet at the fort, and became somewhat softened in his sentiments towards him personally ; and on the day before the priests Brouillet and Rosseau left the fort for the Umatilla, Mr. Spalding, and Mr. Rogers the teacher, dined in their company, all seem ing mutually pleased with making the acquaintance.
We have now to consider, exclusive of old jealousies, late altercations, or sectarian influences, the immediate cause of the Oayuse outbreak. The large immigration of 1847, like most large migrations, had bred a pestilence, and when it reached the Cayuse country was suffering the most virulent form of measles, the fever being of a typhoid kind, and the disease often terminating fatally.
All new diseases, especially those of the skin, are quickly communicated to the dark complexioned races; and as the Indians continually hung about the trains pilfering, some times trading, or inviting the young American lads to a trial of strength in wrestling matches, it was inevitable that many should contract the disease, which rapidly spread among the Cayuses. For two months, or ever since the doctor s return from The Dalles, he had been kept busy attending to the sick among the Indians, and under his own roof. So great had been the mortality that it threatened the destruction of the Cayuse tribe, thirty of
whom had died in the immediate vicinity of the mission,
while the sick were to be found in almost every lodge.
"It was most distressing," wrote Spalding, "to go into a
lodge of some ten or twenty fires, and count twenty or
twenty-five, some in the midst of measles, others in the
last stage of dysentery, in the midst of every kind of filth,
of itself sufficient to cause sickness, with no suitable means
to alleviate their inconceivable sufferings, with perhaps
one well person to look after the wants of two sick ones.
They were dying every da} 7 ; one, two, and sometimes five
in a day, with the dysentery, which generally followed the
measles. Everywhere the sick and dying were pointed to
Jesus, and the well were urged to prepare for death."
In Dr. Whitman s own house three of his adopted children, John, Edward, and one younger, were sick with measles, besides Mr. Sales, Crockett Bewley, and the two half-caste girls. Mrs Osborne was still delicate from a recent confinement, and her babe was sick. This was enough to occupy the attention of one physician, but being sent for to go to the Umatilla, Dr. Whitman rode over to the camp of Sticcas on the same day that Brouillet arrived there, Mr. Spalding being already at one of the other camps visiting the sick. The next day, which was Sunday, the doctor called on Brouillet, remaining but a few moments, and inviting the priest urgently to return the visit when he should be in his vicinity, an invitation which seems to have had some reference to negotiations which were then in progress for the sale of Waiilatpu to the Catholics.
Brouillet, in his Authentic Account, says that Dr. Whit man, during his brief visit appeared "much agitated," and being invited to dine refused, saying he had twenty-five miles to ride to reach home, and he feared he should be late. Spalding remained at Umatilla, and on Monday took supper with the priest, remarking in the course of conversation that Dr. Whitman was disquieted because the Indians were displeased with him on account of the sick
ness among them; and that he had been informed that
Tamsucky, a Cayuse, called The Murderer, intended to kill
him. Spalding seemed not to be apprehensive, probably
because he had so often heard of such threats in^jthe
previous ten years that they had ceased to have much
meaning.
That Dr. Whitman, however, had cause for the agitation noticed by Brouillet, there is evidence not only in his haste to reach home, but in the statement of Spalding, who heard it from the inmates of the mission, that "the doctor and his wife were seen in tears, and much agitated;" from the testimony of Mrs. Saunders that the family were kept sitting up late Sunday night in consultation; and from the fact that there was a certain amount of preparation for, or expectation of danger on the part of those domiciled in the doctor s house, as appears from the events that followed. If the doctor neglected to warn those outside of his house, it was because he had no reason to think they would be included in the fate which threatened him, and judged it better to leave them in peace.
On the following day, being Monday, Joseph Stanfield, the Frenchman, brought in a fat ox from the plains to be slaughtered, and it was shot by Francis Sager, one of the doctor s adopted sons. Kimball, Canfield, and Hoffman were dressing the carcass in the space between the doctor s house and the larger adobe Mansion house. Mr. Saun ders had just collected his pupils for the afternoon session of school ; Mr. Marsh was grinding Spalding s grist in the mill; Gilliland was at work on his tailor s bench in the adobe house,*" Mr. Hall was -laying a floor in a room of the doctor s house; Mr. Rogers was in the garden; Mr. Osborne and family were in the Indian room, which adjoined the doctor s sitting-room; John Sager, still an invalid, was sitting in the kitchen; Mr. Canfield and family occupied the blacksmith shop for a dwelling, and Mr. Sales occupied a bed there, while young Bewley and the sick children were in bed in the two houses. A good ma ny Indians
were iu the yard between the buildings, but as it was always so when a beef was being dressed, no notice was taken of this circumstance.
There had been an Indian funeral in the morning, which the doctor attended, since which he had remained about the house. Stepping into the kitchen, perhaps to look after John Sager, his voice was heard in altercation with Tiloukaikt, and immediately after two shots were fired, when Mrs. Whitman, who was in the dining-room adjoin ing, cried out in an anguished tone, "Oh, the Indians! the Indians!" as if what had occurred were understood and not unexpected. 1 Running to the kitchen she beheld her husband prostrate and unconscious, with several gashes from a tomahawk across his face and neck. The sound of the guns and the yelling of the Indians outside of the houses startled the women, who were in the Mansion house, who ran to the doctors house, and offered their assistance to Mrs. Whitman, who was then binding up the doctor s wounds. At that moment Mr. Rogers ran in, wounded, and gave such assistance as he could to the women in removing the doctor to the dining-room. The doors and windows were then fastened.
Meantime, outside, the slaughter of the several men, heads of families and others, was going on amid the blood-curdling noises of Indian warfare; and presently, the doctor s house was attacked. On going near a window Mrs. Whitman was shot in the breast, when she and all with her retreated to the chamber above. The Indians then broke in the doors and windows, and ordered the inmates of the chamber, including several sick children,
1 No clear account of the massacre at Waiilatpu was ever obtained. After sifting all the published statements, and the depositions taken at the trial of the Cayuses, it is still impossible to call up anything like a true mental impression of the scene. That this should be so is unavoidable. Taking the sixty, odd men, women, and children at the mission, and thirty Indians (the number given by one of the wit nesses), making nearly a hundred persons, divided into groups at different points, it Avould be impossible that any one spectator could have seen all or much of what transpired. Terror and grif colored the view of that which was seen, and subse quent events created many new impressions. Such as appears indisputable is alone presented here.
to come down and go to the Mansion house; and, on
objections being made, Tamsucky informed them that their
lives would be spared should they comply, but that they
would perish if they refused; the "young men" being de
termined to burn the mission residence.
Thus compelled, all descended, except Mr. Kimball, who had a broken arm, and had hidden himself and four sick children, who were to be sent for. Mrs. Whitman fainting at the sight of her dying husband, was laid upon a wooden settee, to be carried to the Mansion house. As the settee appeared, the Indians, who were now drawn up in line outside, fired several shots, fatally wounding Mrs. Whitman, Mr. Rogers, and Francis Sager. The " young- men " then lashed Mrs. Whitman s face with their whips, and rolled her body in the mud made by the late Novem ber rains about the door.
Following this scene was another almost equally har rowing, when the school children were compelled to stand huddled together in the kitchen to be shot at by the Cayuse braves. At this point, however, their purpose was suddenly changed by the interference of the- Frenchman, Stanfield, and by the opportunity to inflict further indig nities upon the still breathing victims on the ground.
Two friendly Walla Wallas, who had been employed about the mission, led the children away to a secluded apartment, and endeavored to comfort them. 2 Every one not killed was now a prisoner, and subject to any brutal caprice of their goalers, who robbed, but did not burn the the mission-house, and compelled the women they had made widows to wait upon them as servants, and this while the dying still breathed, whose groans were heard
2 In the sectarian controversies which followed the massacre of Waiilatpu, the interposition of Stanfield to save the children and women, was made to appear a proof of complicity with the murderers; but the facts show him at all times doing what he could to alleviate the misfortunes he had no power to avert. He was no more at liberty to leave the mission than the other prisoners ; and being there was able, by not laying himself open to suspicion of the Cayuses, to perform many acts of kindness, on one pretext or another, which should have been set down to his credit instead of proving him a miscreant.
far into the night. Thus closed the first scene in the
tragedy.
The killed on the afternoon of the twenty-ninth of November, 1847, were: Dr. and Mrs. Whitman, Mr. Rog ers, John and Francis Sager, Mr. Gilliland, Mr. Marsh, Mr. Saunders, and Mr. Hoffman. The escapes were: Mr. Osborne and family, who, at the first sound of the out break, hid themselves under the floor of the room they occupied, where they remained until night, when they left the house under cover of the darkness, and made their way to Fort Walla Walla, barely escaping starvation ; Mr. Canfield, who hid himself, and fled to Lapwai; and Mr. Hall, who snatched a gun from an Indian, and although wounded, reached the cover of a thicket, whence he set out after dark for the fort, reaching it at daybreak on the thirtieth. There he insisted on going to the Wallamet, and being furnished with clothing and a boat, started on his perilous journey, and was never heard of more making the tenth victim of the tragedy, unless Mr. Kim- ball came before.
In the confusion of events at the close of the first day Mr. Kimball and the four sick children left in the attic were forgotten, remaining without food or water until the next day, when the sufferings of the children, as well as his own, induced him to venture in search of water, and he was discovered and shot. On the same day, James Young from the sawmill, with a load of lumber for the mission-house, was also killed. Two young men, Crockett Bewley and Amos Sales, through some unaccountable leni ency of the Indians, they being sick in bed, were spared until the following Tuesday, December eighth, when they were killed with revolting cruelties. The youngest of the Sager children and Helen Mar Meek died of neglect a day or two after the first murders, making the number of deaths from Indian savagery fifteen.
The two Munson boys and a Spanish half-breed boy, whom Dr. Whitman* bad. raised, were separate d from the
other children the day after the massacre and sent to Fort Walla Walla, the Indians not including these in their decree of death, which doomed only American men and boys.
The massacre began* on Monday, about one o clock, and was continued, as has been narrated, on Tuesday. On Wednesday morning Joseph Stanfield was preparing the dead for burial, when there arrived at the mission J. B. A. Brouillet, the Catholic priest from the Umatilla, who lent his assistance 3 in committing to the earth the mu tilated remains of ten of the dead. The watchfulness of the Indians prevented any but the briefest communica tion between the captives and the priest, who having done what he could returned to Fort Walla Walla, and thence to his mission.
The carousal of blood ended, the murderers seized upon the property of their victims, which they carried off, but quarreling among themselves about its division, brought
3 The following is Brouillet s statement concerning his visit : That before leaving Fort Walla Walla, it had been decided that after going to the Umatilla, and visiting the sick there, he should go to Tiloukaikt s camp, to baptize the children, and such adults as desired it. il After having finished baptizing the infants and dying adults of my mission, I left Tuesday, the thirtieth of November, late in the afternoon, for Tioukaikt s camp, where I arrived between seven and eight o clock in the evening. It is impossible to conceive my surprise and consternation when upon my arrival I learned that the Indians the day before had massacred the doctor and his wife, with the greater part of the Americans at the mission. I passed the night without scarcely closing my eyes. Early the next morning I baptized three sick children, two of whom died soon after, and then hastened to the scene of death to offer to the widows and orphans all the assistance in my power. I found five or six women and over thirty children in a condition deplorable beyond description. Some had just lost their husbands, and the others their fathers, whom they had seen massacred before their eyes, and were expecting every moment to share the same fate. The sight of these persons caused me to shed tears, which, however, I was obliged to conceal, for I was the greater part of the day in the presence of the murderers, and closely watched by them, and if I had shown too marked an interest in behalf of the sufferers, it would have endangered their lives and mine ; these therefore entreated me to be on my guard. After the first few words that could be exchanged under those circumstances, I inquired after the victims, and was told that they were yet unburied. Joseph Stanfield, a Frenchman, who was in the service of Dr. Whitman, and had been spared by the Indians, was engaged in washing the corpses, but being alone he was unable to bury them. I resolved to go and assist him, so as to render to those unfortunate victims the last service 111 my power to offer them. What a sight did I then behold ! Ten dead bodies lying here and there, covered with blood and bearing the marks of the most atrocious cruelty, some pierced with balls, others more or less gashed by the hatchet": BrouWet 8 Authentic Account of (tie Murder of Dr. W hitman.
back and replaced it, except such articles as were con verted to their use upon the spot. 4 namely, provisions and clothing. Thus the remainder of the week wore away without any signs of rescue, or relief from the horrible apprehensions which preyed upon all minds. On Satur day Brouillet s interpreter arrived at the mission, riding a horse that belonged to Mr. Spalding, which caused his friends there to believe he had also been murdered, but no opportunity was given for inquiring, and on the following day the interpreter left.
Having by this time exhausted the excitement attending upon the massacre, and meeting with neither punishment nor opposition from any quarter, the chiefs determined upon adding to murder and rapine the violation of the young women and girls in their power. . The first of these outrages was perpetrated upon Miss Bewley by Tamsucky, who dragged her away from the house Saturday night, and continued to force compliance with his wishes while she remained at the mission. The sons of Tiloukaikt fol lowed his example, and took the fifteen-year-old daughter of Joseph Smith to their lodge, with the consent of her father, such was the abject fear to which all those in the power of the Indians were reduced. Susan Kimball also was car ried away to the lodge of Tintinmitsi, her father s mur derer, known to the white people as Frank Escaloom. 5 Other sufferers escaped a painful notoriety ; and one young widow was saved by the mingled wit and wisdom of Stan- field, who pretended she was his wife. 6
4 Catbine Sager testified to seeing Tiloukaikt wearing one of Mrs. Whitman s dresses, and another having on her brother s coat : From Depositions taken at the Trial of the Cayuses.
"The names of the other victims of savage brutality have never transpired, nor need any have been known but for the bitter sectarian controversy which forced these matters into notice. Spalding asserted, in some lectures delivered in 1806-67, that women and little girls were subjected to brutal treatment. Elam Young, in a sworn deposition, says: "A few days after we got there two young women were taken as wives by the Indians, which I opposed, and was threatened by Smith, who was very anxious that it should take place, and that oilier little girls should be given up for wives : Gray'ssHistory of Oregon, 483.
The day after the massacre, Tiloukaikt, finding Stanfield near the house in which the women and children were confined, asked him if he had anything in the
On Sunday following the massacre, Daniel Young ar
rived at the mission from the sawmill to inquire why his
brother James had not returned, and learned the news of
the massacre of Monday, and his brother s death on Tues
day. He was permitted the next day to carry the dread
ful intelligence to the families at the mill; but was followed
by three Cayuses, who ordered all those there to remove to
Waiilatpu, where they arrived on Tuesday, to find that
the two young men, Bewley and Sales, had been murdered
in their beds that day, and were ordered to attend to their
burial.
It would seem like a caprice for the Indians to have spared the lives of Smith and the two Youngs, were it not, on second thought, plain that the services of these men were required to enable the Indians to enjoy the fruits of their butchery, or even to bury Iheir own dead, as they had been taught by the missionaries to do. After the murder of Bewley and Sales, the oldest male American captive was Nathan Kimball, aged thirteen; and adult men were needed to perform the labor of grinding at the mill, and otherwise looking after the maintenance of the large number of women and children at the mission, and for this reason the lives of Smith and Young were spared. But although they lived, they had no power to abate the horrors of captivity suffered by the women and children.
On Thursday a new trouble was added. Word had been sent to Five Crows that he could have his choice of the young women for a wife, and his choice had fallen on
- house. "Yes," said Stanfield, "my things are there." "Take them away," said
the chief. "Why should I ?" asked Stanfield ; but the chief insisted. " Not only are my things all there, but my wife and children," said Stanfieid. "You have a wife and children in the house ?" exclaimed Tiloukaikt, surprised. " Will you take them away?" "No," said Stanfield, " I will not; but 1 will go and stay with them. I see you have evil designs ; you would kill the women and children. Well, you may kill me with them! Are you not ashamed?" This ruse saved almost half a hundred lives. Later Stanfield told the people in the house that he was married to Mrs. Hays, and when they were incredulous and questioned him, he replied, " We are married, and that is enough !" This declaration, if believed, was sufficient to prevent any in terference by the Indians, Stanfield being a Frenchman, and so, under the protection of the Hudson's Bay Company. It is difficult to Percéive how Stanfield could have done more for the captives than h e did do.
Miss Bewley, for whom a horse and an escort was sent on that day. Up to this point it does not appear that the Umatilla Cayuses had taken any part in the outrages of Tiloukaikt s camp; and this gift of Miss Bewley to Five Crows was a bribe to secure his concurrence in future, if not his approval of the past. For although neither Five Crows nor Tauitowe consented to the murders, they, with Indian stolidity, verified Spalding s judgment of the sav age when he said in his report to White, that he " had no evidence to suppose but a vast majority of them would look on with indifference and see our dwellings burnt to the ground, and our heads severed from our bodies."
Miss Bewley had been ill from the effect of the shocks to which she had been subjected, but was compelled to make the journey on horseback, camping out one night in a snowstorm. All the comfort that her fellow captives were able to give her was the suggestion that she would be safer at the Catholic station than where she was. 7 Such was the history of the first ten days following the massacre at the mission.
We have now to account for those who escaped on that day, namely, Hall, Osborne, and Canfield. Hall having snatched a gun from an Indian, defended himself with it and reached the cover of the trees that grew along the Walla Walla river. After dark he fled towards Fort Walla Walla, where he arrived on the following morning with the story of the massacre so far as seen by him, intelligence which appears to have given very great alarm to Mr. Mc- Bean, the agent in charge. Hall was furnished with the Hudson's bay cap and coat, with such articles as would be required on his journey, and proceeded towards the Walla- inet on the north side of the Columbia. He was never .heard of afterwards.
Mr. Osborne with his wife and three children secreted themselves under the floor of their apartment, remaining there until night, when they also attempted to get to Walla
- Deposition of Elaui Young : Gray's History of Oregon, 483.
Walla. But Mrs. Osborne being ill, was able to go only
two miles, and for this reason, and from fear of the Indians,
they were compelled to conceal themselves during Tuesday,
suffering from hunger, cold, and every want. On Tuesday
night three miles was accomplished, and Wednesday spent
in concealment. That night the father took one of the
children and started again for the fort, which he reached
Thursday forenoon, being kindly received by McBean,
who, however, was disinclined at first to entertain him
and his family, and could not furnish horses to bring them
to the fort, -but insisted on their going to the Umatilla. 8
The arrival, about noon, of the Indian painter, J. M.
Stanley, from Fort Colville, 9 was a fortunate occurrence,
for he forthwith offered his horses to Osborne, with such
articles of clothing as were indispensable, and some pro
visions left over from his journey. With this example of
what might be expected of himself, McBean took courage
and furnished an Indian guide to assist Osborne in finding
his family, which was finally brought to the fort on Fri
day, in a famishing condition, and given such cold com
fort as a blanket on a bare floor, food, and fire could
impart, 10 and here the family remained until the day of
their deliverance..
8 Affidavit of Osborne in the Oregon American and Evangelical Unionist, July 19, 1848. The fugitives who sought refuge at the fort made complaints of their reception, and charged McBean s conduct to his religion ; but he was probably afraid of an attack on the fort, as his letter, given elsewhere, intimates. The Americans, in judging of the conduct of the Hudson's Bay Company s officers, never made sufficient allowance for the greater caution of the British subjects generally in all matters, and particu larly the long experience of the company with Indians. A number of times their forts had been attacked, and more than once their agents had been killed. C. B. Roberts, for mauy years confidential clerk at Vancouver, says in his Historical Recol lections, MS.: "As to McBean, I know very little to say in his favor. He was, I think, a half-breed from Red river a bigoted Catholic of narrow views and educa tion." That he changed his course seems sure evidence of a strong governing influence.
9 Stanley had a narrow escape, although unconscious of it at the time. He was stopped and questioned as to his nationality. Was he American? No. French? No. English? No. What then? A Buckeye. As his questioners knew nothing against or about Buckeyes, and as he offered them tobacco, he was allowed to pass.
10 Osbome charged two oblate priests, who were staying at the fort, with cruelty in not offering their bed to his sick wife. Mr. Stanley being called upon to give his evidence, testified as follows : "I occupied a room with two or more of the Catholic
Mr. Canfield, who was in the yard when the attack was made on the men engaged in dressing the heef, ran past the shop where his family lived, snatching up his youngest child, and calling to the others to follow, succeeded in reaching a chamber in the Mansion house, where they re mained undiscovered until night, and the Indians had retired to their lodges. He then found Stanfield, who directed him to a place four miles on the road to Lapwai, and who promised to bring him a horse the next morning, but was unable to do so ; and after lying concealed over Tuesday, set out on foot for the Nez Percés country. On Friday he reached Snake-river crossing, and was ferried over and piloted to Spalding s place by the Nez Percés In dians (who were yet ignorant of what had taken place at Waiilatpu), which he reached on Saturday, conveying to Mrs. Spalding the terrible news of the massacre of her friends, her daughter s captivity, and the probable death of her husband of whom nothing had been heard since Dr. Whitman s return from the Umatilla.
With remarkable courage, and with that insight into Indian character which distinguished her, Mrs. Spalding decided on her course of action. The only person at her house, besides her young children, was Miss Johnson, her
priests ; and their beds consisted of two blankets with a stick of wood for their pillow.. * * * Mr. McBean procured for him (Osborne) a trusty Walla Walla Indian to return with him for his family, but having no horses at the post, I prof fered the use of my own until he should reach the company s farm, about twenty miles distant, where he was supplied with fresh ones. Had it not been for the guide s perseverance, Mrs. Osborne and children must have perished. Mr. Osborne, despairing of finding the place where he had left them, proposed to the Indian to return. The Indian said he was told, by McBean not to return without finding them, and he continued his search until he discovered their concealment. They arrived at the fort early in the evening of the third of December, and Mr. McBean said he would protect them with his life. They were not allowed to go three days without provisions, but on the contrary were furnished daily with such provisions as were used by Mr. McBean and family. Mr. McBean proffered a blanket to Mr. Osborne on his credit, and I am quite positive the article was not asked for by Mr. Osborne. Signed. J. M. STANLF.Y."
Oregon City, March 10, 1848.
Osborne s own affidavit confirms Stanley s statement concerning the rescue of his family after he had given them up, and McBean s declaration that he would protect them with his life. The sufferings experienced by the survivors of the Waiilatpu massacre were such, with the prejudices imbibed beforehand, as to render them incapable of giving clear accounts of what had taken place.
assistant. Her brother Mr. Hart, and a Mr. Jackson usu
ally at the mission, were absent, one on a visit to the
Spokane station, and the other on the road from Waiilatpu,
which place he left with a pack train of flour only three
hours before the massacre. The only other American in
the- Nez Percés country was William Craig, a mountain
man, who had a place ten miles up the Lapwai creek, the
mission being at its mouth. There was nothing therefore
to be hoped for from the people of her own race, and she
determined to throw herself upon the generosity of the
Nez Percés before they had time to hear from the Cayuses.
Fortunately, two influential chiefs were at the mission,
Jacob and Eagle, whom she at once informed of what had
taken place at Waiilatpu, deputizing one to break the
news to the camp, and sending the other with a letter to
Mr. Craig. 11
It was thought best by the Indians for Mrs. Spalding to remove to Craig s place where they had their winter camp on account of wood, and to this she consented. Although the Nez Percés expected the Cayuses, and kept guard at night, Mrs. Spalding refused to leave the mission before Monday, but waited to see Craig, who came down during Saturday night, and endeavored to get some Indians to carry expresses to Walker and Eells, and to her daughter. This was no easy matter, but Eagle finally consented to undertake the dangerous duty.
On Monday the family at the mission was removed to Craig s, where Mr. Jackson arrived on Tuesday. And now came the test of character with the Nez Percés. While those immediately under Mrs. Spalding s influence re mained friendly, Joseph, a principal chief in the absence of Ellis, and a member of the church at Lapwai of eight years standing, with others of his following, a number of whom were also church members, joined with a few
11 Mr. Spaldiiig names, besides Jacob and Eagle, Luke and his two brothers, mem bers of his church, and James, a Catholic, who was particularly friendly to himself and family, with most of their people : Oregon American, August 16, 1848.
from James camp in plundering the mission buildings. 12
Let us now follow Mr. Spalding, whom Dr. Whitman
left on the Umatilla, and who had taken supper with
the Catholic priests on the fatal twenty-ninth of Novem
ber, quite unconscious of the horror that had fallen upon
Waiilatpu.
On Wednesday, December first, after concluding his visits to the sick in that neighborhood, Mr. Spalding set out on his return to Whitman s station on horseback, driv ing before him some pack horses, as was the custom of the country. When near the crossing of the Walla Walla river, and about three miles from the mission, he met Brouillet returning from Waiilatpu, accompanied by his interpreter, and Edward Tiloukaikt. The interview which took place is best told by Brouillet, as follows: " Fortu nately, a few minutes after crossing the river the interpre ter asked Tiloukaikt s son for a smoke. They proposed the calumet, but when the moment came for lighting it, there was nothing to make a fire. You have a pistol, said the interpreter; fire it and we will light. Accord ingly, without stopping, he fired his pistol, reloaded it and fired again. He then commenced smoking with the interpreter without thinking of reloading his pistol. A few minutes after, while they were thus engaged in smok ing, I saw Mr. Spalding come galloping towards me. In a moment he was at my side, taking me by the hand, and asking for news. Have you been to the doctor s? he in quired. Yes, I replied. What news? Sad news. Is any person dead? Yes, sir. Who is dead? Is it one of the doctor s children? (He had left two of them very sick.) No, I replied. Who then is dead? I hesitated to tell him. Wait a moment, said I; I cannot tell you now. While Mr. Spalding was asking me these different
12 Says Spalding : Here was an opportunity for religion to show itself if there was any. Never before had temptation come to Joseph and his native brethren in the church in this dress. But now it came, and his fall, as I regard it, and that of some others, has given the Christian world a lesson that should be well studied, before it again places the lives and property of missionaries at the mercy of lawless savages, without a military force to keep them in awe " : Oregon American, Augu st 16, 181".
questions, 1 had spoken to my interpreter, telling him to
entreat the Indian in my name not to kill Mr. Spalding,
which I begged of him as a special favor, and hoped that
he would not refuse me. I was waiting for his answer,
and did not wish to relate the disaster to Mr. Spalding
before getting it, for fear that he might by his manner
discover to the Indian what I had told him, for the least
motion like flight would have cost him his life, and prob
ably exposed mine also. The son of Tiloukaikt, after hesi
tating some moments, replied that he could not take it
upon himself to save Mr. Spaldiug, but that he would go
back and consult with the other Indians; and so he started
back immediately to his camp. I then availed myself of
his absence to satisfy the anxiety of Mr. Spalding."
The news was quickly told, for there was no time to be lost. Brouillet represents Spalding as paralyzed by it. u ls it possible! Is it possible!" 13 he repeated several times. "They will certainly kill me;" and he was unable to come to any conclusion. Urged by Brouillet to rouse himself and decide upon a course, he resolved to fly, and leaving his loose horses in charge of the interpreter, with a little food given him by the priest turned aside into the pathless waste, with his face set in the direction of home. His horse straying, after a painful journey of a week on foot, traveling only at night, he reached Craig s on the day after Mrs. SpaTding s removal to that place.
Meantime, on the very day of the removal, a messenger from the Cay uses arrived with a statement of what had been done by them, and the reasons for their acts, with a demand for an expression of opinion by the Nez Percés. A majority preferred remaining neutral until they knew what course was likely to be pursued by the white people in the country. This course was commended and encour aged by Spalding, who, after counseling with the chiefs,
13 Eighteen years afterwards Mr. Spalding said to the writer of this : " I felt the world all blotted out at once, and sat on my horse as rigid as a stone, not knowing or feeling anything ;" and the sweat of a long past anguish stood out on his forehead as he recounted the history of that time. wrote a letter to Blanchet and Brouillet to assure them of his safety, and also to settle the question of policy towards the Cay uses. It runs as follows:
Clear Water, December 10, 1847.
To the bishop of Walla Walla, or either of the Catholic priests:
Reverend and Dear Friend: This hasty note may inform you that I am yet alive through the astonishing mercy of God. The hand of the merciful God brought me to my family after six days and nights from the time my dear Mend furnished me with provisions, and I escaped from the Indians. My daughter is yet a captive, I fear, but in the hands of our merciful heavenly father. Two Indians have gone for her.[1] My object in writing is principally to give information through you to the Cayuses that it is our wish to have peace; that we do not wish the Americans to come from below to avenge the wrong; we hope the Cayuses and Americans will be on friendly terms; that Americans will no more come in their country unless they wish it. As soon as these men return, I hope, if alive, to send them to the governor to prevent Americans from coming up to molest the Cayuses for what is done. I know that you will do all in your power for the relief of the captives, women and children, at Waiilatpu; you will spare no pains to appease and quiet the Indians. There are five Americans here (men), my wife and three children, one young woman, and two Frenchmen. We cannot leave the country without help. Our help, under God, is in your hands, and in the hands of the Hudson's Bay Company. Can help come from that source? Ask their advice and let me know. I am certain that if the Americans should attempt to come it would be likely to prove the ruin of us all in this upper country, and would involve the country in war; God grant that they may not attempt it. At this moment I have obtained permission of the Indians to write more, but I have but a moment. Please send this or copy to Governor Abernethy. The Nez Pereés held a meeting yesterday; they pledged themselves to protect us from the Cayuses if they [we] would prevent the Americans from coming up to avenge the murders. This we have pledged to do, and for this we beg for the sake of our lives at this place and at Mr. Walker's. By all means keep quiet and send no war reports; send nothing but proposals for peace. They say they have buried the death of the Walla Walla chiefs son, killed in California. They wish us to bury this offense. I hope to write soon to Governor Abernethy, but as yet the Indians are not willing, but are willing I should send those hints through you. I hope you will send by all means and with all speed to keep quiet in the Willamette. Could Mr. Grant[2] come this way, it would be a great favor to us, and do good to the Indians.
I just learn that these Indians wish us to remain in the country as hostages of peace. They wish the communication for Americans to be kept open. We are willing to remain so, if peace can be se cured. It does not seem safe for us to attempt to leave the country in any way at present. May the God of heaven protect us and finally bring peace. These two men go to make peace, and when they return, if successful with the Cayuses, they will go to the Willamette. We have learned that one man escaped to Walla Walla, crossed over the river, and went below. He would naturally suppose that all were killed. Besides myself, another white man escaped wounded and reached my place three days before I did.
Late Indian reports say that no women, except Mrs. Whitman, or children, were killed, but all are in captivity. These people, if the Cayuses consent, will bring them all to this place.
I traveled only nights, and hid myself days, most of the way on foot, as my horse escaped from me; suffered some days from hunger and cold and sore feet; had no shoes, as I threw my boots away, not being able to wear them, and also left blankets. God in mercy brought me here. From the white man who escaped and from the Indians, we learn that an Indian from the states,[3] who was in the employ of Dr. Whitman, was at the head of the bloody affair, and helped demolish the windows and take the property. We think the Cayuses have been urged into the dreadful deed. God in mercy forgive them, for they know not what they do. Perhaps these men can bring my horses and things. Please give all particulars you have been able to learn, and what news has gone below. How do the women and children fare? How extensive is the war? In giving this information, and sending this letter below to Governor Abernethy, you will oblige your afflicted friend. I would write directly to the governor, but the Indians wish me to rest until they return.
Yours in affection and with best wishes.
(Signed.) H. H. Spalding.
The Nez Percés who brought this letter, evidently written under stress of circumstances, and guardedly, were Inimilpip and Tipialanahkeikt, sub-chiefs, and members of Mr. Spalding's congregation. After a conference with the bishop and Brouillet, they visited the Cayuses, whom they advised to take measures for avoiding a war with the Americans. They requested Blanchet to write to Governor Abernethy not to send up an army, but to come himself in the spring and make a treaty of peace with the Cayuses, who would then release the captives, whom they would in the meantime refrain from injuring.
On the eighteenth of December Camaspelo of the camp between Umatilla and Waiilatpu, paid a visit to the bishop. He said the young men had "stolen his word," and misrepresented him—that he had never consented to the massacre; that he wanted to kill all his horses and leave the country.
To this the bishop replied that there was a possibility of peace, and advised that the chiefs should meet and decide upon some course of action immediately, as delay only increased the difficulties of the situation. Accordingly, on the twentieth, the Cay use chiefs met at the Catholic mission in grand council, Tauitowe presiding. Those present were Tiloukaikt, Five Crows, and Camaspelo, with a number of sub-chiefs. The white men present were Blanchet, Brouillet, Rosseau, and Le Claire, all Catholic priests. Blanchet opened the discussion by placing before the Cayuses the propositions of the Nez Percés, namely, that the Americans should not come to make war; that they should send up two or three great men to make a treaty of peace; that on the arrival of the commissioners the captives should be released; that no offense should be offered to Americans before learning what answer would be returned to these propositions.
Camaspelo spoke first in approval. Tiloukaikt then reviewed the history of the nation from before the first coming of the white people: and acknowledged that previous to the advent of the Hudson's Bay Company they had always been at war; that where Fort Walla Walla now stood nothing but blood was continually seen. But they had been taught by white people there was a God who forbade war and murder. He eulogized Mr. Pambrun, who had so taught them; referred to the killing of the Nez Percé chief who accompanied Mr. Gray east in 1837;
and of the killing of Elijah in California three years pre
vious, saying the Cayuses had forgotten all that, and lie
hoped the Americans would forget what had occurred at
Waiilatpu.
Five Crows suggested some additions to the propositions already offered. Tauitowe said but little, excusing him self by declaring that he was sick and not able to talk, but favored the proposals. Edward Tiloukaikt arose, and dis played a "Catholic Ladder" stained with blood, and re peated what he asserted Dr. Whitman had said a short time before his death: "You see this blood! it is to show you that now because you have the priests among you, the country is going to be covered with blood. You will have nothing now but blood!" He then related the recent events at Waiilatpu in the most detailed and minute man ner, describing the sorrow of the bereaved families in touching language, even of a single member of one family left to weep alone over all the rest who had perished. He repeated the story carried by Joe Lewis to the Indians, that Dr. Whitman was poisoning them. Nothing was avoided or left out, except the names of the murderers; of these he made no mention.
After some time spent in deliberation, a manifesto was agreed upon and dictated to the bishop, as follows:
The principal chiefs of the Cayuses in council assembled state : That a young Indian who understands English, and who slept in Dr. Whitman s room, heard the doctor, his wife, and Mr. Spalding express their desire of possessing the lands and animals of the In dians ; 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 Indian told the Cayuses, " If you do not kill the doctor soon, you will all be dead before spring;" that they buried six Cayuses on Sunday, November twenty-eighth, 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 :
First. That the Americans may not go to war with the Cay uses.
Second. That they may forget the lately committed murders, as the Cayuses will forget the murder of the son of the great chief of the Walla Wallas, committed in California.
Third. That two or three great men may come up to conclude peace.
Fourth. That as soon as these great men have arrived and con cluded peace, they may take with them all the women and children.
Fifth. They give assurance that they will not harm the Ameri cans before the arrival of these two or three great men.
Sixth. They ask that Americans may not travel any more through their country, as their young men might do them harm.
Place of Tauitowe, Youmatilla, twentieth December, 1847. Signed. TILOUKAIKT,
CAMASPELO, TAUITOWE,
ACHEKAIA.
To this document the bishop added a letter to Governor Abernethy, concluding as follows : " It is sufficient to state that all these speeches went to show, that since they had been instructed by the whites they abhorred war, and that the tragedy of the twenty-ninth 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 value of the documents which I have been requested to forward to you. "Nevertheless, 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 likely have all the Indians of this country against you. Would it be for the interest of a young colony to expose herself? That you will have to decide with your council."
The council of the Cayuses at the bishop s house was hardly over, when a courier arrived from Fort Walla Walla, notifying the Cayuses that Mr. Peter Skeen Ogden of Fort Vancouver was at that place and desired to see them without delay. A letter to the bish op was also
received requesting his presence, but he being unable to attend, Mr. Brouillet went in his place, to give an account of what had passed at the council held at his mission; this being, as he informs us, the first time any of the fathers had ventured away from Tauitowe s camp since his return from Waiilatpu after the burial of the victims. The Indians could not be brought together before tl^ie twenty-third, by which time the bishop also was present.
Of how Mr. Ogden came to take the important step he did, the explanation will be given in the chapter which follows. That his doing so was as wise as it was brave, every historian must acknowledge. But to close this act in the drama enacted in the Walla Walla valley, we con tinue the narrative of what followed Ogden s arrival.
From the moment of his arrival on the evening of the nineteenth until the morning of the twenty-third, no time was lost, but every particle of information was gathered up which would enable him to deal with the Cayuses, and also the Nez Percés. The Cayuse chiefs present were Tauitowe and Tiloukaikt, with about a dozen young men. Mr. Ogden addressed them fearlessly and truthfully, yet with that tact in keeping the advantage which is necessary in dealing with undeveloped minds. Speaking of the Hudson's bay people, "We have been among you for thirty years," said Ogden, "without the shedding of blood; we are traders, and of a different nation from the Ameri cans; but recollect, we supply you with ammunition, not to kill Americans, who are of the same color, speak the same language, and worship the same God as ourselves, and whose cruel fate causes our hearts to bleed. Why do we make you chiefs, if you cannot control your young inen? Besides this wholesale butchery, you have robbed the Americans passing through your country, and have insulted their women. If you allow your young men to govern you, I say you are not men or chiefs, but hermaph rodites who do not deserve the name. Your hot-headed young men plume themselves on their bravery; but let
them not deceive themselves. If the Americans begin
war they will have cause to repent their rashness; for the
war will not end until every man of you is cut off from
the face of the earth? I am aware that man} r of your
people have died; but so have others. It was not Dr.
Whitman who poisoned them; but God who has com
manded that they should die. You have the opportunity
to make some reparation. I give you only advice, and
promise you nothing should war be declared against you.
The company have nothing to do with your quarrel. If
you wish it, on my return I will see what can be done for
you ; but I do not promise to prevent war. Deliver me
the prisoners to return to their friends, and I will pay you
a ransom ; that is all."
The people then in Oregon, it should seem, could never be too grateful to Mr. Ogden for this happily worded speech, which left them free to act as they should deem wise, which compelled the Cayuses to yield to the Hud son s Bay Company or lose their regard, and which left the company in its former position of neutrality. It was this avowal of neutrality nevertheless which was an offense to many Americans. Yet how else could the company be of service? If they were one with the Americans in this quarrel, they could not offer blankets, but the sword. If they avowed hostility, the captives would be the sacrifice.
The chiefs, although they must have seen they were caught as in a trap, yielded. Tauitowe made it appear that he did so out of consideration for the compaii}-, who were his brothers because some of the Indian women were wives to some of the company s people.
Tiloukaikt also recognized this claim, but he had mere personal motives. "Chief!" said he, "your words are weighty, your hairs are gray. We have known you a long time. You have had an unpleasant journey to this place. I cannot therefore keep the families back. I make them over to you, which I would not do to another younger than vourself."
Peu-peu-mox mox declined to say anything, except that
he found the Americans changeable, but approved of giv
ing up the captives. It has been told upon as good au
thority as Dr. W. F. Tolmie of the Hudson's Bay Company,
that when a messeuger from Waiilatpu brought the news
of the massacre to the chief of the Walla Wallas, he was
asked what part he had taken in the bloody business, and
having answered that he had killed certain persons, Peu-
peu-mox-mox had ordered him hanged to the nearest tree.
This anecdote would seem to receive confirmation from a postscript to a letter written by Mr. McBean of Fort Walla Walla, on the day after the massacre, in which he says he has "just learned that the Cayuses are to be here tomor row to kill Serpent Jaune, 17 the Walla Walla chief." An other anecdote told by J. L. Parrish, concerning Peu-peu- mox-mox, relates that when the Cayuses proposed going to war, he warned them not to judge the Americans fight ing qualities by what they had seen of the immigrants, for he had witnessed their fighting in California, where every American was a man; from all of which it appears that this chief at least, was not implicated in the killing of the Americans in the Cayuse country. Whatever he thought about the instability of the white people, he had learned to fear them. His own instability he displayed at a later period.
The ransom offered the Cayuses was fifty-three point blankets, fifty shirts, ten guns, ten fathoms of tobacco, ten handkerchiefs, and one hundred balls and powder. The Nez Percé chiefs who had not yet returned home from the council on the Umatilla, promised to release Mr. Spalding and the Americans with him for twelve blankets, twelve shirts, twelve handkerchiefs, five fathoms of tobacco, two guns, two hundred balls and powder, and some knives. 18
Ogden wrote to Mr. Spalding, by the returning chiefs,
17 Serpent Jaune, or Yellow Serpent, was the French name for Peu-peu-mox-mox.
18 This is the amount, stated by Brouillet, who was present. The Oregon Spectator of January twentieth makes it double that amount of ammunition, with twelve niuts and thirty-seven pounds of tobacco.
that no time should be lost in getting to Walla Walla, and
to come without giving any promises to the Indians, not
aware that Spalding had already given his word to pre
vent the Americans from coming to avenge the murders.
Spalding replied to Ogden that he should hasten to join
him, and all the more, that the chiefs had assured him
that the Cayuses would kill all should they hear that the
Americans were coming with hostile design. A letter was
also sent express to the missionaries at Chemakane in
which Mr. Ogden declared his great fear lest something
should miscarry, an anxiety which had prevented him
from sleeping for two nights, and outlining the policy he
should pursue, which would be one to do nothing which
might in any way embarrass the government of the United
States in dealing with the murderers.
The anxiety expressed in this letter was occasioned by a rumor which reached the Indians immediately after the arrival of the Waiilatpu captives at Fort Walla Walla December twenty-ninth that a company of riflemen had arrived at The Dalles on their way to the Cayuse country. Should this rumor be believed it would be almost certain to cause Mr. Spalding s party to be cut off, and might make the escape of those already with him impossible. No con firmation, however, was received before Mr. Spalding ar rived, who reached the fort January first, escorted by a large party of Nez Percés, greatly to the relief of all con cerned.
At noon on the second, the boats, with their fifty -seven ransomed men, women, and children, with other passengers arid provisions for the journey, 19 put off from the beach at Walla Walla fort, eager and thankful to see the last of it. Nor were they any too soon, for a few hours thereafter fifty armed Cayuses rode up to the fort to demand Mr. Spalding to be given up to be killed, as they had reliable news of American soldiers en route to their country.
" Seven oxen and sixteen bags of coarse Hour were purchased from Tilonkaikt to
feed the people : Oregon Spectator, January 20, 1848.
No account, at all intelligible has ever been written of the month of captivity at Waiilatpu. All that has been given to the world has been of a character to sadden the heart for the violence of the passions exhibited, both then and thereafter, in the effort of the sufferers by these calam ities to make some one responsible for them. In weighing the value of such evidence as wo have, it should be re membered that the Indians steadfastly gave one principal reason for their crime, although afterwards in excusing themselves, they dragged in the loss of two young chiefs, one a Nez Percés, and one a Walla Walla. The principal motive was a sufficient one, as the student of Indian char acter and customs must admit.
But the immigrants stopping at Waiilatpu could not have known how to weigh such evidence. They had, per haps, been led to believe from Dr. Whitman s remarks in their hearing, that he feared the influence of Catholic mis sionaries, but had not learned all his reasons for disquietude. That the doctor s personal antagonism to the Catholics has been somewhat exaggerated, seems to be shown by several facts, but he did fear the effect of anything which could cause contention among the Indians, involving their teachers. It has been doubted that he gave Edward Tilou- kaikt the " Catholic Ladder " stained with blood ; but that is not improbable. He has simply been misunderstood or mis represented. He probably meant, not to foreshadow his own death, or the extermination of Americans, but to impress upon Edward the thought that to introduce religious con troversy among his people would be to afford cause for war. It had been so in nations called enlightened how much more to be apprehended among savages. But Tiloukaikt, a savage, was shrewd enough to make use of that very in dication of distrust to set up sectarian differences between white people. Naturally, the priests, who had honestly tried to do some good and alleviate so much evil, resented the slurs cast upon them by those whom they had served, and honce, much bitter controversy.
It is recorded in the sworn statements of some of the
captives, after their arrival in the Wallamet valley, that
they had said from the first, " The Catholics are at the bottom
of it." Yet why should they think that the Catholics were
responsible? They had been but a short time in the coun
try, and did not have an intelligent view of the situation
of affairs if the} 7 had understood them, they would not
have remained. The priests had been in the country even
a less time, and few, if any, of the immigrants had seen
them. Miss Bewley, who was an inmate of the doctor s
family, when questioned, under oath, whether she ever
heard Dr. Whitman express any fears concerning the
Catholics, replied: "Only once; the doctor said at table,
Now I shall have trouble; these priests are coming. Mrs.
Whitman asked : Have the Indians let them have land?
He said: I think they have. Mrs. Whitman said: It s
a wonder they do not come and kill ns. This land was
out of sight of the doctor s as you come this way (west of
the station). When the Frenchman was talking at Uma-
tilla of going to build a house there, he said it was a
prettier station than the doctor s."
What was there in this testimony to establish a criminal intent on the part of the priests? Mrs. Whitman, when she said -"it is a wonder they do riot come and kill us," was not speaking of the priests, but of the Indians, and knew far better than Miss Bewley whereof she spoke. And this was all that the witnesses among the captives had to say of their actual knowledge of the state of Dr. Whitman s mind; the rest was surmise, and the gossip of idle people full of fears.
Poor wretches! they were witnesses to murder the most foul ; to the theft and destruction of their property, and to personal indignities the most indecent and cruel. 20 They
20 Great stress has been laid by some writers upon the fact that the Catholic priests did not interfere to save Miss Bewley from the arms of Five Crows ; but from her own evidence this chief sought to rescue her from indiscriminate abuse by taking her to himself. Tn a deposition taken at Oregon City, February 7, 1S49, the question was asked; " Did you have evidence that it was necessary for Hezekiah
had lived in hell for a period long enough to change their
conceptions of the world and humanity, and they were
still too tremulous from injuries to be able to have a steady
judgment. According to their own representations, they
were as suspicious of each other as of their recognized
foes, and conspired to prove conspiracies among each
other. Like other lunatics their worst suspicions were
turned against their best friends; their sick brains were
incapable of comprehending the truth. And, as often
happens in complaints of this nature, the same phenomena
communicated itself, temporarily at least, to the whole
community.
Mr. Ogden found at The Dalles, as the Indians had heard, a company of riflemen, whom Mr. Spalding, not withstanding his word given to the Nez Percés, urged to hasten up and surprise the Cayuses, naming only a few who might be spared ; and this wholesale slaughter was to be perpetrated to " save the animals of the mission !" Might it not be said these people had become deranged?
On the eighth of December Mr. Ogden arrived at Van couver, and on the tenth delivered the rescued Americans into the hands of Governor Abernethy at Oregon City, with Mr. Spalding s letter and the bishop s letter, together with the manifesto of the Cayuse chiefs. It does not re quire much imagination to conceive the excitement occa sioned by the arrival of these unhappy people, nor the influence it had on the conduct of the Cayuse war. Half- crazed widows; young women who had suffered such
(Five Crows) to hold you as a wife to save you from a general abuse by the Indians?" Answer: " I was overwhelmed with such evidence at Waiilatpu, but saw none of it on the Umatilla." In the same deposition Miss Bewley says : "It was made known to us (the captives) after a council, that Edward was to go to the big chief at the Umatilla and see what was to be done with us, and specially with the young women; and after his return he immediately commenced the massacre of the sick young men, and the next morning announced to us that arrangements had been made for Hezekiah to come and take his choice among the young women. * * * Hezekiah did not come for me himself, but sent a man and a boy for the young woman that was & member of Mrs. Whitman s family " ( Miss Bewley): Gray'ssHistory of Oregon, 500, 501.
If the men with families at the mission could not interfere, how could the priests who had no other right than common humanity gave them? That righ t, Brouillet
indignities and brutalities that they wondered to find themselves alive, among. Christian people; children who had lost the happy innocence of childhood, whom suffer ing had made old before their time; men who had become craven through fear an avalanche of such misery poured into the lap of a small community, still struggling with the hardships of pioneer settlement, upheaved it from its very foundations.
Governor Abernethy, eleven days after the delivery to him of his rescued fellow countrymen, penned the follow ing letter to Mr. Ogden :
OREGON CITY, January 19, 1848.
SIR : I feel it a duty as well as a pleasure to tender you my sin cere thanks, and the thanks of this community, for your exertions in behalf of the widows and orphans that were left in the hands of the Cayuse Indians. Their state was a deplorable one, subject to the caprice of 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 rescued them ; a small party of Americans would have been looked upon by them with contempt; a larger party would have been a signal for a general massacre. Your immediate departure from Vancouver on the receipt of the intelligence from Waiilatpu, enabling you to arrive at Walla Walla before the news of the American party having started from this place reached them, together with your influence over the Indians, accomplished the desirable object of relieving the distressed. Your exertions in behalf of the prisoners will, no doubt, cause a feeling of pleasure to you throughout life, but this does not relieve them nor us from the obligations we are under to you. You have also laid the American government under obligations to you, for their citi zens were the subjects of this massacre, and their widows and or-
says they exercised by advising the Cayuses who attended the council at the bishop s house to immediately give up the girls whom they had taken. "And then," he says, " all entreated Five Crows to give up the one he had taken, but to no purpose." Up to this time Miss Bewley had been permitted to remain at the bishop s house during the day time, but after Five Crows refusal to give her up, Brouillet advised her to insist upon being allowed to remain altogether at the bishop s house until definite news came from below ; but if Five Crows would not consent she should stay with him at his lodge. She came back, however, and was received and comforted as best they could under circumstances so peculiar, and continued to share their bachelor house with them until relief caine. The years that have elapsed have softened preju- dices, and it is time to write impartially of a most interesting period of the state s phans are the relieved ones. With a sincere prayer that the widow's God and the father of the fatherless may reward you for your kindness, I have the honor to remain,
Your obedient servant. George Abernethy,
Governor of Oregon Territory.
To Peter Skeen Ogden,
Chief Factor Hudson's Bay Company.
To this letter Mr. Ogden sent this significant reply:—
Fort Vancouver, January 26, 1848.
Mr. George Abernethy, Esq., Governor of Oregon:
Sir: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your highly flattering letter of the nineteenth instant, and the high value you lay upon my services in rescuing so many fellow creatures from captivity, but the meed of praise is not due to me alone. I was the mere acting agent of the Hudson's Bay Company, for without its powerful aid and influence, nothing could have been effected, and to them the praise is due, and permit me to add, should unfortunately, which God avert, our services be again required under similar circumstances, I trust you will not find us wanting in going to their relief.
Believe me, yours truly, Peter Skeen Ogden.
The rescued women and children were taken care of by the citizens, and settlers upon farms, many of the women and girls being soon provided with homes by marriage. Such of their property as had not been destroyed was finally recovered, while all became absorbed into the young commonwealth.
The discussion of the causes which had brought about the tragedy of Waiilatpu went on unceasingly, to no other purpose apparently than to gratify a craving for excitement. No one felt willing to lay any blame upon the victims. The immigrants were unwilling to admit that the catastrophe was caused by their introduction of a fatal disease among the Indians. The cause must be sought otherwheres. Where else could it- be looked for except in the natural depravity of barbarians, incited, of course, by some influence not American the French priests, or the English fur company, or both together? Forgetful of the
services received, the latter view was the one generally
adopted by the Protestant missionary class, and which has
prevailed, almost uncontradicted, to the present time.
There was one great cause for the massacre of Waiilatpu underlying all others, which was the neglect of congress to keep faith with the people who settled Oregon. For many years the promise had been held out, that if these people would go to Oregon the United States government would protect and reward them. It had done neither. They were living on Indian lands that had never been treated for, and to which they had no title. They had not one government gun or soldier to protect two thousand miles of road. They had no government, except a com pact among themselves. Neither Dr. Whitman s threat nor Dr. White's promises had been fulfilled to the Indians, and they had no cause to believe they ever would be. Even without the provocation of having lost a third of their tribe by white men s disease, if not by poison crimi nally administered, as they believed, the conditions all pointed to an Indian war, for which the United States, and not the people of Oregon, should have been held responsible.