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DOCUMENT: WWPUGSND.TXT
THE TREATIES OF PUGET SOUND 1854-55
THE TREATY OF MEDICINE CREEK
THE TREATY OF POINT ELLIOTT
AND
THE TREATY OF POINT NO POINT
Robert Brockstedt Lane
and
Barbara Lane
This workshop is one of a series that has been developed and
implemented by the Institute for the Development of Indian
Law, Inc. of Washington, D.C. in conjunction with Cook
Christian Training School, Tempe, Arizona. The funds for the
project were provided through grant no. 90-I-230 from the
Office of Native American Programs, Department of Health,
Education and Welfare.
THE TREATIES OF PUGET SOUND 1854-55
INTRODUCTION
In 1853 Washington Territory was organized and Isaac
Ingalls Stevens became the first Governor and the first
Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the new Territory.
No treaties had as yet been made and ratified with
Indians in the new Territory. One of Stevens' first duties
was to make treaties with the Indians by which the United
States would acquire title to the land.
Stevens was in a hurry to extinguish Indian title to
the land for several reasons. One of the reasons was to
avoid conflict between white settlers and Indians over land.
In 1850 Congress had passed the Oregon Donation Land
Act which offered free land to settlers who would go to the
Northwest. When Washington Territory was created out of the
northern part of Oregon Territory, the Donation Land Act was
made to apply in Washington.
The government was in the awkward position of having
offered free land to settlers without first having bought
the land from the Indians. The treaties were intended to buy
out Indian title to the land.
In 1854 Stevens received orders to make treaties with
all the Indians in Washington Territory. He organized a
treaty commission and began making treaties in the western
part of the Territory.
He organized the treaty commission in December 1854 and
by the end of January 1855, four treaties had been made. The
places and dates at which the treaties were signed and the
numbers of Indians reported to be included in each treaty
are as follows:
TREATY DATE INDIANS
------------------------------------------------------------
Treaty of Medicine Creek December 26, 1854 1200
Treaty of Point Elliott January 22, 1855 4992
Treaty of Point No Point January 25, 1855 1316
Treaty of Neah Bay January 31, 1855 596
Stevens attempted to make a fifth treaty in February
1855, but did not succeed. He met with representatives of
the Quinault, Chehalis, Cowlitz, and Chinook on the Chehalis
River and tried to get them all to sign a treaty agreeing to
go on a single reservation to be located later somewhere
between Cape Flattery and Gray's Harbor.
The Quinault were the only ones willing to sign.
Probably this was because the reservation was to be located
somewhere within their own territory. The Cowlitz, Chinook,
Chehalis and Shoalwater Bay people held out for reservations
on the Chehalis River and at Shoalwater Bay.
They were later given those reservations, but because
they did not sign the treaty which was offered to them they
are denied treaty status and treaty rights today.
Later Stevens signed a treaty with the Quinault and
Quileute. This was negotiated on the Quinault River July 1,
1855 and signed by Stevens in Olympia January 25, 1856. This
was the fifth and last treaty which Stevens negotiated in
western Washington.
All five of the western Washington treaties are
similar. The Treaty of Neah Bay contains certain provisions
which do not occur in any of the other treaties. The Treaty
of Olympia is also somewhat different from all the other
treaties.
We are concerned here with the first three treaties,
the treaties which were made around Puget Sound. Although
there are very minor differences in wording and punctuation,
the first three treaties are essentially the same and can be
examined as a unit.
By reading the treaties, it is possible to discover
which Indian tribes or bands were included in any one of the
treaties, what lands were transferred to the United States,
what lands were reserved for the Indians, what rights were
kept by the Indians, what was being given up, and what the
United States would pay for the lands and rights which were
relinquished.
The texts of the three Puget Sound treaties are
included in this book. [Not included in this version.] These
are copies of the printed or published treaties. Also
included is a facsimile copy of the original handwritten
Treaty of Point No Point.
By reading the treaties, it is possible to discover
what they say. To discover why they contain the provisions
that are written into them, one must look elsewhere.
Most of the articles or provisions which are written
into the Treaty of Medicine Creek, the Treaty of Point
Elliott, and the Treaty of Point No Point are taken directly
from earlier treaties made with Indian tribes on the Plains.
Only three provisions are written into the western
Washington treaties which do not occur in the earlier
treaties with the Plains Indians. These provisions are:
(1) the article protecting the right of taking fish
(2) the article freeing all slaves
(3) and the article prohibiting trade with Vancouver's
Island
The first of these is the only important guarantee of
rights which is unique to the Indians in western Washington.
In other respects the Stevens treaties appear to secure
to the Indians in western Washington much less than is
secured in the treaties on which the Washington treaties are
based.
Stevens received instructions to make treaties with the
Indians in Washington from the Commissioner of Indian
Affairs who was his immediate superior in the Department of
Indian Affairs. The Commissioner gave Stevens certain
specific instructions, several general guidelines, and
supplied him with some recently made treaties to use as
models.
Two of the treaties which were sent to Stevens are
included in this book for ready reference. [Not included in
this version.] They are: the Treaty with the Oto and
Missouria Indians, and the Treaty with the Omaha.
Comparing the treaties that Stevens made with those
that he was sent as models, we can see certain small, but
potentially critical differences. Among the most important
is the language relating to land transfers and lands
reserved to Indians.
In the treaties which were negotiated by the
Commissioner of Indian Affairs with the Oto and Missouria
and with the Omaha, certain lands are ceded by the Indians
to the United States and other lands are kept by the
Indians.
In the treaties which Stevens made in Washington with
the tribes around Puget Sound, the Indians cede all their
land. Some lands are reserved for their "present use and
occupation."
Close comparison of the Plains treaties with the Puget
Sound treaties discloses other differences. The Stevens
treaties took much and left or gave little.
One of the more interesting sources of information
about the treaties, apart from studying the documents
themselves, is in the comments and evaluations of them made
by the men who helped to negotiate them.
Two of the men who served on the Stevens treaty
commission in western Washington were George Gibbs and
Benjamin Franklin Shaw. Gibbs was a lawyer who may have been
responsible for some of the treaty language. Shaw served as
the interpreter who translated the treaty language into
Chinook Jargon.
Included immediately following this page are
evaluations of the treaties made by Gibbs and Shaw.
Also included are maps showing the location of the
groups included in the treaties, the lands ceded under the
several treaties, and the extent of white presence in
western Washington at treaty times.
GENERAL GIBBS'S LETTER ON THE CAUSE
OF THE INDIAN TROUBLES
IN WASHINGTON TERRITORY.
The following are extracts from a letter sent by George
Gibbs, dated "Fort Vose, on Port Townsend, W. T., Jan. 7,
1857," to James Swan.
"That the governor's treaties had a great deal to do in
fomenting this war there is no doubt. Those on the Sound
were too much hurried, and the reservations allowed them
were insufficient; but his grand blunder was in bringing
together the Nez Perces, Walla Wallas, Yakamas, and others
into one council, and cramming a treaty down their throats
in a hurry. Still, the treaties were only one item in the
reasons for disaffection. Treaties had been made with the
Willamette and Columbia River Indians, first by a board of
commissioners, then by a superintendent, and none of them
ratified, nor payments made under them. The Donation Law had
very unjustly given to settlers the lands before the title
was extinguished. The tribes whose country was occupied had
visibly perished, and the bolder tribes of the prairies east
of the mountains were determined that they would keep us
out, at all events till they were paid. They saw that the
troops were few, and scattered in distant and petty posts;
that they were not mounted, and only one station in their
country, which they could easily exterminate. The Sound
Indians, encouraged by hope of support from the Yakamas,
whom they feared themselves, thought that they, in like
manner, could clear the Sound, and they came pretty near
doing it. But for Captain Maloney's fortunate return, they
probably would have raised all the tribes, taken the
unguarded post at Steilacoom, supplied themselves with arms
and ammunition, and whipped us out. It needed only one
great success to have enabled them to do this. As to the
conduct of the war on this side (that is, west of the
Cascade range of mountains), it has been well managed.
Captain Keyes and Colonel Casey, who succeeded him in
command, acted with judgment and energy; but the war on the
other side, directed by Colonel Wright, has been a perfect
farce. He has proclaimed peace when it only exists because
the whites have been driven from the country. He left his
communications behind him unguarded, suffered the Cascades
to be taken and burned, ran back, gave up an expedition on
which he started, undertook another, sent back for more
troops, and finally, at the head of eleven companies of
regulars, after talking and feeding the hostiles on sugar
and flour, marched back without taking a single one of the
murderers, without killing an enemy in the field, without
dictating terms, or doing any thing whatever to chastise or
subdue those who were in arms. The result, is, that all
communication by way of the Plains is abandoned; that other
tribes, encouraged by the inefficiency of the troops, or,
rather, of their commander, have joined; and that the
Indians hold undisputed control over the country.
"Here the principal difficulty will arise from the non-
fulfillment of the treaties with the friendly tribes. The
treaty with the Nisquallies, &c., who took up arms, was the
only one ratified, and of course they will receive their
annuities; while the Lower Sound tribes, who have remained
peaceable, and have been compelled to suffer great though
necessary inconvenience, remain neglected. Whether the
treaties are good or not, they ought to be ratified, or at
least provision made by law to pay their annuities as
promised.
"The conduct of the government has been most
extraordinary. They have suffered a regular and a volunteer
war to go on for a whole year, and have neither authorized
nor stopped the latter. Governor Stevens and General Wool
have been quarreling, and they have not decided in favor of
either. In fact, the inaction or want of decision shown at
Washington has been most culpable. * * * * *
"I can not stop to correct the above, or add what may,
perhaps, be necessary to give connection to the data. What I
have meant to show was that the war sprung partly from ill-
judged legislation, partly from previous unratified
treaties, and partly from recent blunders. Much is due to
the natural struggle between the hostile races for the
sovereignty of the soil. The land is at the root of the war.
Many outrages have been committed since it begun, it is
true, but it was not private wrongs that led to it. The
numerous outrages committed by Indians on whites have not
been taken into account by those who bleat about the 'poor
Indian.'"
MEDICINE CREEK TREATY.
Annual Address by Colonel B. F. Shaw.
(Note. - Colonel B. F. Shaw came to Oregon in 1844. In 1848
he was in the Cayuse War, his father, Captain William Shaw,
of Marion County, commanding a company. In 1853, 1854, and
1855 he was in the Indian service much of the time, his
knowledge of Indian character and the esteem he was held in
by the Indians rendering him peculiarly efficient in his
efforts. In 1855-56 he was one of the principal commanders
of the Yakima War, and rendered excellent service.)
Having been invited by the Oregon Historical Society to
prepare a paper on the subject of the early settlement of
this country, I have consented, believing that an address by
one who helped to make some of the early history might be of
some benefit.
I am well aware of the fact that there is a disposition
on the part of those who have come to this Coast in palace
cars to look upon the achievements of the earlier settlers
as matters of no great consequence; while on the other hand,
some of the old settlers may be inclined to claim too much;
and for these reasons I have always felt a delicacy in
obtruding on the public anything I might have to say about
the history of the early settlement in the states of Oregon
and Washington. But as I have recently read newspaper
articles which, to say the least, are misleading, and
remember one lecture in particular which is a downright
misrepresentation of all the facts in the history of the
times that they pretend to treat of, in order that these
statements may not be taken as true history, I have finally
gained my own consent to give my views on a part only of the
transactions of the early times.
I shall confine myself in what I have to say to the
earliest treaties made with the Indians in Washington
Territory. I do this because I consider that these treaties
and the men that made them have been misrepresented and
maligned in a most outrageous manner by Judge Wickersham, in
a lecture he delivered in Tacoma some years ago. The style
of this lecture, which he rightly calls the Indian side of
the question, is all that could be desired; but
unfortunately has nothing to back it save the bare
statements of the very Indians who fomented the discontent
that led up to the great Indian wars of 1855-1856. These
Indians being interested, and no doubt wishing to please
Judge Wickersham, discovering that he was industriously
hunting some foundation for his theory, and through his
anxiety to make out a case they saw a chance to throw off
some of the odium which attached to their former actions in
engaging in what, to them, proved to be a very unpopular
war; and this being the case, it follows that the statements
which Judge Wickersham represents as facts are no facts at
all, but were the ideas that the Indian orators of that time
conjured up in their imagination to scare and induce the
other Indians to join them in making a war of extermination
against the American settlers.
Judge Wickersham has taken all of these Indian stories
as gospel truths, and has proceeded to outdo himself, if
that were possible, in his eloquent and indignant
denunciations of the great wrongs which he says were
perpetrated upon these poor Indians by the men who made the
treaty of "Medicine Creek." The wonder is that he did not
add to his lecture the stories that the Indians circulated
at that time to the effect that the Government intended to
transport all the Indians out on to a lonely island in the
Pacific Ocean where the sun never shines, but is always
dark, and where the mosquitoes were so large that they would
kill an Indian at every bite. I have no doubt but that Judge
Wickersham would have been delighted to find such valuable
material for his lecture and would have related the story in
a much more interesting manner than I can ever hope to do.
Nothing seems to be so improbable to Judge Wickersham's mind
as the fact that an interested Indian might be induced to
tell a lie, particularly if he was an interested party.
The records, carefully kept at that time, together with
the testimony of a goodly number of white men, do not seem
to have any weight with Judge Wickersham; but let old
"Luke," or some other Indian, tell him some ridiculous
story, and he will exhaust all of his reasoning power in
trying to make it appear that a statement from such a source
is the truth - that what never did happen was the most
likely thing to happen, "for some old Indian had told him
so."
But before attempting to reply to Judge Wickersham's
eloquent defense of the savage life and his yet more
eloquent condemnation of the march of civilization, I will
have to go back to the very early settlements in order to
show the condition the Indians were in when the American
settlers first came to the Coast. He found the Indian here
before him. The Indian was a wanderer, and had no permanent
home. He did not claim the exclusive right to a single acre
of land. He had no idea of any rights except the right of
"brute force." He was a usurper himself and had driven out
some weaker party and had taken his hunting ground by force.
The Indians had no laws to govern themselves and knew no law
except the law of force. They had no religion of their own;
they had no rulers, save that the biggest and loudest-
talking, blustering bully was a sort of chief who directed
them to some extent by out-talking them and making them
afraid of him, or by pretending to be inspired with
"Tamanawas" - medicine which gave him the power to cast out
evil spirits and to heal the sick; and as he was supposed to
cure by his "Tamanawas" he was held responsible for the
lives of his patients. If it happened at any time that too
many of his patients died, the relatives and friends of the
deceased were authorized by common consent to kill these
"Tamanawas" men: so it often happened that these chiefs and
"Tamanawas" men passed over to the happy hunting ground
without ever knowing what hurt them, and many of the lesser
lights lived in fear of taking a like trip to the same
region.
Another thing which seemed to and did disturb the Coast
Indians was what they called a "Seatco," a sort of walking
delegate from the other world, who always came at night and
drove the Indians from their peaceful slumbers into the
forest, and then took their earthly possessions, and applied
them to his own use. A great portion of the time the Indians
would have their "Tamanawas" men employed to drive away and
keep off the "Seatcos." For this service the Indians had to
contribute to the medicine man a great portion of their
worldly possessions, which did not leave them in the most
happy condition, to say the least.
Now this was the happy situation of the Indians when
the American settler arrived on the scene. Every one lived
in fear of these "Tamanawas" men and these "Tamanawas" men
lived in fear of everybody else.
The Indians did not know that he had any right to the
soil, as he made no use of it. The only right he did claim
was the right to roam over the country in common with
everybody else - that was all the use he had for the
country. He did not know how to cultivate the soil, and did
not wish to know; for when he did learn that the soil would
produce grain and vegetables, he would not use it for that
purpose, but preferred to roam over it and idle away his
time.
Now these are some of the privileges that our friends
who take the Indian side of the question accuse us of
robbing the Indian out of. We deny that we have robbed him
out of anything, save and except his right to roam over
thousands of acres of productive land that he made no use
of, and have compelled him to abandon his savage life, and
live like a civilized man. We have given them permanent
homes, and have tried to teach them to cultivate the soil
and to become useful citizens; and we do not regret that we
have done so.
Now the American settlers who came in early times were
as different from the Indians as it was possible for them to
be. They were men of great energy and push. They had
traveled 2000 miles over the dusty plains, and were
aggressive and persevering and did not know what the word
fail meant. They had painted on the sides of their wagonbeds
in large letters "54:40 or fight," and did not expect to
reclaim the country from the Indians, but did expect to
maintain the rights of the United States to the country
against the claims of Great Britain. They brought with them
their wives, children, their household goods, their plows,
harrows, and other tools necessary to make them permanent
homes. And on arriving in this country they immediately
proceeded to mark out and take possession of all the land,
each for himself, that they believed the Government would
allow them to hold - generally 640 acres; and they claimed
the first exclusive right to the soil, and took steps to
enforce their rights by fencing and excluding all men from
trespassing on their land. This movement in permanently
settling the country was not much taken notice of by the
Indians at first, as the country was large and the Indians
did not have any idea of the number of the white people, but
thought them not much more numerous than themselves. This
exclusive and aggressive policy went on, however, the
American settlers increased and much of the public domain
was thus claimed and fenced, thus excluding everybody
therefrom, Indians as well as whites. This condition
continuing from year to year, enlarged the settlements of
the whites, as well as their flocks, and correspondingly
restricted the area of country over which the Indian was
wont to roam at will. In due time this changed condition of
affairs naturally created discontent among the Indians and
several times we had wars with the different tribes, but
lack of combination among them saved the white settlers.
While these settlements continued to grow the discontent
among the Indians also continued to increase. The two
antagonistic principles - civilization and savagery - coming
in contact one with the other, finally culminated in the
great Indian war of 1855-56.
This war was a natural result of the aggressive policy
of the white man coming in contact with the idle habits of
the Indians. The American settler without the consent of his
own Government had proceeded to appropriate to his own
exclusive use large tracts of the public domain, and had
claimed the right to exclude all men from trespassing on his
holdings. This had been going on for a good many years; and
it had become a question only of time when the white man
would absorb the whole country and leave the Indians without
an abiding place; and it was for this particular reason that
it was thought best to treat with these Indians as early as
possible and set aside certain tracts of land in order that
they might have some place for their exclusive use. This was
the policy of the Government, and there is no doubt but that
it was intended to benefit the Indians, as the Government
had permitted the settlers to take up and hold all the best
part of the country, without being consulted.
I will now give my recollections about the treaty of
Medicine Creek and how it was made. Before proceeding,
however, let me say that Medicine Creek is in Thurston
County, a few miles east of the City of Olympia, Washington,
and was within the area claimed by the Nesqually tribe of
Indians.
About three weeks before the council was held, as
interpreter for Governor Isaac I. Stevens, who was also
Superintendent of Indian Affairs, I was directed to go out
and notify all the Indians living within the boundaries of
the proposed purchase that a council would be held at
Medicine Creek on December 24, A. D. 1854. In accordance
with the said instructions, I went over the whole district
and notified all the Indians of any note that a council
would be held at the date mentioned, and at each village
visited I was called upon to state the object of this
council. In reply I made this statement to them:
"That the Government, seeing that the American settlers
were taking up the country very rapidly, and that in the
future it was probable that the settlements would be made
even more rapidly, and while the Government was not disposed
to interfere and stop the settlements from being made, yet
so long as the so-called Indian title was not extinguished,
if they would sell such rights as they claimed to the
Government, then the Government would set apart reservations
for their exclusive use, and grant such other privileges as
could be agreed upon at the council." And I also told them
that they could see, as well as I could, that the settlement
could not be stopped, and if something was not done soon the
white man would absorb the whole country and leave the
Indian without a spot to pitch his tent upon; and for the
consideration of these questions the Government invited them
to meet its representatives at Medicine Creek in mutual
council. Furthermore, I told them that the Government
desired the Indians to consider these questions in advance.
First to sell all their rights in the land, or "illakee," to
the Government for a moderate sum of money, to be paid in
yearly installments; and, secondly, to accept such
reservations and other privileges as could be agreed upon at
that council. As to the details, I recommended them to come
to the council and hear for themselves what the
representatives of the Government had to say.
These were all the inducements that were held out to
these Indians to come to the Medicine Creek Council, where
Judge Wickersham says they were robbed of their country by
the deliberate villainy of the Superintendent of Indian
Affairs, by misrepresentations, intimidation, and downright
forgery.
To any one who knew Governor Stevens it is not
necessary to say one word, as every one who lived in those
times knows that the idea of his being a party to any
misrepresentations to the Indians is wholly ridiculous,
wholly without foundation, save as obtained from a lying
Indian, and related second-handed by a white man who seems
to think that he is justified in endeavoring to tarnish the
names of the first executive of Washington Territory and all
those who assisted him in his desire to ameliorate the
condition of the Indians. The reputation Governor Stevens
had, and justly, too, for truth and veracity, the humane and
kindly feelings he had toward the Indians, together with his
knowledge that they were being pressed to the wall and
driven away from their hunting and fishing grounds, and his
well known desire to do all that lay in his power to improve
their condition, ought to have saved him from such an
abortive attempt to blacken his character and that of those
who were with him. I venture to say that there was not a man
of any note among all the Indians at that council who did
not know that they had not a single right that could be
maintained by either force of arms or by law. Every one of
them recognized the fact that there was no power that could
protect them from the encroachment of the white settlers,
save and except the Government of the United States; and
hence their willingness to make and sign a treaty was
natural, and no extra inducements were required to get them
to do so. The Government had already extended its
jurisdiction over the whole country, and Indians knew, as
well as everybody 20 else, that whether there was any treaty
or not, the Government had possession of, the whole country
and could do as they pleased with it, with or without a
treaty; and, therefore, there was no incentive to do any act
contrary to what was right and just. Besides this, the
gentlemen who made this treaty were all highminded and
honorable men, who would have scorned to misrepresent
anything, even to an Indian.
Personally, I have always believed that there was a
great deal of humbug about making any treaties with the
Indians. My plan would have been to have taught them from
the start that the Government of the United States was the
only proper power to rule, as it was in reality; and I would
not have encouraged the Indian to believe that he was one of
the high contracting parties of the making and signing of a
treaty, when he was not, as the other party already had full
possession of the property he was supposed to sign away. My
opinion had nothing to do with the matter, however, as the
superintendent was instructed to make these treaties, and I
believe that he did his work honestly and faithfully.
At this point I desire to say that Judge Wickersham is
greatly mistaken in saying that there was any great
difference among the Indians about making and signing the
Medicine Creek treaty. I do not believe that there was at
that time. This position can be successfully supported upon
the testimony of good men. The discontent, if any, was
created afterward, when the Indians had gone to their
respective homes and consulted a lot of white men, who were
living with Indian women and who were interested in seeing
that the country remained common pasture as long as
possible; and some of the politicians of that day did not
hesitate to encourage the discontent for political effect.
The treaty was made on the 25th day of December, 1854,
the second day of the council. After the Governor had made
his speech all the Indians were invited to speak and tell
what they believed and were willing to do about making and
signing the treaty. Everything was conducted open and above
board. After all the Indians had spoken, the treaty was
brought out, and was explained slowly by paragraphs, and
whenever there was any doubt as to the Indians understanding
it, it was repeated until it was understood by them. It took
nearly all day to read and interpret it, and after it was
believed that all the Indians fully understood it the treaty
was then signed by the Commissioner and Secretary, and then
all the Indians of any note signed it. Quiemuth, Leschi,
Stahi, Slugamas, Snow-ho-dump-shoot, and all the other
Indians of any note affixed their signatures to the treaty.
There was no compulsion or persuasion necessary, as they all
seemed anxious to sign it. These are the facts that I know
of my own knowledge for I stood by the whole time and saw
each Indian make his mark, and the Secretary write his name
opposite to his mark. It makes no difference how many times
Judge Wickersham may quote old "Luke" to throw a doubt on
the subject. Old "Luke" has simply forgotten what took
place, or more likely has discovered the fact that Judge
Wickersham was anxiously smelling with his nose close down
to the ground and ready to follow and give mouth to any kind
of a trail, even a false one, so long as it led him to
something against the men who made the treaty at Medicine
Creek.
Old "Luke" being willing to throw off some of the blame
that had resulted from his former actions, and seeing how
easily he had already stuffed him with other stories, may
have concluded to give the Judge a yarn out of the whole
cloth. Judge Wickersham has given a pathetic picture of the
"Potlatch" as received from old "Luke" or "Paul." I do not
believe that he vouches for it as an eye witness. He says on
that dreary Christmas day the distribution of presents and
food was so scant that the Indians refused to take either
and the poor Indians went around all day and nearly perished
with hunger. I know this story to be false. There were
provisions in great abundance for all, and the Indians not
only filled themselves up with "Boston muckamuck," but
carried some with them to their homes. Anybody who knows
anything about an Indian would not believe such a story, and
it has taken nearly forty years to find a white man who
would relate such a tale. No other white man ever knew of an
Indian refusing to accept food when it was offered to him;
for he never refused to eat your food, even if he intended
to kill you an hour later.
Judge Wickersham quotes another ridiculous story of
"Luke," or some other apostle, to the effect that "Old Mike
Simmons," like a ruffian, had threatened to make "Leschi"
sign the treaty. In the first place Leschi did not refuse to
sign the treaty, and Colonel Simmons made no such a threat,
there being no occasion for him to do so. Colonel Simmons
would not have made such a threat even if Leschi had refused
to sign the treaty. To anyone who knew the Colonel no denial
would be necessary. But to those who had not the pleasure of
meeting that great, big-hearted old pioneer, the ace of
trumps in the whole pack of cards - a man whose sympathy was
as broad as the universe, and whose charities went far
beyond his means - a man who was the first to settle on the
north side of the Columbia River, for the express purpose of
holding it by occupancy - a man who had always been the best
friend to the Indians among all, and had always stood out
stoutly against all the wrongs that had been perpetrated on
them by the evil-disposed, irresponsible gang that went up
and down the Sound selling the worst kind of whisky, robbing
them of their property, and even killing them sometimes with
impunity - to those persons unacquainted with the conditions
prevailing in this country fifty years ago, it is proper to
say that Colonel Simmons was incapable of being a party to
any transaction whatever that would wrong an Indian out of
anything that rightfully belonged to him.
Abuses of the Indians in various directions by
unscrupulous white renegades, above alluded to, were some of
the things that Colonel Simmons fought against with all his
might; and it does seem to be cruel injustice that after the
lapse of 40 years, a man should appear in our midst and
endeavor to distort the history of the early days and try to
blacken his memory by the repetition of such ridiculous
falsehoods obtained from wholly irresponsible sources.
The selection of the reservations was another matter
which Judge Wickersham criticized severely. He thinks that
the location of these would have made him fight, too. I will
not undertake to say in this connection that these were
wisely located at that time; but the fact that the policy of
the Government was to have one general reservation, and to
make all the improvements on that one, with the object of
inducing all the Indians to locate upon that one, and the
further fact that the Indians did not know what they did
want, and the still further fact that there was a provision
in the treaty whereby these reservations could be changed
when necessary, probably prevented the Council from taking
as much time to discuss the reservation question as would
have been wise. Leschi wanted all of Pierce County and a
goodly part of King for a few Indian ponies to run on. That
was out of the question. No one thought then, nor does
anyone believe now, that such a concession ought to have
been made. I must confess that I differ from Judge
Wickersham about the reservations being the cause of the
war. The Yakima and Cayuse Indians went to war at the same
time, and they both had splendid reservations. No, the
reason that these Indians went to war was that they saw all
the country being taken up and their privileges being
curtailed from year to year. At length they imagined that
their condition was becoming worse all the time, and they
finally became desperate, forgetting for the moment that the
Government through the Indian Department was making every
effort in its power to improve their condition. Thus
refusing to look to the future as anything but dark and
gloomy, but turning their thoughts backward in contemplating
the many fancied wrongs they had suffered and, no doubt,
these treaties coming as they did after many of the valuable
places had been taken up by the white man, brought to the
Indian's mind more vividly all these things that they had
been brooding over for years, so that they finally forgot
everything except revenge, and arose in a mighty effort to
stay the oncoming tide of civilization, and turn the country
back to a savage condition again. Who is there who regrets
that they did not succeed; there is not one, not even the
Indians who were engaged in the war. The question was, shall
a great country, with many resources, be turned over to a
few Indians to roam over and make a precarious living in,
making no use of the soil or timber and other resources, or
should it be turned over to civilized man who would develop
it in every direction, and make it the abiding place of
millions of white people instead of a few hundred Indians?
I confess that I was one of the men who believed in
getting the Indians out of the way by paying them for all
their rights, and locating them on good reservations where
they would receive the protection of the Indian Department,
and where they would be removed from the influences of the
evil-disposed white men who were selling them bad whiskey
and robbing and demoralizing them in every way, thus leading
them to swift destruction. And I further confess that I was
one of the men who believed in allowing the Anglo-Saxon race
to take up the burden that the Indians were incapable of
carrying. And I do not regret now what was then done by the
men who made the treaty at Medicine Creek.
One other person, Sidney S. Ford, Jr., and myself are
the only living witnesses to the making and signing of these
treaties. All the others have gone to their long rest.
In looking back over the 50 years that have elapsed
since the making of these treaties, I can not see wherein
the Indian has been injured or mistreated. He had lived in
this country for ages, and had not made much more impression
upon it than a good-sized colony of beavers. He now has his
home. He has been paid for all his rights, and has no real
reason to complain, unless it be that he is no longer
considered a savage.
But look at what civilization has done for a sparsely
settled frontier village. Seattle only had a name and a few
huts. Tacoma, Spokane, Walla Walla, Everett, Bellingham, and
scores of other smaller cities and towns were yet unborn.
Even Minneapolis, St. Paul, Kansas City, Denver, Omaha, and
Salt Lake had scarcely more than a name. Four great
transcontinental lines have spanned the continent since that
time, and all the great resources of this wonderful country
are being developed. A great ocean commerce is now being
built up, and the dream of the pioneer is at last coming to
be an accomplished fact. And we who have been in this
country from the first inception of the new order of things,
are beginning to see the fruition of our hopes; and as we
are nearing our last sleep we will ever pray that this
American civilization may not stop until it penetrates every
nook and corner of this continent.
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