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Transcriber's note:
Text enclosed by underscores is in italics (_italics_).
A carat character is used to denote superscription. A
single character following the carat is superscripted
(example: Isaac^1).
The 'oe' ligature appears only in the words 'Coeur
d'Alene', and is rendered as 'C[oe]ur.'
Words printed using "small capitals" are shifted to all
upper-case.
Please consult the note at the end of this text for
details of corrections made.
THE LIFE OF ISAAC INGALLS STEVENS
By His Son
HAZARD STEVENS
With Maps and Illustrations
In Two Volumes
VOL. I
[Illustration]
Boston and New York
Houghton, Mifflin and Company
The Riverside Press, Cambridge
1900
Copyright, 1900, by Hazard Stevens
All Rights Reserved
CONTENTS
CHAPTER XXVI
THE CHEHALIS COUNCIL
Graphic account by Judge James G. Swan--Indians assemble on
lower Chehalis River--The camp and scenes--Method of
proceeding--Indians object to leaving their wonted
resorts--Tleyuk, young Chehalis chief, proves recusant and
insolent--Governor Stevens rebukes him--Tears up his
commission before his face--Dismisses the council--His
forbearance, and desire to assist the Indians--Treaty made
with Quenaiults and Quillehutes next fall as result of this
council 1
CHAPTER XXVII
PERSONAL AND POLITICAL.--SAN JUAN CONTROVERSY
Death of George Watson Stevens--Governor Stevens keeps Indians
in order--Visits Vancouver--Confers with Superintendent
Palmer, of Oregon--Firm stand against British claim to San
Juan Archipelago--Purchases Taylor donation claim--Democratic
convention to nominate delegate in Congress--Governor Stevens
a candidate--Effect of speech before convention: "If he gets
into Congress, we can never get him out"--J. Patton Anderson
nominated 10
CHAPTER XXVIII
INDIANS OF THE UPPER COLUMBIA
Manly Indians--Ten Great Tribes--Nez Perces--Missionary
Spalding--His work--Abandons mission--Escorted in safety by
Nez Perces--Intractable Cuyuses--Religious rivalry--Dr.
Whitman--Yakimas, Spokanes, Coeur d'Alenes, Flatheads, Pend
Oreilles, Koutenays--Upper country free from settlers--Indian
jealousy--Conspiracy to destroy whites discovered by Major
Alvord--Warnings disregarded--Governor Stevens thrown in
gap--Prepares for council--Walla Walla valley chosen by
Kam-i-ah-kan--Journey to Dalles--Incidents--Unfavorable
outlook--Escort secured--Trip to Walla Walla--"Call yourself
a great chief and steal wood?"--Council ground--Scenes--General
Palmer arrives--Programme for treaty--Officers--Lieutenant
Gracie, Mr. Lawrence Kip, and escort arrive--Governor Stevens
urges General Wool to establish post there 16
CHAPTER XXIX
THE WALLA WALLA COUNCIL
Nez Perces arrive--Savage parade--Head chief Hal-hal-tlos-sot or
Lawyer, an Indian Solon--Cuyuses, Walla Wallas, Umatillas
arrive--Pu-pu-mox-mox--Feasting the chiefs--Fathers Chirouse
and Pandosy arrive--Kam-i-ah-kan--Four hundred mounted braves
ride around Nez Perce camp--Young Chief--Spokane
Garry--Palouses fail to attend--Timothy preaches in Nez Perce
camp--Yakimas arrive--Commissioners visit Lawyer--Spotted
Eagle discloses Cuyuse plots--Council opened--Treaties
explained--Five thousand Indians present--Horse and foot
races--Young Chief asks holiday--Pu-pu-mox-mox's bitter
speech--Lawyer discloses conspiracy of Cuyuses to massacre
whites--Moves his lodge into camp to put it under protection
of Nez Perces--Governor Stevens prepares for trouble--Determines
to continue council--Invites Indians to speak their minds--Lawyer
favorable--Kam-i-ah-kan scornful--Pathetic speech of
Eagle-from-the-Light--Steachus wants reservation in his own
country--General Stevens's tent flooded--Lawyer accepts
treaty--Young Chief and others refuse--Governor Stevens's pointed
words--Separate reservations for Cuyuses, Walla Wallas, and
Umatillas--Sudden arrival of Looking Glass--His indignation--
Orders Nez Perces to their lodges--Night conference with
Yakimas--Stormy council--Lawyer goes to his lodge--Kam-i-ah-kan,
Pu-pu-mox-mox sign treaties--Lawyer's advice--Nez Perces
and Cuyuses counsel by themselves--Lawyer's authority confirmed--
Last day of treaty--Both tribes sign--Eagle-from-the-Light
presents his medicine, a grizzly bear's skin, to Governor
Stevens--Satisfactory ending great relief--Delegations
to Blackfoot council--Nez Perce scalp-dance--Treachery of other
tribes--Outbreak--Compelled to live under treaties--Provisions
of treaties--Benefits of council--Present prosperity 34
CHAPTER XXX
CROSSING THE BITTER ROOTS
Party for Blackfoot council--Crossing Snake River--Red Wolf and
Timothy thrifty chiefs--Traverse fine country--Coeur
d'Alene Mission--Council with Indians--Wrestling
match--Crossing the Bitter Root Mountains--Rafting the Bitter
Root River--Bitter Root or St. Mary's valley--Reception by
the Flatheads and Pend Oreilles--Victor complains of the
Blackfeet 66
CHAPTER XXXI
THE FLATHEAD COUNCIL
Chiefs unwilling to unite on one reservation--Alexander dreads
strictness of the white man's rule--Big Canoe--What need of
treaty between friends?--Let us live together--Protracted
debates--Indians feast and counsel among themselves--No
result--Victor leaves the council--Two days'
intermission--Governor Stevens accepts Victor's proposition
and concludes treaty--Moses refuses to sign treaty--"The
Blackfeet will get his hair" 81
CHAPTER XXXII
MARCH TO FORT BENTON.--MARSHALING THE TRIBES
Nez Perces and Flatheads to hunt south of Missouri pending
council--Prairie Plateau on summit of Rocky Mountains--Elk
for supper--Lewis and Clark's Pass--Management of
train--Traverse the plains--Abundant game--Bewildering
buffalo trails--Reach Fort Benton--Governor Stevens meets
Commissioner Cumming on Milk River--Boats belated--Provisions
exhausted--Leathery jerked meat--Pemmican two years
old--Hunting buffalo on Judith--Bighorn at Citadel
Rock--Metsic, the hunter--Two thousand western Indians
fraternizing with Blackfeet--Stolen horses--Doty recovers
them--Cumming claims sole authority--Forced to subside into
proper place--He stigmatizes Blackfeet and country--Disagrees
on all points--Governor Stevens's views--A million and a half
buffalo find sustenance on these plains 92
CHAPTER XXXIII
THE BLACKFOOT COUNCIL
Twelve thousand Indians kept in hand for months--Nez Perces and
Snakes move to Yellowstone for food--Adams and Tappan seek
Crows--Delay of boats imperils council--Indians
summoned--Council changed to mouth of Judith
River--Remarkable express service--Three thousand five
hundred Indians assemble--Best feeling--Treaty
concluded--Peace established--Terms well kept by
Blackfeet--Scenes at council ground--Grand chorus of one
hundred Germans--Homeric feasts--Disgruntled commissioner 107
CHAPTER XXXIV
CROSSING THE MOUNTAINS IN MIDWINTER.--SURPRISE OF THE
COEUR D'ALENES AND SPOKANES
The start homeward--The haggard expressman brings news of Indian
outbreak--How Pearson ran the gauntlet of hostile
Indians--Governor Stevens disregards warning
dispatches--Resolves to force his way back by the direct
route--Sends to Fort Benton for arms and ammunition--Hastens
ahead of train to Bitter Root valley--Confers with Flatheads
and Nez Perces--Alarming reports--Procures fresh animals--Nez
Perce chiefs join the party--Taking the unexpected
route--Crossing the snowy Bitter Roots--Ten dead horses--The
surprise of the Coeur d'Alenes--"Peace or war?"--Craig and
the Nez Perces take direct route home--Surprise of the
Coeur d'Alenes--Rescue of blockaded miners--Indians called
to council--The Stevens Guards and Spokane Invincibles
organized 120
CHAPTER XXXV
STORMY COUNCIL WITH THE SPOKANES
Disaffected Indians--Kam-i-ah-kan's emissaries and
falsehoods--Governor Stevens's firm front preserves
friendship--Looking Glass's treachery discovered and
frustrated--Dubious speeches--Indians' friendship
gained--Light marching order--Four days' march in driving
storm to the Nez Perce country 133
CHAPTER XXXVI
THE FAITHFUL NEZ PERCES
Two thousand assemble in council--Offer two hundred and fifty
warriors to force way through hostiles--Battle of Oregon
volunteers--The way cleared--The Nez Perce guard of
honor--March to Walla Walla--Capture of Ume-how-lish--Reception
by the volunteers--Governor Stevens's speech--Winter
campaign--Letter to General Wool--His inaction and mistaken
views--In camp, 27° below zero--The Nez Perces dismissed--
Governor Stevens pushes on to the Dalles in advance of
train--Crossing the gorged Deschutes--By trail down the
Columbia to Vancouver--The sail at night in the storm--Arrival
at Olympia after nine months' absence--Mrs. Stevens and
children visit Whitby Island--In danger from northern Indians 143
CHAPTER XXXVII
PROSTRATION.--RESCUE
Country utterly prostrated--Settlers take refuge in
towns--Abandon farms--General Wool disbands volunteers, takes
the defensive, and maligns the people--Review of war--
Kam-i-ah-kan, leading spirit--Treacherous chiefs, fresh from
signing treaties, incite war--Miners massacred--Agent
Bolon murdered--Major Haller's repulse--Settlers driven from
Walla Walla--Massacre on White River--Volunteers raised--
Lieutenant Slaughter killed--Impenetrable forests and
swamps--Cascades afford hidden resorts--Fruitless march of
Major Rains to Yakima--Governor Stevens addresses
legislature--His measures of relief--Calls out volunteers--
Visits lower Sound--Enlists Indian auxiliaries--Settlers
return to farms--Build blockhouses--Organization of
volunteers 156
CHAPTER XXXVIII
WAGING THE WAR ON THE SOUND
Volunteers form Northern, Central, and Southern battalions--Plan
of campaign--Cooperation sought with regulars--Memoir of
information sent General Wool and Colonel Wright--Campaign
east of Cascades suggested--Wool's flying visit to
Sound--Demands virtual disbanding of volunteers--Governor
Stevens's caustic letter of refusal--Pat-ka-nim fights
hostiles--Naval forces--Battle of Connell's prairie--Scouring
the forests and swamps amid rains and storms--Red
allies--Massacre at Cascades--Two companies of rangers called
out to reassure settlers--Unremitting warfare--Hostiles
surrender or flee across Cascades--Posts and blockhouses
turned over to regulars--Volunteers on Sound disbanded 171
CHAPTER XXXIX
THE WAR IN THE UPPER COUNTRY
Fruitless movements of Oregon volunteers--Colonel Wright
marches to Yakima valley in May--Parleys instead of
fighting--Governor Stevens proposes joint movement across
Cascades--Colonel Casey declines--Colonel Shaw crosses
Nahchess Pass--Marches to Walla Walla--Governor Stevens
journeys to Dalles--Dispatches Goff's and Williams's
companies to Walla Walla--Seeks coöperation with Colonel
Wright--Warns him against amnesty to Sound murderers--Three
columns reach Walla Walla the same day--Shaw defeats hostiles
in Grande Ronde--His victory restrains disaffected Nez
Perces--Governor Stevens invites Colonel Wright to attend
peace council in Walla Walla--That officer fooled by the
Yakimas--His abortive campaign--Ow-hi's diplomacy 194
CHAPTER XL
THE FRUITLESS PEACE COUNCIL
Governor Stevens, assured of support by Colonel Wright,
revokes call for additional volunteers--Council with
Klikitats--Refuses to receive Indian murderers on
reservation--Pushes forward to Walla Walla--Indians take
pack-train--Steptoe arrives with four companies--Indians
assemble--Manifest hostility--Steptoe moves off--Volunteers
start for Dalles--Steptoe refuses guard--Governor Stevens
recalls volunteers--Hostile and threatening Indians--Steptoe
refusing support, Governor Stevens moves to his camp--
Disaffected chiefs demand that treaties be abrogated,
whites leave the country--Governor Stevens demands
submission--Terminates council--Starts for Dalles--Attacked
on march--The fight--Moves back to Steptoe's camp--Indians
attack it--Repulsed--Blockhouse built--One company
left--Both commands march to Dalles--Steptoe's change of
views--Demand on Colonel Wright to deliver up Sound
murderers, who gives order--Cleverly evaded--Colonel Wright
marches to Walla Walla--Counsels with hostile chiefs--Yields
to their demands--Whites ordered out of the country--Shameful
betrayal of duty--Governor Stevens's indignant letters to the
War and Indian departments--Pernicious influence of
missionaries and Hudson Bay Company--Governor Stevens's views
finally adopted--Steptoe's defeat--Wright defeats
hostiles--Summary executions--Fate of Ow-hi and Qualchen 206
CHAPTER XLI
DISBANDING THE VOLUNTEERS
Entire force disbanded--Their character, discipline--Public
property sold--So many captured animals that more were sold
than purchased--Transportation cost nothing--Anecdote of
Captain Henness--Thirty-five forts built by volunteers,
twenty-three by settlers, seven by regulars--Colonel Casey
refuses demand for surrender of murderers--Governor Stevens
insists--Sharply rebukes Colonel Casey's slurs--Leschi
surrendered for trial--Is finally hanged--Qui-e-muth killed 232
CHAPTER XLII
MARTIAL LAW.--DIFFICULTIES OVERCOME
Hudson Bay Company's ex-employees remain in Indian
country--Suspected of aiding enemy--Governor Stevens orders
them to the towns--Five return to farms, at instigation of
trouble-makers--Arrested and thrown in jail Judge Lander
issues writ of habeas corpus--Martial law proclaimed in
Pierce County--Colonel Shaw arrests judge and clerk, who are
taken to Olympia and released--Lawyers pass condemnatory
resolutions--Judge Lander holds court in Olympia--Issues
writs--Martial law in Thurston County--Judge Lander
arrested--Held prisoner at Camp Montgomery until end of
war--Martial law abrogated--Governor Stevens fined fifty
dollars--His action in proclaiming martial law disapproved by
the President--Dishonorable discharge used to maintain
discipline--Company A refuse to take field--Pass contumacious
resolutions--Are dishonorably discharged--Control of
disaffected Indians--Agents in constant danger--Summary
dealing with whiskey-sellers--Agents men of high
qualities--Statement of temporary reserves--Indians and
agents--Northern Indians depredate on Sound--Captain
Gansevoort severely punishes them at Port Gamble, and sends
them north--Colonel Ebey falls victim to their revenge 242
CHAPTER XLIII
LEGISLATIVE CENSURE.--POPULAR VINDICATION
Governor Stevens's habits of labor--Adopts costume of the
country--Builds home--Housewarming--Fourth message to
legislature--Renders account of Indian war--Resolutions
censuring Governor Stevens, for dismissing Company A and
proclaiming martial law, pooled and passed--Indignation
of the people--Governor Stevens nominated for Congress--
Canvasses the Territory--Elected by two thirds vote--
Resigns as governor--Death of James Doty--Turns over
governorship to Governor McMullan; Indian affairs, to
Superintendent Nesmith--Return journey East--Incidents 260
CHAPTER XLIV
IN CONGRESS.--VINDICATING HIS COURSE
Passing Superintendent Nesmith's accounts--Obtaining funds for
Indian service--President recommends confirmation of the
treaties--Welcomed back by old friends--General Lane a tower
of strength--Demands that military deliver Yakima murderers
to punishment--They abandon their protégés--Takes house and
moves family to Washington--Mr. James G. Swan,
secretary--Circular letter to emigrants--Appeals to Indian
Department to establish farms promised Blackfeet--Has
Lieutenant John Mullan placed in charge of building
wagon-road between Fort Benton and Walla Walla--Exposes
memoir of Captain Cram--Convinces Senate Indian committee
that treaties ought to be confirmed--Advocates Northwestern
boundary commission--Speeches on Indian war--Pacific
Railroad--Defends Nesmith--Matters engaging
attention--Resists exactions of Hudson Bay Company in memoir
to Secretary of State--Steptoe's defeat--Colonel Wright
punishes Indians--General Harney placed in command of
Washington and Oregon departments--He revokes Wool's order
excluding settlers from upper country--Address on
Northwest--Walter W. Johnson, private secretary--Treaties all
confirmed March 8, 1859--Dictates his final report on
Northern route before breakfast 271
CHAPTER XLV
SAVING SAN JUAN
Returns to Puget Sound--Guest of General Harney--Close relations
with--Renominated for Congress--The canvass--Elected--Death
of Mr. Mason--San Juan dispute waxes warm over a pig--General
Harney advised by Governor Stevens--Sends Captain Pickett to
occupy the island--British fleet blockade--Reinforcements
sent to Pickett--British powerless on land--Thousands of
American miners in Victoria and on Fraser River--Governor
Gholson guided by Governor Stevens--Offers support of militia
to General Harney, who places ammunition at his
disposal--General Scott pacifies British lion--Governor
Stevens's influence in saving the archipelago 288
CHAPTER XLVI
THE STAND AGAINST DISUNION
Governor Stevens becomes chief exponent and authority on
Northern route--Letter to Vancouver railroad convention--
Contending for the Northern route--Governor Stevens lives
down prejudice--Gains respect--Great influence with
President and departments--His habits--Rebuke of
self-seekers--Political issues--Governor Stevens a national
man--Sustained constitutional rights of South, as matter
of justice and to defeat disunion--Patriotism of men of
this view--Attends Charleston and Baltimore Democratic
conventions--Supports General Lane--Split in party--Governor
Stevens accepts as chairman of executive committee of
National Democracy--Writes address in a single night--Labors
hard--Hopes of success--Abraham Lincoln elected
President--Act to pay Indian war debt passed--W.W. Miller
appointed Superintendent of Indian Affairs for Washington
Territory--Governor Stevens's achievements in seven
years--His firm Union sentiments--Denounces
secession--Strengthens the hands of the President 296
CHAPTER XLVII
THE OFFER OF SWORD AND SERVICES
Governor Stevens returns to Washington Territory--Recommends
supporting the government and arming the militia--Elected
captain of Puget Sound Rifles of Olympia--Democratic
convention meets--Governor Stevens withdraws his name as
candidate for delegate--His speech--Offers services--Hastens
to Washington--Meets cold reception--Accepts colonelcy of
79th Highlanders--Governors Andrew and Sprague offer
regiments 313
CHAPTER XLVIII
THE 79TH HIGHLANDERS.--THE ARMY OF THE POTOMAC
The Highland Guard, a New York city militia battalion, volunteer
as the 79th Highlanders--Splendid material--Severe losses at
Bull Run--Promised to be sent home to recruit--Disappointed--
Colonel Stevens takes command--Breaks unworthy officers--The
mutiny and its suppression--Colonel Stevens enforces
discipline--Marches through Washington with band playing
the dead march--Removes camp guards and appeals to honor of
the regiment--Crossing the Potomac into Virginia--Colonel
Stevens's brief speech at midnight--Building Fort Ethan
Allen--Digging forts and felling forests--Picket alarms--The
reconnoissance of Lewinsville--General McClellan meets
returning column; his anxiety to avoid a general engagement--
Colonel Stevens deprived of his brigade and given three green
regiments--President Lincoln reminded, directs appointment of
Colonel Stevens as brigadier-general; says delay is owing to
General McClellan's advice--Hazard Stevens appointed adjutant
79th Highlanders--Colonel Stevens appointed brigadier-general--
Moves forward four miles to Camp of the Big Chestnut--The
recusant wagon-master--The unexpected rebuke--McClellan's
passive-defensive--General Stevens ordered to Annapolis--Bids
farewell to the Highlanders--Whole line cries, "Tak' us wi'
ye!"--Secures appointment of his son as captain and assistant
adjutant-general--Condemns McClellan's management--Predicts
disaster--Reaches Annapolis--Applies for Highlanders--McClellan
objects, but President Lincoln overrules him and sends them 321
CHAPTER XLIX
THE PORT ROYAL EXPEDITION
General Thomas W. Sherman--His army--General Stevens's
brigade--The embarkation--Fleet assemble off Fortress
Monroe--Boat's crew of Highlanders--Lively scenes--Sailing
out to sea--Storm scatters the fleet--Opening sealed
orders--Sail for Port Royal--The rebel defenses--Commodore
Dupont's attack--The enemy's flight--Landing of the
troops--Demoralized by sweet-potato field--General Stevens
alone urges advance inland--Constructs a mile of defensive
works--Sickness--Life on Hilton Head 341
CHAPTER L
BEAUFORT.--ACTION OF PORT ROYAL FERRY
General Stevens occupies Beaufort, the Newport of the
South--Abandoned by white population--Sacked by negroes;
their ignorance, habits, condition--Faint attack on the
pickets--General Stevens advances across Port Royal
Island--Pickets outer side, throwing enemy on the
defensive--Enemy close the Coosaw River--General Stevens's
plan to dislodge them authorized--Reinforcement by two
regiments and gunboats--Flatboats assembled in a hidden
creek--Troops embark at midnight, cross Coosaw, and effect
landing--March in echelon toward Port Royal Ferry--The
action--The enemy's hasty retreat--The Ferry occupied--The
forts destroyed--Troops bivouac for the night--Cross the
ferry and march to Beaufort in triumph--Thanked in general
orders for the victory of Port Royal Ferry 353
CHAPTER LI
BEAUFORT.--CAMPAIGN PLANNED AGAINST CHARLESTON
General Stevens restores public library--It is confiscated by
Treasury agents against his protest--The Gideonites come to
elevate the freedmen--General Stevens moderates their zeal;
wins their gratitude--Other visitors--Thorough course of
drill and discipline--Twenty-five-mile picket
line--Detachment of 8th Michigan defeat 13th Georgia regiment
on Wilmington Island--Death of Mr. Caverly--Governor
Stevens's views on military situation--General Stevens's
force a menace to Charleston and Savannah Railroad--Six
miles trestle bridges--General Robert E. Lee's defensive
measures--General Stevens eager to cross swords with
Lee--Plans movement to destroy railroad and hurl whole army
on Charleston--Captain Elliott's scouting trips--General
Sherman adopts plan--Commodore Dupont to coöperate--General
Hunter supersedes General Sherman--Fort Pulaski
taken--General Hunter proclaims negroes forever free, then
impresses them as soldiers--General Stevens's views on the
negro soldier--He is confirmed as brigadier-general 367
CHAPTER LII
JAMES ISLAND CAMPAIGN AGAINST CHARLESTON
Enemy abandon lower part of Stono River and batteries--General
Benham plans movement on Charleston by way of James
Island--General Stevens lands on James Island--Drives back
enemy in sharp action--Takes three guns--Cautions Benham of
need of a day's preparation before attacking--Incompetent
commanders--Wright joins, a week later, with his
division--Organization of the army--Enemy strengthening works
across island--Fort Lamar, strong advanced work--General
Stevens erects counter-battery--Reconnoissances 387
CHAPTER LIII
BATTLE OF JAMES ISLAND
General Benham's precipitate determination to assault Fort
Lamar--Protests of his generals--He orders General Stevens to
assault at dawn, Wright and Williams to support--Attacking
column--Forms at two P.M.--Drives in and follows hard on
enemy's pickets--Enters field in front of fort at
daylight--Rushes on the work in column of regiments--The
fight over the parapet--Deadly fire from enemy's reserves in
rear of the work--Troops withdrawn in good order and
reformed--General Williams attacks on left--General Wright
takes position to protect left and rear--General Stevens
about to assault a second time, when General Benham suddenly
gives up the fight and orders both columns to retreat--Forces
and losses--Causes of the repulse--Highlanders' revenge at
Fort Saunders--Benham deprived of command and sent North 399
CHAPTER LIV
RETURN TO VIRGINIA
The Highlanders present General Stevens with a sword--His
response--Death of Daniel Lyman Arnold--General Stevens's
letters to his wife--Holds Benham to account--General Wright
succeeds to command on Benham's arrest--James Island
evacuated--Troops uselessly harassed--Jean Ribaut's
fort--Voyage to Virginia--General Stevens's letter to
President Lincoln recommending such movement--His views of
military situation--Lands at Newport News--Ninth corps
formed, General Stevens commanding first division--Meets
General Cullum 416
CHAPTER LV
POPE'S CAMPAIGN
General Stevens moves to Fredericksburg--Division in three
brigades, and joined by two light batteries--Stevens and
Reno's division, march up the Rappahannock; join Pope's army
at Culpeper Court House--General Stevens stops straggling and
marauding--Battle of Cedar Mountain--Army of Virginia--Pope
advances to Rapidan--General Stevens holds Raccoon Ford--Lee
leaves McClellan--Concentrates against Pope, who withdraws
behind Rappahannock--General Stevens's action at Kelly's
Ford--Marching up the river to head off Lee--Benjamin
silences enemy's gun with a single shot--Reinforcements
arrive from Army of the Potomac--Jackson marches around right
flank and falls on rear--Positions and movements, August 26,
27, 28--Description of Bull Run battlefield--Jackson
withdraws from Manassas and takes position there--Movements
of Pope's forces--Fiasco of McDowell and Sigel--Jackson
attacks--Stubborn fight of General Gibbon near
Groveton--Generals King and Ricketts march away from the
enemy--Pope reiterates order to attack 425
CHAPTER LVI
THE SECOND BATTLE OF BULL RUN
Jackson resumes his position--Sigel's troops move forward slowly
and become engaged--Reynolds, on left, advances, but falls
back--Troops of right wing arrive, scattered to meet Sigel's
cries for reinforcements--General Stevens advances with
small force to Groveton--Unexpectedly fired on by enemy's
skirmishers--Benjamin maintains unequal artillery
combat--Sigel and Schenck withdraw troops from
key-point--Jackson forces back Milroy and Schurz--General
Porter's movement--Inactive all day--Pope hurls disconnected
brigades on Jackson's corps--Attacks by Grover, Reno, Kearny,
Stevens, all repulsed--King's division slaughtered--General
Stevens collects his scattered division--Union attacks
repulsed the first day--Lee master of the situation--August
30, second day--Pope sure the enemy had retreated--General
Stevens expresses contrary view--Captain John More finds
enemy in force--Pope's fatuous Order of pursuit--Porter
slowly forms column in centre--Pope's faulty dispositions--
Whole army bunched in centre--Wings stripped of troops--
Porter's attack--General Stevens joins in it--The repulse--
Lee's opportunity--Longstreet's onslaught--The battle on left
and centre--The right firmly held--General Stevens's
remark--Pope orders retreat--General Stevens withdraws
deliberately--Checks pursuit--Capture of Lieutenant
Heffron--Crosses Bull Run at Lock's Ford--Bivouac for
night--Battle lost by incompetent commander--Troops fought
bravely 446
CHAPTER LVII
THE BATTLE OF CHANTILLY
Retreat to Centreville--Rear-guard--Bivouac on Centreville
heights--Counting stacks--Two thousand and twelve muskets
left--Loss nearly one half--General Stevens's last
letter--Sudden orders--March to intercept Jackson--Battle of
Chantilly--General Stevens's charge--He falls, bearing the
colors--The enemy driven from his position--Sudden and
furious thunderstorm bursts over the field 477
CHAPTER LVIII
THE BATTLE OF CHANTILLY
Progress of the fight--General Kearny responds to General
Stevens's summons with Birney's brigade--His death--Three of
Reno's regiments engaged--Night ends the contest--Sixteen
Union regiments against forty-eight Confederate--Respective
losses and forces--General Stevens averted great disaster 487
CHAPTER LIX
FINAL SCENE
General Stevens's body borne from battle to Washington--President
considering placing him in command at time of his death--
Burial in Newport, R.I.--City erects monument--Inscription--
Poem--General Stevens's descendants 498
APPENDIX--Census of Indians 503
INDEX 507
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Arrival of Nez Perce Cavalcade at the Council 34
Feasting the Chiefs 36
Kam-i-ah-kan, Head Chief of the Yakimas 38
U-u-san-male-e-can: Spotted Eagle, a chief of the Nez Perces 40
Walla Walla Council 42
Pu-pu-mox-mox: Yellow Serpent, Head Chief of the Walla Wallas 46
We-ah-te-na-tee-ma-ny: Young Chief, Head Chief of the Cuyuses 50
She-ca-yah: Five Crows, a Chief of the Cuyuses 52
Appushwa-hite: Looking Glass, War Chief of the Nez Perces 54
Hal-hal-tlos-sot: The Lawyer, Head Chief of the Nez Perces 58
The Scalp Dance 60
Ow-hi, a Chief of the Yakimas 64
The Flathead Council 82
The Blackfoot Council 112
Group of Blackfoot Chiefs--Ha-ca-tu-she-ye-hu, Star Robe,
Chief of the Gros Ventres; Th-ke-te-pers, The Rider, Great
War Chief of the Gros Ventres; Sak-uis-tan, Heavy Shield,
Great Warrior of the Blood Indians; Stam-yekh-sas-ci-cay,
Lame Bull, Piegan Chief 114
Blackfoot Chiefs--Tat-tu-ye, The Fox, Chief of the Blood
Indians; Mek-ya-py, Red Dye, Piegan Warrior 116
Group: Commissioner Alfred Cumming, Alexander Culbertson,
William Craig, Delaware Jim, James Bird 118
Crossing the Bitter Roots in Midwinter 126
Coeur d'Alene Mission 128
Spokane Garry: Head Chief of the Spokanes 140
Ume-how-lish, War Chief of the Cuyuses 148
Homestead in Olympia 260
Letter offering Sword and Services (facsimile) 316
Captain Hazard Stevens at the age of 19, from a photograph 340
Headquarters at Beaufort 372
General Stevens and Staff: Captain B.F. Porter, Lieutenant
William T. Lusk, Captain Hazard Stevens, Lieutenant Abraham
Cottrell, General Stevens, Major George S. Kemble, Lieutenant
Benjamin R. Lyons 386
Headquarters on James Island 398
Camp of General Stevens's Division at Newport News 422
Headquarters at Newport News 424
The Monument 502
The portraits of Indian chiefs were made by Gustavus Sohon, a
private soldier of the 4th infantry, an intelligent and
well-educated German, who had great skill in making expressive
likenesses. He also made the views of the councils and expedition.
These portraits, with many others taken by the same artist, were
intended by General Stevens to be used to illustrate a complete
account of his treaty operations. The views of camps and
headquarters were sketched by E. Henry, E Company, 79th
Highlanders.
MAPS AND PLANS
The Interior from Cascade Mountains to Fort Benton. Made on
reduced scale from Governor Stevens's map of April 30, 1857,
sent to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs. Routes traversed
by Governor Stevens taken from maps accompanying his final
report of the Northern Pacific Railroad route. See Appendix
for marginal notes 16
Theatre of Indian War of 1855-56 on Puget Sound and West of
Cascade Mountains. Made on reduced scale from map sent by
Governor Stevens to the Secretary of War with report of March
21, 1856 172
Reconnoissance of Lewinsville, September 11, 1862 330
Port Royal and Sea Islands of South Carolina 352
Action at Port Royal Ferry, January 1, 1862 358
Battle of James Island, June 16, 1862 402
Virginia--Potomac to Rapidan River 426
Positions of forces August 26, 1862, 9 P.M. 432
Positions of forces August 27, 9 P.M. 433
Positions of forces August 28, 9 P.M. 443
Second Battle of Bull Run, August 29 446
Second Battle of Bull Run, August 30 464
Jackson's flank march, August 31 480
Battle of Chantilly, September 1 482
THE LIFE
OF
ISAAC INGALLS STEVENS
CHAPTER XXVI
THE CHEHALIS COUNCIL
While treating with the Sound Indians, the governor sent William H.
Tappan, agent for the southwestern tribes, Henry D. Cock, and Sidney
Ford to summon the Chinooks, Chehalis, and coast Indians to meet in
council on the Chehalis River, just above Gray's Harbor, on February 25,
and on returning to Olympia dispatched Simmons and Shaw on the same
duty. On the 22d he left Olympia on horseback, rode to the Chehalis,
thirty miles, and the following day descended that stream in a canoe to
the treaty ground. Among other settlers who attended the council at the
governor's invitation was James G. Swan, then residing on Shoalwater
Bay, and since noted for his interesting writings on the Pacific
Northwest, and for the valuable collections of Indian implements and
curiosities, and monographs of their languages, customs, and history
that he has made for the Smithsonian Institution. Judge Swan gives the
following graphic and lively account of this council in his "Three
Years' Residence in Washington Territory." He describes how he and Dr.
J.G. Cooper, accompanied by twenty canoe-loads of Indians, paddled up
the Chehalis one cold, damp morning, without waiting for breakfast,
finding it difficult to keep warm:--
"But the Indians did not seem to mind it at all; for, excited with
the desire to outvie each other in their attempts to be first to
camp, they paddled, and screamed, and shouted, and laughed, and cut
up all kinds of antics, which served to keep them in a glow. As we
approached the camp we all stopped at a bend in the river, about
three quarters of a mile distant, when all began to wash their
faces, comb their hair, and put on their best clothes. The women got
out their bright shawls and dresses, and painted their faces with
vermilion, or red ochre and grease, and decked themselves out with
their beads and trinkets, and in about ten minutes we were a
gay-looking set; and certainly the appearance of the canoes filled
with Indians dressed in their brightest colors was very picturesque,
but I should have enjoyed it better had the weather been a little
warmer.
"The camp ground was situated on a bluff bank of the river, on its
south side, about ten miles from Gray's Harbor, on the claim of Mr.
James Pilkington. A space of two or three acres had been cleared
from logs and brushwood, which had been piled up so as to form an
oblong square. One great tree, which formed the southern side to the
camp, served also as an immense backlog, against which our great
camp-fire and sundry smaller ones were kindled, both to cook by and
to warm us. In the centre of the square, and next the river, was the
governor's tent; and between it and the south side of the ground
were the commissary's and other tents, all ranged in proper order.
Rude tables, laid in open air, and a huge framework of poles, from
which hung carcasses of beef, mutton, deer, elk, and salmon, with a
cloud of wild geese, ducks, and smaller game, gave evidence that the
austerities of Lent were not to form any part of our services.
"Around the sides of the square were ranged the tents and wigwams of
the Indians, each tribe having a space allotted to it. The coast
Indians were placed at the lower part of the camp; first the
Chinooks, then the Chehalis, Quen-ai-ult, and Quaitso, Satsop, upper
Chehalis, and Cowlitz. These different tribes had sent
representatives to the council, and there were present about three
hundred and fifty of them, and the best feeling prevailed among all.
"The white persons present consisted of only fourteen, viz.,
Governor Stevens, George Gibbs (who officiated as secretary to the
commission), Judge Ford, with his two sons, who were assistant
interpreters, Lieutenant-Colonel B.F. Shaw, the chief interpreter,
Colonel Simmons and Mr. Tappan, Indian agents, Dr. Cooper, Mr.
Pilkington, the owner of the claim, Colonel Cock, myself, and last,
though by no means the least, Cushman, our commissary, orderly
sergeant, provost marshal, chief story-teller, factotum, and life of
the party,--'Long may he wave.' Nor must I omit Green McCafferty,
the cook, whose name had become famous for his exploits in an
expedition to Queen Charlotte's Island to rescue some sailors from
the Indians. He was a good cook and kept us well supplied with hot
biscuit and roasted potatoes.
"Our table was spread in the open air, and at breakfast and supper
was pretty sure to be covered with frost, but the hot dishes soon
cleared that off, and we found the clear, fresh breeze very
conducive to a good appetite. After supper we all gathered round the
fire to smoke our pipes, toast our feet, and tell stories.
"The next morning the council was commenced. The Indians were all
drawn up in a large circle in front of the governor's tent, and
around a table on which were placed the articles of treaty and other
papers. The governor, General Gibbs, and Colonel Shaw sat at the
table, and the rest of the whites were honored with camp-stools, to
sit around as a sort of guard, or as a small cloud of witnesses.
"Although we had no regimentals on, we were dressed pretty uniform.
His Excellency the Governor was dressed in a red flannel shirt, dark
frock coat and pants, and these last tucked in his boots, California
fashion; a black felt hat, with, I think, a pipe stuck through the
band; and a paper of fine-cut tobacco in his coat pocket. We also
were dressed like the governor, not in ball-room or dress-parade
uniform, but in good, warm, serviceable clothes.
"After Colonel Mike Simmons, the agent, and, as he has been termed,
the Daniel Boone of the Territory, had marshaled the savages into
order, an Indian interpreter was selected from each tribe to
interpret the jargon of Shaw into such language as their tribes
could understand. The governor then made a speech, which was
translated by Colonel Shaw into jargon, and spoken to the Indians,
in the same manner the good old elders of ancient times were
accustomed to deacon out the hymns to the congregation. First the
governor spoke a few words, then the colonel interpreted, then the
Indians; so that this threefold repetition made it rather a lengthy
operation. After this speech the Indians were dismissed till the
following day, when the treaty was to be read. We were then
requested by the governor to explain to those Indians we were
acquainted with what he had said, and they seemed very well
satisfied. The governor had purchased of Mr. Pilkington a large pile
of potatoes,--about a hundred bushels,--and he told the Indians to
help themselves. They made the heap grow small in a short time, each
taking what he required for food; but lest any one should get an
undue share, Commissary Cushman and Colonel Simmons were detailed to
stand guard on the potato pile, which they did with the utmost good
feeling, keeping the savages in a roar of laughter by their humorous
ways.
"At night we again gathered around the fire, and the governor
requested that we should enliven the time by telling anecdotes,
himself setting the example. Governor Stevens has a rich fund of
interesting and amusing incidents that he has picked up in his camp
life, and a very happy way of relating them. We were all called upon
in turn. There were some tales told of a wild and romantic nature,
and Judge Ford and Colonel Mike did their part. Old frontiersmen and
early settlers, they had many a legend to relate of toil, privation,
fun, and frolic; but the palm was conceded to Cushman, who certainly
could vie with Baron Munchausen or Sindbad the Sailor in his
wonderful romances. His imitative powers were great, and he would
take off some speaker at a political gathering or a camp-meeting in
so ludicrous a style that even the governor could not preserve his
gravity, but would be obliged to join the rest in a general laughing
chorus. Whenever Cushman began one of his harangues, he was sure to
draw up a crowd of Indians, who seemed to enjoy the fun as much as
we, although they could not understand a word he said. He usually
wound up by stirring up the fire; and this, blazing up brightly and
throwing off a shower of sparks, would light the old forest, making
the night look blacker in the distance, and showing out in full
relief the dusky, grinning faces of the Indians, with their blankets
drawn around them, standing up just outside the circle where we were
sitting. Cushman was a most capital man for a camp expedition,
always ready, always prompt and good-natured.
"The second morning after our arrival the terms of the treaty were
made known. This was read line by line by General Gibbs, and then
interpreted by Colonel Shaw to the Indians. The provisions of the
treaty were these: They were to be placed on a reservation between
Gray's Harbor and Cape Flattery, and were to be paid forty thousand
dollars in different installments. Four thousand dollars in addition
was also to be paid them, to enable them to clear and fence in land
and cultivate. No spirituous liquors were to be allowed on the
reservation; and any Indian who should be guilty of drinking liquor
would have his or her annuity withheld.
"Schools, carpenters' and blacksmiths' shops were to be furnished by
the United States; also a sawmill, agricultural implements,
teachers, and a doctor. All their slaves were to be free, and none
afterwards to be bought or sold. The Indians, however, were not to
be restricted to the reservation, but were to be allowed to procure
their food as they had always done, and were at liberty at any time
to leave the reservation to trade with or work for the whites.
"After this had all been interpreted to them, they were dismissed
till the next day, in order that they might talk the matter over
together, and have any part explained to them which they did not
understand. The following morning the treaty was again read to them
after a speech from the governor, but although they seemed
satisfied, they did not perfectly comprehend. The difficulty was in
having so many tribes to talk to at the same time, and being obliged
to use the jargon, which at best is a poor medium of conveying
intelligence. The governor requested any one of them that wished, to
reply to him. Several of the chiefs spoke, some in jargon and some
in their own tribal language, which would be interpreted into jargon
by one of their people who was conversant with it; so that, what
with this diversity of tongues, it was difficult to have the subject
properly understood. But their speeches finally resulted in one and
the same thing, which was that they felt proud to have the governor
talk with them; they liked his proposition to buy their land, but
they did not want to go to the reservation. The speech of Narkarty,
one of the Chinook chiefs, will convey the idea they all had. 'When
you first began to speak,' said he to the governor, 'we did not
understand you; it was all dark to us as the night; but now our
hearts are enlightened, and what you say is clear to us as the sun.
We are proud that our Great Father in Washington thinks of us. We
are poor, and can see how much better off the white men are than we
are. We are willing to sell our land, but we do not want to go away
from our homes. Our fathers and mothers and ancestors are buried
there, and by them we wish to bury our dead and be buried ourselves.
We wish, therefore, each to have a place on our own land where we
can live, and you may have the rest; but we can't go to the north
among the other tribes. We are not friends, and if we went together
we should fight, and soon we would all be killed.' This same idea
was expressed by all, and repeated every day. The Indians from the
interior did not want to go on a reservation with the coast or canoe
Indians. The whole together only numbered 843 all told, as may be
seen by the following census, which was taken on the ground:--
Lower Chehalis 217
Upper Chehalis 216
Quenaiults 158
Chinooks 112
Cowlitz 140
---
843
"But though few in numbers, there were among them men possessed of
shrewdness, sense, and great influence. They felt that though they
were few, they were as much entitled to a separate treaty as the
more powerful tribes in the interior. We all reasoned with them to
show the kind intentions of the governor, and how much better off
they would be if they could content themselves to live in one
community; and our appeals were not altogether in vain. Several of
the tribes consented, and were ready to sign the treaty, and of
these the Quenaiults were the most prompt, evidently, however, from
the fact that the proposed reservation included their land, and they
would consequently remain at home.
"I think the governor would have eventually succeeded in inducing
them all to sign, had it not been for the son of Carcowan, the old
Chehalis chief. This young savage, whose name is Tleyuk, and who was
the recognized chief of his tribe, had obtained great influence
among all the coast Indians. He was very willing at first to sign
the treaty, provided the governor would select _his_ land for the
reservation, and make him the grand _Tyee_, or chief, over the whole
five tribes; but when he found he could not effect his purpose, he
changed his behavior, and we soon found his bad influence among the
other Indians, and the meeting broke up that day with marked
symptoms of dissatisfaction. This ill-feeling was increased by old
Carcowan, who smuggled some whiskey into the camp, and made his
appearance before the governor quite intoxicated. He was handed over
to Provost Marshal Cushman, with orders to keep him quiet till he
got sober. The governor was very much incensed at this breach of his
orders, for he had expressly forbidden either whites or Indians
bringing one drop of liquor into the camp.
"The following day Tleyuk stated that he had no faith in anything
the governor said, for he had been told that it was the intention of
the United States government to put them all on board steamers and
send them away out of the country, and that the Americans were not
their friends. He gave the names of several white persons who had
been industrious in circulating these reports to thwart the governor
in his plans, and most all of them had been in the employ of the
Hudson Bay Company. He was assured that there was no truth in the
report, and pretended to be satisfied, but in reality was doing all
in his power to break up the meeting. That evening the governor
called the chiefs into his tent, but to no purpose, for Tleyuk made
some insolent remarks, and peremptorily refused to sign the treaty,
and with his people refused to have anything to do with it. That
night in his camp they behaved in a very disorderly manner, firing
off guns, shouting, and making a great uproar.
"The next morning, when the council was called, the governor gave
Tleyuk a severe reprimand, and, taking from him his paper, which had
been given to show that the government recognized him as chief, he
tore it to pieces before the assemblage. Tleyuk felt this disgrace
very keenly, but said nothing. The paper was to him of great
importance, for they all look on a printed or written document as
possessing some wonderful charm. The governor then informed them
that as all would not sign the treaty it was of no effect, and the
camp was then broken up.
"Throughout the whole of the conference Governor Stevens evinced a
degree of forbearance, and a desire to do everything he could for
the benefit of the Indians. Nothing was done in a hurry. We remained
in the camp a week, and ample time was given them each day to
perfectly understand the views of the governor. The utmost good
feeling prevailed, and every day they were induced to some games of
sport to keep them good humored. Some would have races on the river
in their canoes, others danced, and others gambled; all was friendly
till the last day, when Tleyuk's bad conduct spoiled the whole."
That was an intrepid and resolute act of Governor Stevens, thus to tear
up the turbulent chief's commission before his face, surrounded by three
hundred and fifty Indians and supported by only fourteen whites; but it
effectually cowed the insolent young savage, and preserved the respect
of the Indians.
The council was by no means abortive, for in consequence of it the
following fall Colonel Simmons obtained the assent and signature of the
chiefs of the Quenaiult and Quillehute coast tribes to the treaty so
carefully explained to them at the Chehalis council, and it was signed
by Governor Stevens at Olympia, January 25, 1856, on his return from the
Blackfoot council, and duly confirmed with the other treaties on March
8, 1859. These Indians were given $25,000 in annuities, and $2500 to
improve the reservation, the selection of which was left to the
President. A reservation of ten thousand acres was set off at the mouth
of the Quenaiult River, including their principal village and salmon
fishery, renowned as yielding the richest and finest salmon on the
coast, a fish of medium size, deep, rich color, and exquisite flavor.
The other provisions were the same as those secured to the Sound
Indians.
Tah-ho-lah and How-yatl, head chiefs of the two tribes, and twenty-nine
other chiefs signed the treaty, and it was witnessed by M.T. Simmons,
general Indian agent; H.A. Goldsborough, surveyor; B.F. Shaw,
interpreter; James Tilton, surveyor-general; F. Kennedy, J.Y. Miller,
and H.D. Cock.
These two tribes numbered four hundred and ninety-three, a number
greatly in excess of the census given in Swan's account. In their
distrust the Indians invariably reported less than their actual numbers,
and nearly every tribe was found to be larger than the first estimate.
The numbers of the Chinook, Chehalis, and Cowlitz Indians were reported
by Governor Stevens in 1857 as one thousand one hundred and fifteen.
Including the Quenaiults and the Cowlitz, and other Indians not on
reservations, they now number some seven hundred, and are in about the
same condition as the Sound Indians.[1]
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A census of all the tribes in the Territory, returned with
Governor Stevens's report and map of April 30, 1857, is given
in the Appendix.