DIAMOND-CUT-DIAMOND.
It was understood, in the treaty stipulation with the Government and these
people, that they were to have the privilege of hunting and grazing stock
in common with citizens on the public domain. In the exercise of this
right, they made annual journeys to Grand Round and other valleys, east of
the Blue mountains, driving before them, on these journeys, their horses.
They were often thus brought in contact with white settlers, and sometimes
difficulties occurred, growing, generally, out of the sale of intoxicating
liquors to them by unprincipled white men.
Indians are not better than white men, and, when drunk, they exhibit the
meaner and baser qualities of their nature as completely as a white man.
Deliver us from either, but of the two, an intoxicated white man has the
advantage; he is not held responsible to law. The Indian has one privilege
the civilized white brother is not supposed to enjoy. He can abuse his
family, and as long as he is sober enough can whip his squaw; but woe be
to him when he gets past fighting, for then the squaw embraces the
opportunity of beating him in turn, and calls on other squaws to assist in
punishing her lord for past as well as present offences.
The chiefs generally watch over their men, to prevent the purchase of
liquor by them. “Homli,” chief of the Walla-Wallas, sometimes punished
his braves in a summary manner for getting drunk, using a horsewhip in the
public streets. However worthy the example, I believe that it was not
often followed by others of either race.
The annual visits of which I have spoken occurred in the latter part of
June, when the mountain sides of Grand Round valley were offering tempting
inducements in fields of huckleberries. The valley, too,——where not
enclosed and turned to better use,——was blooming with Indian
“muck-a-muck,” a sweet, nutritious root called ca-mas, with which the
Indian women filled baskets and sacks, in which to carry it to their homes
for winter use.
The beautiful river of Grand Round was inviting the red men to war against
the shining trout and salmon, that made yearly pilgrimage to greater
altitudes and cooler shades, there to woo and mate, and thus to people the
upper waters with finny children, who would, in time of autumn leaves, go
to the great river below, and come again when mountain snows, now changed
to foaming torrents, hastened to the river’s mouth, and tempting salmon
flies had come from their hiding places, and swarmed on bush and bank, to
lure the fish onward and upward, or beguile them to the fisher’s net, or
hidden spear, if, perchance, they were warned away from angler’s line, or
escaped the lightning arrow of Indian boys.
Then, too, this beautiful garden of the mountains wore its brightest hues
on plain and sloping hills and cultured field. The farmers were idle then,
and often went to join the red men in racing horses, and chasing each
other in mimic wars. Sometimes the two would engage in trades of wild
Cayuses (Indian horses), teaching each other how to tame these fiery
steeds. Great circus shows were these, in which the red man might for once
laugh at the white man’s clumsy imitations of red men’s daily recreations.
Again, the red man had sweet revenge for sharper practice which he had
felt at the hands of his white brother. Selecting some ill-natured beast,
whose tricks he well knew, he would offer him at a price so low, that some
white man who was tired of going to his neighbors for a ride, or had a
hopeful son anxious to imitate little Indian boys in feats of
horsemanship, would purchase him. Then fun began, to witness which the
town sometimes turned out. The colt, unused to civilized bit or spur,
would, like his former owner, show contempt for burdens he was not made to
bear without “bucking.” When, with bridle and saddle, and rider, all new,
surrounded by scenes unlike his coltship’s haunts, he was called upon to
forward move, he would stand as if turned to marble, until by persuasion
of whip and spur he’d change his mind. Then, with a snort, a bound, or
upward motion of his back, his nostrils buried in the dust, he’d whirl and
whirl until the rider dizzy grew, of which circumstance he seemed aware,
when, with all his power brought into quick use, he sent the rider in
mid-air or overhead, and straightway bent each bound toward his former
home, followed by loud shouts of laughter, made up of voices joined of
every kind and age, except perhaps that of the disgusted father——who had
sundry dollars invested in furniture on the runaway’s back——and the crying
boy in the dust.
The chances against the new owner’s boy ever “putting on much style” on
that pony were not very numerous. Fearing as much, the next proposition
was to sell the pony back to “Mr. Injun” at a heavy discount; which was
done much against the wishes of the dethroned boy, whose aspirations for
western honor were thereby “nipped in the bud.”
A lawyer of “La Grande,” celebrated for his shrewdness in business
generally, and who was the father of several enterprising sons, made an
investment in Cayuse stock, for the benefit of the aforesaid boys, and
fearing that he, too, might go in mourning over the money thus spent, in
fatherly tenderness determined that he himself would ride the pony first.
The horse was saddled, and led by a long rope to the office door. The
lawyer said, “Now, Charley, I’ll fool that pony, sure. I’m little, you
know, and he’ll think I’m a boy.” The rope was made fast to an
awning-post, and then, in presence of a hopeful audience, he mounted
slowly, though in full lawyer’s dress, a bell-crowned “plug” (hat)
included. When softly springing in the stirrups, to assure himself all was
right, and confident that his “nag” was there, subject to his will, he
essayed to display his horsemanship. But pony was not ready then. The
lawyer called for whip and spurs, and without dismounting they were
furnished, and while holding out his foot to have the spur put on,
remarked that “he did not half like the white of the pony’s eye. But, boys,
I’ll stick while the saddle does.” With sober face and eye fixed on the
ears in front, he coaxed again, and with soft speech sought to change the
pony’s mind. But he was not ready now, until he felt the rowel stick into
his sides, and then away went horse and rider together, to the end of the
rope, where the pony stopped, though the lawyer did not, until his head
had struck the crown of his hat; and not then even, but, going at a
furious rate, the lawyer, hat, and torn trowsers had landed all in a heap
on the other side of the street; the awning-post gave way, and the
lawyer’s Cayuse went off, with a small part of the town following him.
The language used by him on this occasion consisted not of quotations from
Blackstone, or the Bible either, unless in detached words put strangely in
shape to answer immediate use. It is not safe to say anything about
fooling ponies, in court or elsewhere, in the town of La Grande, unless
the speaker wants war. That lawyer, although a stanch Republican, and
liable to be a candidate for Congress, is strongly opposed to President
Grant’s peace policy with Indians,——the Umatilla Indians in particular.
To say that Chief Homli and his tribe enjoyed little episodes, growing out
of horse-trading with the citizens of La Grande, is too gentle and soft a
way of telling the truth, and have it well understood, unless we add the
westernism “hugely.”
These visits had other beneficial results than those growing out of trade,
since they extended over the Fourth of July, when all the people of the
valley came together to celebrate the “nation’s birthday,” when, with fife
and drum, the country-folks would join with those in town, who “marched up
a street and then marched down again,” to the willow-covered stand, where
readers and orators would rehearse, one, the history of the “Declaration,”
the other, repeat some great man’s speech.
The tables groaned beneath the loads of viands, spread by gentle women’s
hands. The reader and the orator of the day would take positions at either
end, and the meek chaplain in between, while the bashful country boys
would lead up their girls, until the table had been filled. Homli and his
people, dressed in Fourth-of-July regalias, would look on from respectful
distance, and wonder what the reader meant, when he said, “All men are
born free and equal,” and wondered more to hear a wicked orator protest
that the “flag above was no longer a flaunting lie.” The Indians were then
serving in the house of a foolish old man, named Esau. When fair lips
refused longer to taste, and manly breast was filled too full for
utterance, Homli and his people were invited to partake. Some of his
people accepted the gift of the remnants; but he, Homli, never.
In the absence of better pastime, the crowd would come again to the grand
stand, to give opportunity for disappointed spouters to ventilate pent-up
patriotism. Homli, too, made a speech, and with keen rebuke referred to
days gone by, when white men had come to his lodge, and craved his
hospitality; how his women had culled their berry-baskets to find
something worthy of the white man’s taste, and how the finest trout had
been offered in proof of friendship for the stranger guest, and boasted
that he had given the finest horses of his band to help the stranger on,
and sent an escort of trusty braves to direct him over all doubtful
trails. He boasted, too, that no white man’s blood had ever stained his
hand, even when he was strong, and they were weak; then, with well-made
gesture, pointed to the valley, once all his own, and covered with
antelope and feathery tribes. No houses, fields, or barns marred then the
beautiful valley of the mountain. Turning half around, he gazed at people
and town, and sadly motioned to the mountain-sides, robbed of fir and
pine, and seemed to drink in, what, to him, was desolation made complete.
With eye half closed, he mused a moment, and then broke forth like some
brave soul that had mastered self, and was reconciled to the inexorable
destiny that his mind had seen in store, declared that he would be a man
himself, with white man’s heart, and that his people would yet join with
pride in the coming celebrations.
The triumph of civil hopes over savage mind was complete, and when the
change was realized by the lookers-on, they gathered round the chieftain,
and gave him welcome to a brotherhood born of a nation’s struggles to
redeem mankind, when the white men were few and Homli’s people numerous as
the stars that looked down on the rivers of this beautiful land. Who shall
remember the mild reproof of Homli, when he, under the humane and
enlightened policy of the Government, shall have made good this
declaration to be a white man in heart and practice?
Little things sometimes move in harmony until they unite, and make up an
aggregate of causes, whose combined power becomes irresistible for good or
ill to peoples, tribes, and nations.
The chieftain of whom I write had, at various times, felt the thongs that
bound him to his savage habits loosening, little by little, until at last,
under the influence of the patriotic joy of freemen, he himself had
stepped from under a shadow that was once a benison, but had now, because
of his enlightenment, become a barrier to his happiness.
The change was real, and the heart that had come laden with reproach to
his neighbor, and felt the sting of slighted manhood, now exulted in the
recognition he had found in the sunshine of American Independence, and the
warm hands of freedom’s sons, who bade him welcome to a better life.
No human brain can correctly measure the influence of such events. Homli,
as I have said, was a chief of the Walla-Wallas, who, in conjunction with
the Umatillas and Cayuses, occupied the reservation spoken of as
“Umatilla” (horse-heaven), it being the original home of the tribe bearing
that name. In 1856, the three tribes above named united in treaty council
with the Government, represented by the lamented J. I. Stevens and General
Joel Palmer.
This treaty was conducted with firmness and on principles of justice, the
Indians having, in this instance at least, half “the say.” By the terms
agreed upon, a portion of country was reserved by the three tribes for a
permanent home, to be held jointly by them. It is located on one of the
tributaries of the Columbia, known as the Umatilla river. The
out-boundaries measured one hundred and three miles, covering a country
possessing many natural advantages, conducive to Indian life, and of great
value in the transfer of these people from a barbarous to a civilized
condition.
Its surface is diversified with rich prairie lands, producing an excellent
quality of bunch grass,——so called because of its growing in
tussocks,——covering not more than half the surface of the round, the
remainder being entirely devoid of vegetation, very nutritious and well
adapted to grazing.
The mountains are partly covered with forests of pine and fir, valuable
for commercial and building purposes. The streams are rapid, with bold
shores, abounding in latent power, waiting for the time when labor and
capital shall harness its cataracts to machinery, whose music will denote
the transformation process going on in the forest of the mountain; the
fleeces from the plain, and in the cereals they contain, in embryo, for
better use than shading herds of cattle and Indian horses, or its fleeces
made traffic for traders and shippers, who enrich themselves by taking
them in bulk and returning in manufactured exchanges; or for its fields to
lie dormant and idle, while commerce invites and starving people clamor
for bread they might be made to yield.
True, its almost unbroken wilderness, echoing the call of cougar or cayote
(ki-o-te); its tall grass plains, tangled and trembling with the tread of
twenty thousand horses; its valleys decked with carpets of gorgeous
flowers,——fit patterns for the costumes of those who dance thereon,——or
speckled with baby farms, belonging to red-skinned ploughmen, or shaded by
the smoke of council wigwams; its waters sometimes shouting, as if in
pain, while hurrying headlong against the rock, or, laughing beneath the
balm-wood trees at the gambols of its own people, or, divided into an
hundred streams, go rushing on, still playing mirror for the smiling faces
of the youths, whose hearts and actions take pattern after its own
freedom; true, indeed, that this lovely spot of earth seems to have been
the special handiwork of the Almighty, who had withheld from other labors
the choicest gems of beauty, that he might make a paradise, where youth
could keep pace with passing years, until the change of happy
hunting-grounds should be noted only by the wail of weeping widows, or
sighs of sorrowing orphans.
’Twas to this Indian paradise that Homli returned from his summer visit,
his heart laden with new feelings of pride; for he had been recognized as
a man. If he did not then begin to enjoy the realization of his hopes,
there were reasons why he did not that few have understood.
Born to a wild, free life, possessed of a country such as few over enjoy,
with a channel of commerce traversing his home; brought in constant
contact with white men, some of whom, at least, he found to be soulless
adventurers, ever ready to take advantage of his ignorance of trade;
confused and bewildered by the diversity of opinions on political and
religious subjects; witnessing the living falsehood of much of civilized
life; but half understanding the ambitions of his “new heart,” or the
privilege he was entitled to; with the romance of his native education in
matters of religion, its practical utility to satisfy his longings that
reached into the future, or to meet the demands of conscience, where duty
led him, or anger at insult drove him; the performance of its ceremonies,
connecting social with religious rites,——added to these the power that his
red brethren who were yet untouched by the finger of destiny, and were
luxuriating in idle, careless life, enhanced by the sight of the hardened
hands and sweating brows of those who sought to find admission to circles
where labor insures reward; confused when witnessing the enforcement of
laws “that are supposed to be uniform in operation,” by the outrageous
partiality shown; treated with coldness and distrust, because of his
color; envied of his possessions, to which he had an inalienable right, by
deed from God, and confirmed by the government of the United States;
compelled to hear the constant coveting of others for it, and to hear
government denounced because it did not rob him of his home; to see
distrust in every action toward him; his manhood ignored, or crushed by
cruel power; his faith shaken; treated as an alien, even in his
birthplace; taunted with the threat that when he planted his feet on
higher plains, he should be crowded off, or forced to stand tottering on
the brink; his fears aroused by the threats he overheard of being finally
driven away; of speculations on the future towns that should spring up
over the graves of his fathers, when he was not there to defend
them,——added to all these discouragements the oppressions of his would-be
teachers, in moral ethics and religion; demanding his attendance on
ceremonies that were intangible, incomprehensible, to his mind, made more
unbearable by the tyranny of his red brethren, growing out of their
recognition of church-membership, and the consequent arrogance, even
contempt, with which they spoke of his religious habits and ceremonies;
unable to reconcile the practices of these people with the precepts of
their priest; ostracised from those, who, while untouched by the hand of
Christianity, had mingled voice and prayer with him in wilder worship;
finding friends among white men, whose hearts were true, but who, instead
of soothing his troubled feelings by patiently teaching him charity and
liberal-minded views touching matters of religious practice of his
Catholic friends and their ministers, would pile the fagots on the burning
altar ’twixt him and them, increasing distrust, making the breach wider,
thus becoming alienated from the other chiefs, How-lish-wam-po, of Cayuse,
and We-nap-snoot, of the Umatillas, and those of their tribes who had been
led, by ministrations of priest and chief, to the solemn masses of the
church: if then Homli failed to be a “white man” in heart, on whom does
the responsibility rest?
I have not dealt in fiction, but have stated the circumstance plainly, the
truth of which will not be questioned by those whose personal knowledge
qualifies them for passing judgment, unless, indeed, it be those whose
minds have been trained to run in narrow, bigoted grooves, whose hearts
have never felt the warming influences of the high and pure love for truth
that characterizes a noble Christian manhood, and whose measure of right
is made by the petty and selfish interest of himself, who, with the
judgment of a truckling demagogue, barks for pay in popular applause or
political reward.
For the present, I leave my readers to chide Homli for his failure, if,
indeed, they can, with the facts before them. As to the responsibility, I
shall discuss the subject fully and fearlessly on some future page of this
work, where the argument for and against the several “policies” may be
made and applied in a general way in the consideration of the subject of
“Indian civilization.”