A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 Part 65

"DEAR SIR,--I have a.s.sembled all the chiefs and addressed them in regard to the helpless situation of yourself and the rest at Wailatpu, and I have got them to consent to deliver them all to me: yourself and those with you, _save the two Canadians, who are safe enough among the Indians_; and have now to advise you to lose no time in joining me. At the same time, _bear in mind, sir, you have no promises to make them_, or payments to make. Once more, use all the diligence possible to overtake us.

"Yours truly,

"P. S. OGDEN."[19]

[Footnote 19] Copied from the original letter.

We place a note of Rev. G. H. Atkinson, D.D., in this connection, to show the influences that have for a series of years been operating, and how careful that unscrupulous monopoly was to combine its influences, and to deal out its hospitalities, to secure a good word from a reverend Protestant divine, who was connected with the United States Home Missionary Board, whose character is unimpeachable, and to whom it refers for evidence of its generosity. We are not surprised to find Doctor Atkinson attempting to ease the weight of censure due to that overgrown monopoly, from the fact, that on his first arrival in the country (after the Cayuse war), on one of the company's ships, unusual attention and kindness were evidently shown to him and his family by the company's agents, to gain his favorable representations of their proceedings, and a name for _honorable_ dealing and generous treatment of missionaries, as intimated in his note. Doctor Atkinson says:--

"The agents of the Hudson's Bay Company in Oregon furnished all the missionaries with supplies at the usual trade rates until they could supply themselves from home."

In this the doctor is mistaken, as we have shown in previous pages. He continues:--

"After the death of Mr. Whitman and family, Mr. Ogden, an agent of the company, brought the rest of the mission and the American families to the Wallamet Valley, at considerable risk and sacrifice to himself. The guilt of the plot to ma.s.sacre Dr. Whitman and other Americans is understood to belong to the Jesuits."

The letters above quoted, from Mr. Ogden and Captain Lee, show the doctor's great mistake in this statement. Mr. Ogden ran no risk, and made no sacrifice, as the Hudson's Bay Company presented their bills, and have been paid every dollar they had the impudence to demand of our government, for transporting the captive women and children to a place of safety, and for all the supplies they so reluctantly furnished to our provisional troops. We do not believe it is good morals, or divinity, to say nothing of politics, to praise, encourage, or warm the serpent that improves every opportunity to sting us with his poisonous fangs. That company has enjoyed the monopoly of this vast country, and prevented its settlement too long, for any one to seek its praise or favor.

We have another letter from Sir James Douglas, which shows us more clearly the exact position of that monster monopoly. It is as follows:--

"FORT VANCOUVER, Dec. 31, 1847.

"_To Governor George Abernethy, Esq.:_

"SIR,--A rumor having been in circulation, for some days past, that it is General Gilliam's intention to levy contributions on the Hudson's Bay Company's property, for the purpose of completing the equipment of the troops ordered out in your late proclamation, for the intended operations against the Indians, I feel it my duty to communicate with you frankly on the subject, as it is most important, in the present critical state of our Indian relations, that there should be an entire absence of distrust, and that the most perfect unanimity should exist among the whites of every cla.s.s. From my personal knowledge of General Gilliam, and his highly respectable character, I should be the last person to believe him capable of committing an outrage which may prove so disastrous in the immediate and remoter consequences to the peace and best interests of this country; _at the same time, as the representative of a powerful British a.s.sociation_, it becomes my duty to take instant measures for the protection of their property, until I receive, through you, a distinct disavowal of any such intention as herein stated. Difficulties of that nature were certainly not contemplated by us when we dispatched a large part of our effective force into the interior for the purpose of _receiving_ the unfortunate women and children, the survivors of the ma.s.sacre at Wailatpu, who remained in the hands of the Indians. It was never supposed that our establishment would be exposed to _insult or injury_ from American citizens, while we are _braving the fury of the Indians_ for their protection."

_What a powerful and n.o.ble company_, and how much "_fury of the Indians_" they had to contend with, when they were handing them _guns and ammunition_ by the quant.i.ty; and all their servants and posts were unharmed by either whites or Indians, during all the Indian wars that have occurred on this coast. This letter continues:--

"Such a proceeding would, in fact, be so inconsistent with every principle of _honor and sound policy_, that I can not believe any attempt of the kind will be made; but I trust this explanation will satisfactorily account for any unusual precaution observed in the present arrangement of this establishment.

"Trusting that this note will be noticed at your earliest convenience, I have the honor to be, sir,

"Your most obedient, humble servant,

"JAMES DOUGLAS, C. F., H. B. Co."

Mr. Douglas, in this letter, has suddenly a.s.sumed a very honorable, as well as powerful position. As to his personal bravery, there is no question; but as to truth, there is. He says, "I can not believe any attempt of the kind will be made," and then tells us not to be alarmed; or, at least, as the "_rumor_ having been in circulation," we must excuse him for his "unusual _precaution_" in his establishment, while he has deceived, and intends to continue to deceive, the governor and the settlers as to his real motives of caution, and the deep-laid schemes that he and his "_powerful British a.s.sociation_" are bringing about, not against the "_fury of the Indians_," but against the American settlements.

As was to be expected in those times, our governor and General Gilliam wilted right down, and the governor wrote:--

"OREGON CITY, January 3, 1848.

"SIR,--I received your favor of 31st ultimo yesterday evening, and, in answering it, would thank you for your frankness in communicating with me on the subject. Having had conversation with Colonel Gilliam on this subject, I can state that he has no intention of levying contributions on the Hudson's Bay Company's property for any purpose whatever. He will probably cross the Columbia River at the mouth of Sandy."

This was the information that Mr. Douglas wished to obtain, as we have since learned from one of the company's clerks, and also the extent of information received from Mr. Lee by his express.

"I trust nothing will occur that will in any way cause distrust among the whites during this crisis. The reports from above lead to the conclusion that Messrs. Spalding, Walker, and Eells have been cut off, and the women and children, spared in the first place, have since been murdered. Should these rumors prove true, we know that peace can not be restored between the Indians and whites without bloodshed."

As near as we can learn, Governor Abernethy was disposed to follow the counsels of a writer in the _Spectator_, signed "Veritas," which was, to wait till spring opened, and then make a decent demonstration in the summer to punish the murderers. The energy of the people overruled his tender spirit, to use no harsher term, and pushed their forces up in the winter, which allowed most of the men to return in time to secure the following harvest, and produced the desired effect upon the Hudson's Bay Company and the Indians. The governor says:--

"Captain Lee informs me that Mr. Ogden paid the Indians powder and ball for making the portage. The Legislature pa.s.sed an act during their last session prohibiting the sale of powder, lead, caps, etc., to Indians. I trust you will see the necessity of complying with this act; it will be published in the next _Spectator_.

"I trust the disavowal in this letter will prove satisfactory to you. I have the honor to remain, sir,

"Your obedient servant,

"GEORGE ABERNETHY."

The next day, the 4th of January, Mr. Douglas returned a long letter, which is as follows:--

"FORT VANCOUVER, January 4, 1848.

"_George Abernethy, Esq.:_

"SIR,--I have to acknowledge yours of yesterday's date, and consider it perfectly satisfactory. I place little confidence in the late reports from the Dalles, and entertain sanguine hopes that they will prove unfounded.

"The Indians have been always paid with ammunition and tobacco by our traveling parties, for pa.s.sing boats at the portages of this river, and _I can not see that Mr. Ogden had any reason to depart from the established practice on the occasion mentioned in your letter_, as these Indians have no fellow-feelings with the Cayuses."

This statement of Sir James is notoriously untrue; the Cayuses have always had more or less trade with the Dalles Indians, in dried salmon, horses, etc., and have always been the superiors, and treated them as they pleased. Mr. Douglas has invariably cautioned us, in pa.s.sing those portages, not to give ammunition, as it was against the rules of the company to do so, _except to a very few_, and in small quant.i.ties, and _that_ for packing goods by trusty Indians. This sudden change from tobacco to powder is only a part of the policy now being executed.

"These Indians behaved in the most friendly manner, and, I am convinced, will not enter into any combination against the whites, unless there be great mismanagement _on our part_.

"In fact, when we consider the object of Mr. Ogden's journey to Wallawalla [which we consider really to have been to inform the Indians, _as he did_, that the Hudson's Bay Company would take no part in this quarrel between the Indians and Americans, and that the company would supply them with ammunition and aid them in the present war, we are not disposed to question but that the lives of some of the men that were left would have been taken, but we doubt if any more women would have been killed, unless the company had consented to it; but it answered for a plausible argument for Sir James, who says], and that the lives of sixty or seventy fellow-creatures were, under Providence, mainly dependent on the celerity of his movements, it can not be supposed he would allow any minor consideration to weigh one moment in his mind against the great object of their preservation. As he could not carry his boats over the portages of the falls without the a.s.sistance of the Indians, it would have been an act of great indiscretion on his part to have _excited alarm_ and _created suspicion_ in their minds."

Doctor Saffron, in answer to the interrogatory, "In what way did you become acquainted with the Whitman ma.s.sacre?" makes the following reply: "I was residing at the Dalles mission when the Canadian, bearing an express from Fort Nez Perces to Vancouver, came to the station and ate dinner, and with whom Mr. Hinman went to the lodge, and secured a canoe to a.s.sist him on his way to Vancouver, and went to Vancouver with him. A very short time after they were off,--I did not think they had scarcely got off before the Indians came from the lodges, and told what they said the Frenchman had told them, that Doctor Whitman was killed. The next information was from an Indian lad from Des Chutes, who came on horseback, in great haste, and said that two Cayuses were at Des Chutes, and had told them that Dr. Whitman, his wife, and all his people were killed, except the women, who had been taken for wives for the chiefs.

In giving the causes which the two Cayuses had given them, he spoke of the sickness, and _also that the priests had made known to them that the Doctor was a dangerous medicine man to have among them_, and said something of their having said about the Doctor's medicines being the cause of their dying; and also of what Mr. McBean had said of Dr.

Whitman's determining to have all their spotted horses. I can be _certain as to the priests'_ part, but not so certain as to McBean's part, being said by the young Indian at that time, or told me afterward by other Indians." Dr. Saffron states in this deposition that the Indians were very threatening about the station, and that he thinks the reason they did not commence the ma.s.sacre of all at the station was the report that Mr. Ogden was just below with a party. "On Mr. Ogden's arrival, we stated to him these things, and he informed _Mr. Hinman_ that we _had better get away as soon as possible_, which we did."

In this letter from Mr. Douglas, in answer to Governor Abernethy, about supplying the Indians with powder, etc., he says:--

"It would have been an act of great indiscretion on his part to have excited alarm and caused suspicion in their minds by withholding the compensation of two or three pounds of gunpowder and lead, which they had been _accustomed_ to receive for such service, when it was certain that the omission would be regarded as evidence of a hostile intent, and induce them to put every possible obstacle in his way, whereby the object of the journey must have been entirely defeated, and the unfortunate women and children left to their cruel fate.

"To prohibit the sale of ammunition within certain districts in arms against the whites would be the proper course; but to extend the measure to every part of the country is to make the innocent suffer with the guilty, and a departure from the conciliatory course of policy which we have always found to answer best with Indians; and will, I much fear, drive them to the most desperate course. I am now only expressing an opinion on what the law is reported to be, and await the next issue of the _Spectator_ with some impatience, to discover its real character and value.

"You may rest a.s.sured that we will do nothing improper, or which will, in any way, endanger the safety of the country.

"We have not yet heard from Mr. Ogden since he left the Dalles, but are now daily expecting to hear from him.

"I have the honor to be, sir,

"Your most obedient servant,

"JAMES DOUGLAS."

The careless reader, or one that is disposed to regard Sir James Douglas as an honorable, truthful, and upright man, will, on first reading this letter, in all probability, consider it a satisfactory reply to Governor Abernethy, and his reasons sufficient to justify Mr. Ogden's course at the Dalles and at Wallawalla.