A History of Oregon, 1792-1849 Part 69

The war, though attended with little or no loss of life to the settlement or the Indians, was of incalculable value to the American cause. It taught the Indians, the British monopoly, and their allies, the Jesuits, that, not withstanding they could drive from the upper country, or middle Oregon, the missionaries of the American Board, they could not conquer and drive the settlements from the country.

While the main effort of the Hudson's Bay Company was to rid the country of American settlements, the Jesuits were working against American Protestantism, and endeavoring to secure the whole country, middle Oregon in particular, for their exclusive Indian mission. One of them, A. Hoikin, S. J., in a letter to the editor of the _Precis Historiques_, Brussels, dated "Mission of Flatheads, April 15, 1857" (this mission was established by Father De Smet as early as 1841 in opposition to that of the American Board at Spokan), says:--

"If the less well-intentioned Indians from the lower lands would keep within their own territory, and if the whites, the number of whom is daily augmenting in St. Mary's Valley, could act with moderation and conduct themselves prudently, I am convinced that soon the whole country would be at peace, and that not a single Indian would henceforward imbrue his hands in the blood of a white stranger.

"Were I authorized to suggest a plan, I would have all the upper lands _evacuated by the whites and form of it a territory exclusively of Indians_; afterward, I would lead there all the Indians of the inferior portion, such as the Nez Perces, the Cayuses, the Yankamas, the Coeur d'Alenes, and the Spokans.

Well-known facts lead me to believe that this plan, with such superior advantages, might be effected by means of a mission in the s.p.a.ce of two or three years.

"For the love of G.o.d and of souls, I conjure you, reverend fathers, not to defer any longer. All the good that _Father De Smet and others have produced by their labors and visits will be lost_ and forgotten if these Indians are disappointed in their expectation.

They weigh men's characters in the balance of honesty; in their eyes, whosoever does not fulfill his promises is culpable; they do not regard or consider whether it be done for good reason, or that there is an impossibility in the execution.

"Some of them have sent their children to _Protestant schools_, and they will continue to do so as long as we form no establishments among them. From all this you may easily conclude that there is _apostasy and all its attendant evils_."

In connection with the above, Father De Smet says:--

"These four letters of Rev. Father Hoikin show sufficiently, my dear and reverend father, the spiritual wants of these nations and their desire of being a.s.sisted. _Apostasy_ is more frequent than is generally believed in Europe. Oh, if the zealous priests of the continent _know what we know_,--had they seen what we have witnessed, their generous hearts would transport them beyond the seas, and they would hasten to consecrate their lives to a ministry fruitful in salutary results.

"Time pa.s.ses; already the _sectaries_ of various shades are preparing to penetrate more deeply into the desert, and will wrest from those degraded and unhappy tribes their last hope,--that of knowing and practising the _sole_ and _true faith_. Shall they, in fine, obtain the _black-gowns_, whom they have expected and called for during so many years.

"Accept, reverend father, the a.s.surance of my sincere friendship.

"P. J. DE SMET."

Would men entertaining the sentiments above expressed--sent among our American Indians, carried about, supplied and fed, by a fur monopoly, who were seeking in every way possible, to hold the country themselves--be likely to teach the Indians to respect American inst.i.tutions, American missionaries, or American citizens?

Let us look at another sentiment of this Father Hoikin; he says: "When, oh, when! shall the oppressed Indian find a poor corner of the earth on which he may lead a peaceful life, serving and loving his G.o.d in tranquillity, and preserving the ashes of his ancestors, without fear of beholding them profaned and trampled beneath the feet of an _unjust usurper_." We can not discover in this sentiment any respect or love for the American people, or for their government, which is looked upon by this reverend priest, as an "_unjust usurper_" of Indian privileges;--something their own church and people have done the world over; but being done by a free American people, it becomes "_unjust_,"

profane, and horrible. We will make a few other quotations, which we find in the very extensive correspondence of these Jesuitical fathers, with their society in Brussels. The writer, Father P. J. De Smet, after enumerating the usual complaints against our government and its agents, makes his Indian complainingly to say, "The very contact of the whites has poisoned us." He then puts into the mouth of a Choctaw chief, a proposition from a Senator Johnson to establish three Indian territorial governments, "with the provision of being admitted later as distinct members of the _Confederate United States_."

"On the 25th of last November, 1862," he says, "Harkins, chief among the Choctaws, addressed a speech on this subject to his nation a.s.sembled in council. Among other things he said: 'I appeal to you, what will become us, if we reject the proposition of Senator Johnson? Can we hope to remain a people, always separate and distinct? This is not possible. The time must come; yes the time is approaching in which we shall be swallowed up; and that, notwithstanding our just claims! I speak boldly.

It is a fact; our days of peace and happiness are gone, and forever.----If we will preserve among us the rights of a people, one sole measure remains to us; it is to _instruct_ and _civilize_ the youth _promptly and efficiently_. The day of fraternity has arrived. We must act together, and, by common consent, let us attentively consider our critical situation, and the course now left us. One false step may prove fatal to our existence as a nation. I therefore propose that the council take this subject into consideration, and that a committee be named by it, to discuss and deliberate on the advantages and disadvantages of the proposition made to the Choctaws. Is it just and sage for the Choctaws to refuse a liberal and favorable offer, and expose themselves to the destiny of the Indians of Nebraska?'

"According to news received recently, through a journal published in the Indian country, the speech of the chief has produced a profound impression, and was loudly applauded by all the counselors. All the intelligent Choctaws approve the measure.

"_The Protestant missionaries oppose the bill, and employ all their artifices and influence to prevent its success. Harkins proposes their expulsion._ 'It is our money,' said he, 'that these missionaries come here to get. Surely, our money can get us better teachers. Let us therefore try to procure good missionaries, with whom we can live in harmony and good understanding; who will give us the a.s.surance that their doctrine is based on that of the apostles and of Jesus Christ.'

"The Chickasaws are represented as opposed to Senator Johnson's measure.

We trust, however, that the vote of the majority will prove favorably and that the three territorial States will be established.

"It is, in my opinion, a last attempt, and a last chance of existence for the sad remnants of the poor Indians of America. It is, I will say, if I may here repeat what I wrote in my second letter in 1853, their only remaining source of happiness; _humanity and justice_ seem to demand it. If they are again repulsed, and driven inland, they will infallibly perish. Such as refuse to submit, and accept the definite arrangement,--the only favorable one left,--must resume the nomad life of the prairies, and close their career with the vanishing buffaloes and other animals."

We have known this Father De Smet for many years, and have known of his connection as chaplain in the United States army, and of his extensive travels among the various Indian tribes of our country. We were well aware of his zeal and bigotry as a Jesuit; but we did not suppose he would take the first opportunity to combine all his a.s.sociates, and the Indians under his influence, against the government that had favored him and his Indian missionary operations so readily. Yet perhaps we ought not to be surprised at this even, as the Roman hierarchy expressed more open sympathy and favor to the Southern rebellion than any other European power, by acknowledging the Southern Confederacy, and furnishing a man to a.s.sa.s.sinate President Lincoln.

We have introduced these quotations in our sketches of early history, in order to show to the reader the far-reaching policy, as also the determination of foreign powers, through the Jesuit missionaries, to accomplish the overthrow of our American inst.i.tutions, and prevent the spread of them upon this coast. The following is copied from the _Christian Intelligencer_:--

"_Rome in the Field._

"There are those who believe that Rome has an evil eye on this country, and that our next great battle will be with her hosts, rapidly mustering on these sh.o.r.es. We would not be alarmists, but we would not have our countrymen ignorant of matters which most nearly and vitally concern our country's welfare. If the policy of Rome is to rule or ruin, let us know it. If it be first to ruin, and then to rule, let us know that.

"We purpose to go no further back than the beginning of the war, and to let the facts which we shall name speak for themselves. If they have no other lesson, they will, at least, show that Rome, during our terrible struggle for national existence, was true to her ancient history and traditions, as the enemy of civil liberty and the friend of the oppressor the world over.

"It will not be forgotten how generally and enthusiastically our adopted citizens, the Irish, enlisted in the army when the call first came for men to put down rebellion. In the early part of the war, there were Irish battalions, and regiments, and brigades, but there were few, if any, at its close. The truth is, after the second year of the war, the Irish changed front, and suddenly became sympathizers with treason and rebellion. It was noticed that the girls in the kitchen began to roll their fierce gutturals against Mr. Lincoln; their brothers in the army began to curse the cause for which they fought; desertions were frequent; enlistments stopped; and the att.i.tude of the Irish mind before Mr. Lincoln's second election was one of disloyalty and hostility to the government of the United States.

"And these facts can not be changed by the habit which these people have of boasting about fighting our battles, and saving our country. By actual examination of our muster-rolls, the simple truth appears to be, that only eight per cent. of our grand army were of foreign birth; the balance--ninety-two per cent.--were native Americans, who returned at length, worn and battle-scarred, to find their places on the farms, in the factories, and elsewhere, filled by Irish who had sought safety and profit at home, while our boys were courting danger and death in battle.

"It may be interesting to know when this change came over the Irish mind. What dampened their ardor, what quenched the glow of their patriotic impulse? The coincidence is so complete, that the cause is doubtless the same.

"It will be remembered that Bishop Hughes went abroad during the second year of the war, as was supposed, by authority of our government to interest the Catholic sovereigns of Europe in our favor. Instead of this, however, the archbishop went direct to Rome, and straightway the pope acknowledged the independence of the Confederate States. His insignificance gave him impunity, and purchased our silence. But the act had its influence; Biddy in the kitchen, Mike in the army, Patrick on the farm, and Mac in the factory, fell to cursing Mr. Lincoln as a tyrant and butcher.

Enlistments among the Irish stopped from that time, unless it was bounty-jumpers and deserters. They banded together to resist the draft, as in New York, where they rioted in blood for three long days, and only yielded to the overwhelming power of United States troops. The spirit that actuated these human fiends came from Rome, and to Rome must be awarded the sole honor of welcoming to the family of nations a Confederacy whose first act was treason, and whose last was a.s.sa.s.sination. Indeed, it was Rome that furnished the a.s.sa.s.sin and his conspirators against the greatest life of modern times. And that a.s.sa.s.sin struck not against the life of a man, but against the life of the Republic; and if guilt lies in the intent, then is Rome guilty of the nation's life.

"With such a record, Rome vainly puts herself among the friends of our free inst.i.tutions. She misjudged, we think, but she no doubt thought the time had arrived to destroy what had come of Puritanism. And for this, she was willing to be the ally of a government whose corner-stone was negro slavery. Are we still dreaming that Rome is changed, or that she has surrendered the hope of supplanting Protestant freedom on these sh.o.r.es? Would not every Fenian lodge in the country rally to the help of the South, if there was a chance to restore the old negro-hating oligarchy to power.

"It can hardly have escaped every observing man that the Irish mind is expectant and exultant in regard to this country. They do not conceal their belief that the Catholic Church is to rise to the ascendant here, and that Protestantism is to do it reverence.

"But a few weeks since, Father Hecker, one of the lights of the Catholic Church in this country, said in a public lecture, in New York, that his church had numbered eleven millions of our people, or one-third of our population; and that if the members of his church increased for the next thirty years as it had for the thirty years past, in 1900 Rome would have the majority, and would be bound to take the country and rule it in the interest of the church. 'And,' continued the reverend father, 'I consider it my highest mission to educate our people up to this idea, that America is ours, and belongs to the church.'

"It is all of a pattern. Rome during the war sought to ruin us in order to rule us. She failed in the first, but is no less tenaciously striving to accomplish the last. In a future number we will hope to show how she means to do this through the freedmen."

It appears that, when our government became apprised of the value of Oregon as a part of its domain, and was informed officially by the provisional government of the situation of affairs generally at the time of the Whitman ma.s.sacre, at the same time the information was so arranged, and the circ.u.mstances so stated, that the government and people were generally deceived as to the cause and ultimate object of that transaction. It is clear that the Hudson's Bay Company designed to hold the country. It is also evident that the British government expected that the arrangements of the company were such that their t.i.tle to the Oregon Territory was secured beyond a question.

The far-seeing shrewdness of P. J. De Smet, S. J., in relation to his efforts and church influence, was in a measure superior to both; for he made use of both to secure his object and add to the numerical strength of his church, and by that means gain political consideration in the United States and in other countries. For instance, all the Indian children and adults they have ever baptized (as may be seen by their letters to their society in Brussels) are counted, numbering two hundred and ninety-four thousand,--nearly one-half of their American converts.

This, with all their foreign population, as claimed by them, and improperly allowed in the United States census, gives to that sect a political influence they are not ent.i.tled to; and were the question agitated openly, as it was undertaken once secretly, the result would show their weakness. While that church professes the open Catholic faith, it still holds to its secret Society of Jesus, and through it has carried its missions and influence into every department of our American government, more especially into that of the Indians. General Grant seems to understand our Indian relations, and has advised the best plan for disposing of the Indian question, _i.e._, place it under the exclusive control of the military department; and if an Indian becomes a settler, let him be protected as such.

After the greater portion of our provisional troops had been disbanded, Revs. Eells and Walker and their families were ordered out of the upper country, it not being deemed safe for them to remain, on account of hostile Indians who were notoriously friendly with every one claiming to belong to the Hudson's Bay Company or to the priests' party; as a.s.serted by Father Hoikin, who says: "_The country is as safe for us as ever_; we can go freely wherever we desire. No one is ignorant that the black-gowns are not enemies; those at least who are among the Indians."

Notwithstanding the order had been given, by Indian Agent Major Lee, that all the missionaries among those Indians should leave the country till troops could be stationed to protect all alike, still not one of the Jesuit missionaries obeyed it. On the 21st of August, Lieutenant A.

T. Rogers writes to Governor Abernethy, as follows:--

"FORT LEE, WASCOPUM, Aug. 21, 1848.

"Believing it to be my duty to let you know any thing of moment that transpires at this station, for this purpose I now address you.

"At about 2 o'clock, P.M., at this place, a boat arrived, consigned to the French priests who have taken up their residence here, loaded with eight casks of powder; six of them 150 pounds each, and two of them 90 pounds each, making 1,080 pounds. I also took fifteen sacks of b.a.l.l.s, 100 pounds in each cask; three sacks of buck or goose shot, 100 pounds each, making 1,800 pounds of ball and buck-shot; counted one sack of the b.a.l.l.s and found about 3,000 b.a.l.l.s. I also took three boxes of guns; opened one box, and found twelve guns.

"The general conviction at the fort was, that not more than 500 pounds of powder in all had been forwarded for the army by the government, probably not even that amount. I was told by the priest from an interior station, as also by one at the Dalles, that the powder was for four stations, viz.: Coeur d'Alenes, Flatheads, Ponderays, and Okanagons; and this had been purchased at Vancouver the year before. I judged that at least one-third of their outfit was ammunition.

"Three days previous to the arrival of the ammunition, four Indians, embracing their chief from the Waiama village, near the mouth of Des Chutes, came into the fort, much alarmed, saying there had been Cayuses to them, declaring that the priests were going to furnish them plenty of ammunition, and that they were going to kill off all the Americans and all the Indians about that place, and the Cayuses wanted them to join them; said also that out of fear of the Cayuses they had sent away all their women and children. We had the best of evidence that they were frightened. Out of some four or five hundred souls along the river, between the fort and the Chutes of the Columbia, not a soul was to be seen on either side,--all, they said, were hid in the mountains. It was some ten days before the Indians came from their hiding-places.

"When the munitions came, Quartermaster Johnson swore he believed the priests designed them for the Cayuses; said also, a man in this country did not know when he was in a tight place.

"I must say I also believed it.

"A. T. ROGERS, Lieutenant Commanding Post."[20]

[Footnote 20] From original letter.

The following editorial notice of the above letter is copied from the Oregon _Spectator_ of September 7, 1848:--