It was on reaching the Dalles on his overland exploration that the governor first learned of this smouldering fire. Quick to grasp the situation, to see the breach into which, as Governor and Superintendent of Indian Affairs, it was his duty to throw himself, he lost no time, by his earnest and forcible reports, and by his visit in Washington, in obtaining the necessary authority for treating with these Indians.

Five years had elapsed since Congress, by the Donation Acts, had invited settlers to take possession of the lands of these brave and numerous Indians, utterly disregarding their rights, and now, when the volcano was ready to burst forth, the effort was to be made for the first time to treat with them, and the herculean task was devolved upon Governor Stevens of buying their country, allaying their well-founded fears, adjusting their jealousies and disputes with the whites and with each other, and inducing them to relinquish their savage and nomadic mode of life for agriculture and civilization. Many of the best informed settlers and army officers thought that any attempt to treat with these Indians for their lands was a useless and dangerous enterprise, and would surely lead to collision and bloodshed.

During the spring Mr. Doty and agents A.J. Bolen and R.H. Lansdale were visiting the powerful tribes of the upper country, and preparing them for treating. The Walla Walla valley was chosen for the council ground at the instance of Kam-i-ah-kan, the head chief of the Yakimas, who said, “There is the place where in ancient times we held our councils with the neighboring tribes, and we will hold it there now.” A large quantity of goods was taken up the Columbia to Walla Walla in keel-boats. A party of twenty-five men was organized at the Dalles, outfitted with a complete pack-train, mules, riding animals, and provisions, and sent to the council ground to make ready for the reception of the Indians, and afterwards to accompany the governor to the Blackfoot council. The Walla Walla council, like the Blackfoot, was conceived and planned exclusively by Governor Stevens. He alone impressed the necessity of them upon the government, and obtained the requisite authority. The work of collecting the Indians was done chiefly by his agents, and it was not until he learned from Doty that the Indians had agreed to attend, and that the council was assured, that he invited Superintendent Palmer to take part in it as joint commissioner with himself for such tribes as lived partly in both Territories. This fact he caused to be entered on the joint record of the council.

Leaving the gubernatorial office in the hands of Mr. Mason, and the Indian service, now well organized, in charge of Colonel Simmons and other agents, Governor Stevens early in May left Olympia on his treaty-making expedition east of the mountains, calculating to be absent from five to six months. He was accompanied by Lieutenant Richard Arnold, en route to San Francisco; Captain A.J. Cain, Indian agent for the lower Columbia; R.H. Crosby; his son Hazard, whom he decided to take as far as the Dalles and then send home; and some other gentlemen. The little cavalcade trotted rapidly across the prairies amidst severe and drenching showers, and after a brisk ride of thirty miles reached the hospitable log-house of Judge Ford for supper and shelter.

It rained heavily during the night, and on continuing the journey the next morning, and fording the Skookumchuck, where poor George Stevens was so recently lost, and which was then barely passable, a terribly swift, turbulent, and dangerous-looking torrent, the whole country seemed to be under water. The prairie upon which the town of Newarkum is built was flooded, and the horses laboriously waded across the plain in single file, belly-deep in water. The narrow track through the timber beyond the prairie was like a canal. Dick Arnold, who led the party, a tall, erect, athletic, soldierly figure, suddenly sunk down into the water with a plunge until only his head and his horse’s ears were visible. He had ridden into a deep slough, which here crossed the road, indistinguishable in the general flood, but his steed swam and struggled across it and climbed out on the other side, the water dripping from man and horse, but the rider remaining firm in his seat through it all. After some delay the rest of the party effected a crossing on foot by a fallen tree, and drove the horses across by the road, swimming. Without further mishap, save the toils and discomforts of muddy roads and rains, they reached Cowlitz Landing that afternoon, descended the Cowlitz in canoes the next day, and proceeded by steamboat to Vancouver. After a day’s stay here the governor continued his journey up the river by steamboat to the lower Cascades, where he spent the night, crossed the Cascades portage on horseback early the next morning, proceeded by steamboat to the Dalles, and found hospitable quarters with Major Granville O. Haller at the military post, where were stationed two companies of the 4th infantry, under Major G.J. Rains. Superintendent Palmer was found at the Dalles, awaiting the governor’s arrival.

The outlook for effecting a treaty was deemed unfavorable by all. Governor Stevens was warned by Father Ricard, of the Yakima Mission, that the Indians were plotting to cut off the white chiefs who might attempt to hold a council.[5] The Snake Indians had attacked and massacred parties of emigrants recently, and Major Rains was under orders to send a force on the emigrant road to protect them. General Palmer and his Indian agents were reluctant to attempt to treat with the Indians at that time. The governor relates in his diary how he induced Major Rains to send from his small force a detachment of forty soldiers, under Lieutenant Archibald Gracie, to the council as a guard. Mr. Lawrence Kip, afterwards a colonel of the United States army, accompanied Mr. Gracie on the trip, and published an interesting account of the council:—

Stopping at the Dalles only long enough to obtain this detachment and outfit his own small party with riding animals, seven pack-mules, two packers, and a cook, the governor again took the saddle, and traveling rapidly overland two hundred miles to the Walla Walla valley in four days, camping the first night on the Des Chutes River, the second on John Day’s River, the third on the Umatilla, reached the council ground on May 21 towards evening, the party thoroughly drenched by the soaking rain in which they had traveled all day.

An amusing incident occurred at the camp on John Day’s River, which the governor was fond of relating as a good joke on himself. There was no wood to be found in that vicinity, except some drift sticks, which were claimed by an old Indian who had pitched his lodge on the river’s bank. After many fruitless attempts to purchase some of his wood, the men took advantage of the temporary absence of the old fellow to purloin a small quantity of it. This was nearly all consumed, and a hot and savory supper was smoking before our travelers, when the old Indian returned and discovered his loss. Dismounting from his pony, he approached the governor, and, in a tone of indignation and scorn, exclaimed, “Do you call yourself a great chief and steal wood?” A liberal present mollified him considerably, and after partaking of the supper, he departed in great good humor.

The council ground was situated on the right bank of Mill Creek, a tributary of the Walla Walla River, and about six miles above the site of the unfortunate Whitman Mission, in the midst of a wide and fertile valley, bounded in the distance on either hand by high, bare, rolling hills, and extending, fan-shaped, far eastward to the Blue Mountains, whose lofty and wooded heights bounded and overlooked the plain. The valley was almost a perfect level, covered with the greatest profusion of waving bunch grass and flowers, amidst which grazed numerous bands of beautiful, sleek mustangs, and herds of long-horned Spanish cattle belonging to the Indians, and was intersected every half mile by a clear, rapid, sparkling stream, whose course could be easily traced in the distance by its fringe of willows and tall cottonwoods. Now every foot of this rich valley is under cultivation, a dozen gristmills run their wheels by these streams, and the very treaty ground is the centre of the thriving town of Walla Walla, with a population of six thousand souls.

Under the energetic hands of Doty and C.P. Higgins, the packmaster,—a position corresponding to the chief mate on shipboard, or the orderly sergeant of a company of troops,—the camp was found pitched, and everything in readiness for the council. A wall tent, with a large arbor of poles and boughs in front, stood on level, open ground a short distance from the creek, and facing the Blue Mountains, all ready for the governor. This was also to serve as the council chamber, and ample clear space was left for the Indians to assemble and seat themselves on the ground in front of the arbor. A little farther in front, and nearer the creek, were ranged the tents of the rest of the party, a stout log-house to safely hold the supplies and Indian goods, and a large arbor to serve as a banqueting-hall for distinguished chiefs, so that, as in civilized lands, gastronomy might aid diplomacy. A large herd of beef cattle and a pile of potatoes, purchased of Messrs. Lloyd Brooke, Bumford & Noble, traders and stock-raisers, who were occupying the site of the Whitman Mission, and ample stores of sugar, coffee, bacon, and flour furnished the materials for the feasts.

General Palmer arrived the same day with R.R. Thompson and R.B. Metcalfe, Indian agents for Oregon tribes, who had visited the Cuyuses and Umatillas and small bands living wholly in Oregon, and summoned them to attend the council. Fatigued and uncomfortable as they must have been after the day’s journey and drenching, the commissioners had a long conference in the evening, listened to Doty’s report of his visits to the tribes and the talk and dispositions of the chiefs, and discussed the location of reservations and other points. The following programme was agreed upon:—

1. Governor Stevens to preside at the council.

2. Each superintendent to be sole commissioner for the Indians within his jurisdiction.

3. Both to act jointly for tribes common to both Territories, each to appoint an agent and commissary for them, and goods and provisions to be distributed to them in proportion to the number under the respective jurisdictions.

4. To keep separate records, to be carefully compared and certified jointly as far as related to tribes common to both Territories.

5. To keep a public table for the chiefs.

The following officers were appointed for the joint treaties, in each case the first named for Washington, the second for Oregon: Governor Isaac I. Stevens and Superintendent Joel Palmer, commissioners; James Doty and William C. McKay, secretaries; R.H. Crosby and N. Olney, commissaries; R. H. Lansdale and R.R. Thompson, agents; William Craig, N. Raymond, Matthew Danpher, and John Flette, interpreters.

The governor also appointed as interpreters A.D. Pambrun, John Whitford, James Coxie, and Patrick McKensie.

Lieutenant Gracie, with his little detachment, arrived on the 23d. A tent, furnished by the governor, was pitched for the officer and his guest, Mr. Kip, while the soldiers built huts of boughs, and spread over them canvas pack-covers. The two gentlemen dined with the governor under the arbor near his tent, “off a table constructed from split pine logs, smoothed off, but not very smooth,” says Mr. Kip.

The scanty treating party of whites were now all assembled, and awaited the arrival of the Indians with interest, not unmixed with apprehension; for it seemed a bold and perilous step to meet so many brave and warlike Indians, many of whom were known to be disaffected and ready to provoke an outbreak, in the heart of the Indian country, two hundred miles from the nearest settlement or military post, with such a mere handful. They numbered barely a hundred men,—the governor’s party of thirty-five, twelve with General Palmer, the military guard of forty-seven, two Catholic missionaries, and a few settlers.

The second day after reaching the valley Governor Stevens, learning that General Wool had just arrived at Vancouver, wrote him a letter urging the importance of occupying the Walla Walla valley with a strong military force, preferably of cavalry, pointing out the central location of the point, and its strategic advantages for protecting the emigrant road, the trails to the Missouri on the east, the Puget Sound on the west, and for controlling the disaffected Indians, particularly the Cuyuses and Snakes. This, like other sound and indeed necessary measures recommended by the governor, was ignored by the self-sufficient Wool and his officers, until they were obliged to adopt them from necessity.

CHAPTER XXIX
THE WALLA WALLA COUNCIL

The Nez Perces, the first to arrive, came the next day, May 24, 2500 strong. Hearing of their approach, the commissioners drew up their little party on a knoll commanding a fine view of the unbroken level of the valley. The standard of the Nez Perces, the large American flag given them by the officers engaged in the Cuyuse war, was sent forward and planted on the knoll. Soon their cavalcade came in sight, a thousand warriors mounted on fine horses and riding at a gallop, two abreast, naked to the breech-clout, their faces covered with white, red, and yellow paint in fanciful designs, and decked with plumes and feathers and trinkets fluttering in the sunshine. The ponies were even more gaudily arrayed, many of them selected for their singular color and markings, and many painted in vivid colors contrasting with their natural skins,—crimson slashed in broad stripes across white, yellow or white against black or bay; and with their free and wild action, the thin buffalo line tied around the lower jaw,—the only bridle, almost invisible,—the naked riders, seated as though grown to their backs, presented the very picture of the fabled centaurs. Halting and forming a long line across the prairie, they again advanced at a gallop still nearer, then halted, while the head chief, Lawyer, and two other chiefs rode slowly forward to the knoll, dismounted and shook hands with the commissioners, and then took post in rear of them. The other chiefs, twenty-five in number, then rode forward, and went through the same ceremony. Then came charging on at full gallop in single file the cavalcade of braves, breaking successively from one flank of the line, firing their guns, brandishing their shields, beating their drums, and yelling their war-whoops, and dashed in a wide circle around the little party on the knoll, now charging up as though to overwhelm it, now wheeling back, redoubling their wild action and fierce yells in frenzied excitement. At length they also dismounted, and took their stations in rear of the chiefs. Then a number of young braves, forming a ring, while others beat their drums, entertained the commissioners with their dances, after which the Indians remounted and filed off to the place designated for their camp. This was on a small stream, flowing parallel to Mill Creek, on the same side with and over half a mile from the council camp. The chiefs accompanied the governor to his tent and arbor, smoked the pipe of peace, and had an informal talk.

Hal-hal-tlos-sot or the Lawyer, the head chief of the Nez Perces, was an Indian Solon in his efforts to improve the condition of his people. Without any advantages of birth or wealth, he made himself the first in his tribe, while yet in middle life, by his unrivaled wisdom and force of character. His first acts were directed against gambling, which was indulged in to great excess, and against polygamy. Finding, however, that his influence as head chief was insufficient to carry out his plans for the improvement of his people, he reorganized the government of the tribe, appointed an additional number of chiefs from the young men, and, having thus increased and strengthened his influence, was enabled to accomplish his reforms. He early perceived that the growing power of the whites, which threatened to swallow up all before it, could not be resisted by force, and in consequence all his efforts were directed to inducing the Indians to adopt the customs and civilization of the whites, and to preserving the unbroken friendship between the two races. From the effects of the wound received at the battle of Pierre’s Hole he was still suffering, and his right arm had been twice broken in a fight with a grizzly bear. Wise, enlightened, and magnanimous, the head chief, yet one of the poorest of his tribe, he stood head and shoulders above the other chiefs, whether in intellect, nobility of soul, or influence.

Provisions were issued to the Nez Perces, and some petty tribes which had come in, at the rate of one and a half pounds of beef, two pounds of potatoes, and one half a pound of corn to each person.

The Cuyuses, Walla Wallas, and Umatillas next arrived, and went into camp without any parade or salutations on a stream on the other side of Mill Creek, and over a mile distant from the camp of the whites, from which the intervening fringes of trees completely hid them. The head chief of the Walla Wallas and Umatillas was Pu-pu-mox-mox or the Yellow Serpent, who held despotic sway over his own people, and great influence with neighboring tribes. He owned thousands of horses and cattle, and had amassed a large sum in specie, from trade with settlers and emigrants. Some years before one of his sons, a youth of promise, was murdered by a miner in California, and although he had always been on friendly terms with the whites, not even allowing his people to take part in the Cuyuse war, it was believed that the outrage rankled in his heart. He was well advanced in years, and somewhat childish and capricious in small things, but his form was as erect, his mind as firm, and his authority as unimpaired as ever.

The day after their arrival many of the Nez Perce chiefs came to see the commissioners, and after much friendly conversation were invited to dine. Governor Stevens and General Palmer presided at opposite ends of the long table, at which were seated some thirty chiefs, and, having heard of the enormous appetites of the Indians, piled the tin plates, as they were presented, to the brim. Again and again were the plates passed up for a fresh supply; the chiefs feasted and gorged like famished wolves; and the arms of the hosts became so wearied from carving and dispensing the food that they were glad to resign the posts of honor to a couple of stalwart packers. The table for the chiefs was kept up during the council, and every day was well attended, but it was not again graced by the presence of the commissioners.

During the morning an express was received from the Yellow Serpent. He sent word that the Cuyuses, Walla Wallas, and Yakimas would accept no provisions from the commissioners, but would bring their own, and proposed that the Young Chief, Lawyer, Kam-i-ah-kan, and himself, the head chiefs of the Cuyuses, Nez Perces, Yakimas, and Walla Wallas respectively, should do all the talking for the Indians at the council. The messenger would accept no tobacco for the chief, a very unfriendly sign, and muttered as he rode off, loud enough to be overheard by the interpreter, “You will find out by and by why we won’t take provisions.”

Every effort was made by the other Indians to induce the Nez Perces to refuse provisions, but without avail. The latter took great pride in their unwavering friendship to the whites, and were fond of contrasting their course with that of the Cuyuses. Considerable jealousy sprung up between them in consequence.

Two of the priests, Fathers Chirouse, of the Walla Walla, and Pandosy, of the Yakima Mission, arrived for the purpose of attending the council. They reported that these Indians were generally well disposed towards the whites, with the exception of Kam-i-ah-kan. The latter said, referring to the proposed council: “If the governor speaks hard, I will speak hard, too.” Other Indians had said, “Kam-i-ah-kan will come with his young men with powder and ball.” They were opposed to selling their lands; and when Secretary Doty visited and invited them to attend the council, Kam-i-ah-kan refused the presents offered him, saying that he “had never accepted anything from the whites, not even to the value of a grain of wheat, without paying for it, and that he did not wish to purchase the presents.” He was a man of fine presence and bearing, over six feet in height, well built and athletic. Governor Stevens said of him: “He is a peculiar man, reminding me of the panther and the grizzly bear. His countenance has an extraordinary play, one moment in frowns, the next in smiles, flashing with light and black as Erebus the same instant. His pantomime is great, and his gesticulation much and characteristic. He talks mostly in his face, and with his hands and arms.”

Reports were flying about that these tribes had combined to resist a treaty, and fears were expressed that an attempt to open the council would be the signal for an outbreak.

The following day a body of four hundred mounted Indians, supposed to be Cuyuses and Walla Wallas, were observed approaching, armed and in full gala dress, and uttering their war-whoops like so many demons, and, after riding three times around the Nez Perce camp, they departed. Soon after the Young Chief, accompanied by his principal chiefs, rode into camp, and, being invited to dismount, did so with evident reluctance, and shook hands in a very cold manner. They refused to smoke, and remained but a short time. “The haughty carriage of these chiefs,” remarks Governor Stevens in his journal, “and their manly character have, for the first time in my Indian experience, realized the descriptions of the writers of fiction.”

The next day agent Bolon, with an interpreter, was sent to meet the Yakimas, who were thought to be near at hand. He soon returned, having met Kam-i-ah-kan and also the Yellow Serpent. The latter said to Mr. Bolon that he was very sorry to hear that the chiefs and others in the commissioners’ camp had said that he was unfriendly to the whites,—that his heart was with the Cuyuses, whose hearts were bad. He had always been friendly to the whites, and was so now, and he would go to-day to see the commissioners, and ask why such things had been said of him. Accordingly, soon after Bolon’s return, Pu-pu-mox-mox, Kam-i-ah-kan, Ow-hi, and Skloom, the two latter being chiefs of the Yakimas, accompanied by a number of their braves, rode into camp. Dismounting, they shook hands in the most friendly manner, and seating themselves under the arbor indulged in a smoke, using their own tobacco exclusively, although other was offered them.

Governor Stevens addressed them, saying that he had important business to lay before them, and proposed to open the council the next day at noon. The Yellow Serpent replied that he wanted more than one interpreter at the council, that they might know they translated truly. Being assured on this point, and invited to designate an interpreter in whom he had confidence, he said, in a scornful manner, “I do not wish my boys running around the camp of the whites like these young men,” alluding to some young Nez Perces present and feeling quite at home. He added that he had only ridden over to-day to see the commissioners, and soon withdrew with his party.

The Lawyer then opened a book containing in their own language the advice left them by their former head chief, Ellis, and read as follows:—

The speech of U-u-san-male-e-can afforded new evidence that the Cuyuses were plotting underhand, although but little could be learned as to the nature of their designs.

At two P.M., on May 29, 1855, the council was formally opened by Governor Stevens. Under the roomy arbor in front of the tent were seated the commissioners, secretaries who kept the records, interpreters, and Indian agents, while the Indians were seated on the ground in front in semicircular rows forty deep, one behind another. Timothy, the chief and preacher, concerning whom Governor Stevens said, “He and others are very devout, and seem to form a theocracy in the tribe, and, like the old New England fathers, to require every one to worship God in some visible way,”—this Timothy, assisted by several of the young men, who were very tolerable penmen, kept the records of the council for the Nez Perces. They were accommodated with a table under the arbor, where everything could be seen and heard. Some two thousand Indians were present, fully half of whom were Nez Perces. The pipe having been smoked with due solemnity, two interpreters were appointed and sworn for each tribe, some preliminary remarks were made, and the council was adjourned until ten o’clock the next morning. Before adjourning Governor Stevens renewed the offer of provisions to the recusant Indians, proposing that each tribe should take two oxen to its own camp and slaughter for themselves.

The Yellow Serpent and Kam-i-ah-kan dined with the commissioners, and remained in their tent for a long time, smoking in a friendly manner, but the Young Chief declined the invitation to dine.

The two following days Governor Stevens explained the proposed treaties at length, item by item. There were to be two reservations,—one in the Nez Perce country of three million acres, on the north side of Snake River, embracing both the Kooskooskia and Salmon rivers, including a large extent of good arable land, with fine fisheries, root grounds, timber and mill-sites, and was for the accommodation of the Cuyuses, Walla Wallas, Umatillas, and Spokanes, as well as the Nez Perces. The other embraced a large and fertile tract on the upper waters of the Yakima, and was for the Yakimas, Klikitats, Palouses, and kindred bands. The reservations were to belong to the Indians, and no white man should come upon them without their consent. An agent, with school-teachers, mechanics, and farmers, would take charge of each reservation, and instruct them in agriculture, trades, etc.; grist and saw mills were to be built; the head chiefs were to receive an annuity of five hundred dollars each, in order that they might devote their whole time to their people; and annuities in clothing, tools, and useful articles were to be given for twenty years, after which they were to be self-supporting. At first the reservations were to be used in common, but provision was made for the survey and subdivision of the land, and its allotment to the Indians in severalty as soon as they should be prepared to receive and utilize it. As it was evidently impracticable to make so radical a change in their habits suddenly, the Indians were to have the privilege of hunting, root-gathering, and pasturing stock on vacant land until appropriated by settlers, and the right of fishing. The advantages of the reservations were dwelt upon. They embraced some of the best land in the country, and were large enough to afford each family a farm to itself, besides grazing for all their stock; they contained good fisheries, abundance of roots and berries, and considerable game. They were near enough to the great roads for trade with the emigrants, yet far enough from them to be undisturbed by travelers. By having so many tribes on the same reservation, the agent could better look after them, and could accomplish more with the means at his disposal. The staple argument held out was the superior advantages of civilization, and the absolute necessity of their adopting the habits and mode of life of the white man in order to escape extinction. Governor Stevens also exhorted them to treat, for the sake of the example upon their inveterate enemies, the Blackfeet, that thereby they would prove themselves firm friends of the whites, and that he would then take delegations from each tribe with his party and proceed to the Blackfoot country, and make a lasting treaty of peace, so that they could ever after hunt the buffalo in safety, and trade horses with the Indians east of the Rocky Mountains. The Indians listened gravely and in silence, as these matters were slowly unfolded to them, sentence by sentence through the interpreters, for five or six hours each day, and upon the adjournment of the council, quietly dispersed to their lodges. The third day the Young Chief for the first time dined at Governor Stevens’s table with the other head chiefs, and General Palmer and the gentlemen of the party; and in the evening he sent word that his young men were tired of such close confinement as they had undergone at the council, and desired to have a feast and holiday to-morrow, and he requested that no council be held until the day after (Saturday). The commissioners cheerfully acceded to his request, well pleased at these signs of mollifying the opposition of the haughty savage.

There were now assembled on the ground between five and six thousand Indians. Says Colonel Kip: “About five thousand Indians, including squaws and children. Their encampment and lodges are scattered over the valley for more than a mile, presenting a wild and fantastic appearance.”

Every afternoon, after the council adjourned for the day, horse-races and foot-races were held at the Nez Perce camp, attended by the sporting bloods of the other tribes, and witnessed by many of the whites. The usual course was a long one,—some two miles out and back, making four miles. Oftentimes thirty horses would start together in a grand sweepstakes; the riders and betters would throw into one common pile the articles put up as stakes,—blankets, leggings, horse equipments, and whatever was bet, and the winner would take the whole pile. The foot-races were equally long, and the runners would be escorted in their course by a crowd of mounted Indians, galloping behind and beside them so closely that the exhausted ones could hardly stop without being run down. The riders and runners were invariably stripped to the breech-cloth, and presented many fine, manly forms, perfect Apollos in bronze.

Everything was very quiet about the council ground the day begged for a holiday by the Young Chief, the Indians remaining at their own camps. But the next day, Saturday, June 2, they reassembled as usual; and after several hours had been spent in further explaining the provisions of the treaties, Governor Stevens called them to speak freely, saying, “We want you to open your hearts to us,” etc.

Hitherto the Indians had listened in grave silence, but now the opponents of the treaties took the lead in the discussion. The Yellow Serpent, in a speech marked by strength and sarcasm, uttered the prevailing reluctance to part with their lands, and their dread and distrust of the whites:—

After a stinging rebuke administered by Camospelo, a Cuyuse chief, to some of his young men who had behaved in a surly manner, talking and walking about during the proceedings, the council was adjourned until Monday.

This speech of the Yellow Serpent is marked in every sentence by his bitter distrust of the whites. He intimates, almost asserts, that the commissioners are trying to deceive and overreach the Indians, and with biting irony declares that he would feel very much ashamed if the Americans did anything wrong.

Late that evening the Lawyer came unattended to see Governor Stevens. He disclosed a conspiracy on the part of the Cuyuses to suddenly rise upon and massacre all the whites on the council ground,—that this measure, deliberated in nightly conferences for some time, had at length been determined upon in full council of the tribe the day before, which the Young Chief had requested for a holiday; they were now only awaiting the assent of the Yakimas and Walla Wallas to strike the blow; and that these latter had actually joined, or were on the point of joining, the Cuyuses in a war of extermination against the whites, for which the massacre of the governor and his party was to be the signal. They had conducted these plottings with the greatest secrecy, not trusting the Nez Perces; and the Lawyer, suspecting that all was not right, had discovered the plot by means of a spy with the greatest difficulty, and only just in time to avert the catastrophe.

The Lawyer concluded by saying: “I will come with my family and pitch my lodge in the midst of your camp, that those Cuyuses may see that you and your party are under the protection of the head chief of the Nez Perces.” He did so immediately, although it was now after midnight, and, without awakening the suspicions of any one, he caused it to be reported among the other Indians that the commissioners were under the protection of the Nez Perces.

Governor Stevens on his part imparted his knowledge of the conspiracy to Secretary Doty and Packmaster Higgins, and to them alone, for he feared that, should the party generally learn of it, a stampede would ensue. Having through these efficient officers quietly caused the men to put their arms in readiness, and posting night guards, he determined to continue the council as usual, hoping that the Cuyuses, foiled in their design, would finally conclude to treat.

On Monday the governor opened the council by inviting the Indians to speak their minds freely, and, no one responding, finally called on the Lawyer. He expressed himself in terms favorable to the treaty, and was followed by several of his chiefs in a similar strain. Kam-i-ah-kan, on the other hand, avowed his distrust of the whites, and alluded in a contemptuous manner to the speeches of the Lawyer and the others:—

The Yellow Serpent said with bitter irony, “I do not wish to speak. I leave it to the old men.”

Steachus, the only chief of the Cuyuses reported to be well disposed, commended the speech of the Lawyer, and exhorted all present to speak their minds freely.

But the most impressive speech by far was that of Tip-pee-il-lan-oh-cow-pook, the Eagle-from-the-Light, a pathetic and touching speech:—

The next two days Governor Stevens continued, explaining the treaties still further. A large map was brought forth, and the boundaries of the reservations accurately marked out and shown. The Indians took great interest in this map, asking many questions about the mountains and streams they saw represented upon it, and in some instances adding streams which were not laid down.

Superintendent Palmer spoke for some time, going over the same ground as Governor Stevens. After he had concluded, Steachus, the friendly Cuyuse, arose and said:—