# The Early Indian Wars of Oregon/Cayuse/Chapter 7

CHAPTER VII.
ELECTION OF ARMY OFFICERS BY THE LEGISLATURE APPOINTMENT BY THE GOVERNOR OF A PEACE COMMISSION ITS OBJECT THE SALE OF FIREARMS TO THE INDIANS PROHIBITED ATTITUDE OF THE SETTLERS TOAVARDS THE INDIANS FEELING TO WARDS THE HUDSON S BAY COMPANY COMPLAINT AGAINST OUDEN ATTITUDE OF THE DALLES INDIANS FORT GILLIAM FIRST SKIRMISH WITH THE ENEMY CON DITION OF PUBLIC SENTIMENT COLONEL GILLIAM S HOSTILITY TO THE FUR COMPANY
LETTER OF JAMES DOUGLAS REPLY OF GOVERNOR ABERNETHY DEPARTURE FOR THE SEAT OF WAR GENERAL ORDERS THE COMMISSARY-GENERAL AND PEACE COMMISSIONER AT FORT GILLIAM ARRIVAL AT THE DALLES GILLIAM DISPLEASED
ORDERS THE ARMY FORWARD THE CAYUSES ATTACK, AND OPPOSE THE CROSSING OF THE UMATILLA ARRIVAL AT WAIILATPU AVOIDANCE OF THE INDIANS BY THE COMMANDER DEPARTUPvE OF MEEK S PARTY FOR WASHINGTON A COUNCIL HELD WITH THE INDIANS BATTLE OF THE TOUCHET DEATH OF GILLIAM PROMOTION OF LEE TO THE COMMAND or THE ARMY.
IT is time now to turn to the military operations of the Oregon government. Among the doings of the legislature which referred to its attitude towards the Cayuses, after authorizing the governor to raise a regiment of volunteers, was the election hy that body of regimental officers, which resulted in making Cornelius Gilliam, colonel-command ant; James Waters, lieutenant-colonel; H. A G. Lee, major, and Joel Palmer, commissary-general. On the same day, December fourteenth, and before the letter of Bishop Blan- chet had been written, recommending to the governor this identical course (which bad first been suggested by the Nez Percés), a resolution was passed "that a delegation of three persons be appointed by this house to proceed imme diately to Walla Walla, and hold a council with the chiefs and principal men of the various tribes on the Columbia, to prevent, if possible, the coalition with the Cay use tribe in the present difficulties." The appointment of these com missioners was, however, left to the governor, who named Joel Palmer, Robert Newell, and Major H. A. G. Lee, than whom no more competent men for this duty could have been selected among the Americans, and much was hoped from their sagacious handling of the Indian intelligence. ​
It will be remembered that the prisoners in the hands of the Cayuses were not liberated until the last of Decem ber, and did not arrive until the tenth of January. Pre vious to this date all that was known of events in the upper country was what had been communicated in Mr. McBean s letter of November thirtieth, and although the determination to punish the murderers was firmly fixed in the public mind, it was not thought wise to make any warlike movement to excite the Columbia river Indians, but only to send one company to The Dalles to preserve the property of the mission at that place, and prevent the loss of immigrant property left there in charge of certain friendly Indians to await the opening of spring, when it could be removed to the Wallaraet valley. The appoint ing of peace commissioners was a measure resorted to with the purpose to disabuse the Indian mind of any prejudice against the Americans which the Cayuses were supposed to be laboring to create; and also, to prevent any coalition between the Indians east of the mountains and those still resident in the Wallamet, for there was much alarm felt among the settlers in remote sections, who watched every movement of their dusky neighbors with suspicion, and often with terror. Many of the children of pioneers still revert with horror to nights when they feared to go to sleep, and when the father of the household kept watch beside his arms, not knowing but their safety depended on his sleeplessness. The Indians took advantage of this state of things to exhibit unusual insolence, and even to make threats and circulate terrifying rumors. The object of a peace commission was to defeat any attempts to continue these mischievous influences and prevent their becoming actual hostilities.
The legislature also passed an act prohibiting the sale of firearms and ammunition to the Indians. (This act was modified by the legislature of 1849 as unjust to a peo ple which lived by the chase, and whose sustenance was being cut off by the spoilations of the superior race.) ​
There is nothing more convincingly apparent in the conduct of the early settlers of Oregon than that they were not wilfully cruel to the natives If there were race wars, it was not because one race sought to exterminate the other from unreasoning hatred, but from that incom patibility of interests which always exists between savage and civilized men. The iron wheel of progress never stops because the weaker is being crushed by it; it only presses on, while the strong grows stronger by mere force of circumstances, and without obvious intention. Thus while Americans of European descent struggled with and overcame nearly insurmountable difficulties on the north west coast, the more numerous but inferior children of the soil perished because of them, but not by their design. The Indians themselves Percéived, in a blind sort of way, the hand of destiny, and often prophesied that they should all be dead before they enjoyed even the doubtful benefits of adoption by the United States government "and then what good will blankets do us?" they asked.
The more intelligent of the Americans realized that a general Indian war meant to them infinite horrors, and to the Indians ultimate extermination, and that the best interests of both would be subserved by peace. The Hud son s bay officers had every motive to desire peace that the Americans had, and the additional one, that war would destroy the company s business. They believed that the terrible event which brought on the crisis might have and should have been avoided by the missionaries; and that the sacrifice of a few individual interests should not have weighed against the welfare or safety of the whole American population in the country. The expres sion, though carefully guarded, of this sentiment, caused in many minds a feeling of bitter resentment against the company, and coupled with the company s refusal to furnish means to carry on the war, led many of the un thinking and the prejudiced to believe that the extermi nation of the Americans would have been agreeable to ​
the English corporation, from whom so many acts of neighborly kindness had been received.
The company of forty-five men, under Captain H. A. G. Lee, had pushed forward to The Dalles immediately after receiving its outfit at Vancouver, in order to protect the property of the mission at that place, and to keep open a line of communication with the Walla Walla valley. In Lee s first letter to the governor, he made complaint that Mr. Ogden, in passing down with the captives, paid for the usual services of the Indians at that place with the customary few charges of powder and ball; but not to have done so would have been to give serious offense, and to have furnished an excuse for joining the Cay uses against all the white population in the country. 1
Lee wrote that the Indians about The Dalles appeared friendly, and to have committed no hostile acts except thefts of goods belonging to the immigrants, which, on the advent of an armed force, they hastened to restore, with professions of good will.
Siletza, a Des Chutes chief, was, however, regarded as a suspect, although he does not appear to have deserved it; and Thomas, a Dalles Indian, entrusted with the guardian-
1 In his private correspondence with Lee, Governor Abernethy said : " I regret Mr. Ogden s course, paying powder and ball to the Indians": Oregon Archives, MS., 85H. That there was a disposition to criticise Ogden, on Lee s part appears from an other letter of the governor, in which he remarks : " Mr. Canfield, I believe it was, says yon are mistaken as to Mr. Ogden s remark, as he was present. He says Mr. Ogden meant our party of fifty men would be insufficient. He made no remarks down here calculated to stop the enterprise, in my presence": Oregon Archives, MS., SCO. In a letter to Dr. W. F. Tolmie, in charge of Fort Nisqually, Douglas in structed him as follows January eighteenth: "The legislature has passed a law prohibiting the sale of powder, lead, and caps to all Indians. I consider it a danger ous measure, which will excite the Indians more and more against the Americans ; they will starve without ammunition, and distress may drive them to dangerous courses. They will prey upon the settlements and slaughter cattle when they can no longer hunt the deer. Represent this to the Newmarket men. ( American set tlers at Tumwater on the south end of Puget Sound.) It is oppression, not kindness, that will drive the Indians to acts of hostility. Use all your influence to protect the Newmarket people, and tell them to be kind and civil to the Indians. Use your dis cretion about the powder and lead prohibition ; you need not enforce the law if it endangers the safety of the country. The Americans about this place are all ex claiming against it, and are serving out powder to the Indians themselves, to protect their stock. You ought, in my opinion, to get the fort enclosed immediately, and bastions put up at two of the corners. If your own people are not sufficient, hire hands to assist you ; the sooner that precaution is taken, the better." ​
ship of the immigrant wagons and property left at Barlow s gate of the mountains, was also considered treacherous by Dr. Henry Saffarans, Indian agent at The Dalles by ap pointment of Governor Abernethy, but without apparent justification at this time, as he was retained in service by the volunteers, and proved a useful auxiliary. 2
But so shaken was the confidence of the white residents at The Dalles, in all Indians, that it could not be restored. Mr. Hinman, who it will be remembered accompanied McBean s messenger to Fort Vancouver, returned with Ogden to The Dalles for his family, whom he was advised to remove, until peace was restored, to the Wallamet. On their way down the river, Saffarans, being behind him, was alarmed by seeing a fleet of canoes approaching, and Hinman also mistaking Lee s company for Indians, fled into the woods. SafFarans, however, subsequently returned to The Dalles, and resumed his duties as agent, finding the Indians about his agency, either through fear or friend ship, more tractable than he expected.
Before the army, which was congregating at Portland, could move up the river, it was necessary to establish a base of supplies at the cascades, and a few men were sent to that point by the commissary-general about the last of December to erect a storehouse, and possibly a block house. 4 The only structures he succeeded in erecting were some cabins at the upper landing, and these with the greatest difficulty. But the place was dignified by the name of Fort Gilliam, although the volunteers more often spoke of it as "The Cabins."
The history of this little post in the heart of the great
- His services were certified to by Captain Maxon, in order that he might collect pay. The certificate is dated April 26, 1852.
3 Gilliam wrote his wife he had a tedious time in Portland. He " had to be colo nel, major, adjutant, captain, sergeant, and everything else."
4 Says Abernethy in a letter to Lee, January first : " I think, if there is any pros pect of a general war with Indians, of building a blockhouse at the cascades, keep ing a small force there, and, if possible, mount one or two guns " : Oregon Archives, MS. 851. ​
Oregon Sierras became a most interesting one. It was here that the hardest struggle of the war was carried on not in fighting Indians, but in keeping the men in the field who had undertaken to do the fighting. In point of fact, the commissary department was charged with the principal burden of the war, and the title of "general" which Palmer acquired through being at the head of this department, might well have been bestowed upon him for his services in sustaining the organization of the army under conditions such as existed in Oregon in 1847-48. Without arms, without roads, without transportation, other than small boats and pack horses, without comfortable winter clothing and with scanty food, the war was to be carried on at a distance of nearly three hundred miles from the settlements. And if the volunteer soldiers were called upon to endure these hardships, which General Palmer was doing his best to overcome, the commissioned officers were no less embarrassed by the want of the most ordinary appliances of their rank or position even to the want of a proper field glass! Says Governor Aber- nethy in a letter to Lee, written January fifth, before Col onel Gilliam had started from the rendezvous: "Mr. McMillan has the spyglass and papers. He can tell you we are getting lots of pork, and some wheat. * * * Perhaps we can get some small cannon ; I hope so." Also, under the same date: "There is considerable ammuni tion in one of Mr. Whitcomb s wagons; but it would not do to overhaul any wagons out at the gate where they are, as the Indians might overhaul after you. This step is dis cretionary with you." 5
Lee, meanwhile, was finding out the temper of the Indians above The Dalles. On the eighth of January a
5 Oregon Archives, 859. Letters from various persons concerning affairs at Fort Gil liam, give graphic accounts of their condition. There is among the papers in the Oregon archives a receipt given by Lieutenant-Colonel James Waters, January 22, 1848, for " four pairs pants, two coats, seven pairs shoes, six cotton shirts, two flan nel shirts, one wool hat, three pairs socks, two comforters, four camp kettles, twenty- four tin cups, ten pounds tobacco, fifteen pounds flour. On the same paper is a memorandum : " Distributed for the use of the army at Fort Gilliam, January thir tieth, one pound of powder ; receipted for at Portland." ​
party of them was discovered gathering up the stock left by the immigrants at the mission with the apparent intention of driving it away. A detachment of seventeen men was ordered out, and Lee went in pursuit of the rob bers, when a running fight ensued which lasted two hours, in which Sergeant William Berry was wounded. Three Indians were killed, and one wounded. The marauders, twenty- three in number, were well mounted, while some of the volunteers were on foot. The advantage thus given the Indians enabled them to drive off the herd of three hundred cattle a serious loss in a country desti tute of provisions. During the skirmish the Indians repeatedly called out, "We are good Cay uses; come on, you Americans, and fight us ! "
On the following morning a detachment going out to help in the Des Chutes chief, Siletza, who had been robbed for refusing to join the thieves, about one-third of whom were Cay uses, captured sixty Indian horses, regarded as a poor offset to three hundred beef cattle.
As this act of hostility occurred immediately after Mr. Ogden with the captives passed The Dalles, it was no doubt undertaken by the Cay uses in retaliation for the apparent violation of the agreement made at the council in the Cayuse country, that commissioners should be sent up to treat for peace, and that during the interim no war measures should be adopted by either side. The presence of armed men at The Dalles, and the rumors of more expected, dissolved the compact, of which freedom the Cayuses hastened to take advantage.
About this time Colonel Gilliam was enabled to make a start for The Dalles, with a single company, several others being on the way to the rendezvous in Portland. As Abernethy had written to Lee, it was a task to get several hundred men together, prepared to be absent from homes where they were needed, for a period of six months.
The colonel of the first regiment of Oregon riflemen ​
was a man in the prime of life, of impulsive temper, brave, headstrong, but conscientious. An immigrant of 1844, he was deeply imbued with the "fifty-four-forty or fight" political ideas of the Polk presidential campaign, and still cherished radical sentiments in regard to the rights of the English occupants of the country. 6 He was, in short, of that order of men who fought and prayed with an equal degree of earnestness, the Oliver Crom wells of the frontier states, and was quite capable of believing the English fur company guilty of cherishing heinous designs towards the American colony.
Just when public feeling was most sensitive, there had come to Oregon City the captives, with their wild conjec tures as to the cause of their fearful wrongs. Naturally, having a high respect and regard for Dr. Whitman and his calling as a missionary teacher, and feeling the deepest sorrow for his fate and that of Mrs. Whitman, they re called as "confirmation strong as proof of holy writ," every chance expression of sectarian aversion to, or sus picion of the Catholics which had been let fall in their hearing, and with Mr. Spalding s assistance, who had quickly forgotten his obligations to Rev. Brouillet, and the suggestions of other even more intolerant sectarians in the Wallamet, had convinced, themselves that religious bigotry had led the Catholics to instigate the crime of the massacre.
One of the strongest proofs in their view, was that none of the Catholics about the mission, or in the Cayuse coun try, were included in the slaughter; entirely ignoring the
6 Cornelius Gilliam was forty-nine years of age, and by birth a North Carolinian, though he had removed to Missouri while still a child. In 1830 he was commissioned sheriff of Clay county in that state. He served in the Black Hawk Indian war, begun in 1832, and in the Seminole war in Florida in 1835. In the campaign of 18S7-8, under General Taylor, he served as captain of a company, and was captain in the state militia used to expel the Mormons from Missouri, being raised to a colonelcy for meritorious conduct. Soon after he was elected to the legislature from 1 Andrew county. In 1844 he led a large company of immigrants to Oregon. Having been ordained to the work of the ministry in the Freewill Baptist denomination, on set tling in Polk county, he organized a church in the Gage settlement on the North Luckiamute, and officiated as it ​s minister.
fact that the war was against Americans only, and that, the Catholics were not only foreigners, but French-Cana dians, with whom the Indians had no quarrel whatever; and also overlooking the fact that all the help which had come to them in their distress, had been rendered by these same Catholic foreigners, whose only offense was that they knew the Indians well enough not to offend them by too open sympathy with their prisoners. To have provoked their resentment in this crisis, would have only had the effect to bring on a second massacre, in which none would have been spared.
Again, the Hudson's Bay Company was denounced as Catholic, its employes being French-Canadians, and its former head, Dr. McLoughlin (who about this time had retired from the service to settle among the Americans at Oregon City), having been converted to Catholicism soon after the coming of Blanchet to Oregon. It counted as nothing against these prejudices that Mr. Douglas, Mc- Loughlin s successor, Mr. Ogden, Mr. McKinlay, Mr. Erma- tinger, and many other officers and clerks of the company were Protestants all were under condemnation.
It is necessary to recall this condition of the public mind in Oregon at this time in order to make clear all that fol lowed. It should at the same time be remembered that the period at which the events here recorded occurred, was one of great religious feeling; that the average Christian of that day was pledged in his own conscience to be a bigot; and that the sensibilities of the Protestant world had been shocked only a few years before by the burning of bibles in New York City by Catholics. Under these circumstances and influences a large degree of intolerance was to be expected. It would be well to remember at the same time that one of the valued qualities of a strong man is to be a good hater. In this respect Colonel Gilliam and a number of the religious men in the country were un usually strong.
The politics of the Methodist mission, of which Gov​
ernor Abernethy was financial agent, were decidedly anti- Hudsou s bay, as its religion was anti-Catholic. It hap pened then that when all the documents relating to the council with the Nez Percés, and Mr. Spalding s letter to the bishop of Walla Walla, in which he said, "My object in writing is principally to give information through you to the Cayuses that it is our wish to have peace; that we do not wish the Americans to come from below to avenge the wrong; we hope the Cayuses and Americans will be on friendly terms; that Americans will no more come in their country unless they wish it. As soon as these men return, I hope, if alive, to send them to the governor to prevent Americans from coming up to molest the Cayuses for what is done. * * * Our help, under God, is in your hands and in the hands of the Hudson's Bay Com pany " were given into the governor s hands by Mr. Og- den, he desired to suppress those portions of it which revealed the duplicity of the author, pardonable perhaps under the circumstances, but Mr. Ogden would not con sent, saying that if any part were to be published the whole must be, in justice to all concerned.
This position of the Hudson's Bay Company for Og den was second in command at Vancouver though emi nently just, was offensive to the ultra anti-British and anti-Catholic party, and most of all to Colonel Gilliam, who before setting out for The Dalles, was said to have declared his intention of pulling down Fort Vancouver about the ears of its inmates.
There is a humorous side to this effervescence of national dislike, namely, that many believed he could carry out this threat; and that the company believed that he would, or at least that he might attempt it; wherefore, under pre tense of being afraid of the Indians, it proceeded to strengthen its walls, and mount its unused ordnance.
The following correspondence remains in evidence of how near the provisional government of Oregon was brought to a war with Great Britain: ​11
FORT VANCOUVER, December 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 import ant 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 class. From my personal knowledge of General Gilliam, and his highly respectable character, I should be the last person to believe him capable of com mitting 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 association, 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. Difficul ties 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 sur vivors of the massacre at Waiilatpu, 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 were braving the fury of the Indians for their protection.
Such a proceeding would, in fact, be so inconsistent with every principle of honor and sound policy, that I cannot 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 observed at your earliest conven ience, I have the honor to be your most obedient servant,
JAMES DOUGLAS, Chief Factor Hudson's Bay Company.
To which letter Governor Abernethy replied :
OREGON CITY, January 3, 1848.
SIR : I received your favor of the thirty-first ultimo yesterday evening, and in answering it would thank you for your frankness in communicating with me on the subject. Having had conversa tion with Colonel Gilliam on this subject, 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 the Sandy. I trust that nothing will occur ​
that will in any way cause distrust among the whites during this crisis. * * * I trust the disavowal in this letter will prove satis factory to you.
GEORGE ABERNETHY,
Governor of Oregon Territory.
But the commander of the Oregon army did not cross at the Sandy. Starting with two hundred and twenty men he arrived at Vancouver the same day in company with Commissary-General Palmer, where together they pur chased, on their own credit, eight hundred dollars worth of goods necessary to complete the outfit of the companies. The men were mounted but had no pack horses, and the provisions were conveyed in boats, which, owing to their slow movements, delayed the progress of the troops. On arriving at the cascades a portage of several miles was nec essary to reach Fort Gilliam,and the ferry there established. The wind blowing through the gorge of the mountains made crossing to the Oregon side very difficult. A road from the lower to the upper end of the portage being a necessity in order to transport the cannon and other heavy material, .a company was left behind to open it.
Colonel Gilliam was met at "The Cabins" by a dispatch from The Dalles with the news of Lee s first skirmish with the Indians, and hastened forward as rapidly as was pos sible, without waiting for the cannon, the commissary-gen eral, or the other peace commissioners.
The orders issued to Colonel Gilliam, January 29, 1848, were contained in the following letter:
SIR : I received dispatches from Major Lee, under date twentieth instant, in which he informs me that he had had a skirmish with a small party of Indians. On receipt of this you will select some of your best men and horses and scour the Des Chutes river country, if you have an idea that Indians hostile to the whites are in that neighborhood. It will require great caution on your part, as com- mander-in-chief in the field, to distinguish between friends and foes; but when you are certain they are enemies, let them know the Americans are not women. The nine-pounder has been forwarded to the cascades. If the Indians fort themselves it will be of great ​service to you. You will make The Dalles headquarters until further orders. Companies are still being formed throughout the country, and will be forwarded on to join you at The Dalles as they come in. Perhaps the hostile Indians may come down to meet you. Give them liberty to get close as you think they will venture before you commence operations. If you think there is any danger of a party of Indians attacking Fort Gilliam at the cascades, send as many men to protect it as you think will be necessary. I remain, sir, you obedient servant, {{right|George Abernethy, Governor of Oregon Territory and Commander-in-Chief.
Col. C. Gilliam, First Regiment Oregon Riflemen, The Dalles.
A little later the following letter and order were sent:—
Dear Sir: As Lieutenant Ross leaves this morning, I send the enclosed order. I do not know your situation with regard to the Indians, and must leave the field at your discretion, to act as you think most advisable. My reasons for retaining you at The Dalles is that the companies now forming and expected next week may join you; that the commissioners may also join you, and that you may send word on to the Indians that no friendly tribes will be attacked; that all you want is the murderers, and a restitution of stolen property. If they will bring the murderers down to The Dalles, and agree to make restitution for the property stolen and destroyed, let them know that our operations will cease, provided they, the chiefs, enter into a treaty to protect American citizens passing through their country. This, in substance, you might say to the chiefs every opportunity. I hope you may succeed in bringing this serious affair to a speedy, and to yourself, a praiseworthy end. I have full confidence that you will do all you can to protect friendly Indians. Keep a sharp lookout for Siletza without letting him know it.
I remain yours, George Abernethy,
Governor of Oregon Territory.
Col. C. Gilliam,
First Regiment Oregon Riflemen.
Oregon City, 3d February, 1848.
Sir: I have appointed Major Lee and Robert Newell commissioners to act with General Palmer, superintendent of Indian affairs, for the purpose of settling the present difficulty with the Indians in the upper country. I have ordered them to hold a council with the field officers of the army to decide on the steps necessary to be taken, as there should be entire unity between the officers and the ​
commissioners. If you think it best to proceed at once with the main body of the army to Waiilatpu, do so ; selecting immediately on your arrival the best point, in your judgment, for erecting a fort. Grass, water, and wood will be the principal objects. The Indians have no cannon, and could not annoy a fort from a dis tance. Should the tribes combine and refuse to comply with the requisitions of the commissioners, I leave the field in your hands, respecting, however, the lives and property of all friendly Indians.
I shall wait with much anxiety to hear from you, until when, I remain, sir, your obedient servant,
GEORGE ABERNETHY,
Col. C. Gilliam, Governor of Oregon Territory.
First Regiment Oregon Riflemen.
About the last of January, Colonel Gilliam led one hundred and thirty men, all that could be mounted and equipped, as far east as Des Chutes river, with the object of punishing those Indians who had driven off the immigrant cattle. Their village was believed to be on the high plain, about twenty miles above the Des Chutes crossing, on the east side, and Lee, who had received his commission as major, and taken the oath administered by Gilliam, was sent forward to discover it. The Indians had already discovered ihim, and were moving their families and property towards the mountains when overtaken. He threw his little force against them, one Indian being killed, and two (women) captured, with a number of horses. On returning to camp with the news, he was attacked while passing through a ravine by a mounted and well-armed force, which, firing upon him, compelled his men to dismount and seek shelter among rocks and bushes, where the detachment remained until dark, an noyed by avalanches of stones rolled down upon them, but sustaining no loss.
On the day following the whole force went in pursuit of the enemy, which was found and attacked, losing several men killed, a large number of horses, a few cattle, and one thousand and four hundred dollars worth of stolen property which was found cached in the hills. Their village was destroyed, but the old people in it were spared. ​
The troops had one man wounded in the hip. Skirmish ing with the troops under Major Lee continued for several days, with a loss to the army of three men killed and one mortally wounded. 7 The Indians engaged were Des Chutes, John Days, and Cay uses. Edward, son of Tilou- kaikt, was among the latter, and received a wound. It is recorded by Palmer that the yelling of the troops so far exceeded that of the Indians, the latter were demoralized, and fled from the field. Yells were certainly cheaper than ammunition, if not so patent to diminish the enemy s force.
Apropos of fighting material at this time, we find Wes ley Shannon, ordnance officer, writing on the twenty-sixth of January: "The regiment made a heavy draw toda.y before starting, in the ammunition line. I have issued about one thousand rounds today, which has taken nearly all the rifle powder and lead; percussion caps also very scarce. Out of fifteen thousand that I have receipted for, there are but five thousand left. The army will return in a few days, when, I have no doubt, there will be a demand for more ammunition than there is now in the ordnance office."
When peace commissioner and Commissary -General Palmer, with Newell, arrived at Fort Gilliam they found many things to trouble them. The cannon that had ar rived at the lower cascades was still there. The boats above the falls were in bad condition ; there was need of a good portage, or a boat that could be run up the rapids, with a crew that could run it. "I believe," says Palmer, "that a system of smuggling has been carried on by those running the boats. Numbers of Jews come up as passen gers who are boarded by the boat s crew, select their own property and return with it, paying the captain of the boat in cash or otherwise. Frequently flour barrels are opened,
The reports say William Stillwell, shot in the hip by arrow; "John, the Spaniard," also shot in the hip; McDonald, accidentally shot by the gnard. At The Dalles two guards, Jackson and Packwood, were decoyed from camp by Indians a ​nd killed.
a part of the contents taken out, and headed up again. This is all wrong. The crew should be selected, the name taken in the office, and none others should be allowed to come up unless by special contract, and then to supply themselves with provisions, blankets, etc. Very many are going up to attend to their own property, relying upon the provisions sent up to the troops for subsistence. This will not do. Hereafter captains will be required to take an oath faithfully to perform their duties and to render a strict account for their expenses." lS Thus, while the truly patriotic men of the country were straining every nerve to carry on a defensive war against nearly hopeless embar rassments, the meaner element found in every society had no scruple about increasing their burdens.
Pursuing the subject, the commissary-general informs his aide that after all he has learned that it will "not be possible to get the Pettygrove boat above the falls," and he should endeavor to make some other arrangement until the two flatboats could be repaired, and calls for a few pounds of eight or ten-penny nails. 9 He also desires Wait to ask McKinlay to have constructed for him two clinker- built boats, the lumber to be sawed at Oregon City, and suitable persons sent with it to put it together; such per sons, he understood, were to be found at Champoeg the Canadian settlement.
As to other matters at Fort Gilliam, Palmer found a crew of six men sent down by the colonel to bring up the cannon still lying at the lower cascades, the road being constructed for a portage not being completed, though it was expected that by another day it would be. With re gard to ammunition, he says: "I have bought the powder and lead opposite Vancouver. You must try to raise the money to meet the bill."
8 Letter to A. E. Wait : Oregon Archives, MS. 887.
y A letter from J. D. Crawford at Fort Gilliam, February ninth, calls for " a large padlock for this fort," two pounds of eight-penny nails, aud eighty or one hundred feet of rope, " if possible ;" and asks for " a paper when it i printed ": Oregon Ar chives, 892. ​
After assisting to bring the cannon around the cascades in a violent storm of rain and wind, Captain Thomas McKay s company 10 arriving just in time to be of service, Palmer and Newell resumed their journey to The Dalles, now called Fort Lee, and often Fort Wascopan, but not before the commissary had the vexation to see the best of the two boats above the falls destroyed by the storm, and the carelessness of those having it in charge. 11 They reached The Dalles February tenth, having seen a few Indians on the way, who appeared "downhearted." 12
The army having returned to Fort Lee, a council was held on the eleventh by the field officers and the peace commissioners, to decide upon a definite plan of action. Nothing was agreed upon until the twelfth, when arrange ments were made to send forward one hundred men under Major Lee, with the other two commissioners, Captain Mc-
10 When the governor s proclamation became known at French prairie, there was a called meeting of Canadians who passed the following resolutions :
Whereas it is believed that several of the Indian tribes east of the Cascade moun tains have formed an alliance for the purpose of carrying on hostilities against this colony ; and whereas the exigency of the times calls for prompt and energetic action on the part of the people of this territory, in enlisting and mustering into service the number of volunteers required by the executive; therefore,
Resolved, That we deem it highly expedient to raise, arm, and equip one company of riflemen to proceed immediately to join the regiment at Portland.
Resolved, That the Canadian citizens of Champoeg county feel it their duty to assist our adopted country in the prosecution of the war against the Cayuse Indians, for the horrible massacre committed by them upon American citizens at Waiilatpu.
A call for volunteers being made, thirty names were at once enrolled, and Thomas McKay was chosen captain: Oregon Spectator, January 20, 1848.
When the American flag was presented to McKay s company, he addressed to them this brief sentence : " This is the flag you are expected to defend ; and defend it you must." It was easy to understand that.
ii" We have a small flat here," wrote J. D. Crawford, "six or seven feet wide, which we can use until a larger one is made. * * * The boat is to be thirty -five by ten feet. We must have five pounds oakum, two chisels ( one and two-inch ), one jack and one fore plane, and also one small grindstone. These tools we must have, as they are daily needed " : Oregon Archives, MS. 902. Palmer himself had written a few days before to Wait, in behalf of the men employed on one of the boats : " If possible for you to do anything for them, you must do it. Mr. J. C. Little wishes a coat. Josephus Norton wishes a roundabout. You must call upon the citizens to aid you in raising an amount to supply the men who are boating up the supplies ": Oregon Archives, MS. 902.
12 This is Newell s expression, taken from a memorandum of the incidents of his journey. He further says that only three men were left to guard Fort Gilliam ; and three to run the boats between that place and Fort Lee. " The men have volunteered to fight Indians, not to run boats," said their officers. ​
Kay, Captain Philip F. Thompson, and J. L. Meek and party all of whom were familiar with the ideas and cus toms of, and personally known to the Indians.
It was evident notwithstanding this agreement that Col onel Gilliam, and others of the fighting temper, would have preferred offering the sword rather than the olive branch. The regiment now consisted of seven companies, containing from forty-one to one hundred and twenty-four men, and aggregating five hundred and thirty-seven. The arrival of the French under McKay, and another company under L. N. English, with the cannon, added to the mili tary ardor of the troops, who expended a portion of their scanty ammunition in firing salutes of welcome to the new arrivals, which were promptly returned by the latter, and the regimental flag hoisted.
On the day following, Colonel Gilliam informed the com missioners that he had ordered the army to be ready to march with them on the fourteenth. This order was ex ceedingly repugnant to the commissioners, who did not doubt that the Indians with whom they wished to commu nicate the Nez Percés would be frightened away by the appearance of a large force, and a council with them made impossible.
According to the memorandum kept by Newell, the morale of the army was bad, as naturally it would be in the case of volunteer troops brought together in a wild country, without disciplining under proper officers 13 hav ing some experience. Many of the volunteers were irre sponsible young men of the recent immigration, who had the most unfavorable opinion concerning the natives, obtained from encounters with them along the road. They were ready to punish in an Indian what they had no hesitation about doing themselves. These lapses in
13 Says Newell : i: An Indian was shot by one of our people, H. English, while hunting horses this day; a most shameful thing. * * * The cattle of the immi grants are taken and made use of for the government branded "O. T." * * * Several men leaving for the settlements. Captain Ross resigned. Many displeased with our people in consequence of bad discipline." ​
discipline, together with the usual jealousies of new organi zations, and the hardships unavoidable under the circum stances, were already creating discontent and demoraliza tion; hence, the policy of the commander to put the army in motion was perhaps a wise one. This, at all events, was what he decided to do, leaving only twenty men at The Dalles, under Corporal William Williams, for the de fense of that post, having first removed Siletza s band of Des Chutes Indians below The Dalles to protect them from annoyance by the Cay uses, as also to remove them from temptation.
Having no boats to transport supplies up the Columbia, The Dalles was made the base of operations, and immi grant wagons and ox teams left there for the winter were pressed into the service of the army. On the hind wheels of one wagon was mounted the cannon, a long, nine- pounder left in the country from some ship, and on the sixteenth the army crossed Des Chutes river. The follow ing day it crossed John Day river, encamping on the east side, its progress being slow. Previous to this, the peace commissioners had sent a flag, with a present of tobacco, to the disaffected Columbia river Indians, and had received information that all the tribes above The Dalles were united for war against the Americans.
While en route Major Lee, having made a reconnoissance, reported the camp of a small party discovered, which had cached its property and retired to the hills. On the nine teenth he was ordered to pursue them and set out on their trail. From camp on John Day river the commissioners had sent to Fort Walla Walla by a friendly Indian a packet containing a letter to the officer in charge, with flags and tobacco for the Indians, and a letter from Mr. Spalding directed to the head men of the Nez Percés, which ra ​n as follows:
WALLAMET, February 3, 1848. Nez Percé Chiefs:
My friends, Ellis, Kansoot, James, Yusinmalakin, Jacob, Poca- tash, Yarnomocknin, Yumtamilkin, Timothy, Solomon, Ishtoop- toopuin, Tselsootalelmekum, Joseph, Kohsh, Apashavakaikt, Rich ard, Heminelpelp, Jason, Anatashin, Totamaluin, Hohoselpelp, Metawaptosh, Noah : Quick, meet them ; with these flags meet them ; with good hearts meet them. From us, from the Americans, five go to meet you Mr. Palmer, Dr. Newell, Mr. McKay, Mr. Lee, Mr. Gilliam. These meet you ; with good hearts they meet you. They bear a message (proposals, law, or a talk); from the great chief they bear it. Therefore they call you to meet them.
Keep quiet, ye young men ! do not go over to the Cay uses. Wait till the commissioners speak clearly with you. The good are not to be punished. Only the bad are to be punished. The Nez Percés and the Americans are one; therefore do you not depart from us. Very many Americans are going to seek the bad Cayuses, and the bad only. There will soon be large ships from California, therefore they otter to you a message ( proposals of peace).
They send you tobacco, therefore meet them without delay. My youngest child is sick, therefore I cannot meet you. When my child is well, I will see you, by the blessing of God. Ever make to yourselves good hearts. By the blessing of God we may see each other.
H. H. SPALDING.
The messenger fell in with the hostile Indians and was taken prisoner, the flags and tobacco being appropriated to the enemy s use; but the packet being addressed to Mr. McBean, the written part of it was forwarded to him, and arrived while Timothy and Richard, two of the chiefs ad dressed by Spalding, were at the fort, who hastened to carry it to their people, with other news of the intentions of the Americans learned from the letter sent to McBean. To this fortunate circumstance was to be attributed the sub sequent neutrality of the Nez Percés.
On coining to camp on the night of the twentieth of February, Major Lee reported having on that day followed the trail of a party of Indians going towards the Blue mountains, but without overtaking them. The following day, after a hard march of twenty miles, the army en camped at Willow creek, the wagons getting in l ​ate, the
men half starved, wholly out of humor, and the camp in a state of confusion, if not absolute revolt.
The regiment was now almost two hundred miles from home, ill-fed, ill-clad, with the enemy retiring before them, and peace commissioners going after them to turn the war into a farce ! If the long march was only to escort peace commissioners, they were inclined to turn back ; and, in fact, Captain Maxon s company took a vote on the pro priety of returning should not all the flour remaining be issued at once. 14
On the following day, Colonel Gilliam thought it wise to remain in camp and cultivate a better spirit in the troops. He paraded the regiment, after which he mounted a wagon and addressed them in the language of a soldier loving his country, and feeling that no honorable or brave man could desert his duty; declaring, too, that the movers in the mutiny would be remembered by the people. This address, though provoking the criticism of some, had the effect to secure somewhat better discipline for the time, although the men still wasted their small store of ammu nition in a useless discharge of their guns.
On the morning of the twenty-third a party of thirteen Des Chutes Indians came into camp, bearing the flag sent to them from The Dalles, and saying they had come in obedience to that summons. The army moved on, but the commissioners remained for a "talk." The chief, Beardy, alleged that his reason for not coming on the receipt of the message was that the soldiers had fired upon his people, compelling them to run away. He declared his willingness to go to war against the Cayuses, and his desire always to retain the friendship of the Americans;
14 " Most shocking was this to witness," says Newell in his Memoranda. "Some few had bought a little tea and sugar in the settlements to use on the road, and many were displeased that they did not share these luxuries with the rest, and objected to their being carried in the public wagons ; but the officers set their faces against all such unreasonable objections." Previous to this, on the seventeenth, this mutinous spirit had shown itself in camp, the men breaking open bread, flour, and pork bar rels, until the colonel was forced to ask the commissary-general to take charge of the provisions. Perhaps the men also resented this ; at all events they gave their officers much trouble during the first few days on the march. ​
showing his confidence in them by accompanying the commissioners to the camp of the army, where a council was held, and the Indians instructed to return to The Dalles, there to remain until joined by the commissioners and the chiefs of other bands, Colonel Gilliam giving Beardy a letter to the officer in command at that post. Beardy, also sometimes called Sue, presented Thomas McKay a fine horse from Welaptulekt, head chief of the Des Chutes tribe, who sent word that he would bring in all the stolen immigrant property, if by so doing he could secure the friendship of the Americans. 15 Newell, in his memoranda of the journey, states that Gillian was reluc tant to condone the previous conduct of these Indians, and would have preferred to fight them.
Before starting for the Umatilla on the twenty-fourth, two Yakima Indians came to camp, carrying a message from the Catholic missionaries, who had settled among that people in the preceding December, informing the commissioners that the Yakimas had taken their advice,
and determined not to go to war in aid of the Cay uses, as they had no cause of war against Americans, who did not travel through their country, and as they had been informed the hostilities did not include them. They brought to Colonel Gilliam a letter from one of the priests,
which, being translated, agreed with the statement of the messengers:
CAMP OF CIAIES, February 16, 1848. M. Commander:
The Yakima chiefs, Ciaies and Skloo, have just presented me a letter signed by Messrs. Joel Palmer, Robert Newell, and H. A. G. Lee which I have read, and a young Indian, son of one of the chiefs translated it to them in Yakima language. The chiefs above men tioned charged me to say to you in their name, in those of Car- naiareum and of Chananaie, that they accept, with acknowledg ments, the tobacco and the banner which you sent them. They have resolved to follow your counsel, and not unite themselves with the Cayuses, but to remain at rest upon their lands. On my arrival at the camp of Ciaies, that chief assured me that he would not join
I 5 Oregon Spectator, A ​pril 6, 1848.
the Cay uses. T could but see, with the greatest of pleasure, disposi tions which will prevent the spilling of blood, and which will facili tate the means of instructing those Indians.
Your humble servant, G. BLANCHET.
Word had been sent to the mission on the Umatilla, but no answer being returned in four days, 16 the commander determined upon pushing on his army to Waiilatpu, with out regard to the peace commission, and a courier was sent back to inform the governor of this decision.
The march was begun about the middle of the forenoon, the commissioners being in the advance, carrying a white flag. They soon discovered two Indian spies whom they en deavored to approach, but who avoided them. About noon a large number were seen on the hills making signals de noting war, arid when the commissioners advanced they were ordered off. They then retreated, while the Indians collected, coming from all directions, and placing them selves along the path of the army. The first act of hos tility was the shooting of a dog belonging to the volunteers/ and then the battle proceeded as only Indian battles do.
The picture already given of the brave display made by Indians in their military parades and mock battles for the entertainment of guests, was not fully reproduced in actual combat. The bronzed and bedecked warriors, with their, painted and tasseled steeds, the splendid riding in charges, the furious din of drum and rattle, mingled with yells, and the stentorian voice of command making itself heard above all the uproar, creating a scene only matched on the plains of Troy in the days of Agamemnon this
16 Brouillet explains this in his " Authentic Account of the Murder of Dr. Whitman," p. 64. The mission had been abandoned on the nineteenth, when the Cayuses had announced to Brouillet and Leclaire their determination to go to war. Brouillet further says that Ogden promised the Cayuses to endeavor to prevent a war, and to send an express to Walla Walla to apprise them of the result ; but that no such ex press arriving before the troops were there, they suspected Ogden of betraying them. Brouillet thought that had his letter arrived in time the Cayuses might have accepted the terms of the government, namely, the relinquishment of the murderers. But it will be remembered that troops were already at The Dalles when Ogden passed down with the captives. ​
proud style of fighting is not maintained in actual Indian tactics, but the painted brave soon seeks cover, and shoots from behind rock? or other defenses a mode of warfare in which a good deal of powder is wasted.
The numbers on the field were about equal on both sides, although not more than three-fourths of the Indians were engaged, the remainder being spectators or Indian women, waiting for victory and their horrible part in the sanguinary business the mutilation of the dead and wounded. The Cay uses had chosen their ground, but tho volunteers advanced steadily, and the battle raged all along the lines, which were thrown out to enclose the wagons and cattle. On the northeast, where the Indians seemed to push the strongest, an advance was ordered in double quick. The Indians seemed surprised, and the yell of the volunteers dismayed them. After one volley poured in the face of the advancing column they retired to an eminence further away. This was several times repeated when they made a disorderly retreat leaving their dead and wounded. The troops went into camp about dark, without water or wood.
The loss of the volunteers was five wounded, Lieutenant- Colonel Waters, Green McDonald of Linn county, and three others. The loss on the side of the Oayuses was eight killed, and five wounded. At the commencement of the fighting Gray Eagle and Five Crows rode up near the wagons, as if boastful of their prowess, Gray Eagle exclaim ing, " There s Tom McKay; I will kill him;" but before he could execute his threat, Captain McKay had shot him dead. At the same time Lieutenant Charles McKay shot Five Crows, shattering his arm.
This outcome of the day s fighting was a disappoint ment to the Cayuses, who had hitherto held no high opinion of American prowess, having seen them avoid fighting when weary with travel and encumbered with families and herds. They had boasted among themselves that they would beat the Americans to death with clubs, ​
and going down to the Wallamet, possess themselves of their women and property. 17
Soon after camp was made a visit was received from Nicholas Finlay, who was present at the Waiilatpu tragedy, and who, according to Newell, "told lies and showed mu^h treachery." He brought with him two pretended brothers who were believed to be spies.
The troops passed an uncomfortable night, and were early in motion on the twenty-fifth, traveling all day sur rounded by Indians, and without water. It became evi dent that there was a division among the Cayuses, and that those who had held aloof the day previous were desirous of peace. In fact, they sent messengers to signify their desire, even some of the murderers asking for a coun cil; but the commissioners, as well as the troops, refused to talk until they came to water, which they did not find until they reached the Umatilla at sunset, by which time the troops were in a bad humor from the tortures of hun ger and thirst.
The Indians were encamped four miles above the army on the east side of the river, which they had boastfully said the Americans should never cross, but which was crossed on the twenty-sixth, when camp was made a mile nearer the Cayuses. During these movements the Indians swarmed along the hills, many showing their hostile sen timents in many ways, while others refrained from warlike demonstrations, but all exhibiting alarm at the presence of troops in their country. After the army had encamped, the chief, Sticcas, and many other Cayuses made overtures of peace, and were told by the commissioners to meet them at Waiilatpu. From these visitors it was learned that Five Crows adjured his people, should he die of his wound, to fight the Americans without end, as he would if he lived.
One reason of the hesitancy of the commissioners to en tertain any propositions coming from the Cayuses at this time was the failure to establish communication with Fort
" Letter of Charles McKay in Oregon Spectator, March 23, 1848. ​
Walla Walla. It has already been mentioned that the bearer of the letters to McBean and the Nez Percés was intercepted, the packet falling into the hands of Tauitowe, who, after abstracting the flag and tobacco, sent the letters to McBean. The answer of McBean, however, he retained and destroyed, and it was this unexplained silence which made them hesitate.
The letter to McBean was an explanation of the pres ence of an army in the country, not for the purpose of distracting it with warfare, but to bring to justice the Cayuse murderers, and to prevent the other tribes from combining with them. He was not asked to take part in any way to disturb the friendly relations of the Hudson's Bay Company to the Indians, but, if possible, to aid in bringing about peace. Further than this the letter ex pressed anxiety lest the Catholic mission and the fort should be in danger, and offered a detachment to protect them if necessary. The same packet contained a letter from Colonel Gilliam to Brouillet, asking him to furnish a statement of the part he had taken in the affairs of the Waiilatpu mission before and after the massacre. Brouil- let s reply went the same way with McBean s, but it is reproduced in his Authentic Account, an abstract of which has been given in a previous chapter.
On reaching Walla Walla these things were explained. Had the commissioners received the letters intercepted by Tauitowe they would have been in a position to treat with the Cayuses, a majority of whom would gladly have ac cepted peace on the governor s terms the surrender of the murderers. But with the guilty ones striving to pre vent a peace on these terms, and the commissioners coming with an army and hesitating to hold a council, the multi tude were alarmed and uncertain to a degree which im pelled them to self-defense, if not to aggressive warfare.
On the morning of the twenty-seventh not an Indian was to be seen, and nothing had been stolen during the night proof enough that none were near and it was ​
12
understood that they had gone to prepare for war: The army then proceeded on its march toward Waiilatpu.
Newell remarks, in his Memoranda, that "for the last few days the men have behaved well," and also that "some hope is entertained that our mission will be success ful, though we lack experience ; " and further, " we have heard of Messrs. Walker and Eells; they are still at home, though in suspense and fear."
On the twenty-eighth the troops encamped on the Walla Walla river, and the commissioners had an interview with McBean and the Catholic clergymen 18 at the fort, learning that much alarm had been felt on account of the combi nation between the Cayuses and the Columbia river Indians; but the Walla Walla chief, Peu-peu-mox-mox, being in favor of peace, was regarded as a hopeful sign. Colonel Gilliam seized the opportunity of obtaining from Brouillet an account of the events of November twenty- ninth, as they had become known to him. On the follow ing morning the troops moved six miles up the Walla Walla river and encamped, when Major Lee, with twenty- five men, returned to the fort to press two kegs of powder, which were secured. Another march of five miles on the first of March brought the army to the camp of Peu-peu- mox-mox, who professed friendship, and sold several beef cattle to the commissary of subsistence. Here the smoke and dust of the Cayuse camp in mot ; on towards Waiilatpu was observed, and a Nez Percé visited the commissioners to t-ake observations. On the second camp was made near the site of Dr. Whitman s mission. And so at last the whole of the horrible story was made known, for it should
18 B. Jennings, acting quartermaster at Fort Lee, about this date, wrote a letter to A. E. Wait, informing him that Siletza, the Des Chutes chief asserted that "the priest at Walla Walla," which was Brouillet, had, under duress, been compelled to make shields for the Cayuses, who flattered themselves with a certainty of success, intend ing to march through tho Yakima country and punish them for their neutrality by killing them all off, after which they proposed to march down the north side of the Columbia, and falling upon the American settlements, exterminate the white peo ple. "We are troubled very much," continues Jennings, "with friendly Indians. Our force being so weak at this place we are compelled to be more liberal in presents of meat and flour than we would if our situation was otherwise. Among th ​e many
be remembered no one had visited the mission since the rescue of the captives, whose stories contained only their personal experiences, colored by personal prejudices.
Colonel Gilliam with two companies first visited the mission grounds, and on the third moved his camp to the ruins. The bodies of the dead had been unearthed by wolves, and lay about, half devoured. Some of Mrs. Whit man s hair was cut off and preserved by the messengers to Washington, Meek, Newell, and others, and the remains remterred. l!) Says Newell, " papers, books, letters, iron, and many other things lay about the premises. Wagon wheels and other property had been placed in the house before it was burned. I got some letters, and many laid about in the water." That these letters, which would have thrown much light on grave questions, were not religiously pre served, is proof of a want of proper forethought and dis cipline. They were carelessly read, discussed, and de stroyed, the only scrap of information that floated from them to the public ear being the statement that proof was found in them that Dr. Whitman was fully warned and aware of his danger.
Colonel Gilliam called a council of his army officers on the third, and the other peace commissioners speedily dis covered that the military spirit in their associate was un able to brook the evidences of savage malevolence which the scene of Waiilatpu presented. " The commissioners/ sa}*s Newell, "have no chance to arrange with the In dians; we are short of provisions and time; our colonel is quite hasty." That day a fortification was commenced, constructed out of the adobes of the ruined houses; and
lodges in our vicinity there are between fifty and seventy warriors, and I am not cer tain of their entire friendship; in fact, they cannot be relied upon. They are daily asking for passes to go to Fort Vancouver, but of late we have refused them any, believing their intentions are not good ": Oregon Archives, 1013.
19 It seems from Newell s journal, that Dr. and Mrs. Whitman were at first interred together, " with a paling around them, nicely done ; " and a board fence around the mound which held the other dead. These enclosures were probably constructed by the men who were spared, during their month of captivity. The mutilated remains found by the volunteers were hastily placed in the ground all together. ​
notwithstanding that a few Nez Percés and Peu-peu-mox- mox made friendly overtures, the colonel was not softened and declared in council that he had come to fight, and fight he would.
On the night of the fourth of March, more than three months after the massacre, the messenger to Washington made a final start for the states, escorted by a company of one hundred men as far as the Blue mountains, where the little party of nine bade their friends adieu, and set out upon their mission, depending only upon their own sa gacity, and the cap and capote of the Hudson's Bay Com pany for safety from the dangers of the journey. The names of Meek s companions were: G. W. Ebberts, John Owens, Nathaniel Bowman, James Steel, Samuel Miller, Jacob Leabo, Dennis Buris, and David Young. Ebberts, like Meek, was a "mountain man," or trapper for the fur companies for many years. The others were chiefly re turning immigrants. 2 "
The fifth being Sunday, the order to work on the fortifi cation was very unwillingly complied with, and signs of a mutinous spirit were scarcely repressed. During the day William Craig, who had joined the army, and Joseph Ger- vais, from French Prairie in the Wallamet, went to meet a large body of the Nez Percés whom, rumor said, were coming to join the Cayuses, and to bring them to see the
20 The party experienced the unavoidable hardships of mountain travel at this time of the year, the snow being soft, but reached Fort Boise safely, walking most of the way and leading their horses and pack animals. Two of the immigrants remained at Boise, discouraged by the trials of their first three hundred miles. The remainder of the party proceeded to Fort Hall, traveling day and night for fear of the Bannocks, some of whom had been met on the road, acting suspiciously. At Fort Hall they received warm food and a few hours rest, continuing their journey with no unnecessary delay, but having to abandon their horses after two days of strug gling through drifts of fresh snow, and take to snowshoes made of willow twigs woven in shape. With only a blanket and a rifle apiece, and depending upon the latter to procure subsistance, they pushed on to Bear river, where they came upon the camp of Peg-leg Smith, a former associate of Meek and Ebberts, who had not abandoned mountain life, and who received them with a liberal hospitality, which raised their strength and their spirits together. Two of the men remained at this camp. Refreshed and provided with food, the party again set out, on snowshoes, and reached Fort Bridger, four hundred and seventy miles beyond Boise, after several days of hard travel James Bridger was another old acquaintance of Meek s, and ​
commissioners. According to Newell, Colonel Gilliam was "much displeased," and threatened to march to battle on the morrow. "This army," he remarks, "is composed of different kinds of men. Some have come to behave le gally; others to plunder; and others for popularity. To do what we ought is easy, if we could act together. Cap tain McKay and company deserve credit. In fact, nearly all the officers seem to wish to do for the best."
This criticism, confided only to a private diary, was un doubtedly honest, and might well have applied to any army in such circumstances. Yet he nowhere implies that the men of Gilliam s command, as a whole, were un patriotic or disloyal to their duty. He does, however, often imply that petulance and indiscretion on the part of their commander produced discord and disorder. Still it is well to remember that Newell belonged to the peace commission expressly in his character of a friend to the Indians, and as understanding their ideas, which Gilliam and the ma jority of the volunteers were unable to do. It was natually out of the question for Newell and Gilliam to agree.
However, the colonel did not march to battle on the sixth as threatened. Instead, about noon, Craig and Gervais re turned with information that two hundred and fifty friendly Nez Percés and Cayuses were near, who, in the afternoon were brought to camp, the army saluting and cheering in
rendered needed assistance, providing the party with four good mules, by which means four were mounted at a time, so that by taking each his turn in walking they got on very well to the Platte, where the travel was improved, but subsistance scarce. At Fort Laramie fresh mounts were obtained from the French trader in charge, Papillion, who warned them to look out for the Sioux at Ash Hollow, a favorite ambush. While attempting to pass this village in a snowstorm, which he relied upon to conceal the party, Meek heard himself hailed by his familiar title of "Major," and to his great satisfaction found himself accepting the proffered hospitalities of Le Beau, a Frenchman well know to him in his trapper s life. Le Beau offered to escort the party beyond the village, which kindness was gladly accepted, and one night journey, after parting with their friend, brought them out of the dangerous neighborhood. Meek arrived on the fourth of May at the Missouri river, where im migrants to Oregon and California were then crossing, and where he parted from the other members of his party. The remainder of his journey to Washington was soon accomplished, and on the twenty-ninth of May President Polk laid before both houses of congress a special message on Oregon affairs. Many amusing incidents of Meek s mission are related in Mrs. Victor s River of The West. ​
the most hospitable manner, and on the seventh a general council was held.
The speeches of the chiefs are interesting at this date as specimens of savage oratory, as well as showing their atti tude towards the Americans.
In the absence of Ellis, who was gone on a buffalo hunt, Joseph acted as head man. Governor Abernethy s letter being presented to them, and the seal broken, it was handed to an interpreter to be read. Joseph said :
Now I show my heart. When I left home I took the book (the gospels in the Nez Perc6 language) in my hand, and brought it with me. It is my light. I heard the Americans were coming on to kill me; still I held my book before me and came on. I have heard the words of your chief. I speak for all the Cayuses present, and for my people. I do not want my children engaged in this war, although my brother is wounded. 21 You speak of the murderers. I shall not meddle with them. I bow my head. This much T speak.
Jacob, 22 who was wont to play upon the superstitions of his people to gain influence among them, next spoke. He said: "It is the law of this country that the murderer shall die. That law I keep in my heart, because I believe it is the law of God the first law." He also said he had heard the Americans were coming to kill all his people, but was not turned back by the report. He was thankful for the assurances contained in the governor s letter, that only the guilty should suffer.
James, a Catholic Nez Percé, expressed pleasure at the escape of Mr. Spalding, and said that he was sure all the chiefs present desired peace.
lied Wolf related that on hearing of the massacre he had gone to Waiilatpu to learn the truth, and had been told by Tauitowe that the young men had committed the murders, but that not all the chiefs were in the conspiracy.
21 His half-brother, Five Crows, Joseph s mother being a Cayuse.
92 It is related by the missionaries that Jacob, having obtained a large picture of the devil, used to threaten his people with the appearance of Satan, and carry out his threat by concealing himself and suddenly thrusting forth the frightful ​picture.
He had returned and told Spalding all he knew about it, and Spalding had said he would go to the Wallamet, tell the governor the Nez Percés had saved his life, and that theirs must tie saved.
Timothy preferred not to talk. He said: "You hear these chiefs; they speak for all. I am as one in the air; I do not meddle with these things; the chiefs speak; we are all of one mind."
Richard, who accompanied Dr. Whitman to the states in 1835, was glad the governor had spoken so kindly. His people did not wish to go to war. They had been taught by their old chief, Cut-nose, to take no bad advice, but to adhere to the good. As for Ellis, he was in the buffalo country, but he was confident he would be for peace.
Kentuck, the Nez Percé who had conducted Dr. Parker through the Salmon river country in 1835, next spoke, saying that he had been much with the Americans and the French, and nothing could be said injurious of him. He had fought with the Americans against the Blackfoot people. He had been with Fremont in California the year previous, not for pay, but from regard for the Americans. It had been falsely said that he was with the Cayuses in these murders. His people had never shed the blood of Americans, and he was glad that only the really guilty were to be punished.
Camaspelo, the only Cayuse chief present, confessed that his nation had two hearts. Tamsucky had consulted him on the subject of the massacre, but he had refused to have anything to do with it, giving as a reason that his child was sick and he had no heart for murder; but Tamsucky had returned to the other chiefs and told them he con sented.
Such was the talk of these chiefs. Camaspelo might have further said that at the very time he was being con sulted about Dr. Whitman s murder, the doctor had ridden many miles to visit his sick child, and had not been told of the danger that at that moment overhung hi ​m, by the
child s father. But the commissioners were not intent on a criticism of the evidence; they were only glad to find that a part of the Cay uses would refuse to take up arms in defense of the conspirators.
General Palmer then followed with an address. He gave praise to the Nez Percés for their good behavior, and furnished them a motive for continuing quiet by telling them the Cayuses by their conduct had forfeited their lands. He declared the Americans did not want their lands; they only wanted a road through them kept open, and for that purpose a fort would be built, and troops sta tioned at Waiilatpu. It would be futile for the Cayuses to oppose this ; it would be wiser for them to assist in bringing the criminals to justice, so that the innocent might be at peace. The Nez Percés were advised to return to their homes and their planting, and William Craig, with whom they were well acquainted, was appointed agent to reside among them, with the authority of magistrate to settle all differences. A teacher and a blacksmith were promised them when peace should be restored, and no white men were to be allowed to settle on their lands ex cept by their consent. On their part they were required to refrain from molesting the missionaries at Chemekane, or interfering with travelers passing through their coun try or coming to trade with them, to all of which they assented.
The other commissioners made friendly and advisory addresses, after which the American flag, with tobacco, was presented, and the business of the council was fol lowed in the evening by a war dance for the entertain ment of the convention of white and red men.
Gilliam, as one of the commissioners, could not avoid acting his part; but as commander of the army he was ill at ease. He saw the Cayuses passing by unharmed, going to the Nez Percé country in the hope of inducing their relatives and former allies to join with them against ​
TffE CAYUSE WAR. 185
the Americans, while just enough of them lingered behind to pick up the news about camp and act as go-betweens. Still the influence of the superintendent was such that on the eighth the Nez Percé chiefs were encouraged to go to the Cayuse camp, then twenty-five miles distant, to en deavor to persuade the nation to give up the murderers, the army to follow on the next day, two of the commis sioners accompanying it. It had advanced but three miles from Waiilatpu when it was met by chief Sticcas, who had in charge several hundred dollars worth of cattle, prop erty, and money belonging to the mission and murdered immigrants, which the Cayuses had given up in the hope of thus creating a favorable sentiment in their behalf.
A proposition was made by Sticcas for a council, Gilliam objecting on the ground that it was an artifice to gain time; but it was finally agreed to, and the troops en camped for the purpose. In the talk with Sticcas it was made known that the Cayuses refused to surrender Taui- towe or Tamsucky. The first, indeed, had never been ac cused, but Tamsucky was undoubtedly guilty, and by thus classing them together the murderers sought to retain more influence on their side. In this council Colonel Gilliam offered to accept Joe Lewis in place of five of the murder ers, but no agreement was arrived at, neither the other commissioners nor the Cayuses being pleased to consent. 15 Still a certain amount of success had attended their efforts. The Nez Percés were made friendly neutrals and the Cay uses were divided, so that ultimately they might have come to the terms proposed.
On the eleventh the army made a fresh start, unen cumbered by a peace commission, Palmer, Lee, and Newell, with McKay, who was ill, and others, leaving for the Wallamet, those remaining in the Cayuse country numbering only two hundred and sixty-eight men and officers. The departing half dozen remained one night at
-"" Seeing such a move," says, Newell, "I concluded to be ofl ." ​
Fort Walla Walla, where those wounded on the march to Waiilatpu had been left to recover. Here again Peu-peu- mox-mox was seen, professing friendship and giving the commission much information concerning the events of the previous November. Here also they found some sick of measles, that disease not yet having abated. The party were offered an escort by Me Bean, which was accepted as far as The Dalles, the route taken being on the north side of the Columbia. "Our difficulties with the Indians," says Newell, " places this fort in a very bad position with the Indians, as they desire to remain neutral, which is not so easy to do."
Palmer arrived at The Dalles March seventeenth, and on the following day held a talk with the Indians who with Beardy had been sent there to assist his return, and who agreed to remain friendly, to bring in the property stolen, and steal no more. On the twenty-fourth the com missioners arrived at Oregon City. General Palmer re sumed the duties of the commissary s office, and Major Lee made his report to the governor.
Freed from the peace commission Colonel Gilliam, as has been said, took up the march for the camp of the Cayuses on the eleventh of March. On the first day three Indians presented themselves bearing the flag of peace, and having with them some of the horses stolen on the march from The Dalles. They reported that Sticcas had taken Joe Lewis, according to the proposition of the com mander of the army, but that his prisoner had been rescued, and the property retaken which Sticcas was bringing to deliver up. On this information Gilliam quickened his march, believing that Sticcas was endeavor ing to deceive him; and while encamped near the head of the Touchet on the Nez Percé trail, received a message from Tauitowe professing friendship, and his intention to forsake the company of the hostile Cayuses. He added that his camp was on the Tucannon above Gilliam s; that ​
Tamsucky had gone to Red Wolf s place on Snake river, and that Tiloukaikt had gone down the Tucannon with his following, intending to cross Snake river into the Palouse country.
The purpose of this division of the Cayuse force should have been apparent to the commander, and perhaps was so; but he must then have made up his mind to place himself where he was liable, to assault from three direc tions. He, however, made a night march, arriving near the Cayuse camp not far from the mouth of the Tucannon before dawn, waiting for daylight to make his presence known, when he advanced to within a quarter of a mile of the lodges. Here he was met by one aged Indian, who with his unarmed hands on his head and his heart, assured the commander that he was in error that this was not the camp of Tiloukaikt, but of Peu-peu-mox-mox, who was his friend, and would not fight the Americans. Tiloukaikt was gone he said, but there was his stock feeding on the hills about, and the Americans might take that if they chose. On entering the camp only a few warriors were found, who, though armed and painted, appeared friendly.
The Tucannon river runs through a canon with high and steep walls, and Tiloukaikt s cattle were on the further side. No sooner had the volunteers, with much fatiguing toil for both men and horses, reached the high plain than the cattle were discovered swimming the Snake river and escaping into the Palouse country. The trick was evident, and the Americans acknowledged themselves outwitted. Nothing now appeared feasible, but to collect what few beef cattle remained, with several hundred head of horses, and return to the camp on the Touchet.
When about a mile on their retreat they were attacked in the rear by a force of four hundred Indians, chiefly Palouses, allies of the Cayuses, who had cunningly left them to do the fighting, while the guilty among them selves ran away. The remainder of the day ​was passed
in a painfully slow fighting march, the troops being com pelled to pass the night several miles from camp, without food or fire, to which discomfort was added the fatigue of the previous sleepless night, and the impossibility of catch ing a half hours rest, with almost an incessant firing into camp. Unable to stand the strain, the order was given to turn out the captured stock, in the hope that the Indians would desist from their annoyances on recovering it. But the sacrifice was useless, the Indians attacking as soon as the troops were upon the road, which was as soon as there was light enough to show them the country to be traveled over, when they took to the hills on the west side of the river to avoid ambuscades. "As soon," says one report, "as we reached the top of the hills we gave a regular Indian yell to let them know we were ready for the fray. It came right soon. Captain Halt s company from Washington county, and Captain Phil. Thompson s company from Yamhill county, were in the hottest of the engagement, and called for assistance, which was rendered. We then moved towards the Touchet, and as we had beaten them in the first attack we began to fear they would not follow us further. The interpreter was sent to the top of a hill to challenge them, which excited them somewhat. As we neared the Touchet, Shaw was ordered to take twenty picked men with good horses and cut off the Indians on the left," they having been hanging all the morning on the column in bunches, like swarms of hornets.
Shaw s detachment ran their horses for three-fourths of a mile to a point which shut the Indians off from the river; but they pursued a shorter route, intending to come down the stream before the volunteers reached the timber, and make a stand there. They were disappointed, the volunteers gaining the point of advantage. The bravery and determination of a few young men saved the Oregon army on this occasion. The names of those so distin guished, according to the report of the senior captain, were Captains Hall, Owens, and Thompson, Sergeants Burch ​
and Cooke, Quartermaster Goohue,. Judge-Advocate Rinear- son, and Paymaster Magone. Captain English had been left in charge of Fort Waters, and Captain McKay was ill at Fort Walla Walla. Captain Maxon was, by an accident,, placed in a position where he was compelled to conduct the official correspondence, and therefore to leave his own name out of this commendatory mention where it properly belonged. 24
The troops on the right had also a warm engagement ii* passing a fortification erected and manned by some of the best warriors among the Indians. In passing this point several volunteers were wounded, one of whom, William Taylor, died soon after the battle. The Indians lost four killed and fourteen wounded. 25 Their women cried and! implored them to cease fighting, which they did, nor eouldl any taunts excite them to renew the conflict.
The victory was with the volunteers, the Indians fioft crossing the Touchet. Their yells and battle cries were? changed to wailing; the sharp war rattle, and crack and ping of musketry, were followed by the nerve thrilling death song.
Thirty hours of fighting without rest or food 26 had left the troops in a condition to be glad of a respite. They arrived at Fort Waters on the sixteenth, with a better knowledge of what was before them during the spring and summer, should they not be able to take the murderers, than they could otherwise have obtained. The Yakimas might remain neutral, the Walla Wallas friendly, and the Nez Percés keep their promises, still there were renegades from all these and other tribes, and all the Palouses, who like the Hessians of history were ever ready to fight on any side for hire. There were more northern tribes who
24 Oregon Spectator, April 6, 1848. Oregon Archives, MS. 806.
-" The Catholic Magazine, volume VII., p. 491, gives the number of Indians killed as fifty. It is an error.
2 "In a Narrative by Peter W. Crawford of Cowecman, Washington, is the state ment that all the army ate in the thirty hours was one small colt. There is no men tion of it in the reports, but it is probable enough. ​
had not yet declared themselves, and among whom were the missionaries Walker and Eells, but who probably would not dare to remain there after the news of the battle should reach the Indians in their vicinity.
Colonel Gilliam was fully convinced of the gravity of the situation, and held a council of his officers on the eight eenth, at which there was not perfect unanimity of opinion, a part believing it necessary to raise another regiment, and (mother part that only men enough to hold the forts in the Indian country were required. In any case provisions were indispensable, and it was decided to proceed with half the force to The Dalles to escort a supply train to Fort Waters, Gilliam himself to accompany it to confer with Governor Abernethy on the existing condition of affairs, the peace commission having been an acknowledged failure.
Agreeably to this plan, the companies of Maxon and McKay, with their officers and others, left Waiilatpu on the twentieth of March with a wagon train. At the springs beyond the Umatilla, where they encamped for the night, as the colonel was drawing a rope from a wagon with which to tether his horse, it caught upon the trigger of a gun lying on the bottom of the wagon, discharging it, the contents entering his body and causing instant dearth. The expedition hastened forward to The Dalles, and from there Major Lee and Captain McKay, who was retiring from the service on account of his health, conducted the remains to the Wallamet valley, and at the same time conveyed a report by Captain Maxon of the recent battle, and the condition of the army for the information of Adjutant- General Lovejoy and Governor Abernethy.
The death of Colonel Gilliam, while it was regretted throughout Oregon, tended to remove some causes of dis satisfaction in the army which was divided in its alle giance to its commander. By some he was accused of too great impetuosity, too little regard for military discipline, ​
THE GATU8E WAR, 191
and of injurious favoritism, even of ignoring the rights of immigrants to their property, in disregard of the instruc tions of the commander -in -chief, Governor Abernethy. These complaints were made by officers, while the privates were not inclined to quarrel with qualities which were likely to be popular in the ranks, nor, perhaps, did they always sympathize with the jealousies of their superiors. Abernethy himself did not escape the criticism of officers in the field, though for reasons quite opposite to those for which Colonel Gilliam was censured.
As an example of the kind of insubordination referred to, the following letter is quoted:
WAIILATPU, May 3, 1848. Adjutant-General Lovejoy :
DEAR SIR : When I received the appointment of paymaster I was wholly ignorant of the duties that devolved upon me by virtue of my appointment, further than that set forth by the commanding officer, whose language to me was as follows : "Paymaster Magone, whatever may be taken by the army as government property, you are directed to keep a correct account of, and whenever I order a sale, either by auction or otherwise, you will appear present and take note of what may be sold, and to whom, &c., &c., that it may appear against the purchaser on the day of settlement with the gov ernment." In our first campaign up Des Chutes river we obtained some property, a goodly portion of which I then viewed as immi grants , having seen several of the same articles on the thirty-first day of last December in their wagons at Welaptulekt s, to which place I had been sent by Captain Lee in search of arms and ammu nition, &c., &c. I merely mentioned these facts to the colonel previous to a sale of the property, for which I received a warm reprimand from that officer. The property was then sold to the highest bidder, and we proceeded on our way to The Dalles. One gentleman discovered, after packing a large pot for miles, that it had a leg broken off, was cracked, &c., either by accident or otherwise as the case might be, and requested me to erase his name from my list. I refused. The colonel then appeared in person and requested me to do it; and so it was, on all occasions. He reserved to himself the right of saying when a man s name should or should not be erased. Several of the horses sold at The Dalles were given up to friendly Indians who claimed them, and also at this place. After Colonel Gilliam left there was a new leaf turned over in the horse account. They were all appraised, and those who stood most in ​
need got first choice. I have kept a correct account of everything that has come into my hands in any way, but at the same time it is impossible for me to send you a correct report, for if all the horses claimed by friendly (bless the mark!) Indians are given up, there will be few, if any, left. I have at present two thousand three hun dred dollars on my books, besides between seventy-five and one hundred names of persons who received horses as gifts from Colonel Gilliam, and with which I had nothing whatever to do, as they
Iwere given at different times and places without reference to day, date, or anything of the kind. On the twentieth of March I was chosen to fill the place of Major Lee until the return of that officer, and Mr. Knox was appointed in my place by Colonel Gilliam.
I remain, dear sir, with respect, your obedient humble servant,
J. MAGONK.
Lieutenant-Colonel Waters wrote April fourth :
Adjutant Wilcox, and the sergeant-major, having left with Col onel Gilliam, I found it necessary to appoint suitable persons to fill the vacancy of the same for the time being. I also pursued the same course in relation to the judge-advocate. * * There is a deficiency in the number of horses. The cause of this is, that some have been killed in action, as was my own ; some have been taken by the Indians; and others have failed, and we have left them. The exact number we cannot ascertain, as there was a deficiency previous to Colonel Gilliam s departure. I would mention some thing further relative to our situation, but as you will have all the particulars in my letter to the governor, and from others, I will drop the subject for the present : Oregon Archives, MS. 854.
On the fourth of May, S. B. Knox, who had been ap pointed paymaster when Magone left for The Dalles, wrote to the adjutant-general:
The sale of horses at this place to different individuals, after being appraised, and taken at the appraisement, has amounted to one thousand and twenty-four dollars ; but several of those horses have since been claimed and given up to the friendly Indians by order of Colonel Waters, and others claimed that are not given up, and will not be given up unless ordered so by Colonel Lee upon his taking command. * * It is my opinion that there will be but few more horses given up to the so-called friendly Indians : Ore gon Archives, MS. 1004.
As to Gilliam the man, the community of his fellows understanding him, and generously refusing to impute ​
blame to the patriot who died in the discharge of his duty, the legislature of 1849 passed a resolution declaring that it entertained "the utmost confidence in the integrity of the said Colonel Gilliam, and that the stores receipted for by him to the commissary department, and the pro ceeds of the said sale of horses, were by him faithfully and properly applied to the public service." It was also further resolved : " That the heirs of the estate of Cornelius Gilliam, deceased, be and they are hereby discharged from all responsibility to the Oregon government for the military stores distributed to the army, and horses sold by his order for the benefit of the Oregon government . And tfyat the commissary-general is hereby authorized to transfer the said military stores and horses to the credit of their proper accounts." 2
The death of Gilliam left Lieutenant-Colonel Waters in command, and here again there arose discontent because Governor Abernethy appointed Major Lee to the command, leaving Waters in the second place. His action was both applauded and blamed. As a rule, the favorites of the governor were not those of the western people, who now formed the bulk of the population ; but the letters from the army on the promotion of Lee were generally con gratulatory. 29
2r *H. A. G. Lee was a Virginian, a descendant of Richard Lee, founder of the Old Dominion family of that name. He was about thirty-one years of age, well educated and conscientious, having been trained for the profession of theology. But not being very strong in his belief in the inspiration of the bible he occupied himself with travel, and in 1843 came to Oregon, spending his first winter at Waiilatpu. After the Cayuse war he went to the California gold mines, and was successful. He brought a stock of goods to Oregon City, and entered into a partnership with S. W. Moss, a daughter of whom he married in 1850. He died a few years later while on a voyage to New York.
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