, 1856-10-10


brought before q board of officers, or, as.
Major Haller terms it, a military commits
sion, and, their guilt having been clearly
established, three were hung on the graves
Of their victims, the 18th the fourth was
shot by the guard in endeavOring to escape.
The proceedings of the commission are
herewith enclosed"
Here, sir, "a talk" was being held, four
Of the Indians present were seized" three
were hung" on the spot, and "he fourth
uoas shot By The guard in eDdearortag 10 es-
cape" Did it then occur to General Wool
that there was any thing barJarOus in
shooting a prisoner who attempted to es-
cape? And it does not appear either that
this prisoner made any attempt upon the
life Of the guard. Did it occur to General
Wool then that there was any thing irrcgu-
lar in hanging on the spot the other three
prisoners who had come into the fort for
the purpose of having "a talk? Not at
ALL On the contrary, such conduct was to
be highly applauded, and must needs be
noticed in terms of praise in an official re-
port to general Scott. Hear what Gener-
oil Wool says about it:
1.-THE activity and energy OF Major Hal
Ter, and the officers Of his command, deserve
commentator"
1t cannot be that General Wool means
to imply that what is "barbarous" in vol
unteers, deserves commentator" in troops
of the regular Army. 1t is true General
Wool, with all his knowledge and expert
ence in every branch of his profession, was
somewhat at loss to find an appropriate
name for the tribunal which tried and hung
the other three prisoners, but he compla-
Gently adopts Major Haller's term for it,
and calls it "a military commission y
What though it may have been somewhat
irregular, yet as there were no vOlUHteers
present to give it a semblance Of barbara
ty," why, it deserves commendation ! ~
Now, Mr.. Chairman, do not wish to be
misunderstood. have not alluded to this
affair for the purpose of condemning the ac-
ton of Major Haller or the officers who ac-
companied him on that expedition. On
the contrary, believe with General Wool
that they deserve commendation," more
especially for hanging these three murder
ers and for shooting the other when he at
tempted to escape / know most of the
officers who were in that expedition, and
believe l may safely say, if any one of them
had had the control Of the military opera
tions in these Territories, many lives would
have been saved, and the war might now
have been at an end. Ihave only referred to
the matter for the purpose of exposing one
of General Woors many inconsistencies.
Mr.. Chairman, have no time to go in
to details must content myself with a
simple denial of General WooPs charges,
and appeal to the Official papers on record
to sustain that denial. He charges that
the volunteers wantonly set FIRE to and
burned the Atahnum mission the Official
report shows that it was accidentally"
burned He charges that the expedition
to Walla-Walla was against frieHdly In-
dians all the official reports show that the
Walla-Wallas had driven off Mr.. Sinclair,
plundered the fort, divided the spoils, and
with force Of nearly thousand warriors,
actually attacked Colonel Kellys command
before be had fred single gun. He char
ges that white men violated squaw and
cruelty strangled whole family of friendly
Indians at the Cascades defy any one
to prove it, for Major Hays left that vicin-
ity since General Wool charges the atroci-
ty to have been committed, and in the pub
lie prints pronounces the whole affair fab
rieation. He charges similar outIages up
on Major Lupton and party, and for com
plete refutation of such charges, refer to
Gen. Lanes speech in the House upon that
subject. He charges that the war in WASH
ington Territory was brought about byI
"some miners forcibly carrying away and i'll
treating Yakama squaws." He admits in
the same letter that the " Xakamas are the
authors of the war" He charges that the
war in the Rogue River country is wholly
to be attributed to the whites and on the
4th of September, in an official despatch to
headquarters, he admits that the first blood
shed was "at council held by the Oregon
superintendent (where) an Indian shot a
tohite man." At one moment the people
are charged with being actuated by de-
sire to ''plunder the public treasury" and
in the next to crafty blood-thirsty re-
venge. In one despatch we are told that
the Walla-Wallas are friendly the next
mail brings the intelligence that, for four
days, they have opposed, in open field, to
Colonel Kelly's command near Thousand
armed and painted warriors. Now they
are peaceful-then they pIunder the fort
and lay waste the adjacent country. At
one time the expedition to Walla-Walla is
entirely unnecessary, very soon, nay, at the
very time, be regrets that the condition of
his horses are such that he cannot send
force into that country. One week he has
a sufficient force at his command to conquer
from $50 hostiles lasting peace"-the
next, he calls upon Gov. Stevens for two
companies Of volunteers to assist him, when
he klOlos they cannot be furnished. He de-
MES his authority to call for volunteers, yet
when it suits his purpose to do so, he claims
that authority, and points to the instrue-
tons Of the Secretary Of War, dated 4th
December, 1855, to sustain his claim. He