, 1857-02-27
For the Pioneer and Democrat.
indian Murdered on Nisqually Reservation.

tally shot down on the N'squaily lhu'ah
-.,crvation by two white men. This In
s;on % Is one of q number who is supposed to
uno u,a been out with the hosiiles in the
I.oant n-.C war, and who had come in and sur
.ondered themselves to be dealt with ac-
r..Jing to law. Together with a number
~ his people he had been staying at the
O.'.arvation set off for that tribe, in pursu
.nco .VY Of the treaty of Medicine Creek, con-
"Inded Dec. 26, 1854, and which treaty
Sos bcen confirmed by the President and
Senate Of the United States.
The perpetrators of this decd, whoever
,hov NAV be, were guilty of foul, cow
'rJv III cold.hlooded mnrdcr. II was com
mittcd by men who, for the qualification OF
a netty desire of personal revenge, are
-,;lIinc to tramplc undcr foot law and the
rigbts of the Indian, and plunge this Ter
riiory into all the calamities of an Indian
wor-a war, too, brought OH by our own
sct. Were the consequences of this aud
similar outragcs to revert solely upon the
heads Of the perpetrators, 1 should not
think of obtruding myself upon the notice
NJ the public But most unfortunately,
neither age, sex nor condition are exempt
from the evils attending an Indian wal.
and as the revenge for wrong committed
bv lawlcss white man against an Indian,
IS liable TO fall upon the heads of good
men. or innocent women and children, II
deem it my duty to make this effort, with
the view Of averting, if possible, from this
Territory, or at least that portion west oil
the Cascades, the unfortunate consequences
Of another Indian war.
The Indian service has uniformly laborcd
to impress upon the mind of the Indian
that it was the duty Of both whites and
Indians 10 be governed in all things by
law-that all grievances must be rcdressed
by law-that to be a good people they
must be law.ahiding people, end as sGch
their rights would be respected. Was IL
not right to instruct them thus ?-cou!d
government teach them otherwise? And
vet what reasonable hope can we entertain
that they will respect our laws, when they
see white men ready to violate them and
trample under foot the rights Of the Indian?
Ifthe Indian "Yelm John was guilty
Of any crime, the civil courts are open for
bis conviction, and the strong arm of the
law ready to execute the sentence. 1t
cannot be concealed that the act committed
will bring discredit upon the Territory,
and is not to be justified upon any princi-
pie known to civilized people.
We have been stigmatised abroad us
Indian exterminatOrs in principle and prac-
tice, and the authors Of our own Indian
wars. This certainly is not true Of this
Territory as to the past. Let it not be-
come true Of the future. All snch outra-
ges as the one Just committed 60 towards
substantiating the charges which have
been made against US. ..s...
1t is now well known that the Indians
east Of the mountains have determined upon
renewing hostilties in the spring. In my
Official capacity l have received tile most
nndoubted evidence Of the existence Of al
constant and regular communication, byj
means of an Indian express, between the
Indians east and west Of the mountains.
The Indians Of the interior are seeking tc
effect an alliance with those on the Sound,
so as TO secure their cooperation during
the next summer against the whites.
Whether tho Sound tribes will enter into
this combination will depend much upon
the conduct of the whites. Those OF these
Indians who were engaged in the recent
war have once thrown down their arms,
submitted themselves to the officers Of the
Indian service, and are willing to come
under their entire control. The Indian
Department have just entered upon the
fulfllmcnt Of its treaty stipulations with
these tribes. The Nisqually Indians having
Just come to the reservation, and whilst the
hrsi steps are being taken towards locating
them permanently, in charge of a white
man, one Of their number is shot down.
What is to be the effect Of such IN out
rage? Their worst fears Of treachery are
aroused and their confidence in the good
ialth OF government, or its ability to fulfil
lis promises, sadly weakened. The task
deVolVing upon myself and my assistants in
The proper execution of this duty, was at
pest delicate and critical one, aud has
Oeen rendered doubly so by this dark deed.
l am well aware that there are many
persons who have suffered much by the late
indian war, and probably the very person
OF persons who committed the deed refer
red 10, have had friend or relative cruelty
murdered by the Indians, yet as these In
uiaos have laid down their arms and sur
rendered themselves to the proper authori-
NGs, justice demands that they should have
Alalr trial, in order that the innocent and
s0llty may not be punished alike.
Inc present murder is but one Of several
eqOally unjustifable which have recently
%curred in this community. As yet no
successful steps have been taken by the
ssal authorities to bring the offenders to
!as'lce for their acts, and to check the mad
TAteer OF reckless and unprincipled men.
ns' IL De borne in mind that the people OF
I 1e whole Territory will be held respons-
We, abroad, for these acts. So long as
'u.u outrages are committed, and the per
FTators PH go unwhppcd of justice, so long
WIN WIN the whole people be considered as Gu
IVuFaglng aud endorsing these acts c.
wrong md crirpn I onrooI 90. Losfy onl