, 1859-05-06

0
service in the operation.
We have, Mr.. Chairman, been between
two fires in that Territory, and wenOW end
ourselves between the veteran General, who
declared that we could ony subsist our
selves by plundering the Indians, and the
Third Auditor, who complains of us be-
cause we had such ample transportation,
aud such ample supplies; transportations-
and supplies which made it entirely unnec-
essary for us to plumber the Indians WHO
is to be relied uponH the Commanding Gen
eral, or the Third Auditor? isli ',N
will cali your attention TO some Femarhs
of General Wool, contained in bis letter
from Bernecia, August q, 1855, addressed
to the head quarters Of the army. Gener-
al Wool referring to the operations Of
Colonel Shaw against the hostile Caydses
and Walla.wallas, uses this language:
"In doing this, his object "that H. The object q
Gov. Stevens," was to proVokea continuance Ol the
war with the Wala.Wallas, and 70 pAder ths Indians
Of their horses and cattle
And again, be wrote to Col. Wright
through his chief Of STAFF. Major Mackall,
under date Of August 2, as follows; ~
1t Appears that Col. Shaw, from Puget Sound,
with bis volunteers, has gone TO the waawala eosH
Indians in that country ..u i.IIsf lsg
Such are General Wools reportsin 1867
and now the Third Auditor speaks with
surprise Of the amount of our trnnsporta4
tions and our accumulation Of supplies, and
finds fault with the forecast aud success
which prepared the sinews Of war 10 de-
fence Of our people. . ls'asi 'ds2 1880
Let me indulge moment 10 reminiscence.
! had peculiar feelings as the Exec6tiveof
the Territory, 10 that matter. ! was the
Indian Superintendent, and had sworha
solemn oath to protect their rights! had
told them In council that I was tbeif faith
er, and il was to me a matter Of conscience,
as well as matter Of deter niDatlon, that
these friendly Indians should. be protected,
And this was thereason why I, asthe Ex-
ecutive, desired to accumulate supplies aud
to get transportation, so. that the Volun-
teers should not be tempted to plumber, TO
procure subsistence. And YET this Eery
forecast, this very care, both Of the troops
and of the Indians who'were ilenifriendly,
is made matter of reproaeh How could
we Judge when the war would tefminaten
On Puget Sound, as i observed lastsessiong
we had three Indians TO every ,hble.bodied
white man, md il WASH country peculiarly
fitted for Indian warfare. The immense
forests on the shores Of Puget Sound. eaes
forded the Indians inaccessible retreatss
and the waters Of that Sound gave them
the means Of collecting oil their forces. IA
order to strike down auy settlement on It's
shores i3e8f BE- asesttf 10 ai 15irlaqe -
feltit to be my dnty. and that Was
the feeling in both ofothe Territories, 10
take time by the fOrsIocks to accumulate
supplies and means Of trunsportatiOn,i 20
that we could project the settlements
against Indian rapino and massacre And,
sir, il I,Were 10 be put IN similar position
l cannot tell how ia these respects could
act more wisely, or deserve better the aps
probation Of my country sla q ml
There Is also complaint made in this re-
port that we furnished families with food.
/ wish could speak todhis House on this
point; that ! could portray the condition
Of that most unfortunate and most dis
tressed people. Why, sir, our people lived
in block-houses for six lmonths Farmers
were driven from theirulaims, Three conn
tbs were wiped out. observation-disclosures
every sonl was massacred We had many,
ramilies on the verge Of starvation They
could not get away. and they could not get
Wherewithall 70 keep body and sool togeih-
er. What did humanity reqoiref What
did public duty reqhiref What did the
furnished by theFegulaf service
To see them starye, or 10 furnish.
them with rationsl What Is done IA the
regular service 10 such casesl What is
done to the distressed emigraht families
upon the plalnsg Why, sir, fafions are
issued optt to them. Trains are got up and
supplies are sent TO them. Il has been
done in Washington. Il has been donein
Oregon; and instead Of being made mat
ter Of complaint, II has always received the
approval and commendation Of superior,
Thatlwas the case in both Of
these Territories. 1 little dreamed when,
reading ip my youth, the history Of New,
England, Of my native State, Massaehur
setts, aud of my native togn--and VAS
born in q house the scene Of Indian burn
ings-I little dreamed that my fortunes
would carry me TO the extreme Northwest
of my country, and that il should be my
fate, in connection With is people, 70 dc,
what ] could 70 save then from the horrors
Of an Indian war, now see IN my minds
eye, the early history Of New Eagland;s
and, sir, say that there has not been =
parallel in danger and in diaieuliy apd ihs