, 1860-05-18

Capt. VIM. Mckay, and an agreement was
first had with Lieut.. Withers and then
with Maj. Rains, that this company should
be mustered into the regular service, and,
under the general direction Of special
agent B. F. SHAY, be sent to my assistance.
On the arrival Of Gen. Wool, lie absolutely
refused to recognize this arrangement and
prohibited the officers in command upon
the river from mastering them into the reg.
ular service; and the company was in con
sequence disbanded These facts | have
from Major Rains himself, from special
agent Shaw, and also from Capt Mckay ;
and thus the arrangement made by the
acting Governor to provide for my coming
in, proved entirely abortive through the
action of Gen. Wool. This was one Of
many reasons why, in my judgment, so long
as Gen. Wool was in command, proper
sell-respect and regard for the public safety
made it incumbent OH US to manage our
own affairs - cooperating so far as we
could with the troops of the regular service,
but keeping the two organizations distinct.
| will here remark that the movement
of the Oregon volunteers to the Wala-
walla, in November, 1855 which Gen.
Wool so vehemenlly and bitterly condemns,
defeated the very Indians who had sworn
to cut off my party, and who absolutely
blocked up my road to the settlements.
And this reminds me OF another charge
made by Gen. Wool and Capt. I. j. Cram,
that Pu-pu-mox-mox, the Walla-walla chief,
was treacherously slain Now | had the
most indubitable evidence, which l collect
ed in the Indian country on my way back,
that Pu-pu-mox-mox was the great head
and front Of this Indian outbreak. | had
full conferences with the prominent chiefs
Of the Nez Perces, who went on special
embassy to Pu-pu-mox-mox, and the head
chief of the Cayuses, TO dissuade them from
embarking in hostilties. l know the ex-
act conversation of Pu-pu-mox-mox in re-
ply to these men all their intercessions
and all their advice were scorned and re-
jected One Of these Nez Perce chiefs was
Joseph, an old man of more than seventy
years Of age, and a man Of acknowledged
probity and character. In regard to the
circumstances of the death of Pu-pu-mox-
mox, we have the official report of Colonel
Kelly, gentleman of the highest standing
in Oregon, and one Of the ablest lawyers in
that State,T corroberated by the eye-wit-
nesses o-the affair. No man can or dere
impeach this testimony. 1t establishes con-
clusively that Pu-pu-mox.mox was pris-
oncr of war, and that in the very height of
the battle of the Walla-walla he was killed
IN an attempt TO escape from his guard.
He had jumped upon his guard, seized his
gub, and in the midst of violent struggle
he was killed. | have myself converSed
with the eye-witneSses of this affair, and
especially with Lieut.. Shepherd, afterwards
OF the Washington volunteers, man whose
word is his bond, and who is incapable OF
falsehood or prevaricatioa; and they all go
to sustain the absolute truth of the report
of Col. Kelly.
Speaking Of Thomas Jefferson Cram, he
says: There is abundant evidence to
show that the chief who urged the tribes
into hostility, who plundered the property
and burned the houses of the settlers, was
not Pu-pu-mox-mox, but the Yellow Ser
pent," This intelligent and veratious wit
ness did not know enough Of Indian affairs
in that country to know what everybody
else did know-that Pu-pu.mox-mox and
the Yellow Serpent were one and the same
man
At this stage of my remarks, l will call
the special attention of this committee to
the kind of work / was at on my way
home, in view Of the reiterated charges
against my own personal and official char
acter. So far from stirring up war, |
came among the Indians as u messenger of
peace, spending whole days among the
Ceur d'AIenes aud Spokanes, to remove
their aPprehensions, TO soften their hostility
and TO restore their good feeling towards
us-in which, for the time being, | was
completely successful. If Gen. Woops
charge were true that l was an Indian ex-
terminator, | would not have gone among
these Indians in order to secure their
friendship, when l might have avoided
them, as | easily could have done. 10 this
same point ull my exertions were directed
in the Nez Perce country, where there was
some disafection, although less than in the
other tribes.
Gen. Wool was evidently laboring under
the grossest misapprehension as to the mo-
tives he oscribes TO the public functionaries
in those Territories and the people; and |
submit to the committee whether the se-
verest scrutiny should not be exercised in
reference to any charge he may make
against the people and authorities in regard
to that war. All the facts which L have
mentioned to this committee in regard to
my connection with the Indian service are
matters of official record in the Indian de.
partment
Now, the gentlemen of this committee
cannot begin TO appreciate the distressed
and heart-rending condition of the entire
population Of Washington, and nearly the
entire population of Oregon, at this time.
l reached the capitol of the Territory OF
Washington on the 10Th of January, the
war having then been in progress some
three months. found the citizens through
that entire Territory in block houses
Everywhere the farmers had been obliged