The Douglas independent. [volume] (Roseburg, Or.) 187?-1885, 1878-09-21

l4l.lAsr 4A 4etH
had skalsh oh their efrsnd after cauias. The
ounboafs teaaefed effective service in thus
sing the original plan Of the hostile In
lians aud compelling them to abandon their
design Of crossing the Columbia with their +
stolen property.
Tsiezs s;5bear to be three classes of Indians |
who afe not likely to 60 on the war path.
Firxt: those who are too old to fight; second,
those who are too rich, having improvements /
son tie reservation and large bands OF stock; /
ard third, . few of middle age who prefer to
remain as they are IN peaceful security. But |
the yoang men will fight. 1t is natural that /
they should show the Indian IN them as early |
and IS fully IS possible When hostiiities are
il progress anywhere within their reach they
VII steal ont from their reservations and do
their share OF crime aud then sneak back to
the support and protection Of the Govern
meat The Ease Of Umapine and his men is
but enc Of many examples of this sort. It is
estimated that there were, at one time, no
less than 400 Columbias, Umatillas and other
reiegades with the original band of hostile
Indians On the morning OF July llth, the
day before Cayuse Station was burned. the
agent Mr.. CoDoyer, confidently believed that
all his Indians were on the reservation, ex-
cept Yellow Hawk, who had been with Egan,
and being ashamed to return, had gone to Fort
Hall. At that moment Umapine, from the
reservation. at the head of band of warriors,
was in readiness to join il he had not already
joined, the Snakes, who were expected to at
tack the agency that morning. It is very
probable that the presence Of Capt. Metre
gory's company at Cayuse Station, near the
agency. alone prevented this attack, for as
soon IS these soldiers left the station the In-
dians took possession of it. The next day
the h0stiles Indians were above, below and
over the agency, and Capt. Miles on the 18th
had IN engagement with them. Umapine and
his warriors were with them in this engage
Inent. It was enly after the Snakes had been
defeated and had fed to the mountains that
Dmapine qnarreled with Egan and treacher-
ousIy put him to DEATH He was true TO his
mufderous allies until he lost confidence IN
their success. and then he deserted and be-
trayed them, aud assassinated their chief IN
order to be able to take back his scalp to the
Indian agent as proof that be was sorry for
having made war upon the whites. Had
Umapine Joined General Howard at Carnas
Prairie he would have acted in good faith and
rendered valuable service Instead Of this,
while on the reservation and enjoying the
protection of the Government, he was con
stantly giving the enemy aid and comfort, and
hes abandoned their cause only Fhen it be-
came hopeless. This is simply a fresh illus
tration Of the truth that dependence can not
at all times be placed upon the fidelity Of
friendly Indians.
It Is claimed, as already mentioned, that
the Indians fired upon by the gunboats were
laklmas, returning from their caInas grounds.
But what right had they to go Camas Prairie ?
Treaties with Indians, ike other treaties,
must be Interpreted according to the intention
of the makers of them And certainly it
could never be intended that a treaty made
with tribe of Indians in one Territory or
State. By the treaty with the Yakimas, the
rights and privileges therein enumerated
were granted to them in common with eitl-
zens OF that Territory lWashington1. This
does not give them, and it was not intended
to give them. any lawful claim to the use of
camas grounds IN Oregon. Both the express
language and the necessary intent of the
treaty restrict them to their own Territory
Hence, those of them who were at Camas
Prairie, on the arrival of the Snakes In July
last were trespassers, and were entitled to
no consideration. And, besides, when they
were found and fired upon, as already stated.
they were aiding the hostile Indians in NOV
ing their stolen property into Washington
Territory, IN perfect accordance with the
original plan OF the Snake campaign 1t is
prep0sterous therefore to claim that they
were friendly Indians. They were the
worst OF enemies, because they were enemies
IN the guise Of friends.
II these reservation Indians will not volun-
tariiy maintain In good faith their amicabIe
relations VITA the white people, prompt and
decisive measures must be taken to compel
them to do so. Otherwise, their traaeheries
viii continue, Reservations will become
more and more the rendezvous of hostile In
dams A reservation of friendly Indians
ought not to be an armed camp. The idea OF
teaching the arts of agriculture to Indians
with arms IN their hands is fearful absurd
ity. As measure of precaution they should
be at once deprived OF the improved firearms
Of l0HE range with which they are now too
abundantly supplied Weapons of much less
formidable character can be furnished them
temporarily for hunting purposes
III Washington, Oregon and Idaho there
are about q 900 Iudians, nearly all Of them
east of the Cascade Mountains. There are
included III their reservations nearly 1000
SQUARE miles Of 10000. 600 acres of land. or
about 37o acres to each individual Indian;
and Of these lands about I43, 900 acres are re-
ported tiIlAble III the Oregon reservations
alone there are g 022 square miles or g. $50. .O8S
acres Of land to !. coo Indians. making more
than $50 acres to each Indian. With this
laf66 area Of land IN their possession and with
tile hbernl privileges which their treaties give
them upon ether lands it is almost impossible
to control them under present management
Settlements are fast encroaching upon their
grounds and jealonsies are constantly arising.
10 secure permanent peace therefore IN the
vicinity OF these should be stationed at
points convenient for cooperation, among
the Indians of Oregon and the adjoining Ter
IlEofles from ilve TO ten Thousand v :. troops.
1he ludlans themselves should be dlsarmed,
and placed under the direct control OF officers
of the army, The integrity OF these officers rs
ls q shnlclent guarantee thas good ialtn VIII
pc kept with the Indians and that peace will
be maintained. Until this can be done |
would suggest that some means be devised by
which, IN case OF danger, settlers on the from
tier can pe armed ana brought INTO immediate
service FOR TINS purpose would recommend
that the guns now IN tne several counties be
obtained from che Government for permanent
Use for border defense. to be placed in the