Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1880-07-16
IN the FAR NORTHWEST.



been having regular frontier experience
this winter. at Chelan and quite envy
him. He has been camped at a ferry on
the Columbia with a detachment of 20
men, having charge of the ferrying and
landing of the stores for the new post.
He has been all alone with his detachment
and has not only become perfect orator
in the CAenook language which is the
means Of communication between the diff
ferent Indian tribes as we'll as between
the whites and Indians, but has also
learned the language of Moses y Indians,
the Okinagans, and has become thoroughly |
acquainted with their habits and ideas, |
having been surrounded by these lodges |
all winter.
From him have been getting glimpse |
of the reverse of the Indian character as
presented here, by the miserable down.
trodden semi civilized "Siawash." One
of the powerful chiefs of the Sampoellis is
called 1.-THE Dreamer and governs his
tribe entirely through the spirit OF his
dreams, Of which they are terribly afraid.
His last dream was about q flood, and he
is actually building a second NOah's ark,
hewing out the logs, and getting his nails
from Walla-W -Walla. In all probability he
does not believe in it himself, but is doing
it for effect upon his people, having proba-
bly, gotten the idea from some missionary.
He came into Camp Okinayan to explain
his doings to the commanding officer and
to convince him that he was not building
fort.
Here we are with roaring fires on
the Goth day of June at 2 o'clock p. m.,
and doors and windows shut. We have
actually had fires going every day without
exception, so far, though one or two OF the
days were warm in May. We are all be-
ginning to think we have had enough win
ter weather.
The streams around here prove to be
full of trout and to-day Lieut.. Galley
caught twenty, about the size of Fishing
creek trout, within few hundred yards OF
the flag staff {; SO expect to have some fun
| soon.
| was not successful in catching my de-
serters {; two of them crossed the British
line before they were missed and we missed
the other two through getting on the tlack
of deserters from other posts. The whole
trip, hard riding and all, was quite a re-
lief to me after so much confinement to
the post and the most interesting part of
it was to see towns and farms where six
months ago there wasn't a wagon Oh the
prairie, and to find that though had come
here so lately knew more about the
country than most of the people on the
road. Every one seemed to have just
dropped to the spot where he stood from
the clouds and to be in proud and blissful
ignorance of all the rest of the country
around him.
have not yet told you OF the celebra-
ton of Corpus Christi at the mission
the great event of the year when all the
Indians assemble there, and when the af-
fair is over race their ponies and sell furs.
This year, on account of the unusual
high water, very few indians came, the
fords on the trails being still too deep.
The Spokane falls, where river that now
has about three times the water of the
Schuylkill falls with two leaps height OF
, about 1SO feet, were perfectly grand, and
the spray flew SO thick and high rs to al
most hide the green rush Of the water it
5 self. The streams are so long swollen by
: the melting SHOWS of the mountains, that
!, many of the trails around here are impas
sable until the latter part of August.
Well, to return. We arrived at the Mis-
> sion early in the day, and having beer
E given convenient seats on the porch of ths
convent, we found plenty of amusement
in watching the movements of the gaily
dressed crowd of Indians on the chape
hill across the valley, and the young buck
on their war ponies dashing around will
n their gaudy, blankets and brass-coveret
saddles. (They will, if possible, stud :
saddle with brass-headed tacks unit lno
, a square inch of the original rawhide i.
visible, and the whole is as. FURNISHED gold.
All at once the chapel bell begins to pea
n and then that in the convent belfry chime
!, in, while from the crowd rides forth
IS standard-bearcr dressed in light blue from
head to foot, with his pony similarly covere'
and bearing on a tall lance, a blue banne
/ with the cross and keys Of Rome.
3 As he slowly descends the hill, process
e sion evolves itself from the apparently
chaotic mass around the chapel, and ex
" tends in serpentine zizzags down til
:. green slopes against whose soft bacl
2 ground the bright red, yellow and blue q
the costumes stands out in startling re
= ! lief.
The body Of the procession is seen to b
f composed of the squaws and some H.
: dians belonging to the organization o
J the mission proper and wearing particula
i uniforms. These are followed by
u canopy carried by ten prominent devo
= tees under which in a golden robe walk
the bishop-while the "bucks" of til
# tribes, mounted and armed, flank tn
> column in single file from front to rear.
,, Now the gaily colored serpent ha
~ drawn the last spot of color to complet
n the rattle on its tail the bells are hushed
II then from the whole line burst puffs o
smoke and the volley from the mounte
It skirmish line sets the column in motion
8 A chant now rises from the little knot g
:, priests and choristers around the bishop