The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1883-01-12
THE KUNTZA - MARENGO
MURDER TRIAL.
Testimony or Arlee Chief OF the
FlatheadS.
The Indian Penalty for Murder-The white
People Held Responsible for What nm
Indian Does When Drunk.

prior to the converting of the recent term
Of District Court we gave Agent Romans &c.
count Of the murder Of Marengo, tne nan.
breed, by Kuntza, Pen dOreille Indian, on
the Flathead reservation last summer. w men
the case came up in court its dismissal was
moved on the ground that Kuntza had oeen
already tried and punished by the laws Oh MS
tribe for this offense, that the laws OF the
United States recognized these Indian triais,
and that the man could not again be placed
in jeopardy for this crime. The court sus,
tanned the motion, the case was dismissed
and Kuntza discharged. Incidental to TINS
trial, previous to this motion, Arlee, Chlef
of the Flatheads, gave the following testi-
mony, through Chief Michele, interpreter,
a stenographic report of which was made
by w. /. Lippincott, Esq, who kindly fur-
nished us with a verbatim transcript OF the
same. 1t explains the Indian penalty for
murder, and concludes with startling pro-
position concerning responsibility for what
an Indian does when drunk, in which there
is more truth than poetry.-ED. \. N-WJ
ARLEE's TESTIMONY.
My name is Arlee; / am seventy-one years
old; the Big Chief at Washington put me on
the Flathead Agency and told me to live
there; am one of the chiefs of the three tribes
of Flathead Indians on the agency. Have
been chief for ten years; we punish our peo-
pie for crimes committed on the reservation
by our own laws. The Indian has no written
laws for the punishment of Indian criminals;
the chiefs keep the laws through the mouth;
they are written in the heart; when an 1ndi-
an kills another Indian, chiefs call all the
other Indians together and send for the GRIM
inaI; then the chiefsialk among themselves,
and If the criminal has any horses or other
property, the chiefs sitting in council over
him will take all and give it 10 the relatives
of the man who was killed. IL the man who
was killed has 1t wife or children, the chiefs
decree that everything the criminal has shall
20 10 them; then the chief will make his
speech, aud admopish them, and tell them
not to do that thing again.
+ know Kuntza; he Is Pen d'Oreille In
dian. A long time ago, when kuntza was a
little boy, the Pen d'Oreille, the Piegan, and
Blackfeet had war and the Blackfeet killed
Kuntza's parents and captured him. After
while we held big council and made a
treaty and Kuntzs came back a big boy.
| know Marengo, the man Kuntza killed
He was half-breed. His mother was full
blood. After KuntZa killed Marengo, he
came and delivered himself up to Michele,
Kuntza and Michele hold a talk they came
to my house and hold council, and l heard
Michele talk, aud said this is your law
and M law, and our peoples law" When
Michele and Kuntza come to my house
Michele said Now, Arlee, want to tell
you. don't want Kun:Za to 60 out of this
reservation. We have our Jail here and our
|. laws, and we will punish him here ourselves,
and | told him all right, we will do that
Then hichrIlc took all of Kuntza's horses
and gave one to me, kept one himself, and
| don't know whether he gave one to the 9TH
err chief o. not, and kept the balance to take
care of them. Most of the Indians were
away hunting AMI Michele take care of the
| horses until they returned. Then we hold d
| big council and divide the horses amongst
| Marengo's relatives, and put Kuntza in Jail
| Then tie Indian Agent came and took him
| away. We didn't want Kuntza to be taken
| away; we were afraid of the white people
| outside. In the little council we held first
we decreed that one Of Kuntza's horses will
| go to me, one to Michele, and all the rest to
| b. divided amongst Marengo's relatives, and
| when the Indians came back from their hunt
we held a big council, with all the men and
women present, and ratified the action of the
| first council and then divided the horses
| That is the Indian law now and always has
| been the law.
When an Indian is drunk and kills another
Indian we don't consider that he did any
thing. The Indian never had whisky before
the white man came here, and we blame tbs
white people who gave him the liquor.