The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1890-12-17
Missoulians Petition the Governor
to Save the Indians from
the Moose.
The Petitioners do Not Believe
a Strong Defense Was
Made.
Pierre Paul, La-La-See, Pascale and Ant.
ley Must Die Next Friday Unless
Reprieved.

Governor Toole has been asked to pre-
vent the hanging of the four Indians who
are under sentence to die at Missouia ne1t
Friday. His excellency has not yet an
nounced what action he will take. The re
quest is in the shape of a petition from .
number of prominent people in Missoul'
county. Major Peter Roman, agent of thu
Flatheads signed the petition, SO did Hon.
w. NJ. Bickford, F. G. Higgins Mrs. G. S
Marshal and Mrs. Eli Fisher of thu
Woman's Christian Temperance Union.
Mrs. Mccormick, in u letter to the Cover
nor says:
"Your excellency has already been ap
prised that the people of Missoula hav,
drawn up petition asking Communication Of
sentence for the Indians to be hung on tn,
18th inst. We know that your excsllency il
ever inclined to the side of mercy when i
| can be exercised without loss of the equally
necessary quality justice. Therefore we asl
that the condition of these poor wretches b,
considered, their ignorance the cruelty
with which their white brothers have
treated them in refusing to grant to lndlaI
depredations against our law and order, the
same leniency which is given white mer
dian rights both to property and life.
"Only short time ago on the Flathead
reservation an Indian was shot down in
cold blood by white man while walking
with his wife. The effect upon her was such
that after three weeks of insanity she died.
The law in this land countless other cases)
merely winked at the crime, and the guilty
party was never punished.
knowing these things and also being
aware of the Indian popularity, revenge, il
not upon his enemy then upon his brother
o. any other relative. failing them upon the
first white man he meets. It il Justice and
right to him and instead Of crime he has
done .commendabls act. Do not hang
them for what in their eyes is laudable.
Rather condemn them to imprisonment
that they may be taught proper contrition
for their offences and show them that they
possess, as we'll as the whites, the inaliena-
BILE RIGHT to the full protection Of the law,
petition We have rather sought quality than
quantity. The names are few but they are
representative and express the general
sentiment in Missoula." Mrs. Mccormick
closes her letter with the hope that she will
soon hear favorably from the governor.
The petition recites the incidents OF the
crime, the trial, and sentence to death.
Continuing it reads: Your petitioners
further state in most solemn form that the
punishment by death of crime, is = most
cruel and inhuman manner of meeting the
ends Of justice; that the object and aira of
human punishment is, first, for the refor-
nation Of the criminal, second. to place
him in condition where lie can do no more
wrong, third, to deter others through his
example.
your petitioners are in sympathy with
those great lights Of jurisprudence, Frank
lin, Livingston, Rush, La Fayette, Becciria,
Grotus, Lord Brougham and Wendell Phil
lips, who demanded the abolition of the
penalty of death until the infallibility Of
human testimony could be shown, We
think it enough to discredit the gallowe
that men might be hung by mistake. There
have been scores of such cases in the his
tory of jurisprudence.
''Your petitioners further state in the
most sincere manner that all the material
witnesses for the prosecution were Indians
and it is very doubtful if they understood
the nature of an oath. That during the
trial of the four an interpreter was used,
translate Pen d'Oreille into Kootenay and
Kootenay into English. That none of the
four defendants can speak word of the
English language. In view of these facts
we most conscientiously believe that it waf
utterly impossible for them to have made
as strong defense in their own behalf as
white men could have made.
Therefore, Your petitioners most hum
bly, ask that respite may be granted in
will enable your petitioners to take the
proper steps before your excellency and the
honorable board of pardons to ask that
their sentence be COMMITTED from sentence
OF death to that of Imprisonment for and
during the term of their natural lives, or
that if in time they are enabled to present
to the governor and board of pardons such
proofs and statements as will convince
them of their innocence, they be pardoned. :