The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1891-01-22
THE CHELAN INDIANS.


THE CHELAN INDIANS.
Attempt to Drive Them From Their
Farms-Ne Fear OF an Outbreak.
WaterviIle News
Articles published in the Spokane Falls
Daily Rerieg and Waterville Immigrant
which bear the earmarks of well-known
Chelan citizen, tend to give the public an
erroneous impression concerning the
merits of the Indian land problem at that
place. The evidence known to us person.
ally bears us out in making the bold state
ment that one of the BLACKLIST and most
dianolical plots in the annals of Indian
history has its elimination in the under
hand and treacherous effort to rob and dis
possess Long Jim, Cultus Jim and other
Chelan Indians of their allotment rights to
their lands at Chelan under the Moses
Sarsarpin treaty. We know that these
peaceably disposed Indians were in posses
sion of these lands before a single white
resident of Chelan ever settled in that re-
gion. The Moses-Sarsarpin treaty
gave a section of land to each
of these Indians who were in actual
possession of, or had settled thereon with
out any qualification conditions whatever;
and instead of helping these untutored In
dams towards completing the title to their
idSt tue RFttuy nave. III
conjunction with Indian Agent Cole
formed an infamous scheme TO rob them
of their ancestral heritage. With our own
eye we beheld Indian Agent Cole open the
hearing last summer at Chelan when there
was not present one of the Indians to take
part in their own defense; the agent hav-
ing taken them away under arrest, thus
forcibly robbing them of their homes.
lands and improvements. This same
nnscrupulous agent only upon the
firm protest of Mr.. Allender,
their friend, and Mr.. Il. w. Starr.
their attorney, condescended to adjourn
the hearing and go out and bring the Indi-
ans in. The agent was caught in the act
of surreptitiously incorporating affidavits
into the testimony which were against the
Indians. 1t is disgrace to the Indian de-
partment to have such an infamous agent
in the employ of the government who
violates his official oath of office SO far as
to take partisan sides against the ward of
the nation and to violate the solemn treaty
obligations he was sworn to obey.
Through the phiianthropic efforts of Mr..
Allender the infamy of this plot was
brought to light. The Ne,rs was the first
paper in Washington To show up the
stealthy trail of these robbers of the ma
tons wards by publishing a clandestine
petition that was being circulated TO
the department wherein false statements
and determinations were hurled adj Ibitum
rights. The charges made against the In
dians by citizens of Chelan are highly
colored and positively false in many re-
spects. We know this of our own knowl-
edge; in fact. some of the lists of names
appended to the statements in the Reriesg
personally acknowledged that their
charges were unwarranted and could not
be verified before an impartial court Of in
quiry, yet these same names appear as in
dorsers of acknowledged fraud. 1t is no
time for mincing matters when unscrupu-
lous robbers come openly before the public
with false statements and injure the set
Element of this rigion with the cry of dam
ger of an Indian outbreak. In our opinion
If a few of these INSCRIPTIONS robbers
were put behind the bars or swung from a
pine tree in mid air it would settle the
threatened Indian war effectively.
M. Snow In Spokane Review.
/ am familiar with all the Indians
There is no danger of any outbreak or ex-
element among the Indians of Lake Che
Ian. They are patiently awaiting a hear
ing which will settle the status of their
claims. All reports TO the contrary are
false, and are made by parties interested
against the Indians. These Indians have
lived there for generations, and expect to
live there for generations to come When
approached with the proposition to sell
their lands they have always refused
money, claiming that they are under
moral obligations to live upon these lands
and bequeath them TO their children. At
the present time they simply ask to be
heard before the United States land office,
and are perfectly willing to abide by the
decision of the white father at
Washington. There is no fear that they
will damage the persons or property of
any white settler, whether friend or foe.
TO illustrate the feeling of the Indians,
| will quote a conversation | had with
Cultus, or No Good Jim, OF Chelan, when
approached by proposition to sell his
farm about four years ago. He said IN
Chinook: mo, sir; no. Look here
Years ago my father lived on this land.
Long, long ago my grandfather, great
grandfathers lived here. They are all
dead By and by will die and will go
above When get up there / will see my
father. He will say: Jim, why did you
sell that iand?' Probably | can't say
word If cannot he win leave me. By
and by my grandfather and my great
grandfather viii come, and they Will talk
to me in the same manner. Ii | cannot
tell them they will leave me also. Then
God will come to me- If cannot tell him
why sold il he will say: Jim it is best
that Won should go down to HI See
here, sir, this land is mine, and that join
ing me is the white mans. You take that
and ] will keep this, and we viii live here
friends forever"