The Helena independent. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1892-06-28
The EMBRACE Of DEATH.
Cnur d'Alens Indian Warriors
Poisoned BY the Wives They
Had Captured.
-
Tho Graves Of the Klickitat Hero
ines on tho Palmer
Mountains.
-
scaling Thsir Own Doom - Revenge
Upon Their savage Abductors-
Dsath q : Wedding Feast

E4EENE# AHeNNWW4s
HALF way Up the west sids Of Palmer
mountain there are three rude hoadstones
marking the tombs Of thrse Klickitat In.
dian girls. who died In captivity many years
Ago. said Edward Wauicut, . well-known
prospeotor and mine owner Of Okanogan.
TO = 6sattls Press Times reporter.
Many years ago, before the outbreak Of
the Nsx Perce war, the Cour d'Alsns In
diana who were Al that time . warlike race,
oftsn ovsrran the domains Ok the 6iwash.
carrying o. his horses, his cattle and not
in~fEsQusntly his wife o. daughter.
..Ths Klickitats are great travellers and
they roam about from one place TO another,
always, however, respecting the property
rights Of others. Ons night, 10 tho story u
told, I party OF Klickitats were attacked BY
q band Of Cwur d'Alenes returning from
ono Of the IilRrimages OF invasion. The
Cosrr d'Alens braves were routed. but not
until they had carried Oh three Klickitat
n,aidens, Who we're highly priced By the
warriors Of other tribes because Of their
beauty. endurance and skill IN the prepsra-
ton Of food. The pursuit. was 20 hot
the captors found that IL would be necss-
sary to release the Kiickitat women OF
adopt some stratagem. Three young men
Of tho tribe volunteered 70 bring the cap
tiyes 10 the Occur d'Alenes, provided they
we're allowed to have them for squaws.
1.-THE old chief reluctantly gave his con-
sent, % he had fully intended that 1t least
one Of the beautiful captives should bright
en- his own tepee. II was better than to lose
them altogether. however. and the three
braves took the women to this cave In Pal
mer mountain. From there they watched
the rescuinR party on the plains below. and
whom tho young Klickitat girls saw their
people disappear on the trail Of the Coeur
d'Alenes. all their hopes of liberty van
ished. One of the captivss was the daugh-
ter OF q medicine man, and accustomed to
handle and capture all kinds Of reptiles,
from which her esteemed and highly .vener-
healing potions. The .maidens appeared
perfectly reconciled to their fate, and the
Occur d'Alene braves. with . touch Of that
vanity which 10 80 frequently found IN his
civilized brothers, imagined that the great
personal beauty Of z Occur d'Alsne had
captured and enthralled the hearts OF the
susceptible Klickitats.
THAT night there was a feast, for they
had not neglected to store the cave
with food and bearskins. The Klickitat
girls laughed merrlly. In ChlnOOk, the
universal Indian dialect, they carried on a
sprightly conversation with the hateful and
despised Occur d'Alenes, and rang blithe
songs for their entertainment. At last the
feast was over and the Indians. following
the tribal customs. married each other.
1.-THE last words of the simple and primi-
tive ceremony had scarcely besn said, when,
almost simultaneously, three terrified
shrieks reverberated through the cavern. In
the couch OF each warrior had been con-
cealed the deadly yellow r~attlesnake, and
each Klickitat maiden had held each victim
securely until tho venemous reptiles had
plunged their fatal fanQs again and again
into the flesh. Each couch was literally a
den of snakes.
''The Klickitat maidens were Immediately
put to death by the terrified Occur d'Alenes,
but they expected no less, as they had been
bitten by the ~rattlers. Only n of the
three Occur d'Alenes lived md he was cap-
tured and burned at the stake near where
Fort Spokane now stands, bv the returning
Kliokitats.
Thu tragedy was 80 unusual that the
proverb,al stoioism of the Indian did not
restrain him from telling the facts before
he WAS burned alive, and tho Klickitats put
up the rude headstones of which I spoke at
the beginning OF his narrative.
1.-THE tale travelled from one tribe to an
other, and even to this day it 10 a proverb
among the Occur d'Alenes that the EN-
brace OF the Klickitat maiden 10 DEATH"
HE