The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1892-08-23
TIA EMBRACE or DEATH.
indian warriors Poisoned by Their
stolid Captive Brides.

stoiid Captive Brides.
Half way up the west side Of Palmer
mountain there are three rude head
stones, marking the tombs Of three
Klickitat Indian girls, who died in cap
tivity many years ago,
Before the outbreak Of the Neg Perez
war the Coeur d'Alene Indians, who
were at that time warlike race, often
overran the domains Of the Siwash, car
rying of his horses, his cattle and not
infrequently his vito or daughter.
The Klickitats are great travellers, and
they roam about from one place to an
other, always, however, respecting the
property rights Of others. One night, so
the story is told, party Of Klickitats
were attacked by band Of Cnur
Id'Alenes returning from one Of their
pilgrimages Of invasion. The Coeur
Id'Alene braves were routed, but not IN
til they had carried of three Klickltat
maidens. who were highly priced by the
warriors Of other tribes because of their
beauty, endurance and skill in the prep
aration Of food.
The pursuit was so hot that the cap
tors found that it would be necessary to
release the Klickitat women or adopt
some stratagem. Three young men of
the tribes volunteered to bring the cap
tives to the Cnur d'Alenes, provided
they were allowed to have them for
squaws.
The old chief reluctantly gave his
consent, as he had fully intended that
at least one of The beautiful captives
should brighten his own tepee. 1t was
better than to lose them altogether,
however, and the three braves took the
women TO cave in Palmer mountain.
From there they watched the rescuing
party on the plains below, and when the
young Klickitat girls cav their people
d'Alenes all their hopes OF liberty van
ished.
One Of the captives was the daughter
of a medicine man and accustomed to
handle and capture all kinds of reptiles,
from which her esteemed and highly
venerated ancestor was supposed to
brew his most healing potions. The
maidens appeared perfectly reconciled
to their fate, and the Cpur dAlene
braves, with a touch of that vanity
which is SO frequently found in his civil.
liked brothers, imagined that the great
personal beauty of Coeur d'Alene had
captured and enthralled the hearts of
the susceptible Klickitats.
That night there was feast, for they
had not neglected to store the cave with
food and bearskins. The Klickitat girls
laughed merrily. In Chinook, the uni
versal Indian dialect, they carried on a
sprightly conversation win the hated
and despised Cnur d'Alenes, and sang
blithe songs for their entertainment.
At last the feast was over and the In
dams, following the tribal customs,
married each other.
Tho last words of the simple and
primitive ceremony had scarcely been
said when almost simultaneously three
terrific snrieks reverberated through the
cavern. In the couch Of each warrior
had been concealed the deadly yellow
rattlesnake, and each Klickitat maiden
mad held her victim securely until the
venomous reptiles had plunged thei,
fatal fangs again and again into the
| flesh.
The Klickitat maidens were imme
diately put to death by the terrified
C9ur d'Alenes, but they expected M
less, as they had boon bitten by the rat.
tiers. Only one OF the three Coour
dAlenes lived, and he was captured
and burned at the stake near where Fort
Spokane now stands by the returning
Klickitats.
The tragedy was so unusual that the
proverbial stoicism of the Indian did moi
restrain him from telling the facts be
fore he was burned alive, and the Kick
itats put up the rude headstones Of which
spoke at the beginning Of this narl
tive.
The tale Travelled from one tribe t.
another, and even to this day it is {
proverb among the Coeur d'Alenes tina
the 'embrace of tho Klickitat made,
is death. Interview in Seattle CWash.
Times News