The Kootenai herald. [volume] (Kootenai, Idaho) 1891-1904, 1896-02-01
The indians Dying From Exposure
While Drunk
THE CASE OF LOUIS LOA.
A Proclamation TO the ity Marshals and
Peace Officers OF Eastern
Washington.

Andrew Seltice, in company with Pc
ter Wildshoe, paid visit to the Tekoa
Times the other day to call attention to
the amount of liquor that is being con-
sumed by his people. During the past
year three Occur d'Alene Indians have
died from exposure while under the in
fiuence of liquor One Indian boy 16
years old died from the effects of whis- .
ky on the reservation, on the 4th day or
January of this year.
Chief Seltice says that he has grown
old, and that in his declining years he
wants to do good, and help his people
to do good, and it grieves him to see his
race becoming the victims of whisky
and strong drink He fears that if
some stringent efforts are not made to
keep his people from getting hold of in
toxicating liquors, the Occur d'Alenes
will soon have succumbed to the newt
able.
LOUIS LAO.
In speaking of the death of Louis Lao
the chiefs wish it to be known that they
have made every effort to ferret out the
facts in the case, and they find that
from the report of the four consuls who
have been investigating the case, the
following facts are learned:
That Louis Lao, Louis Camille and
Indian Abel went to Tekoa on the 4th
day of January and purchased from
some white men five bottles of whisky,
Louis Lao buying two and Camille and
Abel three bottles. That night they met
at the house of Peter Joseph, and in
company with Peter Joseph, Thomas,
Bill Phillip, Inostah and Casper, they
drank the liquor. Some time during
the night Louis Lao got unruly and Pc
ter Joseph kicked him out of the house.
The wound on Laos head proved, upon
investigation, to be a mere scalp wound
where Joseph had struck him. The doc
tor found. upon examination, that the
wound could not have caused death.
This and scratch on the hand from the
barb wire fence, which it is presumed
he tried to climb, are all the wounds
that could be found on his person.
From these facts the decision was
reached that Louis Lao came to his
death from exposure while overcome
with alcoholic spirits, and that in his
drunken condition he could not climb
the fence, and consequently he laid
down and froze to death.
In the crowd at Joseph's house, two
of the Indians were sober, Casper and
! lnostah; the others present were drunk.
Chief Seltice now has four men lock-
ed up at the mission as a punishment
for drunkenness.
NOTICE TO MARSHALS.
I, Andrew Seltice, first chief. and Pc
ter WildshOe, second chief, of the Occur
d'Alene tribe of Indians, ask as a favor
of all city marshals Of eastern Washing
ton, commencing with Tekoa, to arrest
and imprison. for time sufficient fo1
punishment, any Occur dAlenes found
intoxicated in your respective dis
tricts. Chief Seltice and Chief Wild
shoe do sincerely ask the said marshals
and any peace officers of eastern Wash
ingtOn, to cooperate with them in their
efforts to stop the Indians from getting
whisky. They further request saloon
keepers and bartenders to carefully
guard against selling whisky to white
men who are liable in any way to give
the same to Indians. (Signed)
ANDREW SELTICE,
First Chief.
PETER WILDSHOE.