The Elbert County tribune., 1904-02-25

Eal Hair. who had come TO
Esl 9!!j visit his friends among :he
tribes of the umatilla Reservation Mt
the time OF their midsummer pow-wow.
| had seen him and wanted to have a
tax with this veteran Palouse chief.
boru over hundred years ago.
The old man was not at home. Sew
eral young Indians lay in the dripping
tepee. stretched upon their blankets
As started to leave the shelter of the
wigWam. one OF the young fellows rose
TO his elbows aud said to me:
MY friend you had better not at.
tempt TO 90 until the storm IS over. Be
'ides, l fancy Hoo-sis-mox.mox will be
back pretty soon. You will hnd Il
learn you are a newspaper man that
he will tell You thrilling stories. He
knows scarcely amy English. but as
am familiar with both his language
and yons shall gladly act for you us
Interpreter"
You will certainly he capable OF
doing that" said 10 the young man.
81 suppose l should" he answered
back. "Only n short while ago held
chair at Che-ma-wn, the Indian Col
iege. you know, near Seattle.
You see, am just on visit TO some
of my friends and relatives, who be-
long 10 the tribes of this reservation.
nm Yakima, yet l have here many
kin folks. And there is n great pleas
ure sometimes In cnsting aside the CON
ventlonalitios of civilization.
This blanket? oh, that is the most
comfortable thing TO wear. when one
lives in tepee. 1t serves for coat.
overcoat. bed and cover. lived the
Indian life for four years once, but
hadn't on blanket for long time I'M
til Yesterday. Hero. pull on your coat
| and try one
! wrapped myself within the folds
of the bright wooden.
Nov. take cigarette, half close
your eyes, dream and you will be an
Indian veritably,' said my new ac-
qualntance.
Comfortably stretching out. I little
cared for the rainstorm or the return
OF Yellow Hair. learned from my
companion. who name was Stonewall
Jackson. that his father. soon after
the Civil War. had come from Ten
nessee to the State of Washington.
and, like many OF our pioneers, mar.
ried an Indian girl. My friend. then.
was an educated half-breed.
''You have tried on. then, both the
wild life and the civilized. Which do
yon like the betters' asked.
"Why. certainly. l prefer the civil
zed life. but can YOU not see how
those who have been reared close 10
natures heart would choose the wild ?
1t must have been some satisfaction TO
my mothers people to roam nt will
over this vast country and have no
barbed wire fences in their way aud
no signs stuck about. Keep on the
grass Their tribal warfare was only
the big parade! You will sny that 1t
equals n pageant of kings"
at any rate. when the Indians were
called upon by the whites TO give up
the larger part of their country-they
fought"
THAT was In the war of '55f"
Eyes: in what is known as the va
kma War. because 1t was led by IA.
ml-a-kin, head chief of the Yakima In
dams"
''Your mothers people:'
"Yes.-
"Well, what was the cause OF that
war? I know that you can. discuss It
fairly. as you have in you the bloods
OF the two races"
"There were many causes. In the
first place, l must say for the Indian
that until he was badly abused he was
always very good TO the white man.
Read the journals Of early explorers
and you VIII find that all the tribes
in this country, with the exception of
the WIshrams, were kind to the whites.
giving them ponies, and, at times. d.
vidlng with them their scanty stores OF
food. The Indians wee confiding. and
traders among the pioneers took nd-
vantage of them, exchanging worth
less trlnkets for valuable furs. The
missionaries tried to teach them that
their inherited religion was false. Set
tiers poured in and occupied their
lands. They stood everything but be-
ing driven from their pastures and
hunting grounds. This was the cul.
minating cause of the war.
And 1t was a fierce war. too. All
tribes from the Pacific to the Rockies
acted In concert. They made their
first and last great attempt TO oust
the Bostons-Boston man. you know.
is what the Indian calls the white
man. because the first expedition OF
whites to this country was from Bos-
ton. The Boston man then was gradu-
ally driving the Indians from their
lands. The various tribes made sim
ultaneous attacks at places many hun
dred miles apart"
"But how could they do this? They
couldn't use telegrapbic instruments"
said I.