Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1905-04-28
OF Oregon, and Mr.. Meeker could


easily have seen copy.
Lieut.. Kip Describes the whole event
day by day. Referring to the speeches
made to the Indians by Gen. Palmer
and Gov. Stevens explaining tht
treaties, he says: CAS- he (Stevens
finished each sentence, the interpreter
repeated it to two OF the Indians, who
announced it in loud voice to the
rost-one in the Nez Perce and the
other in tho Walla language" After
week of careful negotiating the Lieu
tenant makes this entry: With the
Indians, the next moon will answer
Just as well as this month for any
business that il to be transacted.
should think, however, the Commits
sioners would have their patience ut
terly exhausted"
The same writer explains the blus.
tering arrival of Chief Looking Glas.
and records how the Walla Wallas
the Cayuses and the Iakimas were
anxious to destroy the whites then
and there, but all were saved and the
treaties signed on account OF the Ne7
Perces. Anyone who will read the
simple narrative OF Lieut.. Kip, written
on the spot, will see how preposterous
is this charge OF forgery by Mr.. Meek.
er. 1t will not then be necessary even
to recall the other fact that Gov
Stevens life and his known hatred oil
shams or frauds are complete denials
of the possibility Oh his committing
such crime.
Now why is it that Mr.. Meeker has
thus stuttified himself by advancing
such falsehoods Simply to try and
get ground on which to base another
falsehood. namely, that Leschi, his
hero, did not sign the Medicine Creek
treaty. 1t is pathetic to see the au.
thor's struggle with this question.
There were nineteen signatures to
that treaty. Two OF those witnesses
still live and have spoken in no un.
certain terms on this head. Mr..
Meeker brushes them aside and falls
back again upon the lie that Stevens
forgery at Walla WaIla
and therefore he most probably did
the same thing in the case OF Leschi
at Medicine Creek.
In this connection the author sup.
presses truth and shows ill.will. He
uses letter written by George Gibbs
to show that Gov. Stevens was in a
beastly state of intoxication. That is
because Gibbs is then a damaging
witness against Stevens. But the
author says not word about the same
Gibbs being one OF the witnesses to
Leschi's signature to the Medicine
Creek treaty.
Mr.. Meeker poohs at the idea OF
Stevens being a competent
witness because he was a boy of II,
and yet he takes occasion in another
place to praise the really fine qualities
Of that same boy. He might have
gone on and shown what remarkably
manly boy young Stevens showed him
self in that long ride alone in the
Rocky Mountains preparing for the
treaty with the Blackfoot Indians.
The author throws aside the value of
this boys testimony, and yet he makes
much, and properly so, of young
Kings story of the White River massa-
ere, and the King boy was but 7 years
of age at that time. He also gives
full credence to the testimony OF In.
dians who were boys at that time.
The other surviving witness is Col.
B. F. Shaw OF Vancouver, Wash.
There was newspaper tilt between
Col. Shaw and Mr.. Meeker while the
latter was preparing his book. The
Post. .Inteligencer OF Jan. 81, 1904, Col.
Shaw says this: "Now l know no
one forged Leschi's name, for l saw
Leschi make that cross and the Secre.
tary write the name opposite to it
No, Mr.. Meeker does not want to be-
lieve the truth regarding this transac.
tion. He has for years been giving
currency to a lot OF Indian stories
relative to it. with the hope apparent
ly that they will not be denied, and at
length be considered true history"
Mr.. Meeker discredits this old veter.
ans testimony and slurs at the idea oil
making the Medicine Greek treaty
through the medium OF the Chinook
jargon with Col. Shaw as the interpre
ter. Here is Mr.. Shaw's side of that:
at is true the jargon was used, bu,
the native Nisqually tongue was also
as understood that as we'll as any
white man in the country at that
time. And it was because 1 under.
stood the native Indians tongue, and
was we'll acquainted with all the In.
dians and had their complementary.
ing lived in the Puget Sound basin
for nearly ten years prior to making
the treaty-that made it unnecessary
for Gov. Stevens to secure any othel
available interpreter"
To offset the testimony of these two
living witnesses as we'll as making g
lie OF the signatures OF the seventeen
others, Mr.. Meeker has concocted this
miserable falsehood about the Walla
Walla council forgery and has collect
ed statements from q number of In.
dians to the effect that Leschi did not
sign the treaty together with a scheme
he assumes is just and which he callt