The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-10-27

III pHySlQuet pTOuu III CdTIldBty sITlhlnB in countenance, they touch the imaglna- tion like page from Cooper.
 The earliest record of this people, ex- cepting the legendary annals of the camp fire. was given to us by Captain Meri- wether Lewis and William Clark, who described them as superior to the Indians of other parts, proud and self sufficient, dlsdaining the eating of dogs, which con- stituted so large factor in their own commlssariat.
 The men were large and muscular, and were more scantily clothed than their neighbors to east and west, the breeoh- clout being their only garment-a pecu- liarity that was climatic, the mildness oe their winters inviting invasion as much as their fertile lands, on which the suc- culent camas grew wild. The women were quite the contrary of the men in respect to quantity of attire. They are described as the most modestly garbed of all the women encountered on the Lewis and Clark expedition.
 The Neg Perces roamed at will over their wide domain, taking fish from its streams, reaping the wild harvests of na- ture, and stalking the big game of their mountain ranges, until the advance guard of civilization pressed into their territory, and a reservation was set aside for them by the government. Unschooled to re- straint, they disregarded the boundaries so consistently that summary action was necessary.
 The government ordered the entire tribe to enter and occupy the reservation on a given date. The Indians, surly and re- sentful, camped on the outer boundary, resolved not to confine themselves to it's limits until the last moment. Meanwhile a handful of young bucks, inflamed with whisky made descent on a settler 5 cabin and left a bloody trail behind them, killing half score of whites. Returning to camp they boasted of their massacres, and the tribe, fearing punishment, went on the warpath.
 The first engagement was an ambuscade in which a company of United States troops was almost obliterated. General Howard at once made pursuit with su- peror force and the retreat of the great Joseph, war chief of the Neg Uerces, ranks among the strategic achievements of western warfare. For fifteen hundred miles the Indians fell back through mountain passes and over desert trails, their leader matching the generalship of Howard at every turn.
 They were finally entrapped by General Miles and were taken to the Indian Territory, where they remained until the eloquence of Jim Reubens. second only in face and influence among the tribe to Chief Joseph himself, moved the depart ment to return them to the beautiful Coville reservation, in nothern Washing ton and ultimately to their own home reservation in Idaho.
 The lot of the Neg Perces was not a happy one. They had not long been ac- customed to their new restricted domain when they were asked again to contract their field of liberty. The white man had discovered that the rich, black soil of Neg Perce prairie is the best farm land in the whole state of Idaho. lne Indians did very little in the way of agriculture. and what they did was not well done, but 1t was enough to show the wonderful productivity of the soil. It was a shame that a country of such natural wealth should support only half civ ilized horde and bands of ponies that fattened on the native grasses. So the government appointed a commission to negotiate with the Indians for the pur" chase of such of their lands as would remain after providing an allotment of eighty acres to each member or the tribe.
 The work of the commission covered several months, and there are some chapters in its history that will very likely never be written. though they would make rarely interesting reading. One incident alone reflects the difficulties encountered in getting something Tor ol- most nothing. Every argument and in- huence available had been brought to bear on the Indians, and all was pre-. pared for closing up the treaty whereby the government would pay the tribe lhree dollars and half per acre for the land purchased The eloquence Of Jim Rcu- bens, who mad at first opposed the treaty, had in some way been won to the cause of the commission, and it seemed certain that no hitch would occur.
 But the fire in the burning words or Reubens was quenched by few untimely sentences uttered by grim and seasoned derelict of other times. Strengthening himself until the power of youth seemed warm in his aged limbs. he stepped into the light of the council fire, cast his blanket back and tore from his throat a colored scars A moment Ire Wss si- lent Then, thrusting forth the scarf at arms length. he shouted hustiiy: "Whati Are the Neg Perces fools? Last month I went to the store and bought this rag The storekeeper charged me three dollars and d half for 1t. Will the Neg Perces give the white man an acre of their fat lands for rag like that?'
 That is exactly what they uiu ulti- mately. but 1t took good many weeks to regain what those few words had cost.
 There are many interesting incidents related conce,nng the opening of the reservation anu of the time.' that tcl- lowed The entire appropriation was al out a million, seven hundred thousand dol lars Of this. between six hundred thou- sand and seven hundred thousand dollars constituted the first payment and the balance was distributed over five years. This gave $500 to every man. woman and child of the tribe
 Naturally. the placing Of so large a sum of money in the hands of the Indians attracted hordes of gamblers and criInl- nals from all parts of the continent, and for several years the country was over run with a dangerous element. There were also many law-abiding and reputable people attracted by the fact that a large sum of money would be spent In the section and it Is probably to the opening of the Neg Perce reservation more than to any other thing, that the hourishinS city of Lewiston owes the growth 1t ex- perienced in the sos.
 Among the persons who went to Lewis ton for the purpose of getting Indian money by legitimate means, was Lester | Coffin. He Is a picturesque character, typically western and a man or singular | charm, He was born west of the Rockies and was reared among the Indians. His | father had traded with the tribes Of Oregon, and the son inherited the oc- | cupation of a frontier trader He Is a | great, powerful man, weighing 250 pounds. ..FAn