Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/33

RECOLLECTIONS OF AN INDIAN AGENT. 25 which arise between the two races are result of " fire-water, " and that in a great majority of cases the red man is the prin- cipal sufferer, he is seldom treacherous to the rascally white man who supplies it. Having obtained the testimony of the mock Indian, Lieutenant Capps, on his return to the fort, raided the premises of the white outlaw and destroyed every- thing pertaining to the traffic. The man himself soon after absconded. When the Lieutenant first arrived at the agency he sum- moned the Indians in council to ascertain the whereabouts of the criminals. They were not at the agency, and no one except Howlish Wampo and his family had seen them. They came in the night and departed in the night, and although they were known to be of the rovers along the Columbia and that their names were Machkus and Chuhkliyah, there was not much evidence to connect them with the assault upon the sleeping miner who did not know one Indian from another then. As they were seen to enter Howlish Wampo 's lodge and were not seen to leave, the Lieutenant concluded to hold that Indian chief responsible for the renegades, and thereupon took him in irons to the fort. The Indians and whites looked on in utter amazement at such an absurd and really dangerous proceeding. Some of the Cayuses put on their war paint and feathers, and Mr. Flippin, the sutler, was fearful that a massacre was impending. My wife was the most discreet and courageous one of the number and instructed the interpreter to assure the Indians that no harm would come to Howlish Wampo and that as soon as I returned he would be released and every danger removed. For fear that some of the members of the chief's family might be excited to frenzy, the chiefs of the Walla Wallas put a strong guard around her house and maintained it until my return. She also sent a messenger to the fort to ascertain what the Commandant had decided with reference to the Cayuse chief, and received word that he was sentenced to be hanged the Friday following ; a most summary proceed-