Chapter XLI: Disbanding the Volunteers

On returning to Olympia the governor issued the order disbanding the entire volunteer organization, and took the necessary steps for disposing at public auction of the animals, equipments, and supplies on hand, and settling the accounts. The animals captured by Shaw in the Grande Ronde were sold at Vancouver, and brought enough to defray the entire cost of the expedition. In fact, owing to the large number taken, there were more animals actually sold at the several auctions than the whole number purchased for the volunteer service, notwithstanding the many worn out during the months of hard service. The sales of property realized some $150,000, and the articles sold generally brought more than the original cost. "I trust," remarked the governor, "that in view of the fact that our transportation has cost us nothing, that our people have let their animals go into the service from three to nine months, and have taken them back at a premium, the enemies of the Territory will be more guarded in their speech." As all the expenses of the volunteer organization had been defrayed by scrip, the sales were made for scrip, and many of the settler-volunteers were glad to purchase stock, wagons, or supplies to take home with them, instead of paper promises to pay, yet at that time the scrip was but little depreciated.

An incident showing the scrupulous regard for orders and public property maintained among the volunteers is related of Captain Henness. He captured a mule at the battle of the Grande Ronde and rode it home to Olympia, a distance of some five hundred miles. Desirous of owning the animal, he bid for it when put up at the public auction, but it was struck off to another for $475; and this brave officer, who had served in the field as captain of a company for ten months, was unable to secure his own riding mule, and one, too, captured by himself.

When the accounts were finally adjusted, the scrip issued amounted to--

Equipments, supplies, etc., $961,882.39
Pay-rolls of the troops 519,593.06
-------------
Total $1,481,475.45

The aggregate number of volunteers was 1896. About one thousand were in service at one time. They were about equally divided between mounted and infantry troops. Oregon furnished 215,--the companies of Miller, Goff, and Richards (afterwards Williams). As the whites capable of bearing arms in the entire Territory did not exceed 1700, it is evident that this aid from Oregon was of great value.

Thirty-five stockades, forts, and blockhouses were built by the volunteers, some of them being quite large works, twenty-three by the settlers, and seven by the regular troops. Besides which, the roads and trails cut by the volunteers involved an immense amount of labor.

The strict discipline, high _morale_ and good conduct of the volunteers were remarkable, and very creditable to them, and to the firm and sagacious mind that organized and commanded them. All captured property was turned over to the quartermasters, and properly accounted for. There was no case of murder, or unauthorized killing of Indians, by the volunteers. There was no plundering or serious offenses of any kind charged upon them. They obeyed their orders with alacrity and zeal, no matter how arduous or how dangerous the duty required of them. They were the best type of American settlers, brave, intelligent, patriotic, self-respecting. They went into the war in self-defense, and were determined to put it through as soon as possible.

Study the maps of their marches and scouts; count the blockhouses they built, the roads and trails they opened; consider the unknown and almost impenetrable forest region the theatre of war; the rains; the hardships, the labors they underwent; and reflect how uniformly successful they were, not only in engagements, but in throwing the savage enemy wholly on the defensive, in completely putting an end to his attacks and depredations, and hunting him down so vigorously that only flight or submission could save him from death,--and one cannot but realize how necessary were their patriotic services and achievements, and how well they justified the wisdom and ability of Governor Stevens in calling them to the defense of the country, and carrying on an aggressive war.

FORTS AND BLOCKHOUSES BUILT BY VOLUNTEERS.

Stockade, Cowlitz Landing
Blockhouse, Cowlitz Farms
Blockhouse, Skookumchuck
Blockhouse, Chehalis River, at Ford's
Fort Miller, Tanalquot Plains
Fort Stevens, Yelm Prairie
Blockhouse at Lowe's, Chambers' Prairie
Blockhouse, Olympia
Stockade, Olympia
Fort Hicks, Camp Montgomery
Blockhouse, Camp Montgomery
Fort White, Puyallup Crossing
Fort Hays, Connell's Prairie
Blockhouse, Connell's Prairie
Fort White, White River Crossing
Fort Posey, White River Crossing
Fort McAllister, South Prairie
Blockhouse, Lone Tree Point
Fort Ebey, Snohomish River
Fort Tilton, below Snoqualmie Falls
Fort Alden, Ranger's Prairie
Blockhouse, Port Townsend
" Point Wilson
" Bellingham Bay
" on Skookumchuck
" Vancouver
" Fourth Prairie
" Washougal River
" Lewis River
Fort Mason, Walla Walla Valley
Fort Preston, Michel Fork of Nisqually
Blockhouse, Klikitat Prairie
Fort Kitsap, Port Madison
Fort Lander, Duwhamish River
Stockade, Seattle

BY SETTLERS FOR MUTUAL PROTECTION.

Blockhouse at Davis's, Claquato
Stockade at Cochran's, Skookumchuck
Stockade, Fort Henness, Grand Mound Prairie
Stockade at Goodell's, Grand Mound Prairie
Blockhouse, Tanalquot Plains
Blockhouse, Nathan Eaton's, Chambers' Prairie
Two blockhouses, Chambers' Prairie
Blockhouse at Ruddell's, Chambers' Prairie
Stockade at Bush's, Bush Prairie
Blockhouse at Rutledge's, Bush Prairie
Two blockhouses at Tumwater
Blockhouse, Dofflemyer's Point
Blockhouse, Whitby Island
" Port Gamble
Fort Arkansas, on Cowlitz
Blockhouse, on Miami Prairie
Blockhouse, Port Ludlow
" Port Madison
Two blockhouses, Boisfort
Two blockhouses, Cascades

BY REGULAR TROOPS.

Fort Slaughter, Muckleshoot Prairie
Fort Maloney, Puyallup River
Fort Thomas, Green River
Blockhouse, Black River
Fort, Walla Walla Valley
Fort, Yakima Valley
Blockhouse, Cascades

A few days after his return Governor Stevens was requested by Colonel Casey to take charge of a band of about a hundred lately hostile Sound Indians who had recently returned, or been sent back, from the Yakima. The colonel complained that he had already sent them to the reservation, but the agent had refused to receive them, and, in order to prevent any disturbance that might arise from the "strange conduct of your agent," he had again received and was feeding them. The governor, having learned that Stahi and other known murderers were with this band, and that Leschi had been recently seen near Fort Nisqually, the Hudson Bay Company post, at once replied, positively refusing to receive them until the murderers among them were arrested for trial, and formally demanded Colonel Casey's aid to that end:--

"I have therefore to request your aid in apprehending Leschi,
Qui-e-muth, Kitsap, Stahi, and Nelson, and other murderers, and to
keep them in custody awaiting a warrant from the nearest magistrate,
which being accomplished, I will receive the remainder.

"In conclusion, I have to state that I do not believe any country or
any age has afforded an example of the kindness and justice which
has been shown towards the Indians by the suffering inhabitants of
the Sound during the recent troubles. They have, in spite of the few
cases of murder which have occurred, shown themselves eminently a
law-abiding, a just, and a forbearing people. They desire the
murderers of Indians to be punished, but they complain, and they
have a right to complain, if Indians, whose hands are steeped in the
blood of the innocent, go unwhipped of justice."

In response to this Colonel Casey declared that these Indians "delivered themselves up to Colonel Wright when in the Yakima country, made their peace with him, and were promised protection. Colonel Wright informed me of these facts." He declined, therefore, to assist in arresting the murderers, on the ground that it would be bad policy, if not bad faith, to do so, and added that he would refer the matter to General Wool. He also remarked: "The Indians on the Sound, there is no doubt, can, by neglect and ill-usage, be driven to desperation."

The governor controverted the position assumed by Colonel Casey that protection had been promised these Indians by Colonel Wright, and renewed his demand:--

"I have the statement to me by Colonel Wright that he had made no
terms with them, and had guaranteed to them no immunity from trial
and punishment. This statement was made to me repeatedly by Colonel
Wright, and in the presence of witnesses, one of whom is Mr.
Secretary Mason. On the contrary, I have twice in writing made
requisition on Colonel Wright for the delivery to me, in order that
they might be brought within reach of the civil authorities, of
Leschi, Qui-e-muth, Kitsap, Stahi, and Nelson,--a requisition which
he has not pretended to disregard, but which he simply asked my
consent to have suspended for the present in view of the
circumstances under which they came in. I renew my requisition upon
you, as I did upon Colonel Wright, and I inclose for your
information the correspondence with Colonel Wright in relation to
the subject.

"Granted that it was a case of legitimate warfare, the men for whom
I make requisition committed the murders in a time of profound
peace, wider circumstances of unsurpassed treachery and barbarity,
when their victims were entirely unsuspicious of danger, and this,
too, in violation of the faith of treaties, which expressly
stipulated for the giving up of men guilty of such offenses.

"Nor is there any analogy between the cases of known Indians who
have murdered white men and certain unknown white men who have
murdered Indians. Your soldiers killed an Indian. Where are they?
The citizens have killed Indians. Where are they? Two are in your
own garrison in confinement awaiting trial; and the others,--proof
has not yet been found, after every exertion has been made to insure
a bill from a grand jury in regard to the persons suspected.

"I do not understand, in view of the known humanity and energy of
the Indian service on the Sound, aided as it has been by the body of
the citizens, the necessity, in communications to me, of this
constant reference to the ill-treatment of the Indians, for it must
be borne in mind that we have managed some four thousand five
hundred Indians on temporary reservations on the Sound during the
war. Indians taken from the war ground, by unwearied vigilance and
care, have been seen to pass from a state of uncertainty as to
whether they would join the war party, to one of contentment and
satisfaction, with no assistance from the military whatever."

The governor also sent Colonel Casey a copy of Colonel Wright's order on Major Garnett to deliver up the murderers.

This correspondence seems to raise an ugly question of veracity between the two regular officers in regard to whether protection had or had not been promised the Sound murderers, but the strenuous efforts to shield them from punishment for their crimes made by these officers is passing strange.

Colonel Casey persisted in his refusal, saying: "This is a case in which the rights and usages of war are somewhat involved, and in consequence I consider myself and military superiors the proper persons to judge in the matter," and he referred it to General Wool. That officer, of course, swiftly directed him to protect Leschi, and all other Indians professing friendship, against the whites.

A few days later Colonel Casey again referred to the case of the Indians, suggested that the reports which his agents and others carried to the governor should be received with great caution, and remarked:--

"The one which I had the honor to receive from you a few days since,
that more than one hundred Indians had left the reservation for the
purpose of joining Leschi, proves to have been, what I believed at
the time, a baseless fabrication. With a sincere desire to do
justice to all, I will say that it is my firm belief, after weighing
I trust with due consideration all the circumstances connected with
the matter, that if, in dealing with the Indians on the Sound, a
spirit of justice is exercised, and those who have charge of them
are actuated by an eye single to their duties and the peace of the
country, there need be no further difficulty."

This unwarrantable slur called forth the following pungent reply from the governor. He had made no such report as Casey attributed to him:--

LIEUTENANT-COLONEL SILAS CASEY.

_Sir_,--My reasons for declining to receive the Indians at your post
have been already stated, and remain in full force. When the
murderers, and those accused of murder, are, in compliance with my
requisition, placed by you in the hands of the civil authority, the
Indians will be received. The agents have positive orders to receive
none of these Indians except by my written instructions. The
Indians have been or will be indicted by the grand jury of the
several counties. As you have proclaimed that hostilities have
ceased, they are in your military possession.

In regard to your observations about the reports which my "agents
and others carry to me," as well as the reiterations of former
observations in reference to the exercise of a spirit of justice,
and the efforts of persons in charge of Indians being "actuated by
an eye single to those duties and the peace of the country," I have
simply to state that the tone of them is offensive, and comes with
an ill grace from the authority which has done little to that which
has done much. It is not my disposition to retaliate, but the
occasion makes it proper for me to state that the greatest
difficulty I have had to encounter in stopping the whiskey traffic
with the Indians at Steilacoom and Bellingham Bay has been the
conduct of your own command. It would seem to be more appropriate
that you should first control and reform the conduct of your own
people, before going out of your way to instruct and rebuke another
branch of the public service,--a service, too, which, both from its
experience and the success which has attended its labors, is
entitled to the presumption that it is as much interested in, and as
much devoted to, the peace of the country as yourself, and as well
qualified, to say the least, to consider dispassionately and to
judge wisely of affairs at the present juncture.

I have also been informed of your thanking God, in the presence of
Mr. Wells, who informed you how the Muckleshoot reservation was laid
off, that the iniquity of it was not upon your hands,--a remark
highly presumptuous and insulting, as well from the fact that the
business did not concern you, as from the fact that the reservation
was laid off both in the way I arranged with the Indians at the
council on Fox Island and to their entire satisfaction on the
ground.

Very respectfully your obedient servant,

ISAAC I. STEVENS,
_Governor and Supt. Indian Affairs_.

N.B. I will respectfully ask you to send me a copy of my letter
notifying you that one hundred Indians had left to join Leschi.

It is perhaps creditable to Colonel Casey's discretion that he attempted no reply to this letter, but simply acknowledged its receipt, and admitted that, in attributing the report about Leschi to the governor, "it was an error on my part, and I cheerfully correct it." A thoroughly well-meaning man, he was evidently affected by Wool's orders and influence; and, moreover, he suffered himself to give ear to, and was consequently misled by, the clique of lawyers and politicians who had instigated the martial law trouble in order to embarrass the governor, and were now hounding him with unabated rancor.

Notwithstanding Casey's scruples and Wool's orders, Leschi and other accused murderers were duly indicted, arrested, and delivered to and received by Colonel Casey for custody at Fort Steilacoom, and thereupon the governor relieved him of his unwelcome protégés by sending them to the reservation. Leschi was tried in due time, but the jury disagreed. He was convicted at a subsequent trial, and expiated his crimes on the gallows. The regular officers at Fort Steilacoom, with certain lawyers and Indian sympathizers, made desperate efforts to save him from punishment, but in vain. The well-meaning Casey was even hanged in effigy by the people, indignant at his course.

Leschi's brother, Qui-e-muth, was captured near Yelm prairie, November 18, and brought to the governor's office in Olympia at midnight. The governor gave strict orders for guarding and protecting him there until morning, when he was to be taken to Steilacoom. Just before daylight, as he was sleeping on the floor, surrounded by his guards, who were also asleep, a man rushed into the room, the door being unlocked, shot Qui-e-muth in the arm with a pistol, and, as he rose to his feet, drove a bowie knife into his heart, and rushed out as suddenly as he had entered. The deed was done, the assassin vanished, the victim sank lifeless to the floor, all in an instant, ere the startled and astonished guards could raise a hand to protect their charge. The governor, who had retired to rest in his quarters in the next building, aroused by the shot and the trampling of feet, came immediately to the scene, and was horror-struck and filled with indignation at the crime, and denounced it in unmeasured terms as a disgrace to the good name of the people and of the Territory. He made every effort to identify and punish the murderer, but without avail. None of the guards could identify him, and no testimony could be found against any one. Yet it was currently whispered that vengeance for the murder of McAlister, a settler on the Nisqually and one of the earliest victims of savage treachery, had nerved the arm of his son-in-law, Joseph Bunting, to strike the blow.

Nothing that occurred during the whole war excited greater indignation in the mind of the governor than this act, or caused him more regret and chagrin. He had been unremitting in his efforts to protect the Indians from lawless violence, and with such remarkable success that the volunteers were wholly free from reproach; only six cases had occurred among the exasperated settlers, and several of these he had brought to trial. And now this dastardly deed brought reproach to his very door.