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Les diagrammas suivants illustrent la mAthode. 12 3 1 2 3 ' !' 4 5 6 ^f" 'P«ii«;8i. 1' t '^ ifte Methodist im^'Sochfy to the ^ff^^^*^*^^'i^*it-General of \:fitdian Affairs respecting ^^^iUsh Columbia TrouMes. I, Ajffid^ts, Deckratians, Etc, twj EJ^l^-i.. >^^-"'^::!as;^.^;;u;' ^r^^.Wl'#«/»J^«^^«J»f^jP^|!p5^ S, i BiPfW^BPfK-W^ • ) a|>l.viu\'\-)^.o ■pp llWii J,UUliUJ II LETTER from the Methodist Missionary Society to the Superintendent'General of Indian Affairs respecting British Colwnbia Troubles, With Affidavits, Declanitions, Etc, tmm mRARY, ■J. c\ INDEX. LETTER TO SUPERINTENDENT-OENEHAL ""^T Appkndix. Statement of llev. T. Crosby 2 Declaration of Rev. J. A. Wood 9 Afficliivit of Rev. D. Jennings 10 Letter of Rev. T. Crosby to Sir John A. Macdonalcl 10 Protest of Port Simpson Chiefs to Mr. O'Reilly 13 Statement of Rev. A. E. Green 14 Suppletnentary " " " 22 Letter of Rev. T. Crosby to Mr. Croasdaile 23 " " " Dr. Powell 24 " James Deans to Rev. T. Crosby 25 Statement of Skidegate Chief.s 27 " itev. G. F. Hopkins 29 " Rev. W. H. Pierce 31 " W. U. Dempster 33 " " Geo. Robinson 34 Letter of Rev. W. H. Collison to Rev. T. Crosby 36 Mr. Crosby's Reply 37 Letter of Port Simpson Chiefs to Commissioners 38 Affidavit of A. VV. Cla1i>r 43 " John Ryan 45 " Chief Paul Legaic 47 " Louis Gosnell 49 Affidavit of Chief Alfred Doudoward 51 " Charles Abbott 54 Statement of Chief Herbert Wallace 56 " " Richard Wilson '. 58 Letter of Port Simpson ( hiefs to Captain Jeinmett 60 Protest " " " " " 62 Statement of David McKay 62 " Chief Arthur Calder 64 " Charles Russ 64 " . George A. (iibson 66 " Chief Scaban 67 " (.hief Ness-Pash 69 Chief Clay-Tsah 69 " Chief Tat-Ca-Kaks 70 Job Calder 71 Letter of Port Simpson Chiefs to Commissioners 73 Supplementary Statement of Rev. T. Crosby 77 92804 Letter from the }fhsionary Society of the Methodist Church to the Super- intendent- Gtneral of Indian Affairs, Sir.— Toronto, May, 1889. In accordance with an underntandini^ reacheu at an inter- view on the 27tli of March last, which the Premier and yourself were good enough to grant to a deputation representing the Missionary Society of the Methodist Church, we have the honor to submit a memorandum of the points referred to in the con- versation which then took place, and certain statements and evidence in support thereof, so that the Government may have a clear understanding of the matters of which we complain. It is necessary, in the first instance, to mention briefly how that state of amiirs came about which rendered necessary an appeal to the Government. It has be6n known to us for a number of yeans past that somewhat strained relations exi.sted between the agents of the Indian Department in British Columbia, and some of the missionaries of the MethodLst Church, and we feel constrained to say that from some of the agents,at least, our missionaries have received but scant coiirte.sy. We had noticed from time to time brief references in the reports of some of tht; agents containing reflections upon missions and missionaries that we thought were not justified by the facts, and which seemed to manifest an unfriendly spirit toward the agents of our Church. This became more marked when a Commission was appointed by the Briti.sh Columbia Govern- ment to inve.stigate certain matters connected with the Indians on the Pacific coast. At t'. ■; sittings of that Commission, wit- nes-ses were permitted to go entirely out of the way to make charges of the most gross and libellous description against missionaries, and this without any remonstrance or reproof from the Commissioner. At a later date, a ji)int commission, representing the Dominion and the British Columbia Govern- ment, was appointed. A number of Indian villages on the coast and elsewhere were visited, and in due time a report was published. This report contained observations which were 11 evidently desifjned to reflect unfavorably upon certain mission- aries of the Methodist Church, and their influence among the Indians. Furtheroiore, we have been informed that a private report from this Commission has been forv/arded to the Depart- ment, in which much stronger language has been used and more damaging statements made touching some of the mis>°ionaries. For several years our missionaries have patiently borne this undesirable state of aflairs, and it was only when the damaging and, as we believe, undeserved statements lif the agents and Commissioners were becoming somewhat notorious, it was felt that the issue could be no longer ignored. Accordingly, the subject was brought, in the first instance, before the Annual Con- ference of the Methodist Church in British Columbia, and from that body a memorial was forwarded to our General Missionary Board. After carefully considering the memorial and hearing statements in support of it, the Board decided that in justice alike to the missionaries and the Government, a careful in- vestigation must be made, and the real facts of Ihe case brought to light. The result of this investigation up to the present time is a mass of evidence, which, taken on its face, reveals a sad tale of unfair treatment of the Indians on the part of Government agent", and of undeserved reproaches cast upon missionaries of the Methodist Church. It is matter of common notoriety that a dissatisfied and restless feeling has existed among many of the Indians of the Pacific Coast, and in various ways, and throuijh various chan- nels, certain missionaries of the Methodist Church have been accused of causing the trouble ; and we have reason to believe, that reports of this description received by the Goveinment have greatly influenced their policy, especially in relation to Indian missions of the Methodist Church. Aa regards any dis- .«atisfaction that exists among the Indians, we can, after care- ful inquiry, emphatically deny that it has been can.sed by the teaching or influence of our missionaries. On the contrary, we aflSrm, and are prepared to support it by incontrovertible testimony, that some of the very missionaries who have been accused of causing trouble have, on many occasions, put then>- selves to great inconvenience, exposed themselves to serious danger, and even to death, in order to uphold the authority of the law, and to persuade the Indians to be submissive theieto. From the evidence that has come before us, we are convinced that the trouble among the Indians has been cau,sed chiefly by two things — first, a policy on the part of the (xovernnient, which the Indians, rightly or wrongly, believ^ed to be unjust and unfair; and secondly, the partial conduct and broken promises of agents of the Government m It has been represented by agents of the Government that the Indians at certain villages, more especially at Fort Simp- son and on the Naas River, have refused to receive a Govern- ment ajjent, and have refused to come under the provisions of the Indian Act. And it has been further represented that this anLagonistic attitude on the part of the Indians is due to the teaching and influence of the Methodist missionaries at the villages referred to. In regard to this we affirm, that no such teaching has been given and no such influence exerted by mis- sionaries of the Methodist Church ; but that the antagonism has arisen from the fact that the Indians have seen, that, in some cases at least, where agents have been sent, the condition of the people is made worse instead of better; and in the Chris- tian villages of Fort Simpson and Greenville, not to .speak of others, there is an intense dread lest the coming of the aal govern- ment established among them, so that they may fashion their in.>*tituiions and enforce their laws after the manner of white men, instead of being under the arbitrary and. as they fear, unjust control of a virtually irresponsible Indian agent. It has not escaped the notice of the Christian Indians that in the Report of your Department for 1888 (Part l.,,p. 201), the Government agent institutes a comparison, very much to their disadvantage, between them and some pagan Indians who still continue the abominable potlach, herding in common, and other immoral heathen practices. These latter are spoken of as being more " respectful and obedient " than the Christian Indian.s — a circumstance that may be due to the fact that their village had been shelled by a Government gunboat not long before. Our Indians at Fort Simp.son, and the Naas also, feel that injustice is done them by other disparaging remarks in the same report For instance, the Kincolith Indians are freely lauded at their expense. They consider this unfair, inasmuch as, v/hile they have always respected the law and the rights of others, it is notorious that the.se same Kincolith Indians, not long before the date of the Report, had violently interfered with white men and their boats, and prevented them from going to their property in the neighborhood ; that they had fired on an Indian and his family approaching in their boat, and, during the preceding suirniier, had also interfered with the Deputy Fishery Commissioner, in the prosecution of his official duties. II IV There is no doubt that the unfortunate position of THE LAND QUESTION is at the foundation of a great part of these difficulties. In various official reports, and in the Report of the Joint Domin- ion and Provincial Commission of 1887, it has been freely charged that it has been at the instigation of the Methodist missionarios that the Indians have put forward their claims to the land. A reference to a few dates and facts will show how unfounded this is. Our missionaries first visited the north-west coast in 1874. We find that in 1850, 1851, and 1852, Governor Douglas made no less than fourteen different purchases of tracts of land from -< various tribes of Indians. In 1858, a memorial to the Colonial Secretary from the Aborigines' Protection Society set forth that "the Indians are keenly sensitive in regard to their own rights as the aborigines of the country, and are equally alive to the value of the gold discoveries," and again, that " the In- dians possess an intelligent knowledge of their own rights, and appear to be determined to maintain them by all the means in their power." In a despatch to the Colonial Secretary, of March 25th, 1861, Governor Douglas says: "As the native In- dian population of Vancouver Island have distinct ideas of property in land, and mutually recognize their several exclu- sive possessory rights in certain districts, they would not fail to regard the occupation of such portions of the colony by white settlers, unless with the full con.sent of the proprietary tribes, a'.on. And this is only one instance among a great many which seem to show that the fixed policy of the agents of the Government was to discriminnte a/uinst those Indians who belonged to Meth- odist missions, and in favor of those connected with the Church of England. Referring again to the work of the Joint C mimission, we have to say that it appf^ars to us that the investigation was cnducted in an exceedingly partial manner. The pl■in^ed instructions issued to the Commission required them to pro- ceed directly to the Naas River, and, in their interviews with the Indians, to make use of the local interpreters, and even to allow missionaries to interpret for them, out not to act the part of advocates. In the face of these instructions, the Com- mission stopped first at Metlakahtia, where they employed the paid interpreter of the Anglican Bishop, who was taken to the other villages agtinst the wisii, and even protest, of the In- dians. At Port Simpson it had been the custom of the Indians, from the time they adopted civilized habits, to hold all public meetings in the school house — n commodious building, capable of accommodating a large namber. But when the Commission reached that village, repeited attempts were made by them to secure another building. This had an unfavorable effect upon the people, 'who seemed to regard it as an unnecessary slight- put upon themselves, and it was only when they refused ;,o meet the Commissioners anywhere else than in the .schfyol- house, that the latter yielded tho point. In the printed rep n't of the Commission, the language used is guarded, but a part of it is sufficiently explicit to show that the Commission desired to convey an unfavorable im'preasion of certain mis- sionaries of the Methodist (Church. As before stated, we have reason to believe that this unfavorable impression is much more strongly conveyed in tha private report. Furthermore, we are informed on good authority, that when this report was prepared, one of the Commissioners at first refused to sign it, declaring that the Methodist missionarits were the only men who were accomplishing any good among the Indians, and it was only under pressure that he finally attached his signature. It has already been intimated in this memorandum that we have had rea.son to regard the cinnluct of certain agents of the Government as by no means impartial in their treatment Vll of our missionaries. Repeatedly the Indian CommiHsioner for British Columbia has refused to grant any interview to Meth- odist Indians when the missionaries were present In regard to schools, they have not extended to us the consideration and fair treatment which has been extended to others, and requests for medicines have been either refused or delayed for months. In the laying out of Indian Reserves the same thing is apparent In this connection we instance the mission at Wassett, on Queen Charlotte's Island, where the Land Commissioner, in surveying the reserve, excluded a tract of about twelve acres so as to enable the au'jhbrities of the Anglican mission to obtain a patent for the same ; whilst at Port Simpson and on the Naas, which are Methodist missions, he refused entirely to exclude the ground on -which our mission premises are erected from the boundaries of the reserve. Another instance of official partiality of which our Indians at Greenville or Lach-al-tsap, on the Naas, complain, is that of the Commissioner respecting the Stony Point Reserve adjoining their village. He set apart one chain on the bank of the river as common- age, and gave the rest of the reserve to the Greenville Indians who resided there. He says in the Department Report for 1883, at page 87 : " On this reserve, some ten cr twelve families be- longing to Lack-al-tsap village reside," etc. . . " I arranged that the resident Indians .should have the exclusive privilege of cultivating the land, while the rights of those who have been in the habit of lishing should not be interfered with." Some time after this the Kincolith Indians, who live about twenty miles off, came with a map, on which was marked, " Kincolith Reserve," and took possession of it. The officials at Victoria at first denied that they had issued the map, but subsequently admitted the fact; and then Mr. O'Reilly denied having given it to the Lach-al- tsap Indians, notwithstanding his own report above quoted and the testimony herewith furnished, and the Kincolith Indians built upon and still occupy the ground behind the commonage, although this was given as above to the Greenville Indians, whose village it adjoins, and who resided npon it. Another matter of which we strongly complain, is the course pursued by the Government touching Industrial Institutes for the Indians in British Columbia. When we heard that such Institutes were to be established, we naturally expected that in the management of these schools the work done by the Me- thodist Missionary Society would be recognized. When we found this was not likely to be the case, representations were made by us to the Indian Department, when we were assured that it was the intention of the Government that the Institutes liili i 1!i! i !• I ii vni established in British Columbia should be Go- eminent Insti- tutes and strictly non-sectarian. After these assurances, what was our surprise to find that of three Institutes two have been placed, or are to be placed, in char^je of the Roman Catholic Church, while the third is planted at the Anglican mission of Met- lakhatla, where there are not one hundred Indians all told; and Port Simpson, the Methodist mission twenty miles away, with more than eight hundred Indians, is completely ignored. Had the Government adhered to its proposed intention to make these Institutes distinctl3 non-sectarian, we would not have com- plained ; but the course pursued we can only regard as un- friendly towards the Methodist Church, and as in keeping with the general course pursued by the agents of the Government in Briti.sh Columbia, that is to discriminate against Methodist missions and in favor of those of other communions, although fully fivr>-si.\ths of the Indians under religious instruction on the north-west coast are under the charge of our missionaries. To sum up, we respectfully and earnestly urge upon the Government, first, such a modification of the policy toward the Indians on the Pacific coast as will remove all just ground of complaint, and quiet the excited feeling that now unfortanately exi.sts. Secondly, a consideration of those matters of which we complain, namely : unfair treatment, misleading and incorrect reports of a<.ients, partiality on the part of agents with respect both to missinns and schools, the ignoring of our reasonable claims touching the proposed Institutes, and that policy toward the Indians residing on Methodist missions which we can only describe as a policy of exasperation. B^or these things we respectfully ask redres.s. Finally, we retjue.st that there may be a full investigation by an independent and impartial commission of the matters herein referred to, and that fair opportunity be given to the authori- ties of the Missionary Board to be represented before the com- mission and to produce such evidence as they deem iniportant in the case. Appended hereto you. will find copies of a large number of affidavits, declarations, etc., which have been made by parties having an intimate knowledge of the facts upon which the fore- going statements are based. On behalf of the Misssonary Society of the Methodist Church. A. CARMAN, D.D., \ ., . ,. ., , .. J. A. WILLIAMS, DD., I ^^'** ^"^^* A. SUTHERLAND, D.D., Mvisio-nary Secretary. imi APPENDIX. APPENDIX. Copy.] I! llli STATEMENT OF REV. T. CROSBY. My knowledge of the Indian land question, in British Colum- bia, dates back to 1864. In many instances, as on the Nanaimo and Cheraainus Rivers, on Vancouver Island, and also on the Lower Fraser River, settlers were allowed to encroach upon the Indians' f^ardens and cultivated patches until there was not ten acres to each family, and in some cases not two. For years a strong feeling existed among the Indians in regard to this. The first visit of a Methodist minister to Port Simpson was by the Rev. W. Pollard, Chairman of the British Columbia Dis- trict, in February, 1S74, at the request of the Indians. On his return, he reported that the Indians were much troubled over reports about their rights in the land. I went there in June, 1874, and found the feeling and apprehensions on the subject very strong. The matter frequently came up in their councils. I wrote a number of times, on their behalf, to Dr. Powell, who replied that they need not fear. When Dr. Powell came up the coast, in 1877, he visited the Indians of Port Simpson, and told them, in a meeting of four or tive hundred people, that the land belonged to them, and whenever their hearts were troubled about what bad white men might saj' to them they were to send to him. At the same time he told iheiii that, in his opinion, the Hudson's Bay Com- pany could claim no land outside their enclosure, and they need Ml! 8 not be troubled, for he was sent by the Queen to see after their welfare. He also spoke kindly of their village Council, and pointed out to them that their Council could remove any ob- structions to the sanitary condition of their village. A reserve had been put by the Government on all the lands on tha^ part of the coast until the Indian land question should be settled. Mr. O'Reilly, Land Commissioner, came up in 1881, without giving notice of his coming. He called together the few people who were at home. They complained that they had not had any notice, and hence so few of their people were at home, but went on to explain what lands they wished to keep for their [)eople. He pooh-poohed and said he could not listen to such ong speeches, he must get on with his work. He met some of the Indians the next day at the Hudson Bay Company's Fort, when they handed him a writt( n protest, dated October oth, 1881, against his going on with the Reserves as he proposed, and asking for at least the whole of the Tsimpshean Peninsula for the Indians resident on it, in all about 2,000 people, and their fishing stations on the Naas and Skeena. A copy of this letter, with another written by myself, was forwarded to the Indian Department at Ottawa, in 1882. The whole Peninsula is mountain and rock and swamp. When Mr. McKay came up as Indian agent, he called the people together, December 3ra, 1883. They were pleased with the kind way he listened to them. Mr. Hopkins took down the speeches, a copy of which I kept. Mr. McKay told the Indians that their claim was a reasonable one, and he would go and lay the whole matter before the Government He went away professedly to do this. The Indians expected him back, but he ■ never came. They afterwards sent a letter asking him the reason of this. The Indians were much displeased, and said the Government would not let Mr. McKay come back because he wished to do right to them. Some time after this Judge Elliott came up to Simpson. He spoke against the village councils, and told our people at Simpson and Essington that they had no right to have such councils, that they were illegal. These councils were the only municipal government they had ever had. I went with Mr. Hopkins and Mr. Green to Judge Elliott, to lay a complaint before him of the violation of the Potlatch law, and also of the Indians making and selling whiskey on Queen Charlotte's Island. He replied that he could do nothing under the Potlatch law, as a circular i&sued by Dr. Powell gave the Indians permission to return the property they had received at previous potlatchcs, which really meant keeping up the system of potlatches. He took down Mr. Hopkins' statement in the liquor case, but nothing more was done in the matter. He had !!•! also refused to listen to well-founded complaints by our Port Simpson Indiana against Kincolith Indians of having stolen their property, although they ottered to swear to their charges. By these means he greatly lessened the respect of the Indians for the law. About this time the Land Reserve was lifted by the Local Government, a surveyor having been despatched from Victoria previously, to be on the spot at the date that the Reserve was lifted in Victoria. This surveyor went to work at once and staked off" in lots and surveyed the whole land, encircling the harbor of Fort Simpson. This was done in the intere,st of private parties, and i<> known as the Fort Simpson land grab. This annoyed the Indians very much. Tiiey wanted to know who got the money, as they understood this land was sold. May £^.Jh, 1886, Captain Jemmet and party reached Naa.s, having been sent by Commissioner O'Reilly to survey the Hshing stations on the Nuas River. The Indians of Port Simpson sent him a letter protesting against his going on with the survey. Nov. 6th, 1886, the party came to Port Simpson. The Indians again sent him a letter of protest against the survey. He told them they were right in doing so, and he would send their letters to the proper quarter. When Mr. Tuck came up the following spring, they also objected to his going on with the survey. He took down their speeches and promi?jed to send them on to the proper authorities ; but the Indians heard no more about it, and the survey was proceeded with notwithstanding their protest. In January, 1887, I was urged, at a large meeting of the Indians, to go to Victoria with a deputation to wait on the Provincial Government and Dr. Powell and Mr. O'Reilly. We made this journey of 600 miles in mid-winter. On reaching Victoria, an arrangement was made for an interview on 2nd February. Just before the time fixed for the meeting, we were told it could not take place for another day ; and, further, we were told that neither Mr. Green nor myself would be permitted to be present. Hon. J. Robson, Provincial Secretary, informed me that Dr. Powell and Mr. O'Reilly refused to meet the Indians and the members of the Provincial Government if either Mr. Green or myself was present. A Kincolith Indian was employed as interpreter, though I had gone down at the urgent request of the people for this pur- pose, and the Indians repeatedly objected to going on with the interview, as they were not satisfied with the iuteipreter. The interpreter also expressed himself as doubtful of the correct- ness of his interpretation. At the time of the murder of C. Yomuans, at the Forks of the Skeena, alarming reports reached the Government in Victoria. Mr. Green and I were both in Victoria, and were asked our opinion as to the sending up of an armed force and a war-ship. We advised that an officer of the law and a constable be sent. Accordingly, Mr. Elliott and Mr Roycroft were sent up ; but, failing to get Indians to take them up the river, we secured them a number of guides and packers at the Metiiodist Missions at Simpson and Naas. For some years we have had school at Kit-lach-damux, on the Upper Naas. When Mr. Green informed me that Mr. Croasdaile had been instructed by Dr. Powell to call together the people of this place at his fishery, which was about forty miles from their home, to give their vote as to whether they would have the Methodist or English Church to supply them with a school, I wrote a letter to Mr. Croasdaile, protesting against the injustice of this. In 1877 Dr. Powell visited Skidegate and Gold Harbor, on Queen Charlotte's Islands, and promised the Indians that they should have a school and teacher. Deputations from these places fretjuently came to us asking for a school ; but we as often put them ott", saying we understood the Church Missionary Society would take charge of these islands, as a correspondence was going on at that time between the Bishop and ourselves, with a view to a division of the field. In the fall of 1881 I called on Dr. Powell, and told him that these people were begging us to give them a teacher, and asked if he knew whether or not anything was going to be done for them by the Bishop. He said he did not know of anything, but by all means they should have a teacher. In July, 1882, I called again, in company with the Rev. Mr. Wood and Mr. Jennings. Ihad just returned from Ontario. I asked Dr. Powell if anything had been done by the Bishop towards sending a teacher to Skidegate. He replied that he was not aware that anything had been done. I said, iti case the Bishop sent no one, would he think it well for us to send a teacher. He replied that there could be no objection to that ; it would be be a good thing, if the Methodists had one, to send him. Mr. George Robinson was appointed to the place. In the following fail I called on Dr. Powell again, when he .seemed much put out, and said we ought not to have sent a teacher to Skidegate, that we should have left that for the Bishop. I reminded him of what he had said in July, in the presence of Mr. Jennings and Mr. Wood, and he denied the whole thing. Years ago we had an annual industrial show at Port Simpson, and I applied to Dr. Powell for assistance in prizes, but he refused to help us, though he did assist other places in this way. For many years we have had a girls' boarding school and 6 !'■■ i orphanage, as well as a day school at Port Simpson, and Dr. Powell visited it and knew what we were doing, yet though special grants of $500 each were made to St. Mary's Roman Uatholic, and to Metlakahtla English Church Mission, no special grant was ever made for the Methodists at Port Simpson, although doiug at least equal work. Within the last year one of the three Industrial schools to be established in Britiuh Columbia has been located at Bishop Ridley's Mission, at Met- lakahtla, where there are not more than one hundred Indians, while at Port Simpson Methodist Mission there is a village of eight hundred people, and a much better site and location. At the conference between the Indians and the Government, February 8th, 1887, a Commission was promised to go up the coast in the spring, to inquire into their grievances. The Indians were much surprised and annoyed when, instead of the Commission, a surveying party was sent up early in tlio summer to lay out the reserve. The Commission did not arrive till the following October. Previous to the arrival of the Com- mission, I received an official letter from Rev. E. Robson, Presi- dent of the Methodist Conference, stating that Hon. J. Robson, Provincial Secretary, had told him that the Commission had been instructed to proceed to Noas and Port Simpson, and that local interpreters could be employed, or the missionaries might act as interpreters if the Indians wished it. Instead of follow- ing these instructions, the Commission went out of their way to call at Metlakahtla, to get the Bishop's paid interpreter. When they came to Port Simpson, the Indians protested strongly against speaking through the Bishop's interpreter. The Indians had arranged to meet the Commission in the Methodist school- house, the usual place for public meetings ; but notwithstanding the school-house had been offered to them, tlie Commission tried to make arrangements to hold their meeting in Hudson's Bay Company's Guest House, and, failing that, in a private house which would not have acco: nodated half the people. Fijially, the Indians told them that if they did not come to the school- house they would nrc 'neet them. The Indians had bten much pleased at the arrival of the Commission, fired a salute, and were prepared to receive them in the most loyal manner, hoping that this would result in the settlement of their difficulties ; but the course the Commission took greatly shook their confidence. One of the leading chiefs, Alfred Doudoward, with whom the Provincial Secretary and the Attorney-General had pre- viously corresponded with regard to the Commission, had been chosen by the Indians to be their chief speaker. He was in the midst of his speech, at six o'clock, when the meeting was adjourned to the next day. The next morning, at the opening * of the session, he was told that he would not be allowed to speak on behalf of the Indians, because he was a half-breed. This save the people no time to choose another in his place, and the whole course of the Commission gave the Indians the im- pression that thuy did not wish to give them a- fair hearing. Mr. Cornwall, the Dominion Commissioner, made remarks at the close of the Commission which groatly displeased the Indians, but they were refused permission to reply, and a letter the Indians sent to the Commissioners, expressing their views, was not published in t'e Report. Mr. Planta, the Provincial Commissioner, told me -hat he wished this letter inserted, but Mr. Cornwall would not agree to it. Mr. Planta further told me that he made objetUons to signing the Report, because it made undue reflection upon the Methodist missionaries, who, he believed, were the best|mi!.sionarie8 on the coast, and were doing the most good. I infer that it was the pressure brought to bear upon him that induced Mr. Planta to sign the Report. The charge of disloyalty made against the Methodist Indians and missionaries is positively without foundation, and had they been treated fairly and kindly the whole of this trouble might have been avoided. The Commissioners promised the Indians an official reply after their Report should be made to the Government, but no reply ever came. Instead of this, an Indian agent was sent up to force himself on the Indians, though the Indians had ex- pressly stated they did not wish an agent till their land question was settled. More than that, the Indians maintained, that at Fort Rupert and other places where agents were stationed, drunkenness and " potlatching " and debauchery were carried on, and the Indians at these places were much worse off than they themselves without an agent. Lrist year I received a letter from Dr. Powell saying that all communications with the Department were to be sent through Mr. Todd, the Indian Agent at Metlakahtla. I sent through Mr. Todd, in May lost, a request for a supply of medicines, as it has been the custom of the Department to supply medicines for the use of the Indians. Month after month passed, but no medicines came ; and I was obliged to furnish them myself, as I was constantly visiting Indians in need of them. Last Decem- ber I received a note, saying the medicines were in Victoria for me. The Methodist Tshimpsean Indians feel very keenly the aspersions on their characters and the unjust comparisons made by the Joint Commission and in Departmental Reports between them and the Kincolith Indians. The latter are frequently referred to as " loyal " and more " civilized," and various con- trasts unfavorable to the Methodist Indians drawn. The facts are |jl!Ml!l 'lilil! -il 1!,! 8 that the latter have been uniformly loyal and law-abiding; while the Kincoliths, who are now under the Indian Advancement, and who have been so much lauded by the officials, have been in the habit of taking the law into their own hands. No longer ago than last summer, they took the Deputy Fishery Inspector, Mr. McNab, before their village council, and demanded that he hand over to them half the money he had collected from the fisheries. Last spring the same band fired upon an Indian, Arthur Clab, and his family, in his canoe, when about to land at their village. Not long before, Messrs. McArthur and Roundy, when on their way to their timber limits, leased from the Provincial Govern- ment, were stopped by threats from these same Kincolith Indians, who took their boat from them, and by violence pre- vented them from going to their limits. The fact that the Agent, Mr. Todd, has spent nearly the whole of the year at Metlakhatla and Kincolith, where there are only about 300 Indians, has tended to prejudice the other Indians against the Department. He never even made an official visit to Port Simpson, unless the occasion on which he accompanied Mr. O'Reilly there could be considered one. He has never visited Skidegate, Gold Harbor, Clue, or Kit-a-maat, where we have missions and beautiful Christian villages, or Bella Coola, where there is a less advanced mission ; Bella Bella, another flourishing mission village, he merely visited in passing, and did n»t meet the people officially. It has always appeared to the Indians and the people of the coast that Bishop Ridley had the ear of the Government, and at his call a war-ship would come at any time. At three dif- ferent times war-ships were sent up to Metakahtla, at greai. ex- pense to the Government, and coting a very unhappy feeling among the Indians. Rev. F. Dunn and his wife, who had been in cliarge at Metlakahtla, stated to me that if Bishop Ridley had not been there, all would have been quiet ; that his few aoher- ents were only kept by presents. In the month of may last, I, with the Rev, A. E. Green, called on Dr. Preager, at Nanaimo. Dr. Preager had been stationed at Metlakahtla, 3..»J was Secetary of the North Pacific Mission. He told us that while he was at Metlakahtla a trouble arose over one of the Indians, a follower of Bishop Ridley, commen- cing to build a house on a piece of land, to which Mr. Duncan's Indians objected. Finally, the Bishop laid some charges against certain Indians, who were tried by Dr. Powell and another magistrate, who went up on a man-of-war. The charges were dismissed, but Dr. Powell proposed that both Mr. Duncan's Indians and Bishop Ridley's should agree to let the disputed land remain unoccupied, neither party to take it, tmta 9 and so avoid further trouble. Indians oi both parties, with Mr. Duncan and Bishop Ridley, agreed to this. Shortly after- wards Bishop Ridley sailed for England, leaving Dr. rreager and Rev. Mr. Duncan in charge at Metlakahtla, and all went quietly. Although there were two churches, there was no clashing. This went on for several months, till they received a letter from Bishop Ridley, saying things were growing too quiet at Metlakahtla, and that they should tell Moses Venn (the man who had been stopped before) to go on and build his house on the disputed land, and so excite Mr Duncan's Indians, and then the Government would move to put Mr. Duncan and his people down. Dr. Preager wrote the Bishop to the effect that he would do no such thing. In regard to the repoited o //break on the Upper Skeena, last summer, after Kit-wan-cool Jim liad shot the conjuror, I would say that reports were much exaggerated by interested parties. If Mr. Graham, an old and tried magistrate from that part of the country, had been allowed to remain there the whole, trouble might have been averted ; and if the special constables sent up had acted with ordinary prudence, no special difficulty need have been encountered. As to the war-ship being sent up, there was no need of that whatever. When Mr. Roycroft in- quired into the matter he strongly censured the course of the constables. So that the fact in the whole trouble was cau.sed, not by the " misleading " Methodist missionaries, as some of the press of this country had it, but by the blundering of Govern- ment officials. I solemnly declare uhe foregoing statement to be true, to the best of my knowledge and belief. T. Crosby. March 22nd, 1889. Copy.] DECLARATION OF REV. J. A. WOOD. I solemnly declare that I was in Victoria on July 17th, 1882, and in company with Rev. T. Crosby, and Mr. D. Jennings, went to Dr. Powell's office. Mr. Crosby asked Dr. Powell if there would be anything in the way of the Methodist Church sending a teacher to Skide- gate, Queen Charlotte's Island. Dr. Powell replied in this way : There cannot now be any objection, as the other Church hasi not sent one ; and he said he thought it would be a good thing for the Methodist Church to send a teacher there. J. A. Wood. Signed in the presence of, F. W. Foster, J.P., DEcaMDEFv 5th, 1888. Clinton, B.C. wsmk f i' i I IM i -'■ ; ; i; Copy.] 10 AFFIDAVIT OF REV. D. JENNINGS. Sometime between the 13th and the 16th of July, in the year 1882, I remember going in company with the Rev. Thomas Crosby and James A. Wood to the office of the Indian Depart- ment of the Province of British Columbia, w^hich was then on Wharf Street, Victoria. We had an interview with I. W. Powell, Esq., M.D., Superintendent of Indian affairs. The conversation was carried on mainly between Mr. Crosby and Dr. Powell. Among the topics discussed were the line separating the land of the Hudson's Bay Company from the Indian reservation, and the condition of the Skidegate Indians in regard to schools, etc. About Skidegate, the conversation took the following turn : Mr Crosby asked, " Has the Bishop sent a teacher to Skide- gate ? " Dr. Powell answered, " I am not aware that he has.'" Mr. Crosby aske " In case the Bishop has not sent, and is not likely to send, ji teacher to Skidegate, had we not better send one ? " Dr. Powell an.swered, " By all means, Mr. Cro.sby." I am not prepared to say the above are the exact words u.sed by these gentlemen on that occasion, but I do affirm the above to be a correct report of the substance of what pas.sed between them on the question of sending a teacher to Skidegate, D. Jennincs. Sworn to before me this third day of December, AD,, 1888, at Port Simpson, in the Province of British Columbia. S. Y. Woon'oN, A Slipinr/i=incroached upon until, in many instances, scarce an acre of good land is left for the Indians. Soon after Confederation the present Superintendent of Indian Affairs in British Columbia, Dr. Powell, began to look into this matter, but for some reason unknown to the writer, failed to secure redress for those grievances on account of which the Indians most justly complain. It will be remembered that Lord Dufferin, in his addre-ss at Victoria, on the occasion of his visit to British Columbia, stated that Her Majesty's Government never took lands from the aboriginal tribes of any country without making a proper treaty with them, and no treaty having been made with the natives of British Columbia, the country still by right belongs to them. Not only has no treaty been made with them, but where reserves have been laid out, the small amount of land allowed them is a gross injustice, both to the Ind'ans and to the Dominion Government, under whose care they are placed. The Indians throughout the country are aware of the wrong which is being done them, and the sooner, therefore, the matter is righted the better. Much dissatisfaction has arisen from the way in which the present Land Commissioner has laid out what he calls their reserves. In many cases the Indians have not been consulted at all. Apparently they are the very last parties whose interests are to be considered. When (as in some cases) the Indians have askod for a council to talk the mattei' over, he has told them that he had no time to hear them, and went on laying out his so-called reserves. Now, whatever may be said of the difficulty at this date of finding suitable lands for the Indians in the more settled parts of the country, it cannot be difficult to do so in the northern part of the Province, where there are no claims to be considered but those of the Indians ; and there can be no rea.son why the Indians of those regions should not be allowed a lart^o tract of country for their hunting-grounds, and such portions of sea coast and rivers as may be noces'^ary for fishing purposes. The 12 country is rough and mountainous, and better adapted for hunting than for anything else. The people of Port Simpson have requested that a certain section on the coast be granted them. To this the Commission has objected. Since then they have asked that the whole peninsula be granted to themselves and other Indians who reside upon it (in all about two thousand people). This is a most reasonable request ; but this, aL.>, they have failed to secure. The fishing stations of the various tribes are also of the utmost importance to them, and should be properly set apart for their benefit. What has been said is equally applicable to the coast tribes and to those of the interior. I beg, also, to call your attention to the management of the Indian agencies, and the distribution of the very liberal grant made by the Dominion Government for the benefit of the Indians. Out of S40,000 given for the instruction and civilization of these tribes, only a very small portion is so applied. Absolutely nothing has been done by the agencies to break up the cruel, heathen practices and wild, demoniac orgies of the people. In fact the agencies seem rather to encourage than restrain them in these things. Have the agencies done anything to stimulate industrious habits ? I know of at least one sober, industrious tribe, who have for five years held an annual industrial show, and who have repeatedly applied in vain to the local Indian Department for some little help or encouragement in the way of prizes for successful exhibitors. [The reference here is to the Indians of Port Simpson.] As regards the degrading heathen practices, the Govern- ment has the power througl the agencies to stop them entirely, if it will. Yet I ask, wni .t is being done in this direction ? In some instances a majority of the tribe are in favor of abandoning them, but are powerless in their ettbrts to entirely eradicate them, because the agencies do not encourage them in their efforts, while the agents must be aware that the weeks and mouths spent in wild, heathen dancing, and the reckless destruction of property, and the degrading cruel rites attend- ing these practices, constantly preclude the possibility of im- provement. I beg to inquire if it is the intention of the Government (as it is rumored) to prevent the attendance at the Indian schools of the unfortunate half-breed children, who, deserted by their fathers, are living in the camps entirely dependent on their poor Indian mothers and relatives. In many cases these are the most destitute and degraded found among these people, and to leave them without care and instruction is to raise up a class of desperadoes (like the McLean boys of Thompson's River), of the most dangerous and troublesome type. im- 18 Adverting to the question of Indian fisheries, I beg to remind yoii that it is of the utmost importance to the natives that the fishing laws be enforced more rigidly than they now are, for the better preservation of the means of subsistence for the numerous tribes along the coast. Hoping that this whole matter may early receive your careful consideration. I have the honor to be, sir, Your obedient servant, Thos. Crosby. Methodist Missionary, Port Simpsoit, B.C. Port Simpson, 1882. Copy.] LETTER OF PROTEST OF INDIAN CHIEFS AND OTHERS AT PORT SIMPSON. To P. O'Rkilly, Esq., Indian Reserve Commissioner, t ^ Hon. Siu, — We the Indian population of Port Simpson regret to hear that in your interview with Moses McDonald, one of our chiefs, and others of our people to-day, you expressed the opin- ion that our reserve should extend only south of our village site, and include no land to the north of us. Now we cannot feel that this is just, and we wish, by this letter, to strongly protest against any such reserve being assigned us. The land to the south of us for miles is worthless, and would not furnish us with firewood. The whole country, from the Naas River to the Skeena River, has been in the possession of our nation from time immemorial. No treaty has ever been made with us, and we earnestly hope that the Government will not deprive us of our ancient rights, and wrest from us the lands which God gave to our fathers, thus leaving us in poverty. We do not wish to put any obstruction in th« way of the Government dealing with the land, but, after duly considering the matter, we have de- cided to ask for a reserve extending from Mal-co, seven miles to the south of our village, and to Con-e-mis, ten miles to the north, and ten miles more or less back from the salt water, together with the islands .lying immediately along the coast in the vicinity of our village. If this reserve cannot be made us, we have but one other proposition to make, that is, that the whole Tsimpshean penin- sula be reserved to us and our children in conjunction with the people of the neighboring village of Metlakatlah, excepting only such claims as nave already been established by law. The whole of the said peninsula to be divided into two portions for i ■M! ;^! 14 the people of Metlahkatlah and ourselves respectively, according to tne population of each place. Independent of our land reserves, we desire that our fishing stations on the Naas and Skeena rivers be secured to us as a matter of the greatest importance. Hoping that our claims may be kindly considered by the Government we shall ever pray. Signed on behalf of the people residing at Port Simpson, Tlieir Marks Scow-gate. Haywauh. E. Nelson. McDonald. His Mark Adam x Clark. Richakd Wilson. Joseph MouutsoN. Tiujmas Wru(iUT. (Chief) Pai'L x James x (Chief) Albeut X (Chief) Moses x P.S. — The land spoken of in our first request would include most of our potato-patches and some of our fishing grounds. Four years ago, in anticipation of a visit from the Land Com- missioner, we agreed to request this as our reserve. You say the land is worthle.s3, so it is for a great many purpo.ses ; but it is our fathers' inheritance, and unless the Government gives us something better, we wish ro hold to our claim. Pout Simi'son, B.C., Oct. 5th, 1881. Copii.] STATEMENT OF REV. A. E. GREEN, Methodist Missionary at Naas River. I first heard of the land question from the lips of the Rev. William Pollard, in the year 1874, when he returned from visiting the Indian.s at Port Simpson. In the district meeting, he declared that he found the Indians greatly excited, and much disatisfied, as white men were going in and taking up land, and the Indians claimed the land, and looked upon men who took up land as trespassers, I came to Naas River first in the spring oi" 1877, am' was advised to look out and pre-empt a piece of land to erect mission buildings on, and to use for a boys' industrial school. But I found the idea of ownership so strong among the Indians, that I had to give that project up. I soon found that this feeling was general. Every mountain, every valley, every stream was nameil, and every piece belonged to some particular family. This claim was recognized by all the white men, viz., Harvey Snow, James Grey, J. J. Robinson, who rented small sites from the Indians for fishing purposes, and paid the Indians regular rent for the same. When the two last named men applied and received Crown grants from the Provincial Government, and ^^ 111 15 • fishing us as a ')y the of the the Indians were made to give up their gardens and to remove their houses c ff the land that had been granted to these white men, so strong was th»> feeling against these white men taking this land, that Grey only got his surveyed by promising a saw- mill should be built on it. The ten acres at Fishery Bay was not, and never has been, surveyed. I wish to point out these facts, 'ecause Dr. Powell, Indian Superintendent, has tried to mai t appear that it is only during the last few years that the Indians have made a claim to the land. Both he, the Reserve Commissioner O'Reilly, and the members of the Pro- vincial Government claim it is only since the trouble took place at Metlakahtla, between Mr. Duncan and Bishop Ridley, in the year 1881, that the Indians claimed to be the owners of the land. I car. state most positively that this is not correct, as in 1877 they would not allow any one to use any land, without leave from them, and payment. In 1880, Mr. H. E. Croasdaile had a foreman named Mr. Nice, and he erected a large trap to catch salmon in the Naas River. The day that it was towed and placed in position the Indians became very excited, and stopped the work. Mr. Nice wrote, asking me to go down, as he was afraid the Indians would shoot him. I went ; and the Indians, to the number of about 700, mot together. I heard them, and urged them to leave the matter with Dr. Powell. I went at once — fifty miles — to Port Simpson, and wrote Dr. Powell in regard to the matter. He acknowledged my letters, and said he would inquire into the matter. I do not know if he did .so or not ; but I know the Indians did not hear from him again, and the trap was allowed to remain in the place the Indians complained of, till carried of!" by the ice. I state this part for the pupose of show- ing that it is not true that I have ever tried to set the Indians against the white men, but that I have gone to great trouble and expense to appease the Indians, and to prevail upon them ti> permit work to go on ; and, also, to show the little interest Dr. Powell took to place these matters right. In May of 1878, Mr. James Grey came to the mission-house with a letter, which ho handed me to read ; it was from Mr. C. Youman.s, Skeena Forks, asking Mr. J. J. Robertson, J.P., to go to his relief, stating that Indians had robbed his store, and that he was afraid of his life, and dare not leave his house. Mr. Robertson had gone to San Franci.sco, and was not expected back for several mcmths. Grey asked me to go. I went; walked 180 miles; found Mr. Youmans was living in great fear of the Indians. I called them together, explained to them how bad it was to steal, and treat Mr. Youmans the way they had done. They said they would not return the goods to Youmans, but would give them to me. The women shortly brought the ,.) i I m •IT ii 16 goods, nearly one hundred dollars worth, and put them ilown at my feet, and I returned them to Mr. Youn)ans, ami made peace between them. Yet Dr. Powell calls mo a " inisieader." Some years ago, I, with llev T. Crosby, accompanied Charles Russ and Chief Mountain, two Naas Indians who wore sent by the tribe, to wait on Dr. Powell in regard to matters atFocting their people. Rev. T.Crosby and I went with these men to call on Dr. Powell ; he shook hands with thein, and they told him they had come a great distance to have a long talk with him. He promised to meet them the following morning at his office, and hear all they had to say ; but early the next morning he sent us word, through Rev. R H. Smith (since deceaseil), that he would not meet the Indians. Mr. Crosby and I called on Dr. Powell, when he still refused to see the Indians, but said Mr. Crosby could write him if lie chose, and so the promi.se to the Indians was broken, and the statement made by Dr. Powell to the Department that his " conference with the deputation was fully completed, and his reply read to the Indians, and then handed to the Rev. R. H. Smith," is not correct. The delega- tion was not heard through, no reply was read to them, and none was handed to Mr. Smith in my presence, and Mr. Smith expressed himself as profoundly surprised the following morning when Dr. Powell refuseu to meet the delegation. The Indians returned home to tell their friends that Dr. Powell broke his word with them At the village of Kit-wan-.silh, about thirty-five miles up the river, a chief named Job Calder accepted the Gospel, with his family, and opened his house for a school. William H. Pierce taught school in this house, and about twenty young people placed themselves, with the chief, under the care of the Metho- dist Church. The teacher lived in the house used for school and preaching. The house was large, about fifty feet scjuare, used in the past for the heathen dance and potlatch. The chief now proposed to take it down, and rebuild it; I offered him shingles and nails, and promised to help him to make it much smaller, so it would be more suitable for school and church. When we had the roof ott", and were working inside on the new foundation, a large number of old men and women, led on by an old medicine-man, came and forcibly prevented us. An old man tore my coat, and badly tore the Hesh from my arm, and we had to stop. I went to Port Simpson, consultet ■! lii 17 signed, an agreement to abide by the answer, and that they would not interfere with the re-building of the house, if Dr. Powell and the Attorney-Cieneral said it could go up. Dr. Powell and the Attorney-General answered, through R. H. Hall, J.P., that if the majority of the Indians wore against it; then it could not go up, and we must stop till we had a majority. The chief thought it hard that he could not improve his own house, and it broke up our little. work there for .some time, and the chief had to leave that village and come down to (ireenville, where he still resides. I wish to point out the unfairness of this treatment, and how diHerent from the way the Department and the Provincial Government treated Bishop Ridley while he headed a very small minority at Metlakahtla, the majority nundiering above eight hundred, while the Bishop did not have over eighty, yet both Dr. Powell and the two Governments upheld the minority, and would not let the majority rule. Why should this diHeronce be made '. A Methodist minority had no rights, and neither the Department nor the Government would protect them. But a Church of England minority was pro- tected by special constables, magistrates, and men-of-war. When Mr. Roycroft o,nd Judge Elliott failed to secure Indians to take them up to Skeena Forks to secure a murderer, I •secured Indians to guide and pack for them, and .so enabled them to accomplish their mission with little expense to the Government. And later, when the Indians at Skeena Forks had .so threatened the Hud.son's Bay Company manager, Mr. Sampere, that he had left the place, 1 met him about fourteen miles below the Forks, and he told me of the excitement among the Indians, and how they had sent him away; I went on and held a meeting with the Indians, and lirciurded upon them to be quiet and not to interfere with the white men, and by so doing prevented a trouble that might have cost the Govern- ment much money, and .some blood. In tho i'rll of 1881, Mr. O'Reilly came to the river and procefded to laj' off .some reserves. In November of that year I arr'ved in Victoria from a visit to En«Tland. Mr. O'Reilly took me to his office and told me what he had done at Naas in my absence. He told me that at Fishei-y Bay (Reserve No. 10), he had made a commonage of one chain deep all along the bank of the river ; that back of that one chain he had reserved for our Indians of Greenville (Lach-al-tsap); that at Canaan and Red Clifts he had made one chain deep commonage, and back of that he had reserved for the Kincolith people. I was greatly surprised when I heard that he (Mr. O'Reilly) declared that he did not give it to the Lach-al-tsap jieople. I first heard of .this change by the Chief of Kincolith people, who came up here with a map, and .said that the land marked on it belonged to '!! Mi B 4 18 them. I saw Reserve No. 10 was marked on this map, and the map was headed " Kincolith Indian Re.serves." I at once wrote to Mr. O'Reilly and to Dr. Powell in regard to this, but neither of them answered my letters. I wrote asking for a map for our Indians, but no notice was taken of the letter. Our Indians became much excited when the Kincolith people showed their map to that land which was promised them by Mr. O'Reilly. As soon as possible I obtained the Blue Books on Indian Attairs for 1882, which contained Mr. O'Reilly's report, and read this to the Indians. Mr. O'Reilly there states that on going to Fishery Bay (Stony Point, Re.serve No. 10), he found some twelve or fifteen families residents of Lach-al- tsap (Greenville) residing there, who had been attracted by work at Mr. Croasdaile's i,cannery. He then states in the said report that he arranged a commonage of one chain deep, along the bank of the river, and arranged that the resident Indians should have the exclusive right to land back of the commonage. The Indians took the book and read this for them.selves and were satisfied, saying : " The word in the book is like the word he spoke to us here, so it cannot be true that he has given our land to the Kincolith people." As I was unable to get any answer to the letters written on this matter, either from Dr. Powell or Mr. O'Reilly, I wrote to the Honorable Superin- tendent-Oeneral of Indian Affairs, under date of April 3rd, 1886, and in course of time received from Ottawa the answer given by Mr. O'Reilly to the Department, in which he states that in laying oft' these reserves on the Naas River, he laid them off as a whole, not designating to which part of the tribe any reserve should belong. But this is not correct, for he specially names that he reserved it for the " resident Indians," and names them by calling them " the residents of Lach-al- tsap." Then again, in laying off Canaan Reserve, and Red Clills Reserve, Mr. O'Reilly states that he arranged that the residents of Kincolith should have the exclusive right to the land back of the one chain commonage at both these reserves. •Mr. O'Reilly admits that, and those Indians are undisturbed in what he first promised them. And it is very strange that he should still declare that he did not reserve No. 10 for our ))eople. If it was true, as he states, that he did nut reserve it to the residents back of the one chain, then he is open to tli-s charge of being very partial, in that he gave the Church Mission Indians, of Kincolith, the land back of reserves at Canaan, and at the Red Cliffs,, and did not reserve the back of No. 10 to our people, although he found them residing on the said land. The Reserve No. 10, claimed by Lach-al-tsap people, is three miles from the winter village named Lach-al- tsap (Greenville), and is about sixteen miles from the Kincolith 10 village. The Lach-aUtsap people live there, on Reserve No. 10, about seven months of tne year; the Kincolith and other Indians, about six weeks, ho fish the oolachan. Dr. Powell sent me a letter to read to the Indians, to the effect that the potlatch was now unlawful. I read the letter to tho.se Indians who were accustomed to the holding of potlatch feasts, etc., and the Indians were willing to stop if such was the law ; but a short time after a further letter was received from Dr. Powell, informing the Indians that the Government would not prevent them from returning property which they owed on account of previous potlatches. If Dr. Powell knows anything about potlatches he must know that a potlatch means to return property already received and owing, with a large addition to it. So that the receiver is immediately indebted to the man ho receives the present from. It did not require a circular to tell the Indians that the Government would not prevent them from paying their debts. I represented this matter to Hon. Superin- tendent-General of Indian Affairs, and received from Ottawa Dr. Powell's reply, in which he quotes my allegations that " Judge Elliott will not take action in the matter, shielding himself with Dr. Powell's circular." Dr. Powell then states that the reason alleged is not a tenable one, and further says he has no hesitation in pronouncing the statement a very improbable one. Now, I affirm that what I wrote is true. I, with Rev. T. Crosby, Rev. D. Jennings and Rev. G. F. Hopkins, called in a body on Mr. Elliott, a.sking him to enforce the law against potlatches, and against the making and selling of whisky to Indians. He replied he would try and stop the whisky, but could not .-iterfere with the potlatches on account of Dr. Powell's circular, a copy of which he read to us. I also declare the statement made by Dr. Powell to the Department that the potlatch is dying out, is not correct. In the month of January, 1887, I was asked by a large num- ber of Indians to go to Victoria with a deputation of Indians to wait on the Provincial Government, and Dr. Powell and Mr, O'Reilly, going in winter .six hundred miles, at great expense. We reached Victoria, and it was arranged to see the Provincial Government, and Dr. Powell and Mr. O'Reilly, on the 2nd of February, but just before the time fixed for the meeting we were notified that it would not take place till another day, and afterwards were told that neither Rev. T. Crosby nor myself would be permitted to be present at the interview. The Hon. John Robson, Provincial Secretary, informed Mr. Crosby and myself that Dr. Powell and Mr. O'Reilly refused to meet the Indians with the members of the Provincial Government if the missionaries (Rev. T. Crosby and myself) were present. It is well known that the missionaries of the Church of England are 20 treated in a very different manner ; that tliey liave the ear of the Government ; and they boast in the Report of the Church of England Missionary Society that they could and did got, through the Bishop of Columbia'^ application to the Department, a gun- boat despatched to Metlakahtla. Dr. Powell again and again makes it appear through his reports, etc., that I have led the Indians on the Nivas to oppose the Government, and that our Indians are not loyal. I declare that such is not the case, but cjuite the reverse. I have always taught our Indians to respect the Queen's laws; and our Indians, I affirm, are quite loyal. On the other hand, Dr. Powell seeks in his reports to convey the idea that, while the Methodist Indians are dis.satistied and disloyal, the Church of England Indians are both satisfied and loyal. This is most misleading, for it was the Indians of Kincolith who, by force, took McArthur and Roundy out of their boat, and prevented them from cutting timber on land forty miles from Kincolith, which they (the white men) held under a timber lease from the Provincial Government. These same Indians fired on Arthur Clah and family, when Clah was passing this mission village last spring in his canoe. During the pa.stsuunner these .same Indians took the Deputy Fish Inspector, Mr. McNab, to their village, and insisted on his handing over to them the money he had collected fr O)^ boat fisheries on the river, declaring both land and water b(!loa,7;3d to them. The Methodist Indians have remained quiet; xnd yet are branded disloyal, and their missionaries are C".'>d " misleaders ; " and those who have disturbed the peace iUK held up as intelligent and loyal Indians. I also submit that Mr. O'Reilly showed partiality in laying off reserves. On going to Massett, Queen Charlotte's Islands, ho laid out the reserve, but did not include in the reserve the land on which the Church Mission building .stood. He allowed twelve acres to remain out of the reserve, so the mission author- ities could purchase it from the Provincial Government, and so secure a deed for the same. But at every Methodist mission he included all land, with mis.sion buildings, in the Indian reserves. Between three and four years ago Bishop Ridley wrote a letter on board the steamer Otter, at Naas River, and sent it to Dr. Powell, Indian Superintendent, in which he reflected on Methodist mi-ssionaries and their teachings — a very incorrect and mi.sleading letter. Dr. Powell at once sent the letter to the Provincial Government in Victoria. The following session of the Provincial Legislature, W. Raybould, M.P.P. for Nanaimo, moved for a return of all correspondence between all parties and the Government in regard to Indian affairs on the North- West coast. The motion was carried, but when the correspon- 21 dence was presented, Bishop Ridley's letter was not brou;i;ht down, although this was what was wanted, and the Honorable Provincial Secretary had informed me that it could be pro- eyed through a motion in the House. But it was withheld, so that we did not have the opportunity to answer the false charges made therein. Further, I wish to say that in the month of May of the pre- sent year, I, with Rev. T. Crosby, called on Dr. Preager at his house in Nanaimo, and that Dr. Preager there told Mr. Crosby and me that he was stationed at Metlakahtla with Bishop Ridley, and that he was Secretary of the North Pacific Mission; that a trouble arose (wer one of the Indians, a follower of Bishop Ridley, commencing to build a house on a piece of land to which Mr. Duncan's Indians objected. Finally, the Bishop laid some charges against certain Indians, who were tried bv Dr, Powell and another magistrate, who went up on a man of- war. The charges were dismissed, but Dr. Powell proposed that both Duncan's Indians and Bishop Ridley's should agree to let the disputed land remain unoccupied, neither party to take it, and so avoid further trouble. Indians of both parties, with Mr, Duncan and Bishop Ridley, agreed to this. Shortly afterwards Bishop Ridley sailed for England, leaving Dr. Preager and Rev. F. Dunn in charge of Metlakahtla, and all went quietly. Although there were two Churches there v/as no clashing, and this went on for several months, till they received a letter from Bishop Ridley saying things were grow- ing too quiet at Metlakahtla, and that they should tell Mose Venn (the same man who had been stopped before) to go on and build his house on the disputed lan-l, and so excite Mr. Duncan's Indians, and then the Government would move and put Mr. Duncan and his pople down. Dr. Preager was told by the Bishop to stir up the trouble for this purpose, and yet Dr. Powell holds up Bishop Ridley and his teaching, and cries down Mr. Duncan, so blind is he to facts. The land that has been reserved .so far is not sufficient for the Indians. It is of little use to judge by the number of acres, as I can declare that not one acre in ten is suitable for use. Not only should quantity, but also quality, be considered in lay- ing off' Indian reserves. I wrote to the Superintende;t-General at Ottawa, in regard to the poor (luality of the land around Greenville (Lach-al-tsap), and stated that Mr. O'Reilly's eport " that the land was good, and that all kinds of grain < cept wheat would do well," was incorrect ; that no grain would ripen and that even potatoes are very soft. I received from Ottawa Mr. O'Reilly's reply, in which he re-affirms it to be good. J declare that, from twelve years' residence on the river, I am able to say that the land is very poor. Mr. O. Reilly forwarded to the Department a letter cut out of the Colonist newspaper, of Victoria, and written by J. B. McCuUough, of Nass River, in regard to certain lands being good, and led the Department to believe that the said letter referred to the land of which the quality was in question; but such was not the case. Mr. McCullough was referring to land more than seventy -five miles distant from the land in dispute. I wrote about the poor quality of the land around Lach-al-tsap and lower Naas, and I beg to refer to published " Report of Conference between the Provincial Government and Indian Delegates from Port Simp- son and Naas Rivers," page 268, in which Mr. O'Reilly speak- ing of this very land, says, " The land is ah poor land and becomes overflowed. It is not good land, for the instant you get out of swamp you get into rock." It is quite evident Mr. O'Reilly has changed his tune about the quality of this land since his surveyor has been over the ground. But why should he write and deny my statement before he ascertained if it was correct or not. I submit, that Dr. Powell and the Department take more notice of the words of, and grants more favors to, Church Mission Indians of Kincolith, who number about 200, than of the other 700 Indians on the river. A large grant for windows, nails, etc., etc., to assist in building, ws granted to the Church Mission; but although such help was urgently needed by our Indians, and application was made to Dr. Powell, we failed to secure any. The Commissioners, Messrs. Cornwall and Planta, promised the Indians that an answer would be sent, but thirteen months have pab;:>ed and no reply has been reeceived. JfAAs River, Nov. 27th, 1888. Elizabeth Savage, Wilnesa. Alfred E. Green. Methodist Mmialer, Naas River. Copy.] SUPPLEMENTARY STATEMENT BY MR. GREE^. Greenville, Naas River, Feb. Uh, 1889. I declare that I was on board the steamer Grappler at Fishery Bay, going down to Port Simpson ; ant" as the steamer was about to start, Mr. H. E. Croasdaiie cam.} on board, and told me that he had received authority from Imlian Superin- iv. -Hant Powell <■'■ decide as to whether the Methodist or the Church oT E.^gland should have school and preaching in the villiage of Kit-Iach-damux ; and, for thai; purpose, he was going 23 to call the men of Kit-lach-damux, on the following Saturday, to vote. He further said that he had informed Mr. Shutt and Rev. Mr. CoUison, of the Church Missionary Society, and those two gentlemen had already gone up to Kit-lach-damux. 1 pro- tested against the whole arrangement as being unfair, as not a quarter of the people of the village were then at home ; and, fur- ther, I protested against the people being called down thirty .niles to vote ; and, also, against Mr. Shutt and Mr. CoUison hav- ing been specially favored with early information, so that they could go and try to influence the vote of these poor people. I pointed out that we had the first school in that village, and announced my determination of reporting the matter to my Chairman, Rev. T. Crosby, whicl' I did. Dr. Powell tried for a long time to work us out of Kit-lach- damux. Signed, Alfred E. Green, Methodist Missionary. Copy.] MR. CROSBY'S LETTER TO MR. CROASDAILE, re VOTE ON THE SCHOOL AT KIT-LACH-DAMUX. Port Simpson, July I2th, I881. Mr. Croasdaile. Sir,— I am informed by Mr. Green that you stated, on his Laving Naas on Saturday last, that this week you should call the people from Kit-wan-silh and Kit-lach-damux to a meeting at your fishery to take their vote, which is to decide as to which mission school the said people prefer. There is to be only one such mission school at each village ; and that you have been authorized by Dr. Powell to settle this whole matter. Allow me the liberty of saying that, in the first place, I do not think this is the proper time for such vote, as the people are very much scattered, and but very few of them could be got together. In the nexi place, I do not think that the fishery is the proper place for such a meeting, as the distance from their homes is so great that they will not come ; and, again, all parties concerned should be notified of such a meeting, and ample time given, so that they could be there. Such a meeting should be held in the village, and a majority vote of all male members, over twenty-one years of age, should settle it. As we have had school at the said villages for about four H 84 years (when the people were home), and this before any other Church had a school there. In the name of the Methodist Church we demand the courtesy and fair treatment in this matter that we have been wont to receive from the Government in other parts of the Dominion, and feel compelled to protest against the order in such a way for the purpose me ititned. I am, Sir, ' Youia fcnuy, T. Crosby. Copy.] LETTER FROM MR. CROSBY TO DR. POWELL, re SCHOOL AT UPPER NAAS VILLAGE. Port Simpson, Sept. 1882. J. W. Powell, M.D. I have the honor to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 7th August, in which you call my attention to certain remarks made in your last report to the Supennten- dent-General of Indian Affairs, with regard to the "'.als of affairs at the upper village on the Naas River, and ■;'. • to a recommendation from the Superintendent-Genera' dieX "he two missionary societies, Anglican and Method"^' , ■'. > :H.\e stations in various places, should come to Huni« Tn,.''.niJ <; ii'^r- standing as to the field to be occupied by each. In reply, I would say that I think you have in some m -i^^:-; misunderstood the Indians of the Upper Naas villages wfmn you say that the Indians urge the want of harmony between the two societies as an objection to securing either. The i&ciii of the case are, we were the first to send teachers to those village.s, and were well received by the natives ; and the present opposition to Church and .school I believe to be owing not to the existence of two churches among them, but through the influence of a low, wicked white man named P 'graves, who lived at Kit-lach-damux for several years. Unl" L -^t time our school there did well. I much regret that the ap, : ' opncsi- tion between the two societies should exist, and 1 vo asl.ed that the missionaries of the C. M. S. present a plan that might .serve as a basis for the division ''f the field, while we wouKl bo prepared to offei our ■:'^^'\a an-J to refer the matte'* to the mis- sionary societies for ratiricaiic . Our plans have in several instances been sericusly interiered with by the other Church. Last fall we left Kit-lach-damux, thinking it unadvisable that two should be working in one little village, but during all the time we were absent the place was also unoccupied by the other :* I 25 oliBt "be -'. ) :iive Church, while immediately after a visit Mr. Robinson and I made there a few weeks ago, Bishop Ridley sent a native teacher to begin work. The Forks of the Skeena was one of our stations, and a mis- sionary teacher rc:;:ded among them some time. For want of a suitable man it was unoccupied for something over a year, vhen Mr. Tate was appointed. While Mr. Tate was on his way to take up his residence there, Bishop Ridley took Mr. Collinson from Metlakahtla and sent him to occupy the Forks. Then the fact of tHe Bishop's building his house at Port Simpson has suggested the idea of opposition at least to the minds of the Indians. However, in spite of these difficulties, I trust a better .state of things may soon be brought about. Yours truly, T. Crosby. Goi>ij:] LETTER OF JAMES DEANS TO REV. T. CROSBY re SKIDEGATE SCHOOL, ETC. Skidegate Town, Nov. l%th, 1888. 'Co ike Rev. Thos. Crosby. Dkar Sir, — In answer to your few questions in connection with the Indian tribes of Queen Charlotte's Islands, — more particularly those of the Skidegate village,— I send you the following : As I quote ^ioju memory, I may be a little astray in the dates. If 1 happ' ' 2ir in the. dates, the statements are not the less tiue. In ti.*^ suiiniier o : 1879, 1 happened to be on these islands in July and in November. During my stay, I had many a conversation wii'u lliese Indians, more especially the Skide- gates, who told me they had repeatedly requested Dr. Powell to send them a teacher, and that he had failed to do so, and that he also had promised to send them one at a given time, which was passed, and none had come. They further asked me if I would go and see Dr. Powell when I got to Victoria, and remind him of his promise, which I did, and got a very unfavor- able answer; the exact words I forget. At another time,— I forget the date,— they told me that they had Mr. Collinson, from Massett, a few times, and Mr. Sneath, connected with the Anglican Church. The former had built a small church, in which service was held. They said after Mr. Sneath left they had been without a teacher of any sort for a long time. They further told me that a number of them, while at Port Simpson, c 26 ''i'li I'j'ifl M\>. \ I had applied to Mr. Crosby for a teacher, who had refused to send one, t3cause the other Church had the field, and he could not send one. After much pressing, they tolu me Mr. Crosby said he would be in ^''ictoria, where he would see Dr. Powell, and, if he could, he would send a teacher. They further saidthat Dr. Powell, during his visit, had made lots of promises, which he had not fulfilled ; amongst the number was a promise to send medicines, which he had never done, and that they could never believe a word he ever said. They said they hopQd Mr. Crosby would keep his promises better than the doctor did. When I returned to Victoria, I called on Dr. Powell, and inquired about the medicine ; he said he would have sent some medicine long ago, but could not, because there was no one to look after it. A year or two afterward, when Mr. Robinson was teacher of Skidegate, I happened to see Mr. Robinson, who complained bitterly of the failure of medicine being sent ; he told me he had wrote repeatedly for medicine, but none had ever been sent. He asked me if I would go, while in Victoria, and get the doctor to aend him some, however little; and, to show '■he effects of not having any, he took me to see a man and two women whc appeared to be very sick. The man told me he believed if he could get a bottle of pain killer, he would be well. On returning to the oil works, I sent him a bottle or two. He got better, but the women both died ; for one of them he felt very bad ; he said if he only had a little medicine of a sort named, he believed he could' have saved her life. When I returned to Victoria, the doctor was absent ; when he returned, I laid the case before him. During the following summer, a quantity of medicine was sent ; but too late to save the woman, who had died a few months before the medicines had arrived. During my stay, I was frequently asked why it was that the Haidas never could get anything from the Indian Department ; other tribes, they said, got medicine and seeds, as well as a number of other things, while they got nothing ; was it, they asked, because they were Methodists — or what ? They said if Mr. Harrison had come to them, they would have been content; but he failed to come, and they wanted a teacher, and so were glad to accept the first who offered. The Gold Harboi s also complained to me ; they said they had moved round from their original homes on the west coast, in order that they themselves might he employed at the oil works, while their children would have the benefit of any teacher who might be sent ; they had waited patiently for Dr. Powell to fulfil his promises, which had never been attended to any more than if they never existed. In conclusion, I may add a few remarks gathered from an acquaintance with these peopio, covering a period of thirty- five years. When I first knew them they were a lot of thieves '!!■' 27 of the first water; chastity was a virtue unk;iown among them ; always at war among themselves, and neighboors, in order to get slaves, they earned for themselves the name of Arabs of the Northern Coasts. In 1869-70 I was engaged in opening an anthracite coal mine, then again this summer, 1888, I have been busy getting down coal from the same mines; while there it was necessary for me to employ a number of these people, and I was truly surprised to find such a change for the better. At the former date they stole everything they could lay hands on. At the latter date they not only did not steal anything, but they returned what they and their fathers stole before them. All this change I can certify to has been brought about by the teachings and influence of the Methodists, who during the past few years have labored among them. Not only have they advanced in these virtues, but they are having better houses, and are gradually assuming cleanliw habits. I htve traveled a great deal on this coast in my connexion with the coal mines, of which I am overseer, and as assistant geolo- gist on the Dominion Survey, and also on the Indian Depart- ment. In all my travels ' have noticed that the Indians who are under the teachings of the Methodist Church have made the most progress. I also have noticed, and I am sorry to say it is so, that our Indian Department seems to me to f- /or all other denominations more than tie Methodists. These are my views given without partiality. I am not a Methodist. I belong to the auld kirk of Scotland. I am, dear sir, Yours respectfully, James Deans, Sup'l. Gowgate Coal Mines, near Skidegate, Copy.] STATEMENT OF CHIEFS AND OTHERS AT SKIDE- GATE, QUEEN CHARLOTTE'S ISLANDS. Skidegate, Q. C. Is., Nov. 27th, 1888. We, the chiefs and principal men of Skidegate village, m ce here, we met again, and had hira write and ask for the same things. Some time after a small box of medicine came, but no tools. A good while after we had Mr. Hopkins write again. This time a small box of medi- cine came, and a small package of turnip seed ; .so small that Mr. Hopkins could only give a teaspoonful to each, so we think that nearly all Dr. Powell's promises are broken When we first saw Dr. Powell we thought he had no favor to one church or the other ; but we have watched these things, and see to our great sorrow and surprise, that it is because we are Methodists that we do not get anything that he promised. We beard from Mr. McGregor and other white men at the Oil Works that 840,000 a year were spent on the Indians in British Columbia, so we were not afraid to ask for these little things, for we thou^Jit there was plenty of money with which to get them. Having asked Dr. Powell a good many times to help us about school and tools and he did not do so, we have only to .say now that we have a good teacher, and our church is here among us which our own money has helped to build. And when we wanted to make roads we had to get old pieces of iron to make tools to work with. In closing, we would like to ask if Dr. Powell has forgotten where we live. We still live at Skidegate. 29 And does he know what Church we belong to, and who has taught us to improve our homes, and instructed us and our children in the right way ? And we would ask him what is the reason he has not sent us help, as he promised, for school, and with tools, garden seeds, etc. We all think that it is because we are Methodists. We had heard that the t.,ueen, and Dr. Powell, and the Government were all Christian p^:;o^)le, and we thought that when we left our old way and became Chris- tians we should be treated by them fairly, as they promised ; but now we see that because we are Methodists we have no attention from them, the same as the people have who belong to the Church of England. We have heard that Dr. Powell helped the Rev. Mr. Hall, of the Church of England, at Alert Bay, to build a sawmill. This is what opened our eyes to see his favoritism to that Church. Signed on behalf of the people. Their Marks. Their Marks. Chief Skidegate, x John Gwol-ens, x Phillip Jackson, x Adam Cow-gah, x Tom Whe-ah, x William Wilson, x Thomas Bear-skin, x Amos Russ, x John Dil-sku-gis, x Moses McKay, x George Jeb-son, x Alfred Green, x Amos Do-au-all, x Zacharias Nicholas x Witni sues , (-.• i f Thos. Crosby. to kujraUitres, ■[ ^ ^_ ^^^^^^^ STATEMENT OF REV. G. F. HOPKINS. Missionary at Port Essington, formerly of Skidegate, Queen Charlotte's Islands. Port Essington, B.C., Jan. 4, 1889. Iteu. T. Crosby, Dear Sir, — Below you will find a few statements in reference to governmental treatment of the land question, administration of justice, etc., on the north-west coast of British Columbia. On January 13th, 188.5, a letter wus written by me, by request of the Skidegate Council, to the Superintendent of Indian Affairs, Victoria, I. W. Powell, M.D. The letter asked for some tools and implements needed for the village. In answer, a letter dated May 7th, 1885, was duly received, stating "That there is no appropriation during the present year by which the articles alluded to in your communication could b'j 80 furnished." But, in the fall of the same year, several similar articles were supplied to the Bella Bella village. Why the pre- ference was made I do not know, unless it be that the Skide- gate people were so isolated that it was thought best to refuse them, thinking that no one would ever find out the contrary. This last summer (July, 1888) I sent a request for medicines for this village to Mr. C. Todd, Indian Agent, living at Metla- kahtla. Receiving no answer nor medicines, I sent on Sep- tember 6th another letter to him. Still I had no reply. On September 29th I wrote direct to Superintendent I. W. Powell, M.D.. and by first opportunity the medicines were sent. But Mr. Todd, Indian agent, who did not know that the Super- intendent of Indian Affairs was sending medicines to me, met uic, aid stated that he had received ray letters asking for medi- cines, but that he had not forwarded them because there had been a Dr. Haddon, of the Church Missionary Society, at Essington during the summer. So he (Mr. Todd) thought there was no need of my having any, as he said. In my letters to him I had plainly stated that most of,the Indian villages here, besides other Indians employed on the river parts of the year came to me for medicines, thus leaving little or no excuse for Mr. Todd thinking we did not have any need for medicines It only seemed to be a desire on his pc,rt to force the Methodist Indians to go to the Church Missionary Society people for medicines. In the early part of 1885, an Indian, Samuel Cross, of Gold Harbor, Queen Charlotte's Islands, asked me to go with him to see Judge Elliott, then the stipendiary magistrate for the north- west coast, in order that a summons might be obtained for one Hoatska, of Clue, Queen Charlotte's Islands, who had been making and selling liquor at Clue (intoxicant, known as Hoo- ohin-new). The Judge issued the regular papers, but the case was never taken up, although the Judge himself came over to Queen Charlotte's Islands on a steamer on his way to Victoria, in May or June of the same year. While the steamer was anchored at the Skidegate Oil Works, two other Indians, Ames Russ and Moses McKay, both of Skidegate, Queen Charlotte's Islands, went to the Judge to lay information concerning a murder which had occurred at Gold Harbor a few months previous. (I was present, interpreting for the Judge and the Indians.) After hearing the statements, Judge Elliott said that he could not make out the legal papers, as he was on an " unofiUcial trip " (notwithstanding that the Queen Charlotte's Islands were in his jurisdiction), but that he would make a note of it, which he did, and attend to it at the earliest opportunity. But, though three years have since passed, that opportunity seer ■ i never to have come, as nothing was ever done in the matter. 81 In the fall of 1883, J. W. McKay came up to Port Simpson from Metlakahtla. He called a meeting of the village, and stated he had been sent as Indian agent for the north-west coast. After listening to his remarks, the Indians requested that Mr. McKay meet them on the next day to confer with them. He complied. The next day several Indians spoke in reference to the land question, and one of them, Gempk, in the midst of his speech, removed with his cane an oil-cloth coat that had been spread over a large stone, on which was printed, in chalk, " This was our fathers' land." Mr. McKay read it, and at the close of the speech, and of the meeting, remarked about it as being very ingeniously arranged. He also promised the meeting (being composed of most of the men of the village), that as he had heard their words, and admitted tie justice of their requests, from their standpoint, to place the >ubject beforr> the Indian Department, and do all in his power to aid them ; but he never sent any word to them in reference to the affair, nor did he ever return himself. (The verbatim report of both the above meetings are in your — Mr. Crosby's — own copy book.) I know it to be a fact that the Bella Bella, Bella Coola, Port Simpson and Hydah Indians (having labored amongst all these tribes), all l&y claim to the land as having been theirs for generations back. They wonder in what way the Government claim to own the land ; you never conquered them by war, nor treated with them for it, nor bought it from them or their fathers. Hoping this may be of .service, I am, ' V Yours fraternally, ; • . ' GEOiiGE F. Hopkins, /■'•/■ Methodist Missionary. STATEMENT GF REV. W. H. PIERCE, Native Missionary, Upper Skeena. The land question is not a new thin§. Long before the white man made his appearance in this country our ancestuis claimed the land as theirs. God, the Great Father of all the natives, gave it us. When the Hudson's Bay Company started a trading-post on Naas River and at Port Simpson, they gave many presents to our Chiefs, thus acknowledging that the natives were the owners of the land. But since the Govern- ment told us that we have no title to the land, trouble has sprung up in the hearts of all our people. For many years now we have been at peace with all the tribes along the coast, 82 for the missionaries taught ua to be friends to everybodj'. The whole trouble is because the Government has not given us justice. I was on Naas when Dr. Powell came up some years ago. He met the Naas Indians in the Methodist school-house. I interpreted his words to them, when they asked him to whom the land, mountains, rivers, berry-grounds belonged. Dr. Powell replied that the mountains, .salmon, river, and berry- grounds all belonged to them. I*^^ is neither Mr. Crosby, Green, or Jennings, nor any of the Methodist missionaries, who have caused all this trouble during the last four or five years. But we firmly believe the Government has done it. There is a very strong feeling among the Upper Skeena Indians about this land question. Years ago our people never thought the Gov- ernment would trouble them or allow any one else to do so. It is only by the advice of the mis.sionaries that the natives have so long been kept from shedding blood, on account of the way they are treated by the Government. Many of our friends have already gone to Alaska, because of the unkind treatment about their land. They were told they had not one inch of ground by Attorney-General Davie. This made their hearts very sore, ana we think that many more will go away also if there is not a just settlement of this question. All our people want is their rights. Let the Government admit the title and make a just agreement about the land, then the people will be satisfied if they are allowed to have the land they need. But I beg of you, sir, to do all you can to bring about a speedy settlement of this very trying question. Two years ago I wrote to Dr. Powell fpr some medicine for the Kit-ze- gucla people. He neither answered my letter nor .sent me medicine until it had been brought up and di.scussed in the Methodist Conference, New Westmin.ster, in May, 1888. His excuse for not complying with my rccjuest was, that I was not a white man, and was not caprble of dispensing medicine. I did not ask Dr. Powell for anything I did not perfectly under- stand. What was .such articles as salts, senna, castor oil, cough mixture, linseed, etc.? Being blankly refu.sed by the Indian Department, I bought with my own money $20 worth of medicine from T. Shotbolt, druggi.st, in Victoria. During the winter following, there was a great amount of sickness on the Upper Skeena Mi.ssion, none of which — the people — received a teaspoonful of medicine from the Indian Department. At Hough-wil-get station, 30 died; at Kishpiax, 46 died; and at Kit-ze-gucla, 32 died. I think that fully one-half of these dear people would not have died if Dr. Powell had giVen medicines. On the other hand, the Church of England got all the medicine they asked for from Dr. Powell. This shows very plainly that the Government is dealing rightly to one Church 33 and wrongly to the other. This I saw with my own eye. The Rev. Mr. Field, Church of England missionary at Hazelton, Skeena Forks, has received from the Government great praise for the help he rendered this summer during the so-called " Indian Trouble," while th^ Methodist missionary of the Upper Skeena, who kept open house for all or any of the Government officials who might wish to stop there — the Indian Agent, Judge Fitzstubbs, and the special constables have, at different times, used the Methodist mission-house at Kit-ze-gucla — but instead of thanks or praise, the Methodist missionary has been sneered at and lied about by these very persons. In fact, it is spread all over the country that the Methodist missionary would not proceed on Sunday without extra pay. W. H. Pierce. Copy.] STATEMENT OF W. H. DEMPSTER, J.P. 1. The chief cause of disturbance in the Indians' minds was the disruption between Mr. Duncan and Bishop Ridley, and the action the Government took in that dispute. 2. The present .staff of officers are very dilatory in enforcing the law ; it is only by urgent solicitation they can be persuaded to inquire into evils which are increasing to an alarming extent since their residence among us. 3. The acts of the officials in this part of the country have a tendency to weaken the confidence of the Indians in the justice of our Government. 4. I believe, if Judge Graham had remained on the Upper Skeena, the trouble which has cost the c( .:"try so much woukl have been averted. 5. The official who has taken Judge Graham's place in the interior may have some difficulty in gaining the respect of the Indians, and their peaceable submission to law. 6. If the Tsimpshean peninsula had been given the Tsimpshean Indians residing thereon, less the land taken by the whites, it would have satisfied the people, and prevented the exodus to Alaska. 7. 1 believe the Indians' confidence, peace, and goodwill, can be secured by a fair, just, and impartial treatment with them. 8. The action of the Government commission in throwing the odium of the Duncan-Bishop quarrel on the shoulders of the Methodist missionaries, showed their preference to one Church and prejudice to the other. 9. Many of the Indians are of the opinion they are not impar- tially treated by the representatives of th(! Government. 10. During my residence of ten years I have not known the 34 Methodist niissionarieH to advance other teaching than that which is calculated to advance the best interests o? the people. I have known them to have many hard-fought battles for right, which never fails to meet the displeasure of evil-doers. 11. It has never been necessary for the Government to send a gun-boat to put down disturbance on the Methodist missions ; their work is generally prosperous. I believe them to be doing more good with less money than any other missionaries on this coast. 12. I believe the Methodist Indians are loyal to their Queen and her Government; they require to be treated kindly, and made feel the Government are interested in their welfare. ^' Dempster, OcTOBBR 27th, 1888. Salm t, AberdKii, B.C. STATEMENT OF GEO. ROBINSON. Methodist Missionary Teacher, Kit-a-maat. In the annual report of the Honoi'able Minister of Indian Affairs, for the year 1881, page 152, the following recommenda- tion may be found in regard to Skidegate, Queen Charlotte's Islands : — "At Skidegate (near which is another important Hydah village called Gold Harbor) there never has been any Christian mission, but the natives are exceedingly well-behaved, and far superior to many of the Southern tribes, who had possessed much greater advantages. The only request they had to make of me was that I should send them a teacher, and aid them in building a school-house. They were greatly desirous of emu- lating the Tsimpsheans of Metlakahtla, and wondered why they had been left so long unprovided for. I promised to represent their wants to the Government, and am of opinion that there is no place in the Province where a grant for school purposes and providing Indians with the means of education, would be so satisfactorily expended as at Skidegate." Also, see page 158 of the same report: "One or two efficient schools are required on Queen Charlotte's Islands, and also on Naas River." I was given to understand, by the Rev. Thomas Crosby, that Dr. Powell, when told in the year 1879 that I was reac'y to teach an Indian school, said : Send me {i.e., the writer) to the Upper Naas. Accordingly, I threw up my situation in Victoria, and proceeded to Port Simpson ; taught thb school there for five-tnd-a-half months, thence went to Naas River. In the M 36 following fall, 1880, on the strength of Dr. Powell's promises, I taught school on the Upper Naos at Kit-lach-dainux Indian village, having an average attendance of about nineteen in the December quarter, and of twenty-four in the March quarter. I sent in the first Quarterly Report to the Indian Department, which was rejected, and consecjuently no grant was made, so I did not think fit to send in any more reports under such cir- cumstances. Dr. Powell's reason for rejection was because two missionary societies were contending for the possession of the same place — the one a Methodist, the other an Episcopalian. Now, I was the only write missionary there, and the only person that could read at .til. Hence, the only reason for with- holding a grant was partiality to the Episcopal Church. In regard to Skidegate, Queen Charlotte's Islands, I have already given you Dr. Powell's words from the Blue Book. I proceeded after that date, in the autumn of 1882, to that place ; the people subscribed more than 8300 toward the erection of a school-house. I being the first white man to take up a per- manent residence in their village, the Missionary Society of the Methodist Church supplemented the Indians' subscription and also supported me, but the Indian Department washed its hands of the whole affair because I was a Methodist, and declined to grant anything in aid of a school in the village of Skidegate during my stay therein. I was given to understand by the Rev, Thos. Crosby, that Di*. Powell objected to the Methodists sending a teacher to Skidegate, although he had already given his sanction to Mr. Crosby sending one in July of 1882, in presence of two gentlemen, who will state the matter on oath, if required. Sometime after receiving a letter from the Rev. Mr. Collison (of the Church of England Missionary Society), promising to fo and take charge of the Skidegate field of labor in case the lethodists withdrew from it, I tried to prepare the people of Skidegate for such a change, but failed ; owing, no doubt, to their want of confidence in the Church Missionary Society. However, I continued advising the people to put themselves under the Church Missionary Society, fully expecting that Mr. Collison would be sent over, and so upon one of my trips to the coast I called at Metlakahtla to see if an agreement could be arrived at, when, to my astonishment, I was told that Mr. Collison had been stationed at Naas River, and that he had no authority for writing to me about Skidegate, etc. Messrs. Dunn and Pracger, being present, of the Church Missionary Society. Such being the case, — Mr. Collison 's blundering on the one hand, and the antipathy of the Skidegate Indians to the Bishop of Caledonia on the other, together with the fact that without 36 one dissentient voice they all declared themselves for me as the representative of Methodism — I do not — cannot see how the Indian Department could justify itselZ in withholding a grant to the Methodist Church to aid in building a school at Skide- gate, seeing that it had already promised the Church Missionary Society, through its representative, aid for such a purpose. Such partiality as this was so apparent at the time that it seemed as if Dr. Pow^ell was always approachable by a Church- man, but would hardly deal civilly with a Methodist. Upon leaving Skidegate, Queen Charlotte's Islands, I went to Kit-a-maat, and found there a so-called illep;al council formed after the Metlakahtla fashion. I wrote Dr. Pcwell, requesting that he open the way so that the people of Kit-a-maat might have a legal council established, (offering myself as an agent without pay) to conform to the requirements Oi the Indian Act. Dr. Powell's replies have been altogether unsatisfactory, no way being opened up to grant the request as abovj. I also have applied for seed potatoes and a grindstone rt different times, owing to the groat poverty of the people, but the request might as well have gone to the dead-letter office. On the other hand, the heathen village of Kitlup claim to have their grindstone from the Trdian Department, thereby leading the Indians here to think that heathens are preferred to Chris- tiana by the Indian Department. It wouir? only be right to state that I have been supplied once a year with a small quantity of drugs, and a still smaller quantity of garden seeds, for the use of the Indians, from the Indian Department. To the best of my belief, I affirm the above to be a true statement. (Sij,'ned) Geo. Robinson. Port Simpson, Got. 23, 1888. 'a'M Copy.] EXTRACT OF LETTER FROM REV. MR. COLLISON TO T. CROSBY. (About going to work at Skidegate, Queen Charlotte's Island, while Mr. Robinson was there). Metlakahtla, October 13th, 1883. My Dear Mr. Crosby, — As I inderstand you have eribarked by the Otter to pay a visit t'^ Skidegate, and, I presume, you will thence sail for Victoria, I am desirous of sending you a few lines in refer- ence to Skidegate. I informed you in answer to your letter of 37 inquiry, that our Society would, no doubt, be willing to take up the work there ; I now desire confidentially to inform you that I may be able, if necessary, to occupy that post myself if only I can obtain the consent of the Bishop as Chairman of the Conference, but I cannot consult with him until his return from the Skeena. ..,..■• W. H. COLLISON. Gopij.] MR. CROSBY'S REPLY. Port Simpson, October 30th, 1883. My Dear Mr. Collison, — Your letter of 13th instant is to hand As it has been our custom at all other places, a subscription has been taken up aiaong the people themselves, backed by a small grant from the Missionary Society, and lumber has been bought for a small church and teacher's house, which we are to build at once. Still we desire to have in view nothing but the glory of God and the salvation of men, and if you will meet the Skidegate people, and in presence of our missionary, place before them the fact that you are prepared to live among them, and amniority will agree to the change, the Church Missionary Society refunding to us the amount of outlay, and giving us assuraiice that the place will be permanently occupied, we will withdraw our missonary -from the field, take the Upper Naas where he (Mr. Robinson) wns formerly stationed, and where he would do good, and where < d have continued to keep an agent with entire satisfaction. We think the Church Missionary Society should leave us ; a undisturbed possession of the Upper Naas. Yours very truly, T. Crosby. Copies of this were sent to Mr. Robinson, and he asked the Indians to go in with Mr. CoUison should he come. In the Spring of 1884 he called at Metlakatlah to see Mr. CoUison, but found he had moved to the mouth of the Naas, Kincolith, to settle. T. Crosby. ■ii' ;,i 'h 38 LETTER OF CHIEFS AT PORT SIMPSON TO THE COMMISSIONERS OF 1887. Port Simpson, Oct. bth, 1887. To the Memhera of the Land Commission. Sirs, — We are pleased to meet you, for we have looked forward to your coming as a peaceable settlement of what has been a great trouble to us for years. It has made our hearts bleed to be treated as we have been about our land, the inheritance which God gave to our fathers, and it was for this reason we sent three of our number to Ottawa, in 1885, to meet Sir John Macdonald. He promised us in fair words we should have what we needed, but nothing was done. The servants of the Government sent here have never treated us like men. Mr. O'Reilly came here in 1881, without sufficent notice to our people, and hence there were not many home, and when he met us he would not give time for our chiefs to speak, nor listen to our wants, but went on and, as he says, laid out reserves, although we protested in writing against it. Now we want you to see what he has done. He has taken twelve houses of chief Legaic's tribe and given them to the Hudson's Bay Com- pany ; and although we sent letters to Dr. Powell and to the Hudson's Bay Company against it, no notice was taken of it, and we were told that the Company's line commenced at Legaic's pole. Now if you look at this you will see that it is not just; and as the Company could take plenty of land to the east, up the harbor, we cannot tell why they wished to enclose the houses on our land ; and we were told by Dr. Powell when he visited us, th>it the Hudson's Bay Company's land would not come more thR,n a few feet west oi their fence. Then all at once we four,i a man here surveying for the Government, he said, all round the north-east .side of the harbor, and we were lold that this land had all been claimed by the white chiefs in yictoiia, and they said they had bought it from the Govern- ment, and this before our claim had been settled. We wrote about this, but received no reply. In the fall of IHH3, Dr. Powell came up in a war-ship to Metlakahtla, but we think he was ashamed to come up here, for his words to us had all been broken, so he sent Mr. Mc- Kay as agent. He met us, and listened kindly to our trouble, and .said our claim was just. We said if he would go and lay it before the Government and get it settled, we should then be glad to have him come back. He went away and never came back, and we thought it was because he wished to carry out our wishes that he was not allowed to come back. 39 And again, the war-ship came to Metlakahtlt, and we were told that the Chief of the Government, Mr. Davie, said that not one inch of the ground belonged to the Tsimyseans ; and then you know there was trouble at Metlakahtla about the two acres on Mission Print. All this sending of war-ships, and putting Metlakahtla people in gaol, and the way we were treated about our land, cause us great trouble and made our hearts weak. Our Council, that had for years kept the roads in good order, and built bridges, and endeavored to repress immorality amor g our people, was put down by Judge Elliott, who said we were no council; and now you see our vi'lage is in a bad state, and our young people, who once had groat respect for the village council, have none now. We have wondered what would come next. We have been put down and discouraged by those who should have encouraged and helped us ; but we have been kept by our teachers and our profession of religion from breaking the laws, and they have always encouraged us to believe that we should ^ we our rights. When J. •. Jemmett came to survey on tlio Naas, we sent him a letter protesting a t his work until we had the land matter settled. Lut 1. ■ nn. and we are told that our fish- ing stations which he ui. k*;*! off are but one chain in lejith from the water's edge, and on thi- ve wore to be allowed to build no houses. This seemed very .strange to us, Tor here our fathers used to live two or three moiihs in the \ oar, and we had large houses on this ground long before Mr. » )'Rei!ly or Mr. Jemmett were born. This made us feel sore and an^ y, and had we been as we once were, we should have tieen tempted to fight ; but no ; we prayed to God to help u- and waited, and now we do hope you will see that we have at least two chains' width in our fishing claims on the Naas. All the [Tpper Naas people will agree to this, as they know it is our nist right. When Mr. Jemmett came here to our own villa;;, and com- menced to survey and take the line from !-■ .s pole, we protested against it, and called him to a large uuetrng, and told him we did not wi.sh him to go on with the survey. He said he would send our words to the proper quarter, and the matter would be attended to. In the meantime he went on with his work, and we never heard that any notice was taken of our protest. Feeling that all our attempts to get a hearing liad failed, and that some of our people we're oecoming exasperated, and, desiring to prevent an outbreak, we decided to make one more effort, and, calling a large meeting last January, we appointed a deputation, consisting of our missionary and two men of our tribes, to go at once to Victoria, in company with Mr. Green and some Naas chiefs, to wait upon the Government. Though I 40 in the midst of a great storm, our deputation proceeded without delay to Victoria, when, strange to say, the Government did not wish to meet the missionaries, and would not allow them to be present at their interview with the Indians. We nave not forgotten that yet. .The Government promised that a land commission should be sent to put our land matters right. We expected it here in the spring, but instead of that we were surprised in the early summer by the arrival of Mr. Tuck and a party of men to go on with the survey. A meeting was called of the few people at home, and we protested against liis surveying the land. Mr. Puck said, in reply, that he could not stop his work, but he promised that our words should be .?ent to the Government. And now that you have come, we ask you to be good enough to taki> time and listen to our wishes and hear the words of our chiefs, and wo do hope that your visit will be the means of bringing peace and confidence to our hearts again. We welcome you to our village, and will do all we can to make your stay pleasant and happy. And do not foel sorry if we have to say some words you do not like to hear. We suppose you have all the papers concernir g our land question, and our letters of protest before you, but we thought it well to call your attention in this letter to some of the circim- stances of our grievances. As you are no doubt aware, the Government have never had to send a war-.ship to us, and, although a judge lives here, he would have no work to do were it not that the Government has given the Hudson's Bay Company license to sell liquor, and bad white men i nme here and get drunk and then giv3 it to our people. This has given us great trouble. For many years ^.he Hudson's Bay Company sold no liquor here, and our young men were safe from temptation, and bad men did not dare to trouble our wives and daughters, but we fear for all this now. This is aside from the land question with which you come to deal, but it is a thing that troubles us much, and we hope you will do simething to have it put away from our midst. At j'our pleasure we call a public meeting. We have had letters from the Goven ment to tell us of your coming, and we to meet us before you go to Naas, and our men have been awaiting for your to be away soon. hope you will find tini' as a large number of coming, aad would liki On behalf of the people of Port Simpson, Signed, < Their Marks. Paul Legaio. x David Swanson. x Albert McMillan, x William Kelly. v ¥\'l 41 we LETTER OF PORT SIMPSON CHIEFS AND OTHERS IN REPLY TO COMMISSIONER CORNWALL'S SPEECH, AT CLOSE OF PORT SIMPSON MEETING. [Note. — This letter, with the exception of one short para- graph, is excluded from the Commissioners' Report.] Port Simpson, B.C., October 2Uh, 1887. To C. F. Cornwall and J. P. Planta, Land Commissionera. Sirs, — We were very much surprised when we heard at the closo of the Commission that we would not be allowed to say a word in reply to the gentlemen of the Commission, so we take this way to let you kno/' that our hearts were .sore at some of the words that were said. We would say, also, in the first place, that Chief Doudoward, who was in the midst of his speech when the meeting closed the first evening, is one of our liereditaiy chiefs, and a man of influence among us. Letters about tliis Coinniission had been addressed to him by Hon. Mr. Davie, and Hon. Mr. Rohson, and we had chosen him to speak for us. We were surprised that the next moaning, just at the opening of the meeting, when we all expected him to go on with his unfinished speech, word was sent to him by the inter- preter to the Comruis 'on that he would not be allowed to go on. We do not see hy this should have been done at all, but if it had been done the evening before we could have had some one else ready to take his place. As it was, it looked like an attempt to confuse us, and we do not think it was right. We wish, also, to give a word of explanation about the two roads [reserves] that Chief Albert Shakes spoke of, which he did not make very plain. One, as laid down by Wilson, is the Tsimpshean peninsula, and the Naas and Skeena River fish- eries ; the other, us Shakes wished to express it, would be the town site at Port Simpson, the Naas and Skeena fisheries, and one hundred and sixty acres for each man. The parting words of Mr. Planta were kind. We have the words of Mr. Sniythe in the report which Mr. Planta handed to us, and it has been read to us, but we do not agree to these words and the plan of the Government about our lands. And now we wish to say that if the two Governments are going to answer u.s in the same .>*|jliit as that of Mr. Cornwall's address, we have only one way left, after our patient waiting ■ 42 and protesting against the surveys, and the way our protests have been treated, and that is to follow our brethren into Alaska. But we do not believe that the Government will treat us in that way after all they will hear through this Com- mission. It would be very hard for us to leave the graves of our fathers, and the inheritance God gave to them and us, but what else can we do if our land matters are not settled in a ju-rht to cut town timber were their own. Now, since the land i;as been divided on the Naas River into reserves, we see from the Indian Act [the British Columbia Timber Law is probably meant] that it is inipo.ssible for us to cut down timber for our own use without being considered trespassers, and subject to a fine. That is our rights inherited from our fathers have been given to others. J ', '■IP 60 namely, to the Kincolith people, who now live at the mouth of the Naas, and are people who have come out from tribes now living at the villages on the Upper Naas. Kincolith was only founded between fifteen and twenty years ago. We look upon the above as a great injustice to our people. It will be almost impossible for us to take with us to the Naas every spring poles, firewood, and timber along with our other things, suffi- cient to carry on our work. The Government has given us only one chain of land above high water mark for our use, and they call it Commonage. On the Commonage there is nothing but grass. If the Government carry out the Indian Act in regard to timber on the reserves, we, the Tsimpsheans, shall not be able to go the Naas to fish, and so we .shall lose a part of our food. So we ask you to judge this matter now, and have it put right before trouble is made between us and the Naas people. The Commonage on the Naas should be increased, say to two chains, and our rights inherited from our forefathers to cut down such timber as we need for fishing purposes in spring should be secured to us. On the Commonage, when our camps are built, the land is ours, and no one has any right to make garden of it, as is done now, for it brings trouble to us. We shall be very happy if you secure to us these rights. We ask the Government to secure to us the whole of the Tsimpshean peninsula for our own an'l our children's use after us. On th(3 Skeena River we ask that our fishing stations be secured to us ; and also we ask that those pieces of land around the Skeena fishing stations, suitable for gardens, be secured to us and our children. R. H. Hall, J.P.. Wilnens to signature. Port Simpson, Jan., 1889. RicHAUD Wilson. -,-!,:. LETTER OF PORT SIMPSON CHIEFS, AND OTHERS, re SURVEYS ON THE NAAS RIVER. Port Simpson, May 20th, 1S80. To Capt. W. J. Jemmett, and other Surveyors of Indian Lands on the Naas. Sirs, — We have heard that you have come to survey land on Naas River. We think that we should have been told by the Government, as the Government well know we are all interested in the Reserves on the Naas. 61 For generations we have lived on the Naas part of the year. Our fathers had large houses there, and spent some months there to gather small fish and fix thoir food, and we still hold our claim to those fishing grounds, as you will see by our houses, etc., being still there, and we do not wish to have them taken from us. This is one reason why we sent a delegation to Ottawa, to have this and other matters settled about our land, and as it is not yet settled we do not wish you to survey the land now. Judge O'Reilly started all the trouble on the Naa.s between us and the Kincolith people by saying he had given us only a chain for our fishing ground. These people have just a few years ago moved down to Kin- colith, the mouth of the river, and we do not see why they should wi.sh now to plant our fishing ; ounds that v/e have held so long. We have no objection to them planting nil the ground they wish up the river, at their old homes, but we do not wish them to plant on our fishing grounds. If they do, we shall always have trouble. One of our chiefs was sent up with Judge O'Reilly and pointed this out to him, but he would not listen, so now we do not wish to have our land surveyed till we have heard from the Government at Ottawa. All we wish in all this land question is our rights ; so you have heard our words, and know that we do not wish the land sur- veyed till it is properly settled. Signed on behalf of Indian Council of Port Simpson. Their marks. Alfred DouDowAiiD. x Geouge Kelly. x Paul Scougate. x David Swanson. x T. Crosby, Witness. Copy.] LETTER OF PORT SIMPSON CHIEFS TO W. J. JEMMETT, Esq., re SURVEY. Port Simpson, November 6th, 1886. W. J. Jemmett, Esq. Sir, — We have received your letter, and wish to ask you to be good enough to wait until our chiefs and people come home, then we shall be pleased to have a meeting and hear your 0! I- I J! I ' explanations about the survey of our land. All yie wish about our land is justice and peace as long as we live. We are, Sir, Yours respectfully. Their mftrku Paul Scowoate. x James Haywood. x OWEE. X Lice. x T. Chosby, WUMBt. • • Copy.] PROTEST OF PORT SIMPSON CHIEFS AGAINST SURVEY. Port Simpson, November Gth, 1886. W. J. Jemmett, Esq. Sir,— At the meeting held this evening you heard the words of our chiefs, that they do not wish you to go on with the sur- vey of any reserve for them and their people, as they have not been satisfactorily treated with in the matter; and we hereby protest against the survey of our land, or any part of the inher- itance of jur fathers. Signed by lequest and on behalf of the Indian chiefs and people of Port Simpson. Their marks ' '' Paul Legaic. x David Swanson. x A. DOUDOWARD. X Matthew Shepherd, x C. Price. x MArrHEw Johnson. x T. Crosby, Witness. ' 'it I ;i Copy.] STATEMENT OF DAVID McKAY (an Indian). Naas River, B.C., Nov. 27th. I expected the officers of the Government would be true, but it is not so. I saw a map in the Church mission-house at Kincolith, and the Indians told me that Dr. Powell sent it to them, and that Mr. O'Reilly had given them (the Indians of Kincolith) the land at Fi.shery Bay (Reserve No. 10), which Mr. *63 OReilly himself promised us in 1881, when he came to Fishery Bay and saw us living on the lands. This map troubled me much, because I saw on it marked " Kincolith Reserve," the land at Fishery Bay that v/as given us. In the spring of 188.'>, on June 24th, I went to the Indian Office, Victoria, with Arthur Calder and William Jeffries, and saw Mr. Moffat and Mr. Green from Mr. O'Reilly's office, and one other white man. Mr. Moffat asked us what we wanted. I said, " I want to ask you about our land, if you have any maps in the office here to show our lands." He answered, " Where is your home ? " " Green- ville," I replied. " Oh, Lach-al-tsap you came from, do you ?" he said. " Yes," I answered. " No," he said, " there arc no papers about your land ; we have not made the maps yet for the Indians." I said, " I want to ask you if you had a map ?" " No," he replied ; " the map will show your land, but we have not made them yet." I .said, " I tell you why I came, because I saw a map at Kincolith Church mission, and they said it was sent from this office ; that is why I came to ask, for I saw Fishery Bay, our land, marked on this map, that they .said Dr. Powell senf them ; because Mr. O'Reilly said when he was with us in 1881, that he gave us the land down to Black Point, including Fi.shery Bay, and then I saw that land on Kincolith map, so I came here to ask about it." Mr. Moffat answered, " No, no ; we did not give a map to Kincolith." " Is that so ? " I asked ; " Did it not go from here ? Why, Frederick Allen, of Kincolith, told me that he came to Victoria when his brother committed suicide in Victoria gaol, and that he went to Dr. Powell and he gave him the map to take back to Kincolith, which he did." Mr. Moffat answered, " I do not know that man. We did not give a map to Kincolith, or any Indian from Kin- colith ; they have never received a map from here. We would not give a map to just one village." I asked, " Where did the map come from then ? " "I don't know," he said ; " some white man, perhaps, made it for them ; we did not ; Dr. Powell did not. I will call Mr. Green from Mr. Kelly's office." I answered, " There is trouble all about the Kincolith map between our village and Kincolith people, because they have our land on their map." Mr. Green now .spoke and explained to us that a map had not been sent. He repeated this many times A little after this, Mr. Green, our missionary, received a letter from Ottawa, in answer to one he had written to the Depart- ment, in which it said, " Dr. Powell wrote he did send the map to Kincolith." I was surprised at how they had deceived Arthur Calder, William Jeffrie' and myself. We want the Government to do right and mako a treaty with us, and give us enough land for ourselves, and then give us a present for that the Queen will take, so that our hearts will not be troubled IJf^' mi m II, 1^ lis % I ' Ml ajrain. We are not against the Government, but we want the officers to treat us all alike. We do not want to break one of the Queen's laws, and we want just one more law, the treaty. 1 know the people at Kincolith want a treaty too. I hoard them ask Mr. CoUison to write a letter to Dr. Powell, telling him they wanted a treaty. Mr. Collison replied, " He would not ; that if he wrote it he would be hanged," and so he frightened the people ; but they want a treaty. These words are true, and I hope the good chiefs will linters to us, and give us what is right in the sight of the great God. David McKay. Elizabeth SivAGE, Witiiess. Co2)y.] STATEMENT O'F CHIEF ARTHUR CALDER. Greenville, Naa.s Rivi.:i, Nov. 27th, I88S. I, Arthur Calder, declare that I went with David McKay and William Jeffries, and I heard David ask Mr. Motfat about the rarp at Kincolith Church Mission; and he asked if ])r. Powell ,senL it ; and I heard Mr. Motfat say that it was not .sent to them at all ; and then Mr. Green, the surveyor, said, too, that the map was not sent them, for they had not made one, and that no Indian had received one. I also heard them both declare that if Kincolith hatl a map, some white man had made it ; that it did not go from Powell to Kincn'ith. Arthuk Calder. Elizabeth SAVAGis, Wilnesa. Copy.] STATEMENT OF CHARLES RUSS (an Indian). Naas Riveh, B.C., Nov. 27th, 1889. 1 want to say that we, the Indians of Naas River, are not satisfied about our land, because the officei's of the Government say the land is not ours. Before th* whitf men came horf, we had the land and said it was ours ; and, when tlw^ white men did come, we .still continued to .say, this i» our lan/J, ft is just the last few years that the Government said that tt,'- iftrids did not bel mg to us; but we did about this land : Kineolith people, Chuich Mission, mouth of the Naas, arc troubled very mueh, too. Their teachers tell them they will receive .special favors if they abide by Dr, Powell and judge O'Reilly's have taken the Queen's flag over us, and honor it. We have taken the Queen'.s law to guide us, but when we took the flag and the laws we never had a little thought that in so doing we were giving away our land. And all the ofiicers of the Government told us that our property would be protected. Mr. O'Reilly came in 1881 to lay ofl^ re- .servcs, and we were surprised at this , and he measured ofl^ just a small piece, which he .said was for us : but it was too small, not largo enough for us, not enough for us to live on, only a little from our houses ; we told how much we wanted, but he only shook his head. Only a small part of what he measured is good. My heart is sick, and so are all our people, because the land is so large outside of what he measured for us, and our berry trees, our salmon streams, and our hunting grounds, are in this land that is taken from us. These are not in what Mr. O'Reilly measured for us. We are not like white people who grow their food near their houses; our land will not grow wheat 67 or oats, or barley. We have to set traps to catch the fisher, and the lynx, and the martin, and to shook tHa bear, and to gather berries, and we have to use a lot of country to do this, and the animal? get fewer each year. We wan^t all these put right for us sc we can live. Mr. O'Reilly, when he first came here, measured off the land he said was for us, but our hearts were not satisfied then, and they are not satisfied now. And Mr. O'Reilly measured off our fishing ground at Stony Point (Fishery Bay Reserve No. 10). We had always camped there the summer months long before Mr. O'Reilly came. He came and saw us there, and said he reserved one chain deep along the front for a commonage, and back of that he said it was for us the residents of Lach-al-tsap (Greeaville), but after- wards he changed his word, and said he did not give it to us. And so my heart is troubled. I don't think his word is goorl because he has two words. I also saw the map at Kiiicolith which was sent them by Dr. Powell, to show Liie Kincolith Indians their reserves, and in this map was included the land at Stony Point where we caTip, and which Mr. O'Reilly said he reserved for ns. We sent to Dr. Powell for a map, but he would not give us one. I and Ihe people see that Dr. Powell and Mr. O'Reilly treat the Kincolith Indians different from what he does us. I saw the same thing at Metlakahtla when Dr. Powell and Mi. O'Reilly treated Mr. Duncan different from what he treated Bishop Ridley, and he did it till Mr. Duncan's Indians were driven out of the country ; and we do not like to see the same thing being done by him on the Naas. I want to see the Government do right by us, and the officers to treat us all alike, not help one village different from another, and then we shall have confidence in their work. We want sufficient land for ourselves, to be our own; we do not want it as a reserve; and give us a treaty, and something for the outside, onr hearts will then be satisfied. Timothy Deriuck, Wiltu'ss to Signature. George A. Gibson. Copy.] STATRMENT OF CHIEF SCABAN. KiT-LACH-DAMUX, NaAS RiVKR, B.C., Nov. 13th, 1888. My heurt is very sick because the white man want to take our land away from us, and do not make a strong promise to us on paper. We want a treaty, and want the Government to give us souiething for our land. God gave us the land, and wc picked our berries, got our furs, made our houses, and made our 1% 68 ; ^^'* n* ( _ . i -/4 canoes ; all our living carae off of this land, and out of this water, and now our hearts are made sick by the white chiefs taking neatly all our land away from us. We do not want a reserve if we do not have a treaty, for the reserve is not large enough for us to live on. Our berries and hunting grounds are not in the reserves. Mr. O'Reilly did not do rigTit; when he was here he said he would take away my power and give it to another man. Mr. O'Reilly did not make me chief of Kit-lach- damux ; my power came from my forefathers, anti all in the village acknowledge that I. am their chief, but because I did not want our land surv'ayed he said he would take my power away and give it to some one else. God gave us a good survey when he gave us the land, and we do not want Mr. O'Reilly to survey the land unless the Government make a treaty with us, and give us a present for our land. God made this land, and then put us on it, so we know it is ours. We do not want an Indian agent ; he does not know our language or our hearts, and agents speak to bad white men who hate the Indians, and the agent believes all the bad words he hears. The white ma'i's law is no one to cut timber without paying the Government. We do not have good timber on our reserve, but we have no money to pay for cutting trees dowu; When Dr. Powell came to my village a long time ago he spoke good words, but his words turned to smoke. I gave him some old things — stones, etc., because he asked me for them, and he promised me he would leave the money down at Mr. Croasdaile's for me, and when I would go down the river I would get it. But I went any for it, V>ut Mr. Croasdaile said Dr. Powell did not leave money for me. We love the Queen, and use her tiag and obey her law, but we did not understand that in doing this she would take our land away from xm for nothing;. I am getting old, and I want to see my people satisfied an^' happ/ vfore I die, so I beg the good chi«r€s to listen to my heart. 1 i^.tnt to be friendly with all the wV.ite people, and so I waKt »*i«» Qnet'n to mako a treaty with us. idd we will know whin 4*e Oovermiient will do for us, and we will make a -^t'Tow^ pr^mi-^^ and never \n\'ak it, for God sees u»<. Elizabeth Sa\ a<;k Wl'n His Chief xScAHAN. Cojyy.] 69 STATEMENT OF CHIEB" NESS-PASH. Greenville, Naas River, B.C., ■ . ' ■ '-■'"• r'^ ' '' : Noveviber IGth, 1888. •I want to say that I and all my people ivre very much troubled about our lands. Thus; the Governmenii takes it away from us without asking us, and without giving us anything in re tarn. The great God gave this land to our forefathers, and they lived here and made their living from the land, out of the woods and rivers ; and now Mr. O'Reilly comes and takes away nearly all our land, leaving us only a little to die on. We want a strong word made about our land, and we want Cie Govern- ment to give us something for the land we give the Queen, and we want to keep plenty of land to live on. The land is not good like the land at Victoria; a little there will do for many people, but not so hvre ; only a few potatoes grow, and we have to go over a larg« piece of this rough land for berries, and skins, so we can buy flour, tea, and sugar. And a long time ago we had many wild animals in the wood, but they are few now, and get fewer each year since the whiti man came. And then my heart is troublotl IxHjause Mr ( * Reilly said the land at Fishery Bay was roserv<\> t\M us all but one chain along the bank oi' the river, and n\^w he turii.H his word. Last August he was at Fishery liny, and wo told him th* words he spoke to us before, and asKed him if he did s)>«Nfck thase words to us or not. And he did not answer a word. We do not want an Indian agent until we make a treaty with the Government. His A. E. Green, ' Chief x Ness-Pash. Witness, Mark. Copy.] STATEMENT OF CHIEF CLAY-TSAH Greenville, Naas River, B.C., November mh, 1888. I and my people held the things our fathers put in our hands, and it is killing me to have our land taken out of our hands for nothing, We know so many white people are against us, and .some of the teachers trying to deceive the people, and they tell us wo must not speak ; and the Church of England people say that they have all the river now, and we are not to ha\ any. Fishery Bay Reserve, No. 10, Mr. O'Reilly promised to us, with hi.s own lips, when he tirst came and found us living on it. -v.' ■ - I li'i K^i ; , _ -; . 70 . . but the Kincolith people now say Mr. O'Reilly has taken it away ttom us, and given it to them. The Kincolith people know that Fishery Bay belonged always to us, and this is seen to-day by the name it bears, for it is called " Ness-use'a land ;" no one doubts this, and Ness-use does not live at Kincolith, his descendants all live at Lach-al-tsap Mission. It is not because, the Kincolith people need the place, but becaus j of their pride They have Red Cliffs and Canaan for fishing reserves, good ones, and much nearer to their village than Fishery Bay, but they did not want to fish, but to trouble us. They want to prevent the Port Simpson Indians, and also the Kit-tick-shens, from fishing on this river. We do do not want this, we want all to fish here the food God has sent ns. We are surprised that the Kincolith people do this, for God's Word should make us love each other. We want the land Mr. O'Reilly promised us, and we want a treaty, so there will not be any more trouble about our land. I want to say that Kincolith is only a small village, about two hundred persons, and up the river there are three large villages, and many chiefs who watch the land all the time, and we want peace in our hearts. We do not name ourselves chiefs, we have been chiefs a long long time, and the power came from our forvfathers. And Mr. Green is witness to us, and knows who are chiefs, for he has lived here a long time, and knows our language. I told Mr. O'Reilly when he came where we wanted our reserves to begin and where to end. We have not changed our word ; we want that because we need 5t to live on, and then we want a strong word from the Government, and a present for the land we give over to the white Government. His G. A. Gibson, Chief x Clay-Tsah. Witness. Mark. STATEMENT OF CHIEF TAT-CA-KAKS. GUEENVILLE, NaAS RiVEU, November 7th, 1888. I wi.sh to say that every luountain and every stream has its name in our language, and every piece of country here is known by the name our forefathers gave tliem. And we are not satisfied with Mr. O'Reilly conunij and n)ea.suring off our land. We do not understand how he comes to get thi.s power to cut up our land without our being willing. When Mr. O'Reilly came we told him how much land we wanted, but he would not do what we asked. God gave this land to our 71 fathers a long time ago, and they made gardens and made homes, and then when they died they gave them to us. And stiange Indifins of other tribes who came here, wanting to fish the " oolachans," always asked our fathers for the privilege to come and fish here and always paid something for it. So this shows that all recognize that this belonged to us, and we have never been willing that our land t;hould be surveyed. We did not want in 1881, when Mr. O'Reilly first came, and this last August when he came again to enlarge his grant we did not want it, for I asked him for a paper with an agreement on — a strong paper, so we can know that we are still to have our lend outside of the little bits he want- to leave us with. We know the white man would not feel well if we v^ent and took away their property for nothing, and so I, the other chiefs and all my people do not want tlie white government to take away cur land. It makes us trouble every day. It has troubled our friends so much that mar_, hundreds have gone into Alaska, and we are sorry to loose our friends in this way. 1 am greatly surprised, because Judge O'Reilly had two words when he was here. In the Fall of 1881, I was at Fishery Bay (Reserve No. 10), and Mr. O'Reilly told me that one chain deep along the bank of the river was to be set apart for all Indians to fish, and the other land back of the one chain was for the residents of Greenville (Laeh-al-tsap) then a few months after he said it did not belong to us. I told him this to his face last August and asked him if he did not speak these words to us in 1881, and he would not give us any answer. I also know that Dr. Powell and Mr. O'Reillv sent a map to the Kincolith Indians at the Church Mission, but when we sent for one to show our land, they wou!-ir 'i ! ,( •' in We are pleased to meet you, for we have looked forward to your coming as a peaceable settlement of what has been a great trouble to us for years. It has made our hearts bleed to be treated as we have been about our land, the inheritance which God gave to our fathers, and it was for this reason we sent three of our members to Ottawa, in 1885, to meet Sir John A. Macdonald. He promised us in fair words we should have what we needed, but nothing was done. The servants of the Government sent here have never treated us like men. Mr. O'Reilly carne here in 1881, without suf- ficient notice to our people, and hence there were not many home, and when he met us he would not give time for our chiefs to speak, nor listen to oiir wants, but went on, and, as he says, laid out reserves, although we protested in writing against it. Now, we want you to see what he has done. He has taken twelve houses of Chief Legaic's tribe, and given thdn to the Hudson's Bay Company ; and although we sent letters to Dr. Powell and to the Hudson's Bay Company against it, no notice was taken of it, and we were told that the Company's line com- 74 1 'rl I n I i ;■■) nienced at Legaic's pole. Now, if you look at this, you will see that it is not just, and as the Company coulil take plenty of land to the east, up the harbor, we cannot tell why they wish to enclose our houses on their land ; and we were told by Dr. Powell when he visited us that the Hudson's Bay Company's land would not come more than a few feet west of their fence. Then all at once we found a man here .surveyinp; for the Government ; he said, all round the north-east side of the har- bor, and we were told that this land had all been claimed by white chiefs in Victoria, and they .said they had bought it from the Government, and this before our claim had been settled. We wrote about this, but received no reply. In the fall of 1883, Dr. Powell came up in a war-ship to Metlakahtla, but we think he was ashamed to come up here, for his words to us had all been broken, so he sent Mr. McKay as agent. He met us and listened kindly to our trouble, and said our claim was just. We said, if he would go and lay it before the Government and get it settled, we .should then be glad to have him come back. He went away and never came back, and we thought it was because he wished to carry out our wishes that he was not allowed to come back. And again a war-.ship came to Metlakahtla, and we were told that the chief of the Government, Mr. Davie, said that not one inch of ground belonged to the Tsimpsheans, and then you know there was trouble at Metlakahtla about the two acres on Mission Point. All this sending of war- ships, and putting Metlakahtla people in jail, and the way we were treated about our land, caused us great trouble, and made our hearts weak. Our Council, that had for years kept the roads in good order, and built bridges, and endeavored to repress immorality among our people, was put down by Judge Elliott, who said we were no Council, and now you see our village is in a bad state, and our young people who once had great respect for the village Council, have none now. We have been put down and discouraged by those who should have encouraged and helped us. But we have been kept by our teachers and our profession of religion from breaking the laws, as they have always encouraged us to believe that we should have our rights. When Mr. Jemmet came to survey on the Naas, we sent him a letter protesting against his work until we had our land matter .settled ; but he went on, and we are told that our fishing stations, which he marked oft", are but one chain in depth from the water's edge, and on this we were to be allowect to build no houses. This seemed very strange to us, for here our fathers used to live two or three months of the year, and we had large houses on this ground long before Mr. O'Reilly and Jemmet were born. This made us feel sore and angry, and 75 had we been as we once were, we should have been tempted to ti<^ht ; but no, we prayed to God to help us and waited, and now we do hope that you will see that we have at least two chains' width in our fishing claims on the Naas. All the Upper Naas people will afjree to this, as they know it is our just ri<^ht. When Mr. Jemmet came here to our own village and com- menced to survey, and took the line from Legaic's pole, we jrotested against it, and called him to a large meeting, and told lim we did not wish him to go on with the survey. He said le would send our words to the proper quarter, and the matter would be attended to. In the meantime he went on with his work, and we never heard that any notice was taken of our protest. Feeling that all our attempts to get a hearing had failed, and that some of our people were becoming exasperated, and desir- ing to prevent an outbreak, we decided to make one more effort; and calling a large meeting last January, we appointed a depu- tation, consisting of our missionary and two men of our tribes, to go at once to Victoria in company with Mr. Green and some Naas chiefs, to wait upon the Government.' Though, in the midst of a great storm, our deputation proceeded without delay to Victoria, when, strange to say, the Government did not wish to meet the missionaries, and would not allow them to be pres- ent at their interview with the Indians. We have not for- gotten that yet. The Government promised that a Land Commission should be sent to put our land matters right. We expected it here in the spring, but instead of that, we were sur- prised in the early summer by the arrival of Mr. Tuck and a party of men to go on with the survey. A meeting was called of tne few people at home, and we protested against his sur- veying the land. Mr. Tuck said, in reply, that he could not stop his work, but he promised that our words should be sent to the Government. And now you have come, we ask you to be good enough to take time to listen to our wishes, and hear the words of our chiefs ; and we do hope that your visit will be the means of bringing peace and confidence to our hearts again. We welcome you to our village, and will do all we can to make your stay here pleasant and happy. And do not feel sorry if we have to say some words you do not like to hear. We suppose you have all the papers concerning our land question, and ouv letters of protest before you, but we thought it well to call your attention, by this letter, to .some of the cir- cumstances of our grievance. As you are, no doubt, aware the Government have never had to send a war-ship to us, and although a judge lives here, he would have no work to do were it not that the Government has given the Hudson's Bay Com- pany license to sell liquor, and bad white men come here and T IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 I.I !f IM Ilia [J i^ 12.2 I 40 12.0 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 ^ 6" - ► Photographic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, NY. 14580 (716) 672-4503 \ ^^ 4^ <^ %s #.3" 1 76 get drunk, and then give it to our people. This has given us great trouble. For many years the Hudson's Bay Company- sold no liquor here, and our young men did not dare to trouble our wives and daughters ; butwe fear for all this now. This is aside from the land question,, with which you come to deal, but it is a thing that troubles us much, and we hope you will do something to have it put away from our midst. At your pleasure, we will call a public meeting. We have had letters from the Government to tell us of your coming, and we hope you will find time to meet us before you go to Naas, as a large number of our men have been waiting your coming, and would like to get away soon. On behalf of the people of Port Simpson. Their Marks. (Signed). Paul Leoaic. x David Swanson. x Albeut McMillan x William Kelly. x Port Simpson, Oct 8th, 1887. 77 SUPPLEMENTARY STATEMENT OF REV. T. CROSBY. 1. I was the lirat resident Methodist Missionary on the north- west coast of British Columbia. I f rst went to Fort Simpson in June, 1874, where I have since resided ; and as Chairman of the Fort Simpson District of Methodist Missions, which embraces the north-west coast above Queen Charlotte Sound, also the Naas and Skeena Rivers, and Queen Charlotte Islands, I have from time to time visited the Indians of that District during that period. 2. The Bella Coola, Hiletsuck.HydahandTsimpshean Indians who occupy that district, and who are set down in the Report of the Department of Indian Affairs for 1888 (p. 317), at 10,000, do not really number more than 7,000. Of these, about 1,000 are under the instruction of the missionaries of the Church of England, and the remainder (with few exceptions), about 6,000, under the instruction of the Methodist missionaries. 3. In that district [the number of resident whites — men, women and children — is only about 150. About one half of these aremissionaries, teachers and membersof their families; tLe'other half being composed of Government and Hudson Bay ofticials, traders and cannery men, and members of their families. 4. As to the charges against our missionaries of disloyalty and inciting their people against the', Government officials, and against the Indian Act, and receiving an Indian agent, so freely made in various official documents, I am able to give these a most unqualified denial. I am firmly convinced that it has been only through the loyal teaching and active exertions and peaceful influence of our missionaries that the !Tndians have been kept quiet under the indignities and unfair treatment to which they have been subjected ; so that cur Indians have never been guilty of any violence or disturbance, or occasioned any trouble to either Government, but on the contrary have given them their assistance, which cannot be said of other Indians in that district who are unduly favored by the officials, and lauded by them at the expense of our Indians. 5. The prejudice on the part of a number of our Indians against comirg under the Indian Act or an Indian agent, is due in part to their having observed that numbers of Indians who, are under an agent, are much worse off than themselves, and continue their heathen practices ; and in part to the offensive and imperious manner in which they have been treated by most of the Government officials who have come in contact with them, and also to the fact that their appeals and requests have, as a rule, met with no response, even when answers have been promised them. T. Crosby. ToBONTO, April, 1889.