SPEECHES 
 
 OP 
 
 HOI. JOSEPH LANE, OF OREGON, 
 
 AND 
 
 ION. ISAAC I. STEVENS, OF WASHINGTON, 
 
 ON THE PAYMENT OF THE 
 
 )REGON AND WASHINGTON INDIAN WAR DEBT. 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF EEPEESENTATIVE3, MAY 18, 1858, 
 
 BY LEMUEL TOWERS* 
 190* 
 
(-35-41 
 
 t Lil 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 HON. JOSEPH LAM, OF OREGON, 
 
 ON THE PAYMENT OF 
 
 THE OREGON AND WASHINGTON INDIAN WAR DEBT. 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, MAY 13, 1858. 
 
 The House being ia Committee of the Whole on Territorial business, 
 Hon. WM> H. ENGLISH in the Chair, and having under consideration a bill 
 (H. R. No. 566) to refund to James Douglass, Governor of Vancouver's 
 Island, the sum of $7,000 advanced by him to supply the volunteers of 
 Washington Territory with clothing and blankets during the late Indian 
 war in that Territory. 
 
 The bill directs the Secretary of the Treasury, out of any money in the 
 treasury not otherwise appropriated, to pay to James Douglass, Governor 
 of Vancouver's Island, $7,000, it being so much money advanced by him 
 to the Hudson's Bay Company in payment of clothing and blankets fur 
 nished by the company to the volunteers of Washington Territory in 1855, 
 upon the order of Isaac I. Stevens, Governor of the Territory of Washing 
 ton, and upon a guarantee for the payment of the same by Douglass, and 
 for which sum Isaac I. Stevens, as Governor, has executed his certificate of 
 debt, payable when an appropriation should be made by Congress. 
 
 Mr. LANE. I move to amend the bill by adding the following as addi 
 tional sections of the bill : 
 
 And be it further enacted, That there be, and hereby is, appropriated out of any 
 money in the treasury not otherwise appropriated, whatever amount may be neces 
 sary to enable the Secretary of the Treasury to defray the expenses necessarily in 
 curred by the territorial governments of Oregon and Washington in the suppression 
 of Indian hostilities therein in the years 1855 and 1856, so far as the claims growing 
 out of said war have been adjudicated by the commissioners appointed for that pur 
 pose, agreeably to the provisions of the eleventh section of the act of the 18th Au 
 gust, 1856, entitled "An act making appropriations for certain civil expenses of the 
 Government, for the year ending SUth June, 1857," and have been reported to the 
 War Department, by said commissioners, for payment. 
 
 And be it further enacted, That the amounts severally found due to the parties 
 contained in the report of the said commissioners shall be paid to the said parties 
 respectively, or their legal representatives, or to the assignees or attorneys, duly 
 constituted and appointed, 'of said parties, anything in the act approved July 29, 
 1846, or in the act of February, 1853, to the contrary notwithstanding. 
 
 Mr. WASHBURNB, of Illinois. I rise to a question of order. The amend 
 ment is a general bill, and 'is not in order to a private bill. There is a 
 rule of the House which expressly provides that no bill shall be amended 
 by a rider in this way. 
 
Mr. LANE. If the gentleman -will hear me he will not contend that this 
 amendment is not strictly in order. The object of this bill is to provide 
 for paying Governor Douglass for certain expenses incurred in the Indian 
 war in Washington Territory. I am speaking to the question of order. 
 The claim which Mr. Douglass has is for supplies furnished the troops who 
 were acting against the Indians in the years 1855 and 1856. The expenses 
 growing out of that war have been properly and legally adjudicated. 
 This claim of Governor Douglass has been passed upon with all the other 
 claims growing out of the war; but this is the only item for which pro 
 vision is made. The amendment which I offer is for the same purpose 
 precisely. 
 
 Mr. WASHBURNE, of Illinois. I desire to hear my friend on the point of 
 order ; not on the merits of the case. 
 
 Mr. LANE. I am showing that this is one item of a series of claims 
 growing out of this war, and that these claims have been adjudicated by a 
 board of commissioners. The amendment is in relation to the same sub* 
 ject-matter as the original bill. 
 
 Mr. KUNKEL, of Pennsylvania. I would like to suggest to the gentle 
 man from Oregon, and to the Chair, that the explanation of the gentleman 
 does not bring the amendment within the rule. The one is a private bill y 
 and the other is a general bill ; and although both may relate to the same 
 subject-matter, the amendment, nevertheless, is out of order. 
 
 Mr. LANE. This bill is one item of the expenses of that war. There 
 are probably five or six thousand claims growing out of the same war; and 
 I want to call the attention of the committee to the law of Congress under 
 which these claims have been recognized : 
 
 "That the Secretary of War be directed to examine into tlie amount of expenses 
 necessarily incurred in the suppression of Indian hostilities in the late Indian war in 
 Oregon .and Washington, by the territorial governments of said Territories, for the 
 maintenance of the volunteer forces engaged in said war, including pay of volun 
 teers; and that he may, if in his judgment it be necessary, direct a, commission of 
 three to proceed to ascertain and report to him all expenses incurred for purpose? 
 above specified." 
 
 Now, Mr. Chairman, under the provision of that law, the Secretary of 
 War appointed a commission of three persons to assemble in the Territories 
 of Oregon and Washington, and ascertain the expenses necessarily incurred. 
 Congress made an appropriation of 12,000 to defray the expenses of that 
 commission. It was constituted of two army officers and one citizen. It 
 assembled at Fort Vancouver, and was in session twelve mon-ths, 
 
 Mr. KUNKEL, of Pennsylvania. There is a question of order peading. I 
 ask that it be decided. 
 
 The CHAIRMAN. The gentleman from Oregon has a rigfet to appeal, and 
 to debate the appeal. 
 
 Mr. KUNKEL, of Pennsylvania. Is he debating the appeal ? 
 
 The CHAIRMAN. The Chair is aot able to tell what application the gen 
 tleman from Oregon proposes to make of his remarks. 
 
 Mr. KUNKEL, of Pennsylvania. There was no appeal taken- ; & is simply 
 a question of order. 
 
 Mr. GREENWOOD. The gentleman from Oregon has a right to discust 
 the question of order, debate not being closed on the bill. 
 
The CHAIRMAN. The Chair is not without doubt as to whether this 
 amendment is in order, but he is under the impression that it is not in or 
 der. The bill itself is a private bill, for the relief of James Douglass. 
 The amendment proposed by the gentleman from Oregon seems to be a 
 general, bill applicable to a whole class of cases. The impression of the 
 Chair is that the amendment is not in order, and the Chair so rules. 
 
 Mr. LETCHER. Has not the gentleman from Oregon a right to speak 
 on the original bill ? 
 
 The CHAIRMAN. He has. 
 
 Mr.LANE. I want to show how this bill for the relief of Mr. Douglas 
 comes up here, and I desire to call the attention of the committee now to 
 the report of the Secretary of War on this subject. The Secretary of War 
 examined the report of this commission, and says as follows: 
 
 "By a law passed the 18th day of August, 1856, a commission was directed to be 
 appointed for the purpose of ascertaining the sum of money fairly due to the volun 
 teers of Oregon and Washington Territories for their services in the Indian wars 
 which threatened to lay waste those Territories. In compliance with this law, 
 Captain Smith, of the first dragoons, Captain Rufus Ingalls, of the quartermaster's 
 department, and La Fayette Grover, Esq., of Salem, Oregon, were appointed to ex 
 amine the accounts and claims, and to make a report in conformity with the law, 
 and upon the facts as they existed, so far, at least, as it was possible to ascertain 
 them. 
 
 "These officers entered upon their duties on the 10th day of October, 1856, and 
 seem to have labored with great assiduity and patience in discharge of them, until 
 the 20th of October last, when they were brought to a close. I have examined this 
 report very carefully, and conclude that, from the data they have adopted for their 
 guide, as to the prices for stores and subsistence, and time of service rendered by 
 the men, it is not probable a moz-e just or accurate result could be attained than 
 these gentlemen have arrived at. The amount ascertained to be due is a very large 
 one, and Congress will have to make provision for its payment, if it is intended they 
 shall be liquidated, of which I presume there can be no doubt." 
 
 Now, out of these claims adjudicated by this commission, we find due to 
 Governor Douglass $7,000, and various other sums to various other indi 
 viduals, who had rendered services and furnished supplies and transporta 
 tion for the subsistence of the troops in the field the whole amount 
 reaching to between five and six million dollars* These expenses were all 
 necessarily incurred, and the bill to pay Governor Douglass is right and 
 just. But it is not more right and not more just than every other portion 
 of these claims allowed by this commission. And why Governor Doug 
 lass should be singled out from the lot who have incurred expenses in 
 defending the country against Indian hostilities, and the balance not men 
 tioned, is a matter which I do not understand. But, be that as it may, I 
 will let that matter rest with the committee who has charge of it. I have 
 great confidence in that committee. I believe it will ultimately report in 
 favor of paying all the expenses. But now is the proper time to do it 
 now is the time when this committee and this Congress should pass such a 
 law as will provide for the payment of all the claims found due by that 
 commission. 
 
 Now, sir, I think every gentleman here knows, (and I believe no gentle 
 man will undertake to gainsay the fact,) that when the people of Oregon 
 and Washington Territories were plunged into an Indian war, it was not by 
 their own act, but by a combination of Indians, made so completely that 
 they were able to commence hostilities at the extremes of each of those 
 Territories on the same day. The progress of that war was so rapid, and 
 
6 
 
 the scenes so bloody and terrible, that for a short time it was a matter of 
 uncertainty in the minds of the people of these Territories whether the 
 Indians would not be able to destroy the entire settlements of the two Ter 
 ritories. 
 
 In order that the committee may understand more fully the facts of the 
 case, I call attention to the report of the special agent sent out there by 
 the Government to inquire into the circumstances of the war, and into the 
 action of that commission while it was in session. 
 
 Mr. J. Ross Browne, that special agent, spent months in the country, 
 visited many of the Indian tribes, talked with them, saw the farmers on 
 their plantations and at their homes, without letting the people there know 
 the purpose for which he was among them. He dropped in, at Vancouver, 
 on the commissioners, while they were adjusting this very claim of Mr. 
 Douglass, and he saw the manner in which they discharged their duty. 
 
 Mr. SMITH, of Virginia. I beg to remind the gentleman that this is the 
 last day for territorial business. 
 
 Mr. LANE. I am aware of that. 
 
 Mr. SMITH, of Virginia. This bill is cutting out other territorial busi 
 ness. 
 
 Mr. LANE. No, sir ; I am the last man in the world to cut off any of 
 the territorial business. This is the last bill but one or two upon the cal 
 endar. 
 
 I will now read a portion of Mr. J. Ross Browne's report. He says : 
 
 " I will not undertake to follow up the history of the war to a later period. Its 
 peculiar features have been represented officially on both sides, and its progress and 
 termination are matters of public record. 
 
 "Upon a careful perusal of all the dispatches, I find nothing to sustain the charge 
 of speculation. No person can visit the Territories of Oregon and Washington, 
 converse with the people, see them on their farms and at their daily labors, and 
 consider their true interests, without coming to the conclusion that such a charge is 
 absurd and monstrous. What could they hope to gain ? Few of them had anything 
 to spare upon which to base a speculation. A farmer is well off who has his fields 
 fenced in, a few head of oxen, and three or four cows. If he got treble price for his 
 stock, the sale, upon an xmlimited credit, would have been a sacrifice to him. His 
 farm must go to ruin. The interests of the settlers, of nearly every pursuit, are 
 nearly identical. Their future prospects depend chiefly upon the prosperity of the 
 country, the increase of emigration, enhancement in the value of property, security 
 of life, opening of new facilities for the transportation of their products. All this 
 was diametrically opposed to a war. No compensation that Government could 
 make would atone for the murder of families, the stoppage of labor everywhere^ the 
 loss of time, the suspension of emigration, and the numerous evils resulting from this 
 disastrous conflict. 
 
 "The commissioners at Vancouver have faithfully and impartially performed their 
 duty. Whatever sum they may have decided upon in estimating this war debt, I 
 hold that amount to be justly due, and trust that Congress will at once provide for 
 its extinguishment." 
 
 That is signed by J. Ross Browne, special agent of the Government, sent 
 out there by the order of the President, at the instance of the Secretary of 
 the Interior, to examine into the facts connected with the war ; to ascertain 
 the causes of the war ; th*e manner of the conduct of the war ; and the 
 extent of the expenses incurred in it. And, after a careful and impartial 
 examination of the whole matter, he came to the conclusion which I have 
 just read. His whole report shows that the people of Oregon and Wash 
 ington were driven into a bloody war, unavoidably on their part, that 
 threatened to lay waste the whole country, and wipe out all the settlements. 
 
And I . hazard nothing in saying that no portion of the American people 
 has suffered so much in any Indian wars since our fathers landed on the 
 American shores, as did the people of those Territories in that war. 
 Gentlemen will remember that, during the progress of the war I was here 
 attending to my duties ; but during the last summer, I had an opportunity 
 of traveling over the whole southern portion of Oregon, and of examining 
 in person the extent of the Indian depredations. I found that every house 
 for fifty miles on a road through a well-settled country had been laid in 
 ashes. The houses and barns had been burned, and every man, woman, 
 and child killed in the most cruel and barbarous manner, with the ex 
 ception of one man, one woman, and one child. 
 
 At the time these depredations were committed by the Indians, there 
 were large numbers of wagons, loaded with the produce of Oregon and 
 Washington, traveling over that road to seek a market in California. They 
 were met by the Indians, and every man and every animal was killed, and 
 the wagons were burned. The mangled and mutilated remains of the men 
 were taken up and buried, but the wayside was strewn for fifty miles with 
 the bones of the animals. In a conversation I had with the Indians, in 
 the presence of their agent, in relation to it, their great war chief, John, 
 told me that he had labored for months to bring about a combination of 
 all the tribes, so that they might commence the war at the same time, and 
 destroy the entire settlements in both Territories ; and so complete was 
 their plan of organization, so complete was the combination, that, as I said 
 in the opening of my remarks, they commenced the war at Puget sound 
 on the same day of the month that they commenced it in the southern 
 portion of Oregon Territory, six hundred miles distant ; and the chief told 
 me that he had labored hard to bring about the combination, and had 
 sent his sons and his son-in-law to the Indians, in different portions of the 
 country, for the purpose of making the combination and securing that con 
 cert of action which would enable him to carry out his purpose. He com 
 menced his depredations in Oregon and Washington, as you will find by 
 these reports, a month before the general hostilities broke out. Finally, he 
 became uneasy himself, after killing a great many of our people, about his 
 capacity to bring about a general war. He began to think that the whites 
 would not resent the outrages and murders which he had committed, and 
 that he could not bring about a general war. He went to the agent, after 
 killing eighteen of our people at one time, and two men and a little boy 
 shortly afterwards, and said to him : " What kind of warriors have you ? 
 They have no hearts ; they are like squaws ; T g have killed your people 
 (mentioning the places where they had been murdered) and yet no notice 
 is taken of it ; there is no war." 
 
 Well, on the 9th of October, the Indians passed along the road to which 
 I have referred, and destroyed every particle of property for fifty miles. 
 They then rushed into the settlements and burned houses and barns, killed 
 hundreds of our cattle and many of our people. We are not here asking 
 pay for these depredations. We have not asked a dollar of the Govern 
 ment for these spoliations. We only ask the Government to pay the troops 
 who were forced into the service to defend the settlements against those 
 outrages, and who, I may well say, suffered more in the field than any 
 troops who have ever been engaged in any war in this country. My friend 
 who represents the Territory of Washington will tell you that he fell in 
 with a body of our troops in the mountains, east of the Columbia river, 
 where they had been for weeks without tents, although the thermometer 
 
8 
 
 stood at twenty-five degrees below zero a greater part of the time. They 
 had thrown themselves between the settlements and the hostile Indians, and 
 had subsisted upon horse-flesh, without bread, coffee, or salt, for weeks. 
 
 Mr. MAYNARD. I would inquire of the gentleman what amount of money 
 will probably be necessary to supply the demands under his amendment? 
 
 Mr. LANE. I want to say to my friend that the whole of the elaim 
 rendered, including compensation for service and expenses incurred, as 
 settled by the commissioners under this law, amounts to between five and 
 six million dollars. It is just; and I have no doubt Congress will pay it. 
 
 Mr. STANTON. I wish to inquire of the gentleman what amount per 
 day was allowed for the volunteers who served in that war ? 
 
 Mr. LANE. I will answer the gentleman with a great deal of pleasure, 
 though I am not going on to discuss this matter in detail. The price 
 allowed by these commissioners was two dollars for each day's service for 
 each man, and two dollars in addition if he rode his own horse, 'making 
 four dollars per day for a man and horse. I will say, further, that if the 
 gentleman will look over the letter of Colonel McMullin, now Governor of 
 the Territory of Washington, a gentleman who stood in this House and 
 watched the treasury as carefully as any man did I say, if the gentleman 
 will read that letter, he will find that Governor McMullin states that you 
 cannot obtain the labor of a man short of $2 50 per day, and that even 
 women get thirty dollars per month. And I will say that no man can 
 obtain labor for any such price as these commissioners allowed to these 
 volunteers. 
 
 I will say further, that no man can tell the sufferings which these volun 
 teers underwent. Take, for instance, the conduct of the Polk county 
 volunteers, who, in response to a requisition of the Governor of the Terri 
 tory, marched to relieve Major Haller, who was surrounded by hostile In 
 dians. The requisition reached them on Monday evening, and, on the 
 next morning, one hundred and two men were in the saddle, and on the 
 march to relieve this gallant officer and his little band of brave soldiers, 
 who had been for some time surrounded by vastly superior numbers of 
 blood-thirsty savages. Out of the one humdred and two Polk county men 
 whom Major Armstrong marched to the relief of Major Haller, many never 
 returned home, and many came back with fingers and toes frozen, maimed 
 and crippled for life. Such was the conduct and suffering of other volun 
 teer companies who responded to the call of our Governor. Thus did the 
 people of Oregon rust^to the rescue, not only of the settlements, 
 but of the United States troops, surrounded by overwhelming num 
 bers of hostile Indians. Not a dollar have they asked for spoliations ; 
 and the amount which the commissioners have allowed for the services of 
 the volunteers, and the expenses incurred by them, will you refuse to pay ? 
 Major Armstrong has frequently informed me that his company was com 
 posed of farmers, most of whom had families, and were not only comfort 
 able, but were worth, on an average, five thousand dollars. The gallant 
 Captains Hembree and Bennett, and other officers, were among the number 
 that never returned. Their families and friends were left to mourn their 
 loss. 
 
 But, Mr. Chairman, to proceed with the horrors of this war. While in 
 Oregon last summer, I took occasion to inquire of the chief, who was 
 mainly instrumental in getting up this war, to learn the particulars of the 
 fate of some of our people who disappeared in that war of 1855, and of 
 
whom we had been able to learn nothing. When I suggested to the agent, 
 in the council, that I proposed to inquire the fate of Mrs. Wagner, Mrs. 
 Haynes, and others, he was inclined to think that it would raise the bitter 
 feelings of the Indians, but said that we could make the inquiry. I told 
 him that I had passed through the country where these people had lived, 
 and that their friends were very anxious to learn their fate. We inquired 
 in relation to Mrs. Wagner, who was a well educated and handsome woman 
 from New York, who had lived long in the country, and spoke the Indian 
 tongue fluently. She kept a public house by the roadside, and the good 
 cheer which she always furnished made it a place where travelers delight 
 ed to stop. The Indians informed us that on the morning of the 9th of 
 October they came in sight of the house, where they met some teamsters 
 and packers, a portion of whom they murdered, destroying the wagons and 
 cargoes, as well as the animals, while she was standing in the door. As 
 soon as they had murdered the people outside, they came towards the 
 house, which was strongly built of hewn logs, and had a heavy door, which 
 fastened with cross bars. When she saw them running towards the house, 
 she shut the door and dropped the bars to prevent their breaking in. They 
 came to the door, and ordered her to come out, and bring out her little 
 girl. She said " no." Her husband was absent and, by the way, he 
 was the only man on that road who escaped. They said that if she did 
 not come out they would shoot her. She declined ; and, after some delib 
 eration, they determined to set the house on fire. The house was directly 
 enveloped in flames ; and the chief, who watched her through a little win 
 dow, told us that he. saw her go to the glass and arrange her hair, then 
 take a seat in the middle of the room, fold her little girl in her arms, and 
 wait calmly until tha roof fell in, and they perished in the flames together. 
 And the statement was confirmed by the people who found their remains 
 lying together in the middle of the house. 
 
 The account of the atrocities perpetrated upon Mrs. Haynes are so hor 
 rible that I will not relate them. 
 
 These volunteers, sir, are the men who defended us against the Indians, 
 who had declared their intention of murdering every white man, woman, 
 and child in the Territory. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, the settlers of Oregon were encouraged to go there by 
 the Government of the United States. Congress passed an act donating 
 land to all who would go and settle in Oregon. Many responded to those 
 inducements held out to go and settle there. They went at great sacrifice 
 of comfort, and at great hazard. Many of them fell by the hand of the 
 savage before they reached that far-off country. But while the Govern 
 ment thus held out inducements to the people to go there and settle, they 
 neglected to take the precaution to extinguish the Indian title to the lands. 
 That; however, was not the fault of the settlers; it was the fault of the 
 Government. The people continued to be harassed by the Indians from 
 the very commencement of the settlement up to the great war. 
 
 These expenses, Mr. Chairman, were incurred in good faith, and were 
 necessary expenses in the prosecution of that war. And I leave it to this 
 committee to say whether they shall be paid at the same time this good 
 man, Governor Douglass the wealthiest man in that section of country- 
 is being paid. I have said that Mr. Douglass is the wealthiest man in that 
 section of the country ; he is, and has been for years, connected with the Hud 
 son's Bay Company, and was largely interested in having the property of 
 that company lying in Washington Territory protected. In that Territory 
 
10 
 
 the company have stores, trading-posts, herds, and flocks, that were pro 
 tected by our troops as effectually as were those of any of the settlers of 
 Washington or Oregon. He is to be paid, while the citizens are left un 
 provided for. Their claims stand upon the same footing, and ought to be 
 cared for alike. I say, while you provide for paying him, will you neglect 
 the people who so nobly turned out to save the settlements of Oregon and 
 Washington from the tomahawk and scalping-knife of the savages ? 
 
 If I had known that I would have had an opportunity to make a speech 
 here to-day, I would have brought with me, to read to the House, the 
 memorial of Mr. Beason. He happened to be in our Territory at the time 
 the war broke out, and in the book which he published on his return to 
 New York, he said many hard things of the people of Washington and 
 Oregon. Since then he has exercised his better judgment, and over his 
 own signature he has memorialized Congress to pay the volunteers for ser 
 vice rendered and expense incurred in prosecuting the war against the 
 Indians. None, save General Wool, (and to him I do not care now to 
 refer,) who at first were opposed to the war, but have recanted that opinion. 
 They have changed front on the matter, and all of them would now be 
 glad to see the people of Washington and Oregon reimbursed. It is just 
 that they should be paid ; and in their name, and in their behalf, I beg 
 that while you are providing for the claim of Governor Douglass, you will 
 also provide for paying the people of Oregon and Washington for services 
 rendered and expenses incurred. They are as worthy as he, and their 
 claims as just and meritorious as his. His is a good claim, but equally so 
 are theirs. 
 
 There are many things to which I could refer, if I had time, to show 
 why it was that the people were compelled to take up arms against their 
 savage foe, to endure hardships, to incur expense, and to peril their lives. 
 The southern portion of Oregon is rich in gold ; and millions of gold that 
 comes to the Atlantic States as the product of Californa, is the yield of our 
 Oregon mines. Our people are law-abiding, industrious, generous, and 
 brave, and ought not to be neglected. The settlements are sparse, conse 
 quently helpless, and to a great extent dependent upon the good will of 
 Congress for many things which they cannot afford themselves. Millions 
 and millions of dollars which comes here as California gold, is, in reality, 
 gold from Oregon, for the benefit of our friends in this portion of our coun 
 try. It is not, therefore, an unimportant or valueless Territory. It is also 
 rich in soil, and the climate is as salubrious and as healthful as any in the 
 world. 
 
 Now, sir, from the time the settlements were commenced in the Rogue 
 River valley, the Indians began their depredations upon the settlers ; and 
 from that time to the end of the late war they did not cease their course 
 of rapine and murder. I have a statement, compiled under direction of 
 the Legislative Assembly of Oregon, which shows that during the peace 
 and before the breaking out of open war, the Indians had killed two hun 
 dred and forty-four whites. The people made no war, although there are 
 none who will deny that there was full cause for war. Could more be 
 borne by a Christian people ? 
 
 I have noticed the action of Congress generally, and especially on ap 
 propriation bills, for many years, and find that whenever an appropriation 
 bill is up, based upon estimates of the Departments, it is sure to pass. 
 Congressional legislation is generally for the few. Nine-tenths of the legis 
 lation here is not for the many ; the great mass of our citizens are not cared 
 
11 
 
 for ; but whenever there is a bill for the regular army, navy, waterworks, 
 or for a wealthy man, there is very little difficulty in getting it through; 
 but when the mass of the people have a just claim upon the Government 
 they are held back, and justice is long delayed from them. Let an appro 
 priation bill come here with the sanction of the Committee of Ways and 
 Means, and members unite and pass it at once. The favorite argument is, 
 "do not stop th wheels of Government." "Put it through." Not so 
 with the bills for paying claims of the people against the Government. 
 Their claims, if unpaid, will not stop the wheels of Government, and they 
 remain neglected. This character of legislation seems not for the benefit 
 of those who need it, and to whom justice would seem to demand that it 
 should be given, but is extended to the wealthy man. We here have for 
 years turned our faces against legislating upon just claims, which ought to 
 be considered and acted on. We have allowed them to go over year after 
 year ; and in this case, if the same course be pursued, when these claimants 
 shall get their four dollars a day, it will not be worth, to them, as much as 
 one dollar would have been at the time the service was rendered. Delay 
 is to enable the speculator to reap his harvest to prey upon the vitals of 
 our suffering people. 
 
 These claims ought to be paid, and paid now. They have been allowed 
 by a board of sworn commissioners. -Many of these people, who were com 
 fortable and well to do before the war, have now, having lost their all, been 
 compelled to go out to work by the day, while their wives and children 
 have had to endure much hardship. It is for this House to say whether 
 justice shall be meted out to them or be withheld ; whether they shall or 
 shall not be paid for services rendered and expenses incurred. Shall we 
 provide for Governor Douglass, and leave the people of Oregon and Wash- 
 ton unprovided for ? Shall we send away the needy and provide for the 
 wealthy ? I do not object to Governor Douglass ; I object to the principle. 
 His claim ought to be paid. I want now, and for all time, to enter my 
 protest against this sort of legislation. I want one provided for as well as 
 the other. I will not make any rash promises ; but if I had it in my 
 power, there should be no action upon any appropriation bill until this 
 matter was considered and allowed. If Congress think the amount too 
 small, let them increase it ; but I do not ask them to increase, and I trust 
 that they will not reduce the claims, but take them as allowed by the 
 commissioners, two of whom were army officers, who are not more indul 
 gent to the citizens than army officers ought to be. They were just, and 
 are honorable, high-toned men, and what ought to be paid they have al 
 lowed, and nothing more. 
 
 Mr. J. GLANCY JONES. I wish to say to my friend from Oregon that I 
 did not vote to adjourn this House on the 7th of June next. Now, if 
 members expect to get away on that day, they must set apart some time 
 for the consideration and passage of the appropriation bills. If these bills 
 are not passed, I will stand by my friend from Oregon to July or August 
 next to transact the public business if the resolution for the adjournment 
 be rescinded. 
 
 Mr. COBB. I wish, just here, to give notice that I intend, on Monday 
 next, to move to rescind that resolution. 
 
 Mr. LANE. I only want to say to the committee that Congress ought 
 not to adjourn until they have transacted the business for which they have 
 been sent here. I will not lecture the committee on that ; it is not my 
 
12 
 
 duty to do so; but it strikes me that Congress ought, before its adjourn 
 ment, to transact the necessary business of the country. Why is it any 
 more necessary to pass appropriation bills than it is to do justice to that 
 portion of your defenceless fellow-citizens, away out west of the Rocky 
 Mountains, who are scattered over a district of country so large, and so de 
 fenceless, that the savages can, at their pleasure, run in and tomahawk them ? 
 Ought their claim to be disregarded ? Ought Congress to give them the 
 cold shoulder ? Ought gentlemen to say that the people of Oregon should 
 not be paid for their services and expenditure in the defence of their set 
 tlements? If you continue to do so for a series of years, can you expect 
 that the people of Oregon will always maintain their devotion to this 
 Union? I know that the people of Oregon place themselves upon the 
 Constitution, and are true to the interests of every portion of the Union. 
 I have never seen the day I shall never see it so long as I am an active 
 man when, if the Northern portion of this country were invaded, I would 
 not rush quickly to the rescue, and help to expel the enemy, although that 
 enemy might be composed of the combined forces of the world. And so 
 I would act if the Southern portion of my country were invaded. My 
 affections, as also the affections of the people of Oregon, rest upon the 
 whole country, and will rest upon it for all time to come. And I ask you, 
 ought you not, in your justice and wisdom, to take care of them as your 
 people? Among the entire population of that Territory, we have none, 
 save a very few, who are not American-born citizens blood of your blood 
 and that few, Mr. Chairman, have already become American citizens. The 
 country is settled up with citizens from every State in the Union from 
 Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, Georgia, and every other por 
 tion. The citizens of Oregon are emphatically your people, and entitled 
 to your protection. Will not this committee take care of them, as this 
 bill proposes to take care of my worthy friend Mr. Douglass? Will the 
 committee say we will pay the claim of this rich man, the property of 
 whose subjects was defended by our troops, whose cattle and herds were 
 defended, whose stores were protected, and not pay the citizens of the Ter 
 ritories, who hazarded everything for the public defence? 
 
 I will now yield the remainder of my time to my friend from Washing 
 ton Territory, to give a history of that portion of the war that passed under 
 his immediate observation. 
 
-& i-/ 
 
 SPEECH 
 
 OF 
 
 HON. ISAAC I. STEVENS, OF WASHINGTON, 
 
 ON THE PAYMENT OF 
 
 THE OREGON AND WASHINGTON INDIAN WAR DEBT. 
 
 DELIVEKED IN THE HOUSE OF KEPRESENTATIVES, MAY 18, 1858. 
 
 Mr. LANE, of Oregon, Laving yelcled the floor 
 
 Mr. STEVENS, of Washington, said : It is not my intention, 'Mr. Chairman, 
 at this time, to occupy more than ten minutes in discussing this bill. I will 
 state first, in regard to it, that it proposes to reimburse Governor Douglass, 
 of Vancouver Island, for supplies furnished by the Hudson's Bay Com 
 pany, at Victoria, their post on that island. I am glad that such a bill 
 has been brought before this committee to pay for supplies furnished by 
 the people of a foreign jurisdiction to the suffering inhabitants of Oregon 
 and Washington Territories, because I can, and every gentleman here can, 
 refer to them as witnesses of the condition of our country at that time. I 
 am glad to refer to the fact that Governor Douglass and myself are per 
 sonal friends. We have often conferred in personal interviews and by letter, 
 in relation to the measures requisite to defend the sparse population of that 
 coast. And it is to me a heartfelt pleasure, on this floor, that I, as the exe 
 cutive of one of those Territories, have his emphatic testimony that the 
 course taken in that Territory was the only course which could have pro 
 tected those settlements, or which could have prevented their depopulation. 
 And I thank God that this bill now before the committee gives me the 
 opportunity to refer to this judgment, coming, as it does, from an entirely 
 disinterested source. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, I will not trouble the committee by going back to the 
 old troubles, and trials, and conflicts of judgment that have taken place in 
 regard to this war. It is sufficient for me that I stand here on the rock of 
 truth, and I defy any man to gainsay my statements. I go not now to the 
 reports which speak of outrages of whites upon the Indians which speak 
 of that war having been forced upon us by the bad conduct of our people, 
 and which accuse us of getting up that war for the purpose of speculation. 
 When I went to that country, in 1853, Mr. Chairman, and traveled across 
 the plains, I visited, on my way to Puget sound, nearly every Indian tribe 
 from the mouth of the Yellow Stone to the Pacific ocean. When I saw 
 the relations existing between the white man and the Indians, I was aston 
 ished. 
 
 I was astonished, for I was not a frontiersman. I had, up to that time, 
 seen nothing of Indians, and but little of our frontier population. Still I 
 had a prejudice that there was much of wrong in the relations between the 
 two people ; but I found that their relations were those of kindness and of 
 good offices. And here, in proof of that, I will mention one fact. It is 
 
14: 
 
 known to gentlemen that I was the Indian superintendent, as well as the 
 executive of Washington Territory. I had frequent complaints made by 
 Indians that white men would not pay their debts; and the invariable 
 course I pursued was simply to address a note to the settler, requesting 
 him to settle the account, and it was done in every case brought to my 
 notice, except in the case of a single person, who went off between two 
 days, and who is not now in our Territory. We have got rid of him ; and 
 his acts, therefore, should not inure to the ill of the Territories of Wash 
 ington or Oregon. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, the honorable gentleman from Oregon, whom I am proud 
 
 to refer to here as my friend, has told you the simple facts in regard to the 
 
 origin of that war. I was not in the settlements at the time, but was 
 
 upon the head waters of the Missouri. The war came upon the people of 
 
 the Territories like a thunderbolt. In our Territory there were not at that 
 
 time two hundred private arms; and we were only able to obtain arms for 
 
 j three or four hundred men by borrowing them from the Decatur, and from 
 
 ! the arsenal at Vancouver. 1 refer to this fact as conclusive proof, showing 
 
 - how utterly unprepared the people were for these Indian outbreaks. 
 
 I do not intend, sir, to go into any detailed account of this Indian war, 
 but I propose to mention one or two striking and significant facts. The 
 honorable gentleman from Oregon has referred to me as a witness in rela 
 tion to the arduous services of the volunteers of Oregon in the interior. 
 When I heard of the breaking out of the war, I went over to the settle 
 ments from the head waters of the Missouri as fast as broken down animals, 
 and the difficulties of the road, would enable me to make my way. Com 
 ing through, it became my duty, in regard to the Indian tribes that had 
 not broken into war, to meet them, and, as their father, being superinten 
 dent of Indian affairs, to endeavor to persuade them to continue peaceful. 
 I met tribes numbering some seven thousand souls, and having nearly two 
 thousand warriors, and those tribes maintained their fidelity throughout 
 the war. From them I learned many of the causes of hostility, and of the 
 unmitigated hostility of many of the Indian chiefs. When I met the 
 Oregon volunteers on the field of Walla- Walla, you may be sure that there 
 was a most cordial and hearty welcome between us. Sir, to those volun 
 teers, under Heaven, I probably owe my life ; for I had but a party of 
 twenty-five men with me, and I had made up my mind to attempt to make 
 my way to the settlements. It was the action of these Oregon volunteers, 
 in protecting the settlements, that opened the way for me. 
 
 What might have been my fate in fighting seven hundred Indians with 
 a band of twenty-five men, increased to fifty as I got near where the hos 
 tile Indians were, I do not know. But I conceived that it was my duty to 
 get to my post, and do my best for the suffering people of whom I was the 
 executive. Sir, I learned nothing of these volunteers till I was making 
 arrangements to fight the hostile Indians. The volunteers met the Indians, 
 defeated them in a signal battle that lasted four days, and drove them 
 across the Snake river, thus opening the way for my party. I was with 
 them for tes days. They consisted of the very flower of the population of 
 Oregon, men of family, men of substance, who had taken arms in their 
 hands in order to protect the people of the two Territories ; and there they 
 were on the cold ground, without tents, living on horse-flesh, and without 
 proper clothing, the thermometer ranging as low as 27 below zero, and 
 uerer, for five days, getting above zero. That is what the volunteers of 
 
15 
 
 Oregon did, and I am thankful that I can say this for them as a witness in 
 this high presence. 
 
 There are one or two other points to which I wish to allude briefly. 
 During the whole of that war in the Territory of Washington, not a friendly \ 
 Indian, or an Indian prisoner, was ever maltreated in the camp of the vol 
 unteers of Washington. * I say this in the presence of all men ; and if any 
 one will rise and gainsay it, I shall ask for the proof. For six months the 
 people of Washington had to live in block-houses; and yet, so obedient 
 were the people to law, so proud of their country, doing such high homage 
 to its spirit of humanity and justice, that during all that time the life of 
 the Indian was sacred in the camp of the volunteers. Why, sir, there 
 were nearly five thousand disaffected Indians, during all this time, on the 
 reservation lying along the waters of the sound, and not a man ever went 
 there to do them harm. I rejoice in being able to give this testimony, here 
 in the presence of my countrymen, in regard to the conduct of the people 
 of Washington. Do you wonder, sir, that it has caused to grow up in my 
 heart the deepest and most devoted attachment to that people, who have 
 held me up in their sustaining arms in my efforts to advance the public 
 service, and who have, by their conduct, illustrated its dignity and humanity, 
 and thus given a lesson to the country and to the world. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, I have said all that I desire to say at this time. I trust that 
 the same measure of justice which the committee propose to deal out to 
 Governor Douglass, will be dealt out to the people of the Territories of 
 Washington and Oregon. The debt in all the cases rests upon the same 
 foundation. Our people furnished supplies, and animals, and shipping, and 
 rendered their own services, on the faith of the Government. Every obli 
 gation is made payable when an appropriation is made by Congress, 
 
 It is germane to my purpose to give one or two facts in reply to the 
 grave charges which have been made against our people of furnishing sup 
 plies at exorbitant prices. Now, sir, I have a friend, living near Olympia, 
 who sold a horse, to be used for the volunteer service. When asked the price 
 of his horse, he replied, that his horse was worth sixty dollars cash ; " but," 
 said he, " to be used for the defence of our people, you shall have the horse 
 for forty-five dollars scrip." And the horse was purchased for forty-five 
 dollars. And, generally, for a considerable period on the sound, horses 
 were furnished the territorial authorities, for scrip, twenty-five dollars 
 cheaper than they were sold to the garrison at Fort Steilacoom for cash. 
 At the close of this service these animals were sold at public sale, and 
 brought from ten to fifty per cent, above the original cost. I recollect an 
 instance of a mule captured, and which was rode by Captain Henniss at 
 the battle of Grand Ronde. Captain Henniss rode the mule home to 
 Olympia, a distance of nearly five hundred miles. He was desirous of 
 owning the mule, and so he bid for it when it was put up at auction. But j 
 the animal was struck off at four hundred and seventy-five dollars to / 
 another man, and placed to the credit of the Government. . Captain Hen- / 
 niss, who had been a captain of a company of volunteers for tl|e wlaole war, / 
 a period of some ten months, was not able to bid in his own riding mule. I 
 
 And now, sir, in reference to property captured from the Indians : it was \ 
 nevBr taken and kept by private individuals. Stringent orders were given \ 
 that all property taken from the Indians should be accounted for as public 
 property, and the orders were strictly carried out ; certainly in the Terri 
 tory of Washington, and, I believe, in Oregon. 
 
 Mr. Chairman, you can, from facts of this kind, learn something of the 
 
16 
 
 character of the transactions of our people in this war. It was, most em 
 phatically, a war for our protection, and for the existence of our settle 
 ments. And I am thankful that it is a war which has left so little sting 
 behind between the Indians and the white settlers of the country. They 
 have nearly assumed their old relations. It was not a work of supereroga 
 tion. It was a work of toil, and watchfulness, and of constant exertion, to 
 bring about the old relations between the whites and Indians, so that all 
 animosity might die out, and a spirit of kindness and confidence prevail, 
 
 Mr. BRANCH. The committee have passed now some fifteen bills, and 
 while I am willing that the remaining bills maybe disposed of, if it can be 
 done without debate, unless the question can be taken without further re 
 mark, I shall submit the motion that the committee rise. 
 
 Mr. FAULKNER. I desire to make one or two remarks before this bill is 
 disposed of. The justice of this claim has not been controverted, nor has 
 the propriety of its prompt payment been questioned by any gentleman 
 who has so far addressed the committee. But the gentleman from Oregon 
 (Mr. LANE) threw out a remark which certainly ought to be noticed by 
 some member of the Committee on Military Affairs. He would seem to 
 place us in the position of having singled out a claim due to a British sub 
 ject, and to a man of wealth, while we are represented as forgetful of the 
 demands of the humbler volunteers of Oregon and Washington. This re 
 mark does great injustice to the committee. 
 
 ******** 
 
 Upon this state of facts, then made out clearly to our satisfaction, we 
 did not hesitate to report the bill for his relief. It was a claim about which 
 there could be no controversj'-. Its justice was universally conceded. We 
 have not, as yet, had time to examine into the great mass of these claims 
 which have been referred to us, and to which the Delegates from Oregon 
 and Washington have alluded, but design to give them a fair and impartial 
 investigation at the earliest moment. I have not, so far, expressed any 
 opinion myself in regard to the validity of these claims against the Govern 
 ment, except that which incidentally fell from me in the discussion on the 
 army bill, in which I expressed the opinion that the report of the board 
 might; be regarded as an award made under the authority and with the 
 full sanction of the Government, and binding upon it. I incline to that 
 opinion still ; yet this is a point which I shall reserve for a more full ex 
 amination of the cases, when taken up in the committee. 
 
 The bill was laid aside to be reported to the House, with the recom 
 mendation that it do pass.