Page:Letters to Mrs. F. F. Victor, 1878-83.djvu/13

 so much. It appears to me its the institutions of the country that are at fault.

As to Gov Stevens war in West Washington with all due respect to a brave energetic man, it was a crazy like thing. It should have been easily dealt with by 3 or 4 small parties of 30 men each—as for any of the indians of the East Cas cades coming to aid those of the West was not likely—those Indians had families & would not have come this way. In dians are merely grown up children, they often have the keenest sense as to right and wrong. The indian agents cant help being influenced by clamour—their all depends upon it. I have known many of your West point military men perfect gentlemen to whom indians would cheerfully submit. Harney from the best accounts I can get was unfortunately not one of them. For information I once asked a poor illiterate Irish man who had been in both the British & American armies Which do you prefer Jimmy the West point officer or the Volunteer officer? The West point man ave coorse & so it will be with the Indians.

There is now living in this Territory I think an extra well to do farmer; has a very fine house, immense barns &c. Well when he came here he was young & impetuous—without a shoe to his foot, or a crown to his hat. He choose for himself an Indian village & soon enclosed the camping site and ordered the indians off, this was I think in '46. This man was running a great risk & only the influence then of the HBCo was his safe guard. There was neither flag nor governor nor courts to back him—but was this right? this is only one in stance. Clamour would perhaps say indians had no right that a free born American could respect. Think of the wrongs done me from 59 to 71 at the Cowlitz farm. The old carcase of the Company brought every wolf and vulture to the banquet & the government rewarded the wrong doers by giving them the lands. The voting power did it all. I was wronged, the government cheated, Mr [Selucious] Garfield[e] carried to Congress—how can any government do right, led astray by the very men who should help them. A short time ago Sheriff Billings of Olympia a man who has held that office for many, perhaps is years, remarked to the Judge of the Territory