Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/12

 4 T. W. DAVENPORT. foremost in establishing the system in Oregon. And in this connection my mind reverts to that grand, good man, General Joel Palmer, whose rational altruism, exhibited on every proper occasion, left no room for doubt. He and Governor I. I. Stevens negotiated the treaty by which the three tribes, before mentioned, were brought onto the Umatilla Reservation. At this time was held the first State Fair at the grounds in Salem, and I tarried a few days to attend it. Although it was a week interspersed almost hourly with drenching showers of rain, families from all over the State were encamped upon the grounds, and pioneer sociability, unalloyed, reigned su- preme. A eleven years' residence within the State and Terri- tory, accompanied with much rambling, had blessed me with friends and acquaintances, who wished me well, and some gave assisting advice as to how I should manage in the new role of Indian Agent. If any one of the latter neglected to remind me that "an Indian is an Indian and you can't make anything else of him, " I do not now recall it. The repetition of that peculiar phrase struck me as some- thing queer, and I occasionally suggested that there is a dif- ference in Indians, to which they invariably answered, "Yes, but they are all Indians." One old friend, who at that time stood high in the Federal Government, volunteered lengthy in- structions, for which I was truly grateful. Not that I con r sidered them as sound in every particular, but for the reason that he was more likely to voice the prevalent knowledge and sentiments of those engaged in Government employ, and therefore familiar with the working of the Indian system. He remarked that I was generally understood to be an ardent believer in the civilizing influence of education upon the in- ferior races, and that now I would have a good chance to prove to myself that I had been too optimistic. Said he: of ages, with an environment favorable to barbarism, and of course you do not expect to change him much during the little time you live, and I do not think you had better under- take it. On the outside the appearance is, that the Govern-
 * ' The Indian, .like the negro, is the product of a long succession