Page:Oregon Historical Quarterly vol. 8.djvu/132

 124 T. W. DAVENPORT. brother came to her assistance. This timely and praiseworthy act so enraged the criminal that he plunged a knife into the bowels of the dutiful brother, who suffered excruciatingly until his death several days afterwards. I visited him several times, in company with the post doctor, my wife, and old Stickas, and then sternly resolved to organ- ize a system for the punishment of criminals. A day or two after the burial, I called a general meeting and stated to it the urgency of doing something to protect themselves from such outlaws. All of the chiefs and principal men were present and there was a general interchange of opinion ex- pressive of the need of some kind of restraining government. The most noticeable feature of the meeting was the speech of Howlish Wampo, whose manner and delivery, to an eye wit- ness, were quite impressive. Such occurrences affected him deeply and the interpreter said he made a grand speech. I could only judge of the substance after it had filtered through the brain of an uncultivated half-breed who spoke English im- perfectly. It, however, showed that Howlish Wampo had been brooding vaguely over the change that had come to his people, by the advent of civilization. He engaged in retrospection and gave the conditions of the Indians before the whites came ; that then crime among them was infrequent and when it did occur the chief, with the approbation of his people, promptly pun- ished the offender. ' ' Now, ' ' and he surveyed the audience with a scornful face, "the chief has no authority; nobody cares for him; the young scapegraces do not fear that he will try to punish them. The red men are not of one mind ; they have lost their heart." This last crime and all that he could recall were caused by the white man's whiskey. "It is the white man that has brought our troubles upon us. If he had stayed in his own country, there would be no whiskey to inflame the passions of our young men and the chiefs would have retained their power. Take away the white man and give us back our roots and fish and game, then we will be content."