Page:The Columbia river , or, Scenes and adventures during a residence of six years on the western side of the Rocky Mountains among various tribes of Indians hitherto unknown (Volume 1).djvu/291

 allowed a fair trial, and that nothing should befall them but on the clearest testimony. This was of course agreed to; and Mr. Matthews, with his party, then cautiously approached the habitations of the two delinquents, which were adjoining each other; and having divided his men, leaving the Clatsops to mind the canoe, they entered the houses, and succeeded in seizing, binding, and hurrying the prisoners on board before the village was alarmed. The men paddled hard until they arrived at the Clatsop village, where they stopped to rest, and the following morning at day-break they reached Fort George in safety. The day subsequent to that of our arrival was fixed for the trial. It was held in the large dining-hall; and the jury was composed of the gentlemen belonging to the Company, with an equal number of Indians, consisting of chiefs and chieftainesses, for among these tribes old women possess great authority. It appeared in the course of the investigation that revenge was the cause of the murder. About two years before this period, while houses were being built for the men, the greater number of them were lodged in tents and huts about the fort, from which the Indians were constantly in the practice of pilfering whatever they could