Page:The Early Indian Wars of Oregon.djvu/38

20 and ate the refuse meat thrown away by Lewis and Clarke s party. They were also despicable beggars. Captain Bonneville, of a later date, relates an anecdote of being entertained by a Cayuse chief, who presented him with a handsome horse, for which he returned a rifle, thinking the chief well paid. But the donor of the horse brought his wrinkled old wife with, "This is my wife—she is a good wife—I love her very much—she loves the horse a great deal—will cry to lose him—I do not know how I shall comfort her—that makes my heart sore." The captain remembered some ear-bobs, and made the old dame young with delight. The chief then brought his son, "A very good son—a great horseman—he took care of the fine horse—he loves him like a brother—his heart will be heavy when he leaves the camp." Again the captain bethought himself of a hatchet to reward the youth s virtues. Then the chief, "This rifle shall be my great medicine—I will hug it to my heart, and love it for the sake of my friend, the bald-headed chief. But a rifle by itself is dumb—I cannot make it speak. If I had a little powder and ball I would take it out with me, and would now and then shoot a deer; and when I brought it home to my happy family I would say, 'This was killed by the rifle of my friend, the bald-headed chief, to whom I gave that fine horse.'" It is unnecessary to add that the captain, after handing over powder and ball, fled.

Speaking of the moral characteristics of the Flatheads and Nez Percés, Bonneville says that they exhibited strong and peculiar feelings of natural religion, and that it was "not a mere superstitious fear like that of most savages—they evince abstract notions of morality, a deep reverence for an over-ruling spirit, and a respect for the rights of their fellow men. They (the Flatheads) hold that the Great Spirit is displeased with all nations who wantonly engage in war; they abstain from all aggressive hostilities. But though, thus unoffending in their policy, they are called upon continually to wage defensive warfare, espe-