A History of Oregon, 1792-1849: Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic InformationGray, W. H. (William Henry)
History
A History of Oregon, 1792-1849: Drawn From Personal Observation and Authentic Information
Gray, W. H. (William Henry)
Frontier and pioneer life -- Oregon; Oregon Territory -- History
Rev. Mr. Hines' savage-looking chief was no less a personage than a
slave of a Frenchman by the name of Michel, or rather belonging to
Michel's Umpqua wife. This slave had learned, from the statements and
talk he had heard at Vancouver, that in case the Indians killed and
robbed the Boston men, there would be no harm to them; that neither the
Hudson's Bay Company nor the English or French would take any notice of
it. Hence, the Indians were taught to regard the killing of a Boston man
(American) as doing something that pleased the Hudson's Bay Company.
Under this instruction it is said this slave ran away from Vancouver,
and went back to his people, and was the cause of the massacre of
Smith's party. He is again present, doing all he can to induce his
people to rob and take the lives of Lee and Hines. Mr. Guinea, then in
charge of the fort, is aware of his instructions and his object. He
dare not tell Lee and Hines of their full danger, yet he knows all about
it.
They were determined to visit the Indians and see for themselves.
Guinea's Indian wife and her brother must go with them. This is
considered sufficient protection. The story of the Indian slave's part
in the massacre of Smith's party is related to us by Mrs. Smith, the
wife of S. H. Smith, an intelligent and much respected native woman, a
neighbor of ours for near twenty years, and by one of the men that
accompanied McKay to recover the property; corresponding exactly to
another event of the same kind that occurred in 1847, which will be
given in detail as stated by eye-witnesses under the solemnity of an
oath.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account