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
A. I was in my room, in the lower part of the main house, where I lived
with George Heron, in an apartment in the lower story, immediately under
the kitchen. My door opened into the passage which led to the apartment
of Mr. John McLaughlin in the second story.
Q. What occurred on the night of the murder?
A. I will tell you the whole story, to the best of my recollection.
A few days preceding the murder, five Indians from Tako, with letters
from Dr. Kennedy, arrived at the fort about midnight. The watchmen,
hearing the knocking, called Mr. John. When he got up, he mustered a few
hands to defend the gates, in case of any treacherous attack from the
Indians, whom they did not, as yet, know. They were then admitted into
the fort, delivered up their arms, according to custom, and were lodged
in a small room in the lower story of the main house. A day or two after
this, he beat, and put one of these Indians, a native of Nop, in irons,
as Peter was told, for having committed some theft in Tako. About eight
o'clock of the evening of the 20th of April, Mr. John gave liquor to the
Indians, and made them drunk; after which he called the white men, viz.,
Laperti, Pripe, Lulaire, Heroux, Bellinger, Simon, Fleury, McPherson,
Smith, and Antoine Kawanope. During this time, Peter was in his own,
which was the adjoining room, lying awake in bed, and overheard all that
passed. He heard Mr. John say to McPherson, "Peter is not among us.
Where is he?" McPherson replied, that he was in bed, and he was sent for
him by Mr. John. Peter, in consequence, went into the room, and saw all
the men seated in a ring, on the floor, around a number of bottles
standing within the ring, and the Indians lying dead drunk on another
part of the floor, Mr. John himself was standing outside of the ring,
and McPherson placed himself on the opposite side of the ring; neither
of them appeared to be partaking of the festivities of the evening but
were looking on, and forcing the people to drink. Antoine Kawanope was
seated on his bed, apart from the other men, perfectly sober, as he told
Peter afterward. Mr. John had ordered him not to drink, observing, "You
are not to drink at this time, as I am going to die to-night, and you
will help me in what I am going to do." On entering the room, Mr. John
told Peter to sit down with the other people, and ordered his servant,
Fleury, to give him a good dram, which he did, in a tin pan. Peter could
not drink the whole, and was threatened by Mr. John with violence if he
did not finish it. He succeeded in emptying the pan, by allowing the
liquor to run into the bosom of his shirt. Mr. John, in doing this, did
not appear to be angry, but in a half-playful mood. Peter remained there
about a quarter of an hour, during which time he was careful not to
drink too much, as a few hours previously Antoine had called at his room
and said, "My uncle, take care of yourself to-night; the master is going
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.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account