A Survivor's Recollections of the Whitman Massacre — John Shaqi
A Survivor's Recollections of the Whitman MassacreSager, Matilda
History
A Survivor's Recollections of the Whitman Massacre
Sager, Matilda
Whitman, Marcus, 1802-1847
We were directed to cook a supply of food as provision for the trip.
Fifty Nez Perce warriors escorted the Spalding family through the
hostile country and an Indian brought Miss Bewley to the immigrant
house where the rest of us were. They took us down to Fort Walla Walla
in ox wagons. Among other things which I remember we left behind was a
pair of pigeons the Canfield family had brought with them from Iowa.
The cage was set in the window on leaving, the door knocked off, and
the pigeons were still sitting in their cage--the last glimpse we had
of them. After we had been some time on our way, an Indian woman came
out of her lodge and motioned for us to go fast--and we did! It seemed
that some of the Indians regretted their bargain and wanted to take us
all prisoners again. This woman knew they might soon attempt to do so.
I was in the last wagon to arrive. We could see the wagons ahead of us
going into the Fort gates when they were opened and it seemed as if
ours would never get there; but when the last one came up "pel mel" and
we were safe inside, the Indians concluded it was too late to make an
attack and capture us again. The day they were to receive the goods
promised for our release, we were put into rooms out of sight of the
Indians and told to remain there. Of course the Indians were inside the
fort grounds that day, and McBaine was afraid they might repent the
agreement to give us up and try to take us captive again. Mr. Ogden
made the speech and delivered the goods and as soon as possible they
were gotten away from the Fort. But they would not let the Indian boy
go. The Hudson's Bay men claimed him as belonging rightfully to them.
"He didn't belong to the Doctor," they said, "but had Indian blood in
him." The last I ever saw of him he was standing on the bank of the
river crying as though his heart were breaking as his friends floated
away from him. He was about six years old. There were three boats that
started down the river the day we left the Fort, eight oarsmen to a
boat, and we pulled out into the stream pretty fast once we started.
Indians were along the bank riding and talking, and it was necessary to
travel fast. At night we landed and camped. It was cold, windy and
sandy. Our belongings were left for the settlers to bring down in the
spring, though, of course, we children had little to concern ourselves
about. Before we left the Mission Mrs. Sanders had told one of the
chiefs that the Doctor's children had no clothes--that everything was
gone. "No clothes, no blankets, no nothing," so he went over to the
other house and brought a comfort and gave that to my oldest sister and
gave me a thin quilt and my other sister a blanket or quilt. It was the
custom in those days to quilt so fine; I mean, with the stitching very
close and usually the quilts were made of two pieces of cloth and a
thin layer of cotton batting between. My quilt got afire on our trip
down the river and most of it was burned. The chief also got us a few
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