“After this had all been interpreted to them, they were dismissed till the next day, in order that they might talk the matter over together, and have any part explained to them which they did not understand. The following morning the treaty was again read to them after a speech from the governor, but although they seemed satisfied, they did not perfectly comprehend. The difficulty was in having so many tribes to talk to at the same time, and being obliged to use the jargon, which at best is a poor medium of conveying intelligence. The governor requested any one of them that wished, to reply to him. Several of the chiefs spoke, some in jargon and some in their own tribal language, which would be interpreted into jargon by one of their people who was conversant with it; so that, what with this diversity of tongues, it was difficult to have the subject properly understood. But their speeches finally resulted in one and the same thing, which was that they felt proud to have the governor talk with them; they liked his proposition to buy their land, but they did not want to go to the reservation. The speech of Narkarty, one of the Chinook chiefs, will convey the idea they all had. ‘When you first began to speak,’ said he to the governor, ‘we did not understand you; it was all dark to us as the night; but now our hearts are enlightened, and what you say is clear to us as the sun. We are proud that our Great Father in Washington thinks of us. We are poor, and can see how much better off the white men are than we are. We are willing to sell our land, but we do not want to go away from our homes. Our fathers and mothers and ancestors are buried there, and by them we wish to bury our dead and be buried ourselves. We wish, therefore, each to have a place on our own land where we can live, and you may have the rest; but we can’t go to the north among the other tribes. We are not friends, and if we went together we should fight, and soon we would all be killed.’ This same idea was expressed by all, and repeated every day. The Indians from the interior did not want to go on a reservation with the coast or canoe Indians. The whole together only numbered 843 all told, as may be seen by the following census, which was taken on the ground:—
| Lower Chehalis | 217 |
| Upper Chehalis | 216 |
| Quenaiults | 158 |
| Chinooks | 112 |
| Cowlitz | 140 |
| 843 |
“But though few in numbers, there were among them men possessed of shrewdness, sense, and great influence. They felt that though they were few, they were as much entitled to a separate treaty as the more powerful tribes in the interior. We all reasoned with them to show the kind intentions of the governor, and how much better off they would be if they could content themselves to live in one community; and our appeals were not altogether in vain. Several of the tribes consented, and were ready to sign the treaty, and of these the Quenaiults were the most prompt, evidently, however, from the fact that the proposed reservation included their land, and they would consequently remain at home.
“I think the governor would have eventually succeeded in inducing them all to sign, had it not been for the son of Carcowan, the old Chehalis chief. This young savage, whose name is Tleyuk, and who was the recognized chief of his tribe, had obtained great influence among all the coast Indians. He was very willing at first to sign the treaty, provided the governor would select his land for the reservation, and make him the grand Tyee, or chief, over the whole five tribes; but when he found he could not effect his purpose, he changed his behavior, and we soon found his bad influence among the other Indians, and the meeting broke up that day with marked symptoms of dissatisfaction. This ill-feeling was increased by old Carcowan, who smuggled some whiskey into the camp, and made his appearance before the governor quite intoxicated. He was handed over to Provost Marshal Cushman, with orders to keep him quiet till he got sober. The governor was very much incensed at this breach of his orders, for he had expressly forbidden either whites or Indians bringing one drop of liquor into the camp.
“The following day Tleyuk stated that he had no faith in anything the governor said, for he had been told that it was the intention of the United States government to put them all on board steamers and send them away out of the country, and that the Americans were not their friends. He gave the names of several white persons who had been industrious in circulating these reports to thwart the governor in his plans, and most all of them had been in the employ of the Hudson Bay Company. He was assured that there was no truth in the report, and pretended to be satisfied, but in reality was doing all in his power to break up the meeting. That evening the governor called the chiefs into his tent, but to no purpose, for Tleyuk made some insolent remarks, and peremptorily refused to sign the treaty, and with his people refused to have anything to do with it. That night in his camp they behaved in a very disorderly manner, firing off guns, shouting, and making a great uproar.
“The next morning, when the council was called, the governor gave Tleyuk a severe reprimand, and, taking from him his paper, which had been given to show that the government recognized him as chief, he tore it to pieces before the assemblage. Tleyuk felt this disgrace very keenly, but said nothing. The paper was to him of great importance, for they all look on a printed or written document as possessing some wonderful charm. The governor then informed them that as all would not sign the treaty it was of no effect, and the camp was then broken up.
“Throughout the whole of the conference Governor Stevens evinced a degree of forbearance, and a desire to do everything he could for the benefit of the Indians. Nothing was done in a hurry. We remained in the camp a week, and ample time was given them each day to perfectly understand the views of the governor. The utmost good feeling prevailed, and every day they were induced to some games of sport to keep them good humored. Some would have races on the river in their canoes, others danced, and others gambled; all was friendly till the last day, when Tleyuk’s bad conduct spoiled the whole.”
That was an intrepid and resolute act of Governor Stevens, thus to tear up the turbulent chief’s commission before his face, surrounded by three hundred and fifty Indians and supported by only fourteen whites; but it effectually cowed the insolent young savage, and preserved the respect of the Indians.
The council was by no means abortive, for in consequence of it the following fall Colonel Simmons obtained the assent and signature of the chiefs of the Quenaiult and Quillehute coast tribes to the treaty so carefully explained to them at the Chehalis council, and it was signed by Governor Stevens at Olympia, January 25, 1856, on his return from the Blackfoot council, and duly confirmed with the other treaties on March 8, 1859. These Indians were given $25,000 in annuities, and $2500 to improve the reservation, the selection of which was left to the President. A reservation of ten thousand acres was set off at the mouth of the Quenaiult River, including their principal village and salmon fishery, renowned as yielding the richest and finest salmon on the coast, a fish of medium size, deep, rich color, and exquisite flavor. The other provisions were the same as those secured to the Sound Indians.
Tah-ho-lah and How-yatl, head chiefs of the two tribes, and twenty-nine other chiefs signed the treaty, and it was witnessed by M.T. Simmons, general Indian agent; H.A. Goldsborough, surveyor; B.F. Shaw, interpreter; James Tilton, surveyor-general; F. Kennedy, J.Y. Miller, and H.D. Cock.