I felt somewhat discouraged, and then thought more seriously of leaving than at any other time during the ten years. I however determined to wait until July, during which time I expected to have opportunities to consult with several whose advice I valued, and in the meantime await further developments.
XXIV.
LIGHT BREAKING.
THERE was one good result from the whole excitement: it kept the subject of religion prominently before the people. It did not die of stagnation, as it had almost seemed to do during some previous years. In my visits I was well treated and was asked many questions on the subject. I was welcomed at two or three of the logging-camps during the winter for an evening service, where I talked Bible to them as plainly as I could. They at least asked me to go to them, although they would not come to our church. A constant call, too, came for large Bible pictures. In March a barrel came from the Pearl-street Church in Hartford, Connecticut, full of clothes and substantial good things, the value of which I estimated at about a hundred and twenty dollars. This came when the whites were mostly gone, salary failing, and seemed to be a voice from above, saying, “You go on with the work and I will take care of the support.”
During the month of March some of the older Indians came back again to church, so that I could hold the service in Indian. There had been three whom I had been willing to receive into the church for some time, and during the latter part of the month I found two more. The sub-chief who had declined joining in January was one of them and a policeman was another—both men of influence. So, on the first Sabbath in April, the five were received into the church, and we rejoiced with trembling. These had seen the whole opposition; they had mingled with its followers and had refused to join them, and hence were not likely to wander off into those errors. This was more of the older Twana Indians who had never been in school than had united with the church since its organization. These gave up horse-racing, betting, gambling, and all of tamahnous except that which had reference to the sick, to which they held as a superstition but not a religion. I felt that on this point they were as children, or persons with their heads and hearts in the right direction but with their eyes only half-open. In July two Indian women and a school-girl were added to the number and in October another school-girl and a woman. These drew with them so many that we had a respectable congregation.
XXV.
THE FIRST BATTLE.
AFFAIRS went on about the same until August. The report then was that Billy Clams had been to John Slocum’s and that they had arranged to have a great time. He came back and an invitation was extended to the whole reservation to go to John Slocum’s, where it was said that four women were to be turned into angels; they would receive revelations directly from heaven, and many wonderful things would be done. Two logging-camps out of four were induced to shut down completely for the time, and some people went from one other. They were told that they would be lost if they did not go; that the baptism of those whom I had baptized was good for nothing, being done with common water, and that they must go and be baptized again, and that the world was coming to an end in a few days. About thirty-five Indians went from here and many others from other places, and there was great excitement. Some Catholic ceremonies were held, something similar to the old black tamahnous ceremonies being added to them. These put the patient into a state somewhat like that of mesmerism, baptizing it with the name of religion. Visions were abundant; four people, it was said, died and were raised to life again; women, professing to be angels, tried to fly around. People went around brushing and striking others until some were made black for a week, the professed intent being to brush off their sins. A shaking took hold of some of them, on the same principle, I thought, that fifty years ago nervous jerks took hold of some people at the South and West at their exciting camp-meetings; and this continued with them afterward until they gained the name of the shaking set. Some acted very much like crazy people, and some indecent things were done. It was reported that they saw myself, Mowitch Man, and others in hell; that I was kept on the reservation to get the lands of the Indians away from them, and that I told lies in church. Such reports came to the reservation after a few days that the teacher here, who was in charge of the reservation, thought that he had better go and see it and perhaps try to stop it. He took two policemen and the interpreter with him and went there. He stayed one night and talked to them so plainly that they returned a day or two afterward; but their nervous excitement was not over. Some of them, as they returned, went to their homes, and a little cooling off, together with the talk of their friends, brought them to their senses; but about half of the number kept on. They mainly consisted of those who had been at work in the logging-camp of David, Dick & Co. Dick was head chief, and David was a brother of Big Bill and, next to Billy Clams, was the leader in the excitement. Their camp was eight miles from the reservation; but for about two weeks they stayed on the reservation, singing, brushing off sins, shaking, and professing to worship God in their own way. The excitement and other things, however, made Ellen, the wife of David, sick; in a few days her infant child died, and they thought she was about to die. Chief Dick was sick for more than a week. One of David’s oxen, worth about a hundred and fifty dollars, mired, and for want of care died; and it seemed as if God were taking things into his own hands. The shaking set now said that all tamahnous was bad and that they would have no Indian doctor for their sick. Ellen had a sister who lived at the Chehalis, a day and a half’s ride distant, and she was sent for. When she came she was determined to have an Indian doctor, and with considerable of a war of words she conquered Ellen’s husband and the whole set, and took Ellen off to an Indian doctor. There were two or three in the logging-camp who were tired of the affair, for they had lost three weeks of the best of weather for work, so they reorganized their shattered forces and moved to their camp. Ellen’s husband and son, who also belonged to the set, now neglected her. They furnished her almost nothing, neither food, clothes, nor bedding, and when she wished to have her little boy, they would not allow it. If they could have had control of her they would have taken her to their camp, taken care of her, and held their ceremonies over her; they came twice to see her, but the Indian doctors would not be partners with their shakings, and drove them off. On the eighth of September she died, and her sister had possession of the body. All of the members of our church, Indian doctors, and all who were opposed to the shaking set, now joined company with her sister. They asked me if the body might be brought to our church and kept there until the coffin should be made, and if I would hold the funeral services. This had often been done in previous funerals, and I could not well have said no if I had wished so to do. I consented, but saw plainly that it was more than an ordinary request. They feared that her husband would come and claim the body. Before her death she had requested her sister not to give her body to her husband because he had neglected her so. The contest was to be over this, and they thought that if the body was in my possession her husband would probably not obtain it. A strange contest. But the body was brought to the church and left there. About noon the next day I met her husband and several friends about three miles from the agency, apparently coming to it. They asked about the body, and I told them all about it. They said that they were coming to the agency, and wanted to take the body, have their services over it, and bury it. I was being drawn into the contest, but with my eyes open. As a general thing, a man certainly had a right to the body of his wife. But they left, as I thought, a place of escape, by saying that they should go and see her sister. If she gave them the body, they would take it and bury it in their way, but if not, they wished me to hold funeral services over it and bury it in the best manner possible. I was satisfied with that remark, for I wished, if possible, to let them fight it out. I came home immediately, and told our side these things, most of whom where gathered at the agency. After this the coffin was finished; she was placed in it, a few words were said, and I was requested to keep the body until the next day, when the funeral was to take place. Three hours had now passed since I came home, but David and company had not arrived. They had turned aside and held their services during that time. All of our side started for their homes. But they had not gone far, and I had only been at my house a few minutes, when I was called to the door to meet Ellen’s husband and son, Chief Dick, Billy Clams, and others. They asked me where the body was, and I told them. They said that her son wished to see his mother. I had no objections. Her son then said that he should take the body to his house, keep it for three days with lights burning at her head and feet, and then bury her with their ceremonies. He did not ask me for her, but said he should take her. Had her husband said so, I should have been in an awkward position. I asked if they had seen her sister and obtained her consent, as they had said they would do. They replied that they had not seen her. I told them that the body had been placed in my charge for the night, and I should not give it up until her sister had consented; that when any thing, be it a horse or a trunk, was left in my possession, I expected to care for it until the one who placed it with me called for it; that I had waited three hours for them to come, and they had not done so, and that they had not been to see her sister, as they had promised to do; that if they would go and see her sister, and gain her consent, I would willingly give it up. I appealed to the physician, then present, and temporarily in charge of the agency, for protection. He had been here only about six weeks, and was at first a little afraid that they would take it out during the night. But I was not afraid of that. Such an act would kill their religion, and Billy Clams had been in jail too much to dare to advise such an act. I told them I should not unlock the church to let them see her unless they promised to let her remain. They at last consented to all my propositions. Had I yielded then I would have gained great enmity from all of our side, who had been at much expense to put her propperly in the coffin, and would have made no friends on the other side. They promised to bring her sister down the next morning and settle it. The next morning Billy Clams came alone, and when I asked if all were soon coming, he replied that it was all settled; that they had talked with her sister some the previous night, and also on that morning; that her sister’s words had been very fierce, and that they had concluded, since the body was in the church, it was not best to take it out, and that I should have complete control of the funeral; that they would not come to the church if I did not wish them to do so, but that they would wait on the road to the grave until the services were done, for they would like to go to the grave, if I had no objections. I replied that I was glad of their decision, and that I would be very glad to have them all attend the services in the church. They all came; were very cordial to our side. Some of them took especial pains to cross themselves and shake hands with my children and myself. We all went to the grave together; her son made presents to all there: and the first battle was fought and won by our Great Captain.
XXVI.
THE VICTORY.
BUT although cast down, they were not destroyed. I was a little surprised to see how strongly they still clung to their religion. They returned to their camp, held their services often from six o’clock until twelve at night, shook by the hour, lit candles and placed them on their heads and danced around with them thus, sang loud enough to be heard for miles away, acted much like Indian doctors, only they professed to try to get rid of sins instead of sickness, and so acted that in the physician’s opinion it was likely to make some of them crazy. When Ellen was first taken sick I had more than half-expected that she would die, for I believed that Providence would take away one of their number before their eyes would be open enough to see the foolishness of it—but I hoped that one death would be enough. In the meantime the agent made us a flying visit, and made some threats of what he might do if the foolishness was not stopped. As long as it was purely a Catholic church he felt that he had no right to interfere, but now the Catholic ceremonies were a very small part, merely like a thin spreading of butter over something else, and he knew that if a Catholic priest had charge he would have locked them up very quickly. He proposed to visit us again about the middle of October, and spread a report that if they did not stop he might depose the chiefs and banish Billy Clams. He had the right to do the latter, because, when Billy Clams had returned to the reservation a few years previous, after having resided at Port Madison for quite a time, he was allowed to come only on promise of good behavior. His misdeeds were not to be forgotten, but only laid on a shelf for future reference, if required. But this threat apparently did not frighten them. The chiefs did not care if they were deposed, were about ready to resign, and did not wish to have any thing more to do with the “Boston” religion or the agent. Billy Clams was ready, if need be, to suffer as Christ did: he was willing to be a martyr.
The agent came, as he had promised to do, and spent eight days with us. He first took time to look over affairs quite thoroughly, and felt a little afraid to begin the contest, fearing that it would do more injury to fight them than to let them severely alone. But at last he decided that when so many of the Indians who were trying to do right were calling for help in the battle, and that since he would thus have quite a strong Indian influence to support him, it was not right or wise for him to refuse their appeal. He first sent for the two chiefs. They came, putting on quite a show of courage. He talked to them quite strongly, and they resigned. It was better for the agent that they should do so, than that he should depose them, and they preferred to do so, in order that they could say to the rest of the Indians that they did not care. But the tide was turning. As soon as they had resigned the other Indians did not spare them, but ridiculed them until they became very crestfallen. On the Sabbath the agent told all the Indians that he wished them to come to church. They did so, and he talked to them on the religious aspect of the affair as far as was proper on that day. The next day he held a council. He did not threaten Billy Clams, but told him how there had always been trouble where Indians had tried to have two religions at the same place; how in order to prevent this trouble the government, eleven years previous, assigned different agencies to different denominations, and he advised him to return to Port Madison, from which he had come, where the Indians were all Catholics, if he wished to be one. He made a long speech, as strong as he could, on the subject, told them that the shaking part of the religion must be stopped on the reservation, and appointed new chiefs, on whom he could depend, to see that this order was enforced. They were conquered, and consulted what was best to do. They all agreed to abandon the shaking part of the so-called religion. A part were in favor of keeping up the purely Catholic religion, but the tide had turned too much for this. Other Indians had overcome their fears and talked strongly, and at last they decided to abandon every thing in connection with their services. The first that I knew of this decision was that Billy Clams came to me and told me of this decision, and said that his set were now without any religion, and that if I would go and teach them they would be glad to have me do so, but if not, they should go without any services. I replied that I would gladly teach them, and went that evening to hold a service with them. There were two young men in the band who had long been in school. These now took hold well, read to their friends from the Bible, made and taught them new songs, and the victory was gained.