Robert Vaughn.
October 25, 1899.
THE INDIAN.
Before going any further I will endeavor to give a brief sketch of the Indians and their behavior in Montana from the time I came into the country in 1864 to the present time.
The Indian is a born warrior. When an infant pappoose, his first toy is a bow and arrow. About twenty-five years ago I was in a Piegan camp just after they had killed an Indian of the Crow tribe, who had been stealing some of their horses. After mutilating the body beyond description, the pappooses had the hands that were cut off at the wrist; they were having great play over them, romping and throwing the dead Indian’s hands at each other. By such means they cultivated the savage, warlike disposition in the young Indian minds from the beginning. Until lately, if they could not have the whites to fight, they would be at war with some other tribe. They always had their war paint prepared and their hatchets sharpened, so they could go on the warpath whenever the evil spirit moved them. They were naturally treacherous, savage and cruel to those they were not at peace with, be it the whites or their own race, it made no difference. I do not know of any better testimony to show the Indian in his element than the illustration given by Ross Cox, an English gentleman, who, in 1813, came to what is now called Montana, by the way of Columbia. He was at the head of a fur trading company, and was a man of responsibility. He says: “We spent a comparatively happy Christmas, and by the side of a blazing fire in a warm room forgot the sufferings we endured in our dreary progress through the woods. There was, however, in the midst of our festivities a great drawback to the pleasure we should otherwise have enjoyed. I allude to the unfortunate Blackfeet who had been captured by the Flatheads. Having been informed that they were about putting one of their prisoners to death, I went to their camp to witness the spectacle. The man was tied to a tree, after which they heated an old barrel of a gun until it became red hot, with which they burned him on the legs, thighs, neck, cheek and stomach. They then commenced cutting the flesh from about the nails, which they pulled out, and next separated the fingers from the hand, joint by joint. During the performance of these cruelties, the wretched captive never winced, and instead of suing for mercy he added fresh stimulus to their barbarous ingenuity by the most irritating reproaches, part of which our interpreter translated as follows: ‘My heart is strong; you do not hurt me; you can’t hurt me; you are fools; you do not know how to torture; try it again; I don’t feel any pain yet; we torture your relations a great deal better, because we make them cry out loud like little children; you are not brave; you have small hearts, and you are always afraid to fight.’
“Then, addressing one in particular, he said: ‘It was by my arrow you lost your eye,’ upon which the Flathead darted at him and with a knife scooped out one of his eyes, at the same time cutting the bridge of his nose almost in two. This did not stop him; with the remaining eye he looked sternly at another and said: ‘I killed your brother and scalped your old fool of a father.’ The warrior to whom this was addressed instantly sprung at him and separated the scalp from his head. He was then about plunging a knife in his heart, until he was told by the chief to desist. The raw skull, bloody socket and mutilated nose now presented a horrible appearance, but by no means changed his tone of defiance.
“‘It was I,’ said he to the chief, ‘that made your wife a prisoner last fall; we put out her eyes; we tore out her tongue; we treated her like a dog. Forty of our young warriors’—the chief became incensed the moment his wife’s name was mentioned; he seized his gun, and, before the last sentence was ended, a ball from it passed through the brave fellow’s heart, terminating his frightful sufferings. Shocking, however, as this dreadful exhibition was, it was far exceeded by the atrocious cruelties practiced on the female prisoners. We remonstrated against the exercise of such horrible cruelties. They replied by saying the Blackfeet treated their prisoners in the same manner; that it was the course adopted by all red warriors, and that they could not think of giving up the gratification of their revenge to the foolish and womanish feelings of white men.
“Shortly after this we observed a young female led forth, apparently not more than fourteen or fifteen years of age, surrounded by some old women, who were conducting her to one end of the village, whither they were followed by a number of young men. Having learned the infamous intention of her conquerors, and feeling interested for the unfortunate victim, we renewed our remonstrance, but received nearly the same answer as before. Finding them still inflexible, and wishing to adopt every means in our power consistent with safety, in the cause of humanity, we ordered our interpreter to acquaint them that, highly as we valued their friendship and much as we esteemed their furs, we would quit their country forever unless they discontinued their unmanly and disgraceful cruelties to their prisoners. This had the desired effect, and the miserable captive was led back to her sorrowing group of friends. Our interference was nearly rendered ineffectual by the furious old priestesses who had been conducting her to the sacrifice. They told the young warriors they were cowards, fools, and had not the hearts of fleas, and called on them in the names of their mothers, sisters and wives to follow the steps of their forefathers and have their revenge on the dogs of Blackfeet. They began to waver, but we affected not to understand what the old women had been saying. We told them that this act of self-denial on their part was peculiarly grateful to the white men, and by it they would secure our permanent residence among them, and in return for their furs we would furnish them with guns and ammunition sufficient to repel the attacks of their old enemies, and preserve their relations from being made prisoners. This decided the doubtful and the chief promised faithfully that no more tortures should be inflicted on the prisoners, which I believe was rigidly adhered to, at least during the winter of 1813.”