The Oregon Indians, Part II [pp. 425-433]

THE OREGON INDIANS..
THE OREGON INDIANS.
PART II.
ITH the history of the early
missions before us, we can not
avoid the conclusion that it would have
been better to have meddled less with
native ideas: for so long as the savage
held his own views of Christianity, and
regarded the successful man as being in
favor with his God, he was willing to
conform to certain requirements, in or der to merit and obtain such favor; but
when he came to understand that it was
spiritual benefits which were to be con ferred for spiritual obedience, and that
the White Man's religion did not con sider the body or temporal things, then
he became bewildered, discouraged, and
rebellious.
In this respect, the history of the in dividual savage is precisely that of man's
history in the aggregate, as given in the
Scriptures. For thousands of years, God
offered men temporal benefits, as a re ward for obedience, because they would
accept none other. It was only after long
and patient teaching that the Almighty
thought man prepared to receive a spiritual religion, or that the command was
given to the disciples of Christ, to "go
forth into all the world and preach the
Gospel to every creature" -" all the
world," as known to the Apostles, being
a highly civilized portion of the earth's
surface.
Dr. Whitman's Indians were not always well behaved. They would sometimes steal, and very often lie; while
gambling was a common vice, and the
habit of taking back property when once
sold made considerable difficulty. The
Indians were not subject to American
laws, but governed by chiefs of their
own tribes. It was necessary, therefore,
VOL. VII-28.
to get the chiefs to consent to a code of
penalties for certain offenses. Hanging
was the punishment for murder or arson,
and whipping for stealing, the number of
lashes being in proportion to the enor mity of the theft. Whipping was also
practiced in punishment for trespass
upon fields, or for invading dwelling houses without consent. Fines were
also made to pay for some offenses.
The mutual acquaintance with each
other's habits and requirements, which
brought about the proposal and accept ance of such laws, was, of course, of sev eral years' continuance. Mr. Spalding,
who was settled among the Nez Perc6s,
writes, in 1843, after more than six years'
experience in his portion of the field:
"There are two traits in the character
of this people I wish to notice. One, I
think I can account for; the other, I can
not. It is often said the Indian is a
noble - minded being, never forgetting a
kindness. So far as my experience has
gone with the people, the above is emphatically true, but in quite a different
sense from the idea there conveyed. It
is true, they never forget a kindness, but
often make it an occasion to ask for another, and, if refused, return insults according to the favors received. My experience has taught me, that, if I would
keep the friendship of an Indian, and do
him good, I must show him no more favor in the way of property than what he
returns some equivalent for. Most of
our trials have arisen from this source.
.. ^ The last trait, which I can not account for, is an apparent disregard for
the fights of the White Man. Although
their eagerness to receive instruction in
the school on the Sabbath, and on the
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