| MORE ON QUALCHAN:
One incident from "Warrior of the Mist" book goes like this: Qualchan
was traveling alone at night far from his home and came at night upon a
heavily guarded outpost of calvary tents. He prayed to his power the mist.
It began to snow. It snowed harder and harder until the many sentries could
not stand the horizontal blast of snow that gathered upon them, and so
thinking that no Indian band would be out in this storm went to their tents
after their commanding officers had agreed to such. Now Qualchan removed all
of his clothing and slipped down in the dark night of hidden white snow
flying all round and stuffed brush in the bell of the lead horse and cut
loose all the leggings on all the horses. He touched them and led them
quietly out of the camp. Then loosing the bell, its ringing called all the
horses to follow him and they did so all the way to the Columbia river where
his war party was located. It was a great coup and he was praised. The
encampment asked where the horseless soldiers were and chased, but found the
camp deserted as the men had all left on foot.
BOOK: Warrior of the Mist, by T.G. Boyden (A
biography of Qualchan, Chief Owhi's Son) I highly recommend this book as
good history of this area.
MORE DETAIL ON THE HANGING INCIDENT:
Captain Keyes describes how he saw Qualchan enter the camp: September 24,
1858, at about noon, I was standing in front of Colonel Wright's tent, and I
saw issuing out of a canyon about two hundred yards from me two Indian
braves and a handsome squaw. The three rode abreast, and following close
behind rode a little hunchback who I had before seen in our camps. The three
principal personages were all gayly dressed, and presented a most dashing
air. They all had on a great deal of scarlet, and the squaw sported two
ornamental scarves, passing from the right shoulder under the left arm. She
also carried, resting across, in front of her saddle, a long spear, the
staff of which was completely wound with various colored beads, and from the
end of which hung two long round pendants of beaver skins. The two braves
carried rifles, and one of them had an ornamented tomahawk. I pulled aside
the flap of the tent, remarking, as I did so: "Colonel Wright, we have
distinguished strangers here." The colonel came out, and after a few
minutes' conversation recognized Qualchan, who is the son of Owhi, and one
of the most desperate murderers and villains on this coast. He had not met
the messenger sent out for him, but came in of his own accord.
Whist-alks, Qualchan's wife remembers: We were waiting for developments
when in a few moments two soldiers grabbed my husband about the head and
shoulders throwing him on his back and then binding him with cord. I tried
to cut one soldier with my knife, but one kicked the knife out of my hand
and then a great number of soldiers crowded in overpowering us and we were
at their mercy. I thought then the worst that could happen would be a few
months' imprisonment, and you may imagine my terror and consternation when I
saw that they were making preparations to hang my husband. I first thought
it was a huge joke, but when I saw the deliberateness of their preparations,
the fullness of their treachery and cowardice became apparent.
Keyes continues: Qualchan was a scion (offshoot,descendant,heir) of a
line of chieftains; his complexion was not so dark as that of the vulgar
Indian, and he was a perfect mold of form. His chest was broad and deep, and
his extremities small and well shaped. He had the strength of a Hercules,
and it required six men to tie his hands and feet, so violent were his
struggles, notwithstanding he had an unhealed wound in his side.
Legend has it that: Whist-alks horse had become restive and nervous under
the stress and strain of all the disturbance of the hanging that the wife
had to visually endure the vision of, but she held the animal in her control
while she proudly awaited the disclosure of her fate. Then an officer
signaled for her to move on. Impulsively she acknowledges the intimation by
swinging her horse around to a position so that she could face the officer
who was at that moment on duty in front of Colonel Wright's tent, then
lifting high the splendid medicine staff, which all the while she had
continued to hold aloft, she struck the sharpened butt of the same hard into
the sodded ground, then leaving it thus planted there, she instantly reined
her horse about and straightaway rode in quiet dignity out of the camp, the
oriflamme of Qualchan poised firmly upright before the tent of the commander
laying the responsibility direct. |
