Told by the Pioneers - Washington Secretary of State

Told
by the Pioneers
of them-were timid when Indians were near; and for that reason
husbands and friends humored the Indians in order to remain on
friendlv terms with them.
•
The Haidahs, northern Indians from Alaska and t.he northern
shores of British Columbia, were more troublesome than the natives
of the Sound country, and were humored so much by the white settlers
that eventually they began to think they could do prett~· much as they
pleased when in the white settlements and they acted accordingly.
Large numbers of these northern tribesmen spent their summers on
Puget Sound, camping along the shores and devoting their time to
hunting, fishing, trapping-and stealing from the whites. Often a
party of these Indians would stop at one of the mill towns. The bucks
would hire out their squaws for housework or any other employment,
and the men themselves would go to work in the mills, remaining
throughout the summer. Before leaving for their homes in the fall
they would lie around town for a week or two, stealing ever~·thing
they could lay their hands on and carrying away their plunder.
The first serious trouble between the Indians and whites occurred
at Fort Gamble in the fall of 1855. On this occasion the pilferings of
the Indians, and their arrogant attitude beeame unbearable to the
people of the town and they demanded that the mill owners drive the
Indians away. Accordingly, they were ordered away from the town;
but instead of leaving the vicinity, the lJ1dians went into camp opposite
Port Gamble on the other side of the narrow entranee to the bay.
Here they were more troublesome than ever, stealing into town at
night and pilfering everything that was not locked up. They boasted,
too, that they could not-and would not- be driven away.
The U. S. warship Massachusetts was then in these waters, however,
and the people of Port Gamble called on her for assistance. The
:Massachusetts anchored offshore near the Indian encampment, and
ordered the tribesmen to leave. They sent back a defiant refusal,
threatening not only to fight the white settlers but the warship as well.
'fhe man-o'-war then opened fire on the camp, and with their first volley
killed the big ehief, who was a great favorite among the savages.
It was not necessary to fire again. The natives were completely
cowed and surrendered at once. They obeyed an order to tear down
• •
their tents and to pile all their effee1s in their canoes. The~· were
then towed by the Massachusetts out to the Sound and started north
to their homes.
The Indians had no intention of allowing the matter to drop at that
stage, and those who were familiar with their treacherous character
were aware that the trouble had not ended. Dr. George Kellogg, who
was at Port Gamble at the time of this trouble, was looked upon by
116