Old Missoula

 

DUNCAN MCDONALD SPEECH

 

In his address at the University of Montana Auditorium on the evening of Monday, February Twenty-Second, 1915.

 

At twelve minutes after eight the speaker, accompanied by Judge Woody, Major Catlin, Mr. Paxton, and Mr. A. L. Stone, mounted the platform and Mr. Stone made the introductory address.

 

Mr. McDonald was greeted with enthusiastic applause.

 

I am getting rattled.

 

Laughter.

 

You gentlemen (to the honorary guests on platform) better come up closer so that you can hear.

 

To The Audience:

 

I have seen the day when my friend, honorable Judge Woody, he could hear long distances, like a bear, when he was living on diet, but now he has been living on what you call “cultured diet” he is getting a little hard of hearing, and I must get in close so he can hear.

 

Is there any full blood Salish Indians in here? I spoke to some of them. Is there any here, I wonder?

 

(By Mr. Stone: No, they did not come.)

 

We always start in with any opinion or sermon on the indian saying “There is the only good Indian is a dead indian.” Now, we will see and I will tell you my ideas, the way we used to live and our teachings to our children when the rivers were our tubs and (Slavre ?) was our coffee, and we did not need doctors or medicine. Are there any Doctors or Lawyers here? There are I see politicians and doctors and lawyers. I am in the box where we all are. I don’t care what impression you have I stand here alone, the first aboriginal orator of the soil. Now, can anyone of say “No.?” Why should I be afraid of my blood, because I consider myself once that I was a free North American Indian? And the Great Bird, king of the birds of North America flies over my head and still, today, you see it in our celebrations on the fourth of July, that is the great American Eagle. Now, Uncle Sam, he says to his agents, “If an indian wears feathers, starve him, don’t give him any rations,” because I wear the great American eagle on my head.”

 

I never considered the American Eagle like a turkey or a duck or a chicken or any of those nasty birds we have – of course I don’t like to make some little remarks and I said to my honorable friend, Professor Elrod: I was a little shy, when invited first – I was a little shy of the ladies. I told him I might make a break and the women will maybe chase me out from the place of learning with a broomstick, but in his letter he said, “don’t be afraid, the ladies are good listeners and have more sympathy and friendly feeling toward the red man.” Well, on the strength of that I had no more idea of being here standing on this here, right here in this institution, that I believe is the great place of learning of the state of Montana, – But what does this “high Culture” mean?

 

When, I, the poor ignorant savage American Indian, stand here and look east across the ocean at the carnage – just think for a minute what brutality it is no expression for those people over there across the ocean to say, we are doing this for culture. Culture! (Sneeringly), And I the poor American indian he is a good indian if he is a dead indian. The German says, why, he is cultured, by his firing of the mighy guns he is fighting for the smiting god with a sword in hand. What, with that weapon he says, “I am only fighting the french for pitty (?) and will make drakes of his institutions of learning, shoot those buildings down, and the little miserable islanders that pretend by protecting her commercial holding that controls the world. Now I am going to fix him and I am going to wipe him out of existence: and why Uncle Sam here grinning and laughing with leg cocked up, the angle of neutrality, they are all turning on Uncle Sam, he is the angel of peace.

 

But what about the indian with this man?

 

Uncle Sam opens his heart in all directions and says, “come to my land of freedom, equality, and goes on with goodness only knows what else –

 

Here I am, standing trembling in my moccasins, stammering and Europe looks back to Uncle Sam as a perfect gentleman and peacemaker and come to tell the truth I am obliterated. I am at a loss to know what culture means, and what is God and who is Adam. You all say “I come from Adam.” As long as there is a little history about the white race, but you won’t go to accomplish your proof and say that the red man is a descendant of Adam. But when you go over the ocean, no matter what land or island you come to you find there is a native there, there with long hair or short hair or straight or curling hair, black, or brown or maybe yellow or white.

 

Now, I don’t want to detain you here. I know there are some people here who are engage to go to societies and card parties. I don’t mean that every one of you. There is black sheep among the whole of you, and among the red men, and Kiotish children

 

I come here – I suppose you heard of the “blazing of old trails” by Mr. Stone? I had no idea when I saw him – I really will confess. I was in the brush, laying on my belly playing with insects, playing with ants, and the other insects, and amusing myself an looking around here to my surprise was Mr. Stone. So then we had a little friendly chat and in a kind of offhanded way I told him a little story, but I never thought I was going to be pulled in here for it. (Laughter)

 

In this institution of knowledge, It was a little bit of indian history I told him – but before I go any further it seems that we [need] to mention the noble buffalo that was there. Sam Wilson and Walking Coyote, and all of them, when they all crossed the mountains – Now I have to explain all this gentlemen before I go into this little story of the coyote, and the dragon so you can understand it. Two bull buffalo and a lot of heifers; that Sam was bringing over. (He died here, I think, under the bridge here.) He brought the buffalo, or bison, to this country from across the mountains. I don’t know when he died but he died here under the bridge of whiskey. Oh, that is a fine thing, eh, whiskey? What noble thing, fine thing to go to heaven and face the almighty with it, and I doubt whether or not we go there with a bottle. “applause”

 

Now a fellow Pablo bought the buffalo and began figuring and begins to negotiate with Uncle Sam. He wanted certain land for the buffalo so they could multiply. No. The employees of the reservation they wanted a corner on it and so they were getting a little independent. And Pablo he has a little of Mexican blood and Indian so you can imagine how stubborn he was when he takes a notion and he did, too. Mr. Canadian comes around and makes a talk. The American it seems did not want the Bison in the country so a bargain is made and Pablo sell the buffalo to the Canadian people and Mr. Pablo comes along with the bunch – about four hundred head – Walking around there, watching the fun, I come to a corner and to my surprise I met a gentleman from this house of institution, professor Elrod, with blood in his eye. I spoke to him in a friendly manner, he answers but I can see there was something wrong. I didn’t know whether it was the Devil or Culture was in him, but he says, Come on Mack, go to Pablo and get horses and saddle them. Why? Let us go up this hill, here.” I went and saddled up the horses and we went up the ridge there at Ravalli. In a little bit he began to pick up a little, pick a little flower and showed me and showed me and kept going and looking at an instrument and getting pretty good, still I could see blood in his eye, but I didn’t want to ask him for fear, as he was a cultured man and not a savage. I might make a break that would be considered an insult and I did not feel like that, but he kept grabbing and grasping at ants – and gray backs – laughter – every imaginable things all the insects, all imaginable things, all the insects, all the flowers, all the grasses, why he was – I just wish I had a camera to snap him then – Finally we got to the top and then he was asking me questions and I kept telling him and then I begin to talk and ask if he knows the “Ochell” as they call it Kouse. Ochello is an indian word and is right. We have no – I told him, – “here is something for you to learn.” Then we argue and right on top of the mountain where we were arguing I said, – “Here, as smart as you are, and I am a savage and we are left here alone without a dollar and without a nickle or anything, naked, with all the knowledge that you have got, why you will starve to death and I will be getting fat (laughter) Why anything I can eat, the root of these flowers, a stem of that plant there, I can eat that; Well finally he said I want to go down here and I got tired an said “what are you driving at?” Well, “I am looking at this place. I want to see if we could get this for a buffalo park.” Buffalo park! And it is rights in plain view of Ravalli stock yard, you can see the dust in the yards where they are loading the cars with buffalo to go to Canada, but before we started one fellow comes to me and begin to curse a little, pretending he didn’t like to see Canada getting them; he didn’t like to see Uncle Sam get the worst of it on the buffalo. Oh! That tricky Yankee, what would they think of them! And he says, “Let us break the gates in the night and let the buffalo out.” Then those few words of profane language, of course he don’t like to see the noble buffalo go across the line and I said, “The owner of that buffalo I know well. We have been boys together and played together and I know he have worked, hard, hard, hard, for what he has made. Only for his native pride you would open the gates and let the buffalo go, but I decline and that is all. I started with Professor Elrod.

 

He said, “What you say?” and I said, “What Buffalo? You can see the dust down there, don’t you know where they are going?” He said, “Never mind Mr. McDonald, if we get this place we will get a park” and that is the first time I ever knew there was such a thing as the “Bison Society” in New York, and I believe he told me he was a member of the society and Teddy Roosevelt, was the president, he was a member, and he said, “I think I can manage it,” and so we went down back of the place where it is.

 

(I want to get through with this, I won’t take but a few minutes.)

 

He looked over the place and I guess he got it all right. Then they went to work and fenced in the whole country there – He got this through his letters to the head man of the society. I believe his name was Carnegie, wrote a letter explaining to him about the location and he seen Senator Dixon. I believe, he was Senator, and through schemes anyway they got a park from the Indians I believe for thirty thousand dollars, something like that, and instead of the indian getting it they dumped it into that ditch what I think you call “Reclamation.” (laughter) So then they went to work and fenced it.

 

Ladies and gentlemen I was here – born here – in this country in March 1849. My father, I believe, was from the Northern part of Wisconsin, a wild Brunswick Highlander. He was one. And my mothers father was from the state of New York and Canada. He was an Iroquois. He had more white blood in him than indian, but he come here with the rest of the fur traders, Hudson Bay Traders and Northwest Trading Company and American trading company, and got mixed up in these tribes here and it was then when they got intermarried with the Selish or the (?(Insoumi) That is the tribe that lived near the mission. That word means Flathead Lake – Near Broad Water – Indians. What you call Pond E’Orielle is a French word which means, – “hang from here” and is changed – You know the Flathead lake is the biggest in the west. Here, and so they call it “Broad water.”

 

I will make a few more remarks and then I will go ahead and tell you the story of the Coyote. You know we have it all about the great dragon and there is land marks down there, and he come up the river to Missoula and he was the man that named the river. He was the creature that called this river the In Missouletech. Now, I want some writers to write that down, In Missouletech. In Missoul – You ask some of them that were pioneers here what the meaning is. It seems these pioneers were a bunch of Missourians and they say it was a corrupt pronunciation of Missouri. Well, these professors thought it was a fact and like all people got the impression that Missoula, – they lived in In Messouletech – was Missouri miscalled. Can you spell it? In Messoule – the Etech – Well it is like two skotchmen and one said I betcha I can spell every word. And other scotchman says I betcha can’t. And he said I can and the other fellow says, “Well spell Tech “ and the other says I bet I can and he says I bet you cant and he says you cant do it and he says “T-A-Ech” “Tach” Then I tell you what is the meaning of In Messoulaettech. It is Selish – A little hesitating. I believe in speaking. I think Professor Elrod – you have no idea of the ups and down I had with him and with my friend Mr. Stone, another friend of mine, and the Honorable Judge Woody, here, why he was a baby when I was a grown man. Many the time I wheeled him around. Now then they built a great fence around the land. And they never went around there when they finished it until last year. They were calling there and Major Morgan come to me and says: “Why there is a gentleman from Washington come on with me in the automobile, we want to go to the park and see buffalo. I was dirty working working, so I went. The gate was locked and we had to go to the warden. There was a warden there and he was a man with a long gun, he was from Texas I guess, that could shoot three thousand yards off and knock a man’s eye out. There was a warden. I don’t want to lay that part to Mr. Elrod but that was the Bison Society. They come in front to the gate. And there was that warden – They could not afford to get a full blood American indian to take care of that place. Now I went into the park and here I was, and here was the poor buffalo.

 

I saw the time when I had the state of Montana for my farm. All the animals, fish, everything was there before me. I can just lay there and see my “Washnuer” and everything was mine. I want deer, I get it; if I want Moose, I get it; I want sheep any kind or animals any kind of fur to wear, everything I wanted, and I feel that that why God put us here, to enjoy ourselves and look to one another as brothers and sisters and respect one another. We have a way of respecting one another. We used to teach our girls, we use to tell them about virtue. I have known girls to go out of society because she was in love; I have known men quitting society because they was in love. That shows they must have a feeling. Now then, when I seen the buffalo from his “(&) Wigwam (&) a mighty nice painted house, painted up, – when I saw the mighty buffalo so fenced and penned up my tears commenced running down my cheek when I see buffalo; Then days gone by when I see the day when I was free to whole land and saw even the noble buffalo now penned up as I. I said, Excuse me for asking a question” I could see that Major Morgan he was uneasy and supposed I was to create a scene, that I was going to give him a great “guff.” But I was sore and I began to think that I had had Montana as my farm, when I ruled, and now they had put the buffalo into a park with a lock, and they lock them in there and here was a man with a long gun over them, from Texas. Why I guess I couldn’t even come to look at the buffalo. He might shoot me. Just think for a moment! A man with a gun behind the poor savage. Look at the poor buffalo the fun he used to have with them. That is what the Bison Society did. Now, Uncle Sam He draws around, now, eh.! You are a Nation, you have been here before! We have to make treaties with you. Treaties! (sneeringly) Treaties before can do anything? Going to make treaties? Every treaty they made they broke it. Finally they made a treaty taking away nearly the whole section of the country, just but the reservation, and they pay the indian $120,000.00, and two-thirds of it they stole it back.

 

Now he kept on jamming me onto reservation and again was reservation too big and now he pen me down to a little miserable eighty acres, and then he commences to sell my land right and left to speculators. What is the money for? Now, confound you, you lazy indian, I ain’t going to give you money. You have credit, and I am going to keep it. Now you starve to death unless you have lots of credit. Well, then, we begin to die – with starvation and neglect. With a credit – With a credit! (Sneeringly), and a promise.

 

Now a promise that is all we got now, a promise from Uncle Sam; also we have credit, that amounts to millions of dollars. Now what did he do then? He blew that credit in; that credit he spent for us but did not put into our hands, and here we are suffering for want of food and clothes, a lot of poor blind people, neglected and starving, and if they had not died they might have existed a few days longer. But that is not all;

 

Now they can have the Indian Mythology to the best of my ability I have lots left, but I am very sure, now, that there is something else left here, that is the ghost we have, the ghost down at Fish Creek, and now they went down there, they sent a what you call psychologist, a man who studies the human mind, what you call him? (Mr Stone – Psychologist)

 

They send your man down, he didn’t believe in ghosts but he went there with an instrument. He put that instrument into place there in the cabin and he fixed everything all around and set it up in the shack; and he put strings on it – I don’t know what kind of strings but some kind of strings that they use to catch ghosts with and when the ghost gets caught he sets off the trap and pictures is taken.

 

This man of science was a most stubborn kind of fellow and did not believe in such a thing and he wakes up every once in a while. They was raising cain and having a lot of fun too; and finally they went to sleep and when they were asleep, to my surprise that gentleman of science leaps over his friends, knocks the instrument out of kilter and later there appeared the picture of a ghost. Now what has the Indian got now only a promise that there is millions of dollars to his credit and the ghost; They could not catch the ghost but they got his picture – I wish they could catch the ghost – but they got a fine picture of the ghost, yes they have even tried to steal the poor red man’s ghost, and the picture, they have got that.

 

Now this story – the book I have is following old trails by Mr. Stone. Of course the land mark is down there yet. You can come down there every day, but this Coyote I am going to commence right from the Columbia River, from the Coast.

 

Mr. Coyote (Licne) He was a creature that had a certain amount of infinite power and could turn into everything and do lots of things. He heard that Salmon could not go to the red man on the Columbia river because of a great dam that had fell across it, and he came to help the salmon and go to assist the Indians to get the salmon up the river. He comes along up the Columbia and comes to the dams and to his surprise he saw four fine little maids swimming on the Columbia river. He said to himself, – “Now, how could I approach those maidens, as you would say “How can I make a mash” is the way they phrase it. How can I make a mash with those girls? So he studied there for the while and says, – “Now I am going to go up the river and find out where their camp is, and turn into a baby and lash myself onto a baby board – A baby board as you have seen lots of times – and float down the Columbia River, and crying hard, and see what they will do. So he turned himself into the baby and strapped himself onto baby board and floated down the Columbia river, squalling as hard as he could, and they heard him, and to their surprise here was a baby floating down the Columbia river. “Why we must save that baby, whoever gets there first shall be the owner of the baby.” Alright, they answer and the sisters rushed and into the water they went and swum for the baby and the oldest girl reached it first and grabbed the board and went back to shore, took this baby back to the camp and nursed him and the baby began to grow. He was a nice little fellow, and he was growing fast. And at the same time he was winking at hisself. They put the baby on their breast and he would crow and want to be there on the breasts. The poor maiden didn’t have no milk but at the same time, anyhow, made an attempt to make the baby suck, and it seems he liked it, and finally he grew up, but every morning he would bring in to the girls a big salmon, a fish, and they kept wondering and wondering how they could get the salmon and he grow up very quick; of course it was only a myth; He had gone one morning to bring the salmon for breakfast and – he was getting bigger and bigger and demand a bigger supply of water and he would drink lots and throw the rest, tip it on the ground, and then the girls would have to get more water and he would spill it again, and he was doing it purpose. Finally they got tired and said they take him to the river to get water – and he had begin to walk and they made him go to the river for water himself; He went down and then they seen what was there – they went down there too you see to see him – a great big trap right across the Columbia.

 

Now I want to make a remark. Some little things there, of course Mr. Stone, you know at the time we was chatting I was careless – that is the true story. And they attempted to take up the trap so the salmon could come through and the girls begin to wonder what was the matter with the baby that he was not back. He must be drowned. And they got anxious and went to the walls of the bluff and to their surprise – he was already turned into Coyote again instead of a baby – a grown coyote – and he was just barking and jumping and they made a rush for him but they were too late he was hitting at the dam across the river and had already got the salmon going up the stream. The rush of water and salmon was great and they rushed after him and everything he made a motion with his yellow – – – – the salmon come by millions and then they came to Spokane to see if they can get, if he can get a Spokane girl for his wife and he did and left the salmon there and he did and got a Spokane girl for his wife and the salmon come up and he got to the Falls there where it is covered by the city of Spokane now, but it was a deep cut there then and has been filled up by the people there, but then it was a deep gully or cut, and Salmon began to go up what is call the Coeur d’Alene river, but he thought he would see the Ronan girls and he came up there and they refused him and he quit the job, finished and went back and the Coeur d’Alene tribe was deprived of the salmon and he went up the river to Kalispell and he was deprived by the Kalispell girls of having a wife in that tribe and so he left the falls there and they got no salmon.

 

Then he come on to this place and when he got there he kept going until he there and he called this river In Messoul Etech.

 

Well I will read a part of this story of the dragon and the Coyote, about the great Yellow Dragon of the Selish and the Grizzely Bear, his dog.

 

 

. Now somebody was fishing or picnicking. A party was out and I don’t know whether they was picknicking or fishing, or what, but they was oust and the Indians went after them, and among them was a colored man. I believe they got some of those people but the colored man got away and one of the Indians took after him with a gun and the colored man, he looked back and he knew that he was doomed and he kept a going.

 

Now this is no “myth” that was a fact. I saw one of the party myself and heard it, who was on the war path during that invasion – – – and they come to that high place and there was a short bush growing there, a little tree, not a big tree, and he looked ahead and it was to late for him, if he passed the tree He thought if the indian didn’t see him he could climb the tree and so he did and went up on the bush tree and rested. Of course the indian came along on the run and – – – – Brother Catlin here was around the Bitter Root then and he can tell you this is the truth – – – and the indian come along under this tree and he looked around and could not find this colored man, or Ethiopian, whatever he is called – – – Now if there is any colored man here I don’t want to make fun but it is so much fun and I can’t help it, I have to laugh every time I think of that fellow – and I want to tell you this before I quit, and he looked around and could not find his man and here was the man in this tree above him, and he was holding his breath and could not make a move. Finally the indian went away and the colored man got down from the tree and hid and got away, and at that time I was corresponding with Captain Gray at Deer Lodge, he was there and had a newspaper he was running, the – – – (?). Captain Gray wanted me to write a history and he told me to get him facts. So I had to go North to see White Bird, up in Canada, and he was there, and Sitting Bull. I got there and asked him all the questions that these newspaper men wanted – – they have some great history, those newspaper men – – You see I know myself, I was a newspaper man myself at the time, but this is no newspaper story or talk, it is a fact.

 

(Laughter)

 

So I asked White Bird if such a thing had happened as one of the braves going after the colored man and he said it was and I asked him where is he, and he said there he is over there, so I called him up and he said, are you the man who chased after that colored man? He said Yes. Did you consider him a white man? Well, no, I didn’t think he was a white man. Did you know he was black? Yes, I know that. Did you want to kill him? Yes. Why? I wanted to get his hair. Well, why did you want to get his hair? Well, he say – I think it was an Irishman or a democrat from the south – – he got it into his head that the wool of the colored man was the best thing in the God’s world, was the best thing for sore ears, that the wool if you put the wool in the ear it would cure it, because there was some magic cure.

 

Of course there are lots of such stories as that but I don’t know. It is an old thing with me, but I think to you it is new.

 

Thanking you for your attention, Ladies and gentlemen.

 

(Applause)