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Show FAT II Ell JIESPLIE, 11 f Jive.f Some IntereNtlm; Fuc(. ut!l Fiirurvf Couceru-iiiK Couceru-iiiK the Aorttieru luuUuus. i Anil Irt!iilc( a teoerul War. Boise City, 2G. Rev. T. Mesplie, for thirty years a Catholic misaiouary i among the Indian tribes of Oregon, I Washington and Idaho, bow stationed at Fort Boise as chaplain of the, United States army, gives tlie follow-1 ing intelligence in regard to Indian matters: In October, 1875, be was at Umatilla agency to meit the chiefs on that reservation. A council was held at which about fifty Indians were present, including the principal chiefs of tho Umatillaa, Cay usee aud Walla Wallas, There wero at that time residing upon tho reservation 700 Indians. The nholo number whose nominal horns it was could not be less than 3,700. The remain-1 der ware scattered throughout the i Burrounding country, a majority of them being at Priest Rapids, on the! Columbia river. ' At tlie council the j Indians were very nearly unanimous in the svisb to cede Umatilla reserva tion to the government and be , allowed to go into Wallowa valley, whero they had been invited to come and live by Chief Joseph. The chiefs signed depositions to that cffct which they intrusted to FatberMesplie.and by him forwardud to Senator Mitchell to bo laid before tho authorities at Washington. The Indians represented repre-sented their reservation as being continually con-tinually trespassed upon by the inhabitants in-habitants of adjoining white settle-meotH, settle-meotH, who would sell Indians whisky and otherwise injure and demoralize 1 1mm If rennirorl trt rom.lin ttwfl they would find themselves compelled to fight. From some cause this wish of tne Indiana roceived no attention at Washington; - Some two monthi ago Howlish Warn poo, one of the chiefs who had been present at the council, who is tho principal chief of tho Umatillas, passed through Boise city. Tho chief told Father Mesplie at this time that the Umatillas were dissatisfied and had made up their minds to leave, as the silence and neglect of government left them nothing to hope lrom that quarter, anu unu tney wouiu join ouo?pu in Wallowa valley, who was already resolved to go to war. He added, if government had attended to the matter mat-ter in time everything might have, been amicably arranged, but now it was too late. Tho Indians would certainly go to war. Five weeks later Howlish Warn poo again passed through Boise city . on his return home, when he told lather MesphOj that war would commence, he thought, before he could reach home, aa he had met ruuuere from Nez Perces who had come to confer with the Bannocks and other tribes in this region. The information thus acquired, ac-quired, Father Mesplie says, he communicated com-municated to Gov. Brayman and other citizens here. In speaking of Gen. Howard, Howlish Warn poo said the IndiaiiB laughed at the general and his fine speecnes, saying they would never persuade them to give up Wallowa valley, which they wore resolved to keep at every hazard. Father Meeplio says the chiefs aud principal men who inaugurated this war are rich and influential, and1 that they will be able to draw to their j support all diaaflacted Indians i belonging to tho various tribes, and that these constitute a majority in every case. He is of the opinion , the war will be general and pro-' longed, as the Indians have been long deliberating and preparing for it, and have staked everything upon the, issue. The father aays the Nez Perces number in all about 4,000. Of this number about 150 will remain friendly or inactive. Ho estimates the number of warriors which the Nez Perces can bring into the field at 1,000. Couer deAlenes.whom Father Catalo and some of the chiefs sincerely, sin-cerely, no doubt, plcdgo to be friendly, be thinks will be found in the same category. The greater number will join the hostiles. Of warriors, Cocur do Alenes can furnish 500, Spokanes and confederate tribes inhabiting Upper Columbia basin 1.200, Colville Indians - and iheir allies, 1,500, Ya-kimas Ya-kimas and confederates 1,800, Umatillas 1.000, Warm Spring Indians 800; besides these there are Fiatheads and their confederates confeder-ates in Montana, with , "whom Nez Perces are in clote alliance These are able to furnish 1,200 warriors. war-riors. Ho obtains hi) data from accurate kuowledge acquired by long residence among tho Indians. He retards the liberty allowed the Indians In-dians to remain off tho reservations, and ' the' unrestricted intercourse-allowed intercourse-allowed between them and the whites as the principal causes of the present ouibreak. |