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R EC RE A TION. 



also a remarkable fact that every "guide" and 

 "mountaineer" sent out with troops to find the 

 hunting party, while their fate was still unknown, 

 failed to go far enough to find them, if they (the 

 hunting party) had been where the guides sup- 

 posed them to be. 



Lieutenant Elliott happened to take the right 

 course, or at least the only practicable course, to 

 the party, and he had no "guide." If the 

 hunting party had not worked their way down 

 the river, over appalling obstacles, it is doubtful 

 if Lieutenant Elliott would have met them. I 

 believe he would have worked his way over the 

 obstacles, including Black Canyon. It was his 

 plan to do so at the time, and I believe he would 

 have overcome all obstacles ; yet it is doubtful. 



Now a few words in regard to the reward 

 offered for the finding of the hunting party. I 

 offered the first reward of five hundred dollars. 

 My object was to stimulate guides, and In- 

 dians, to make every possible effort, to brave 

 every hardship and overcome every obstacle 

 that lay within the power of such men to 

 overcome. Officers and soldiers acting under 

 lawful orders, I did not believe would do more 

 to gain a promised pecuniary reward than they 

 would do from a mere sense of duty. But it so 

 happened that Lieutenant Elliot was the first 

 man to meet the hunting party, and he had 

 made extraordinary efforts to get up the Middle 

 Fork of the Clearwater, which few, if any, other 

 persons would have made. He was clearly en- 

 titled to the reward, and I paid it to him. He, 

 however, did not keep it for himself, but di- 

 vided it among the men of his party. 



I will explain the facts of a second reward of 

 two thousand dollars that was offered in my 

 name, but not by me. An aunt of my son tele- 

 graphed me, on the 24th of November, to offer 

 for her an additional reward of two thousand 

 dollars, to any one who would find and rescue 

 the party. I unfortunately notified the several 

 searching parties of this additional offer. I say 

 unfortunately, because two days before this 

 reward was offered, the party had been found by 

 Lieutenant Elliott. The lady left the question 

 to me for decision, whether she was under ob- 

 ligation to pay the rew r ard or not, and I decided 

 in the negative. The distance from telegraphic 

 communication prevented me from knowing that 

 Elliott had found the party till over two days had 

 elapsed. If he had been in telegraphic com- 

 munication with me, the reward would not have 

 been offered. There would have been no occa- 

 sion for it. It was offered to stimulate energetic 

 action, but after the object had already been 

 accomplished. I explained all this to Lieutenant 

 Elliott, the only person who had the least 

 shadow of right to the reward. Whether he 

 was satisfied or not, I don't know, but I was 

 satisfied with my decision that the reward could 

 not be rightfully claimed by him or any one 

 else. I presume Lieutenant Elliott thought I 

 was right, as he never claimed the additional 

 reward. 



It can be safely affirmed that not one of the 

 harsh critics of Mr. W. E. Carlin and Mr. 

 Himmelwright would have ventured their per- 

 sons to rescue Colgate, and not of one them did. 

 Not one would have made the sacrifices they 

 made in caring for him in his sickness, and in 

 their efforts to save him. They did his work for 



him. They waited on him as if he were a 

 patient in a hospital and they his nurses. They 

 sat up many nights with him to keep fires burn- 

 ing around him, to shield him from the cold. 

 They lost five weeks of precious time in trying 

 to save his life, and abandoned him only when 

 it was absolutely necessary to do so in order to 

 save their own lives. It was a narrow escape as 

 it was. They had been starving two days when 

 Elliott met them. W. E. Carlin and some 

 others were exhausted and could go no further 

 without food and rest. Eliiott supplied both. 



There is nothing mean, selfish or cowardly in 

 the character of William E. Carlin or of A. L. 

 Hemmelwright. The chief fault of Carlin 

 is his boundless generosity. Allied to this is 

 his confidence in everybody, which has caused 

 him, often, to be victimized by pretended friends. 



My son erred in permitting Colgate to go 

 with him while he was suffering from an incur- 

 able trouble. A doctor had examined Colgate, 

 and told him he could go, but must take cer- 

 tain appliances with him. Colgate neglected 

 to comply with the doctor's advice. In this he 

 deceived my son. When his trouble returned, 

 he was beyond the reach of help. Mr. Carlin 

 then tried to induce Colgate to return heme 

 with two men and the best horses. He refused, 

 and said he would be well in a few days. In- 

 stead of improving, he grew constantly worse. 

 The hunting party then started to come out on 

 the trail on which they had entered that country. 

 The deep snow stopped them. They returned 

 to their camp, built rafts, and tried to de- 

 scend the river on them. The rocks stopped 

 the. rafts. Their provisions were nearly ex- 

 hausted, no game or fish could be found, and to 

 carry Colgate was impossible. They had 

 abandoned their horses and all baggage, and 

 everything but provisions, guns and ammuni- 

 tion, even their blankets. It was forced upon 

 them to decide whether they would stay and 

 starve to death with Colgate, or try to save their 

 lives. They decided as other sensible men 

 would have decided, to abandon Colgate and try 

 to save themselves. History abounds in similar 

 cases, especially the history of shipwrecks and 

 explorations of strange regions. 



But for the malice of Ben Keely, who claimed 

 and was refused part of the reward, and of one 

 or two individuals at Post Falls, no denunciation 

 in the public press would have taken place. If 

 Mr. W. E. Carlin had been named John Smith 

 or Tom Brown, nothing would have been said of 

 the affair after a few days. If he had only killed 

 a few Indians or Chinamen, or any non-voting 

 persons, little stir would have been made in 

 Montana or Washington, where such deeds are 

 not uncommon. The hypocrisy of people who 

 profess to be shocked at such so-called cruelty 

 as the abandonment of Colgate, and yet who 

 practically, and often publicly, hold that the 

 only good Indian is a dead one, is simply dis- 

 gusting, and for such people to prate about the 

 superior chivalry of men " on this frontier" is 

 sickening. 



When one thinks of the cold blooded murder 

 of helpless Indians and inoffensive Chinamen, of 

 the killing of honest working men and blowing 

 them up with dynamite, or shooting them, for 

 which no punishment is ever awarded, and 

 then thinks of the hypocritical howls of anony- 



