WALLAWALLA, 395 



out as the man who took the first flag that was ever seen in the country 

 to the Grande Ronde, as the emblem of peace. Lewis and Clarke, 

 when in this country, presented an American flag to the Cayuse tribe, 

 calling it a flag of peace ; this tribe, in alliance with the Wallawallas, 

 had up to that time been always at war with the Shoshones or Snakes. 

 After it became known among the Snakes that such a flag existed, a 

 party of Cayuse and Wallawallas took the flag and planted it at the 

 Grande Ronde, the old man above spoken of being the bearer. The 

 result has been, that these two tribes have ever since been at peace 

 with the Snakes, and all three have met annually in this place to trade. 

 Dr. Whitman confirmed the old man's statement from other evidence 

 he had received. The Grande Ronde is likewise resorted to for the 

 large quantities of cammass-root that grow there, which constitutes, as 

 1 have before remarked, a favourite food with all the Indians. 



These missionaries live quite comfortably, and seem contented ; they 

 are, however, not free from apprehension of Indian depredations. Dr. 

 Whitman, being an unusually large and athletic man, is held in much 

 respect by the Indians, and they have made use of his services as a 

 physician, which does not seem to carry with it so much danger here, 

 as among the tribes in the lower country, or farther north. 



These missionaries have quite a number of cattle and horses, which 

 require little or no attention, there being an abundance of hay and 

 grass. The price of a good horse is twenty dollars. 



This district is capable of supporting a vast number of cattle. One 

 Cayuse chief has more than a thousand horses on these feeding 

 grounds. 



The winters are of about three months' duration, and snow lasts 

 only a short time ; the grass indeed grows all winter. A better idea 

 of the climate here may be formed from the fact, that Mr. M'Kinley, 

 of the Hudson Bay Company, who passed from the Snake country 

 across the Blue Mountains in January, 1841, found the snow on the 

 mountains five and six feet deep, and the weather very cold ; but when 

 he descended to these plains the next day, the weather was warm and 

 pleasant, the grass green, and many flowers in bloom. 



On the Wallawalla river trees are again met with: they consist of 

 the poplar, willow, birch, and alder. The poplar grows to the height 

 of one hundred feet, and has a diameter near the base of two and a 

 half feet. 



As respects the success of the missionary labours, it is very small 

 here. The Indians are disposed to wander, and seldom continue more 

 than three or four months in the same place. After they return from 

 the Grande Ronde, which is in July, they remain for three or four 



