Forever by Your Side (Willamette Brides #3) - Tracie Peterson Page 0,58
sorts of stories about Aunt Grace, and all of them involved her strong will and determination to heal the sick.
“Will your Indian agent be joining us for the meal?” Aunt Hope asked, seeming anxious to change the subject.
Mama shook her head. “He’s gone to Portland on business.”
“He has?” Connie asked before thinking it through. She didn’t want anyone thinking she cared one way or another.
“Yes. He said he had officials to meet with and reservation business to tend to.”
“I thought that usually took place in Salem.”
“It does, but two men who work with his brother in Washington were in Portland and had no plans to be in Salem. I really don’t know all the details, but Clint said he’d be gone for a week.”
“Perhaps he’ll call on Nancy and Seth, since he met them on his last visit,” Connie said. “He seemed to really like Seth.”
“Everyone likes Seth,” Faith countered. “That’s why his beating came as such a surprise.”
“Yes, but didn’t you say it was because Seth stepped on the toes of the smugglers?” Hope put her hand to her mouth.
“It’s all right. Connie knows all about it. In fact, she partially got this job so that she could work to clear our names,” Mama replied.
Hope lowered her hand. “And have you found out anything new?”
Connie shook her head. “Not really. I know that whiskey is being smuggled onto the reservation.” She thought about mentioning what she’d seen at the river, but Clint had told her to remain silent on the matter. “And I know there are some very angry men on the reservation who would probably do whatever they could to kill white people.”
“Did someone say something?” Mama asked.
“I spoke with the Sheridan men early on, and they were very hostile. If anyone is planning an uprising, I bet they’re involved. I’ve not spoken with them since.”
Her mother sighed. “They still blame your father for not helping them escape the reservation. It’s so sad, because Joe used to be such good friends with your father. And Faith’s friend Ann-Red Deer is stepmother to Samson Sheridan’s wife, Ruth.”
“Ann is here?” Faith asked, excited. “I thought she was on the Siletz Reservation.”
Mama nodded. “She was, but she remarried to Will Orleans, and they settled here to raise Will’s three children. Ruth is the youngest.”
“Oh, I’m so happy. I want to see Ann as soon as possible.”
“Tom and I plan to interview her this week. Maybe you and I could go over there first, and you could introduce us. Maybe then she won’t be afraid of us.”
Her mother’s expression turned sad. “I think the people here are afraid of anything the government does. Even something as positive as recording their history. Adam told me that there has been great interest in this area, and white settlers are seeking to drive the Indians off this land. He believes firmly that this is the reason for the whiskey and rifles. Powerful white men want to cause the Indians to start a war so the army can sweep in, kill as many Indians as possible, and round up the rest to put away elsewhere. Connie said there was even thought of moving all of them north to the Department of Alaska.”
“That frozen void?” Hope asked. “I heard a lecture on that place. It sounds absolutely terrible, and there are already quite a few Natives living there.”
“Exactly,” Connie said. “The thought is that they will round up all the Native people and put them in one place. They’ll put guards on the borders and naval ships to keep the harbors closed to all but government ships, and then they’ll leave the Natives to figure it all out for themselves.”
“That would be terrible,” her mother said. “I can’t believe anyone with even a lick of sense would think that to be sound reasoning.”
“I doubt they care,” Faith said, shaking her head. “They only want to be rid of the Indians and probably hope that they’ll kill each other off. But when it comes to organizing an uprising, the Indians aren’t doing this by themselves. And furthermore, getting rid of everyone who is Indian or even part-Indian won’t solve the issue of hatred that lives in the hearts of those people responsible.”
The conversation fell silent. Connie knew they were most likely considering the fact that Faith, the result of her mother’s rape at the Whitman Mission, was half Cayuse. If they sent the reservation Indians away, would they insist on sending all Indians away? Even Connie and her