The First Student

Mark Arthur’s Story of the Chief Joseph War -Escape to Canada -Return to Kamiah - Student Days – Life Work

One of Kate McBeth’s students, Rev. Mark Arthur, lives in his own comfortable house on a high bank of land overlooking the Lapwai Valley. It is about three miles north of the Mission. While a guest in his home he made me see this picture.

The buffalo country, Montana, in the olden time was a common hunting ground for many of the western tribes. Battleground, it might better be called, for there the Indians were continually killing each other. That was the time when ten scalps made a chief and these trophies dangled from the belt of a brave as proof of his valor. For years after the gospel came among the Nez Perces many of the wild ones still kept up the old ways, spending many long years among other tribes.

One of these roving mothers was making her way to the Nez Perce land for a visit among home friends, travelling over the rough Lolo trail with her little son, nine or ten years old, snugly riding behind her. They were overtaken by some wild Nez Perces hurrying home for the fight then in progress on Camas prairie, between General Howard’s soldiers and Chief Joseph’s Band. The travelers went on together and found the Christian Indians of Kamiah camped around their church, a good place they doubtless thought for protection.

While the mother and her little boy were there the battle of the Clearwater was fought. Joseph and his company fled, passing through the Kamiah on the other side of the river from where the Christians were camped. They were making for the Lolo trail, to cross the Bitterroot Mountains. While in camp the little boy had been presented with a pony, his very own. All was confusion, but to the surprise of many, the mother followed with great haste the fleeing Joseph’s, showing plainly on which side was her heart. The little boy whipped up his pony and kept alongside of his mother, who soon overtook the Josephs. On they went over the rough Lolo trail into Montana; finding protection in the friendly mountains they decided to rest, sadly needed for their pones as well as for themselves.

This little Indian boy was my host, Mark Arthur, whose Nez Perce name was Kulkulsta meaning, red antelope. He described at length one night when a group of Indians well hidden in bushes were gambling. "I watched them gambling", he said "till very late at night; then I was afraid to go alone through the bushes to the camp where my mother was. I think, I had better sleep right here; but I talked to some little boys like myself, and I found they were very scared too. Then I said to them, Let me be the leader and let us all go home together, so we went out from that place where the men were gambling and silently crept through he bushes to our camp and I was very sleepy; I had a very deep sleep and my mother early in the morning tried to wake me up but I was so sleepy; I head sounds all the time like very hard rain on the buffalo tents. It was shot but I thought it was rain, but it was bullets hitting the tent and I was wide awake and I knew a fight was on.

"There was a little trail, just like a ditch made by beavers and my mother and my little sister and I ran along quickly but my little sister was shot and killed; my mother called to me to take care of my uncle’s little boy; he was a very little fellow and I told him to stoop and run low and to keep his head near the ground, but he would not, so I had to push him down. "Pretty soon we came to many people and I lost my mother, whether she was before of came after I do not know. After a while we came to water and I saw all the people walk in the river so I went in the water, and it came up very high because I was so little, and I gathered willow branches to help me walk. This was Big Hole River; Eskerwasola in Flathead language it is not a Nez Perce name. We walked a long time in this river, then climbed up into the bushes where we found many Indian people, and we all went up on a high bank where we could see far way. We saw our camp, and it was all surrounded by United States soldiers and our camp was on fire; we saw more soldiers bring up cannon and I saw the cannon fired; then I did not know what the cannon was, for I had never seen one before; then the Indians fought and killed the man at the cannon, and all the United States soldiers ran away and did not come after us any more. I saw all of this and we had that cannon. Afterwards I came back to camp and there were many dead bodies of our own people and also of the United States soldiers and we buried them all; I was not at all afraid; very strange for I never before had been in a battle but I was not at all afraid. The next time I was badly scared, because one boy older than I was frightened and he made me weak. Chief Joseph was with us and he talked good and he was not scared at all. I do not think he was ever scared, for he was always just the same and very good to us little boys.

For or five days later, very early in the morning, just the same time the fight was before, at daylight, some scouts went out and saw what looked like soldiers and they came back and told us and we were badly frightened, but is was nothing, a false alarm but I was badly scared but nothing at all came of it.

We went on and on and the next thing I remember was the time of very bad thirst. We had poor water in the afternoon then we traveled till very late at night then slept a little while and traveled again but there was no water; it was a very hot day many dogs died; a man breathed hard and I thought he was wounded so I said, "Is he badly wounded?" "no, someone replied, "he is very thirsty. "Oh, it was so hot and there were no trees anywhere, just low bushes like over at Pasco, bushes just so high; we saw cotton trees a long way off and went there thinking there was water, but no; then we saw wet ground and digged very deep, but there was no water and all the time it was very hot and more dogs died. Late that night we found a little water but it was not good water, not like the water at Kamiah.

Three days after a man took a glass what you call it? …Spyglass, and he sees a long way and he knows more United States soldiers are coming because he saw dust; he came back to camp and told us to get ready. Chief Joseph and the people had a very long talk. I do not know hat they said, but they talked a long time and before daylight comes, we all go and took all the ponies and the mules. We traveled a long way and went very fast.

My mother made me moccasins, very strong and very big, not soft and smooth for camp wear anywhere out doors. Before I went to sleep she showed me where she put them and she told me to put them on in the morning. I waked up very early in the morning and I knew just where my new moccasins were and I put them on and I went out with some men to bring in our horses. Our horses had strayed and I looked a long time for them; after a while I heard just one gun but I did not think very much about that, for we had not had any fight for a long while; but just in a little time, hardly two or three minutes, the hill right in front of me was covered with United States solders; the hill was black wit men and there were many Indians in front fighting with the United States soldiers. I ran with our horses; my big sister saw me and she took one pony and my uncle took two. I didn’t know where my sister went, for I was trying to go to camp and the bullets are everywhere; I cried to go to my mother in camp, but our people held me tight and wouldn’t let me go. I had no power to go to camp to my mother; I went back to my pony and I though my trail now goes to King George’s land for all the people had said in King George’s land was safety.

I went through bushes a long way; then I found some people and we went on together; there were many women and little children but only tow men. By and by a man came through the bushes and he said "Plenty of people are over this way, come and join them, and we found more friends and we went on together; Chief Joseph, our big men and my mother are not with us; we do not know if they are killed or prisoners; it was seven years before I saw my mother again.

After a while a man said "we must kill buffalo, everybody is very hungry. I do not know how many people there were, but there were many women and children and just a few men. When the men talked about being hungry I remember then I was very hungry, before I did not think, but this reminds me, something to eat I want.

Two buffaloes were killed and the hungry weary people were satisfied. Little Red Antelope had his share of meat and carefully put away in his pocket the portion he did not eat. Before long it became bitterly cold and they all suffered terribly. Continuing his story Mark said.

"Another very cold night came and I laid down and after a while I went to sleep; when I awoke I was very warm because I was all covered with snow; but I got right up and my pony was gone! I saw his tracks in the snow but I could not find him anywhere. After this very stormy night we came to Milk River. Before we tried to cross it the men talked about getting more buffalo; so they went back and after a long time brought just one buffalo; they cut it up and gave it to the people; but I did not push forward for I was just a little boy and I did not get any meat; then by and by, my relations saw me and that I had no buffalo and he cave me some; we went beyond Milk River and camped all night and then next day we moved on and again it was very cold; the snow was very deep and it was like little sharp stars and the wind came from the North and Oh it was very cold. A big man on his horse saw me and he said,

"Brother are you cold" "Yes" "Come, get up on my horse before me" "I did so and Oh it was very warm up there, just like going into a room with a big fire in the stove. Oh it was very nice. We had no saddle, we both rode the one horse and the Lord kept me all the time, but I didn’t know Him then but He knew me and He kept me.

By and by the man became very tired and he told me he thought I had better get off his horse and I said Just leave me behind and you go on. "No, I will not leave you, you stay right here."

"Finally night came and we had to make a camp; friends went together but nobody called me to join them. I saw a man and his wife put their boy between the, and oh I wished very much I was that little boy. I was so very cold, but nobody asked me to camp with them, and I wanted my mother.

Some bad people were around and many things were stolen, so I though I had better mark my blanket for many small blankets are just alike. He showed me how he knotted the rope about four inches from the end, raveled it out to the center of the little tassel thus formed. Shortly after, his blanket was stolen. "I looked everywhere for it; No it is not this one, this is colored; no, not that buffalo robe nor this, it is too big, ah, yes here it is, a small gray blanket, my very own and I looked to see my mark and that made it sure it was mine; a very rough man had it and he was big and I was only a little boy, so when very many people were all around him, I just went up and took my blanket. He said ‘what for you take my blanket’? And I said, "but this is my blanket." "How do you know it is your blanket"? "Because of the mark I put on my blanket a long time ago – see here it is!"

"Aah", was all he said so without any trouble I had my own blanket.

After a while Sitting Bull sent men to guide up to his camp,. He was a full blood Sioux and very good to us. We could not understand the talk of the men he sent. After some days a big Indian came out and talked in Crow a long time and he said in Crow over and over again "I am Sitting Bull".

I knew what he said because a long time ago I was in the Crow country one winter and I learned some Crow talk; a few other Nez Perces also knew some Crow but nobody knew any Sioux so we told our people that we knew what Sitting Bull said. The Sioux were afraid of us at first because we were so many; there were two or three hundred horses but very few people but at a distance they thought every horse had a rider, but that was not so for we had many more horses than people.

We went to the Sioux camp in Canada and Sioux Indians were good to us very it was very cold and there was very little food: sometimes there was just one rabbit for ten people; and when I went for horses I had no strength. I had to rest many times and I was always hungry.

The next summer Little Red Antelope followed his friends back to Montana. While the streams were high, the Milk River was particularly dangerous. The Indians made a raft by putting sticks between buffalo roves. The women and little children were placed on this raft to which a horse was hitched and then made to swim the river and thus the crossing was successfully accomplished. Little Red Antelope cried and pled for a place on the raft, but was denied! He had to grasp his pony’s neck plunge in and swim his horse over the river just as the man did. As he went into the cold stream he called out "Were my mother here I too would be on that raft", but the poor mother was not far away a captive in Indian Territory.

In Montana the returning Nez Perces met a band of Flathead Indians among whom was a Nez Perce woman; she made inquiries about Little Red Antelope and finding he was of her own family she took him to her Flathead home; he stayed nearly two years with this relative, whose husband he always referred to as "master"; both were exceedingly kind to him. In his own way he continued his story:

"All the time I was away my heart was longing for Kamiah. I have there my grandpa, grandma and three boyfriends who like very much because I knew them well. I long for Kamiah, I would not tell my master for I had no power to say I’ll go; it troubled my heart much to go but my mouth is shut tight. When any Nez Perces came, I always asked about my friends at home.

One day my master said they would move our camp six or seven miles away. This would take us off the direct trail and I would no longer see the Nez Perces on their way to the Hot Springs and I felt very lonely. Early the next morning I heard my master singing the old war songs and I went right up to him and said, I am going to Kamiah. "Aah – aah" was all he said. Then I caught my horse and came to him in my old clothes and my master said, "you have better clothes and better blankets; put on new ones – put on the very vest things you have if you want to go!" He talked to others about e; he was not my uncle, but his heart was sad that I would go, he was just my friend, my good master. I left him only because to Kamiah I would go. I will not go anymore to Montana Hot Springs but on to Kamiah will I go.

Red Antelope rode a half day all alone and overtook at noon a small band of Nez Perces who had recently been to Kamiah and among them was a young boy whom he called aside; after some conversation he learned that this stranger knew Billy Williams and his son Robert and said that if he were in Kamiah he would go right to their home. Then Red Antelope said, "What hinders us to ride together. You are light I am light and my horse is very strong." "All right, my brother", and he got into my saddle and I rode behind and now we are starting together for Kamiah. Oh just like the daylight coming after the night is Kamiah to me! By and by we came to Matskowmis and we saw the great prairie and my own country – not Kamiah but just the Nez Perce country. There we met one man and two boys and they were very kind to us. Soon we met some women and one of them gave us much food watermelons, muskmelons and some roots. We were wild Indians, we had much paint on our faces. "After a long time we came to Lolo Creek and Oh such good water, just as it was years ago when I went that way with Joseph. I said to my friend "Here is water, let us wash the paint off our faces; so we washed but we had no soap and the paint would not come off; a woman met us here and she thought we were men and called out, "Where do you come from?" We answered we are friends. She came nearer and laughed when she was we were just two boys; she told us no one would hurt us anymore because we were Joseph men. She gave us good food but we would not eat it till we reached the top of the hill from where we could see Kamiah. Oh we were so glad to see Kamiah. It was just like a dream. "You think we dream" I said to my friend, can this be true. Oh it is so beautiful! It was the time of harvest and I do not know how long we sat there just looking and looking and Oh I was very happy.

We then went down the Lolo trail, the same trail I went with Joseph I came back now. We met a blind woman with a boy but we did not stop to talk, we went straight ahead down the trail nearly opposite where the station now stands. Before very long we reached Henry Hill’s garden – full of onions, watermelons and how beautiful was that garden to us. He said "where do you come from?" I said "we are from Joseph’s band. My friend told him his name and said he was going to Billy Williams and I said I was going to my grandpa’s house. He asked me if I knew where they lived and I told him that I knew where the farm was but I did not know the house. He said "That smoke coming out from the chimney a way over there, is your grandpa’s house. I did not know the house because after I had left they made a new log house. My friend wanted me to go with him to Billy Williams but I said, "No, when I am ready, I will go to my grandpa’s and to my own friends, I’ll go my way, you go yours, I will not go to Billy Williams. He said, "all right, you go your way, I’ll go mine, but brother, you take my saddle blanket, for I have no horse but you have a horse, I will take your hat".

So making the trade and dismounting they parted as good friends but how many days they traveled together, Mark does not know. Mark rode on to his grandfathers and as he approached his old home, his grandmother saw him coming. But she could not believe he was Red Antelope. He opened the gate, walked through and she said,

"Are you my own grandson" "Yes" "Are you sure you are my grandson? And being reassured she was very glad to see him. She explained that his grandfather had gone to Lapwai to attend a great council, two of his friends were with his grandfather but that Timothy was in Kamiah and Mark saw him that evening. All were so glad to welcome him. He said the boys did not cry, but the old folks cried very much.

"Sunday evening we went to church. My hair had been cut and all the paint was washed off my face, but I sat on the back seat. Robert Williams was preaching and many people were there and this was the first time I ever saw Miss Kate; Miss Susan McBeth was not there, she was sick and never went out anywhere.

By and by came Christmas time and my friends had been telling me about a very strange tree, with presents on it for everybody. I think that very funny, but all I said was "No one ever gave me any presents, still I would like to see this wonderful tree. Oh , it was very beautiful. James Hayes was there and he was very kind. He did not despise us wild boys and pretty soon he gave me a little red book with my name in it from off the tree. I opened it, looked all through it for pictures, but there were no pictures anywhere, but it is good, it’s red outside so I put it in my pocket. Miss Kate gave it to me and she gave one to each of my three boy friends. My book stayed in my pocket oh I don’t know how many years; I would take it out and look at it, but there are no pictures and I cannot read but it’s good – Taats. Robert Williams, I had heard preach before the chief Joseph war and James Hayes was now helping him; both were very kind to me.

One time Moses Montieth said to me "Come on go with me to see Miss McBeth; I am studying, you come too." So I saw Miss McBeth in her house at Kamiah.

Mark made a garden, raised many vegetables which he took to the mines to sell. The Indian preachers asked him to go with them to a meeting of Presbytery in Lapwai. He replied, "I am in the hands of my grandpa, if he says I go,- if not, I will not go." He sought permission of his grandfather who at once said, "I am very glad for you to go with the preacher and elders, for they are good men. Then when my grandpa learned about the time we were to start he said, "You will ride your own horse till you come back, then turn him loose. We went down to Lapwai and Robert Williams said, "This is a fatherless and a motherless boy and he takes very good care of our horses. We ought to have money to pay him full wages, but we have not, we are very poor; but we will all pay what we can." So then they took up a collection and had seven dollars and Robert Williams said "James, you take this boy to Lewiston and what you think is good for him you buy."

We went to Lewiston and were gone several days and came back to Lapwai late Saturday night; he had bought some paper collars for me and many many things I had never seen before. I never before had collars and I didn’t like them, but I had no way to refuse. James and Robert took me and fixed me up and there were many many people at church. I was so ashamed because I was dressed up this way and had a collar; I held my head down and I didn’t see anybody, for I kept my eyes shut. People asked me afterwards if I saw them, but I said "No, I did not see anybody." Oh those men Robert Williams and James Hayes, they were so good, they loved me and I loved those good men, so what they told me to do, I did.

He learned to read and write from Miss Susan McBeth at Mount Idaho but had no training whatever for preaching. After Miss McBeth’s death (1893 – Mark must have been about 26 years old) he returned to Kamiah; he was now a married man and had three children. He said "After awhile in Kamiah I said to myself, this Fall I will go to Lapwai and I will make a tent and build a floor and be near Miss Kate and study; so I make up my mind, but I didn’t tell Mrs. Arthur; I think I will tell her very soon but I went to the post office and there I found a letter and I saw right away that Miss Kate wrote that letter. I opened it and the letter said, "Here at Lapwai a new house is looking for you", and Miss Kate didn’t know my plan so I went right to Mrs Arthur and I said "At Lapwai a new house is waiting for us and we will go." We started from Kamiah before Thanksgiving because in those days we never knew much about Thanksgiving and I had Mrs. Arthur and little Daniel, Festus and David and I drove four horses; we camped on the way two nights and when we drove into the yard at Lapwai Miss Kate ran out of the house saying "Oh what have we coming here", but when she was near and knew me she was very glad and I was the first student to go into the new house. James Dickson and Steven Axtell came pretty soon. Rev. Hines was preaching at Spalding; he was one of Miss McBeth’s students, but he was then a very old man and very few people went to church.

My wife and I always wanted to go to Kamiah to church because we have many friends there and like it there but I said, "No, although I have no power to make it strong we will help Lapwai Church. My wife did not want to go at first, but the Lord talked to her and she was soon very glad to go.

"There never was any camping around this church, so I said to my mother, Mrs. Red Wolf, you get your husband to make a tent there and I will bring you plenty of wood and we will have a good camp at Lapwai. Evidently his mother had difficulty in persuading her husband, who was not Mark’s father, to do this but finally he consented. A tent was pitched and Mark took them a quantity of wood and so the first family tent was put up at Lapwai. The Indian homes were all so scattered and the roads so poor that many of the Indians had built little cabins near their church in Kamiah where they would stay for a couple of days at the time of the communion service but there had never been any tents a Lapwai. In describing how popular their tent was Mark said, "Pretty soon some friend come in our tent and we moved a little this way so as to make room for them; some others come in and we moved again; many more come and the tent is full and we are right up next to Mr and Mrs Red Wolf; many people like out tent and the people say, "I like to go to church now." Mr. Hines preached very good sermons and some wild Indians repent all the time.

The first year three was only my mother’s camp, then next year three or four more, then very many. Miss Kate was so happy and she said, "the Lord put it into your mind to help that weak church at Spalding"

Once at midnight, I awoke and I heard someone singing the old war songs; it was a way off maybe two miles, but it made me think I had better go home to Kamiah. Why stay here? No use for us to stay here, let us go home to Kamiah. Then by and by I went to sleep and I forgot all about it. The next morning after breakfast and after worship I went to Miss Kate’s school and then I suddenly remembered and I told her all; but I said "Thus was my heart last night, but now I will stay and study more with you. And she was very glad and said I made her happy.

Asking him pointedly wherein he thought Miss Kate McBeth’s strength lay he considered a long time and said;

"It’s this way; a man has a man’s heart and must look out for his own things, but Miss Kate had a woman’s heart and just loved her Lord; she love His work and the people for His sake. She had very much love for us. One day she said "I am stingy, I do not want to give my money to this man because he is so careless, but I am not stingy for the Lord’s work; if a man tries to do right, no matter how slow he is if he only tries very hard I’ll stay by him, I’ll not be stingy with him; I’ll help him always."

After several winters of careful painstaking work (the summers spent on his farm earning money for the winter’s study) Mark Arthur was licensed then ordained by the Presbytery of Walla Walla. His first and only charge as been the Spalding church, which he had so faithfully served while a student.

Mark Arthur has not been spoiled by the well intentioned but sometimes unwise adulation of white people unduly curious about old-time beliefs and customs, or hardened by sorrow because of the loss of dear children, or embittered by petty jealousies which occur sometimes in Indian as well as in white churches. He is a big whole-hearted Christian gentleman, whose faith and trust in his heavenly Father is well illustrated b the following experience.

The Nez Perce Indian Sessions demand consistent living on the part of their church members. One man, while under sessional discipline, brought a suit in the civil court against Mark Arthur charging him with defaming his character. The case would be tried in Lewiston; Mark had never been in court in his life, was going among perfect strangers and was totally ignorant of all legal procedure. The day before he would have to start for Lewiston he visited Miss Kate had had a troubled heart. She, as her custom was suggested prayer. They knelt together, she led and afterwards Mark prayed – including in a recital of his life, his flight with the Joseph band, the battles of Big Hole, and Bear Paw, the skirmishes, the escape to Canada, the bitterly cold winter there when they nearly starved to death, the return to Montana, finding friends there, finally the homecoming to Kamiah each event closed with the fervent petition:

"Lord, I was a heathen then and you kept me all the time; now I am a Christian and trying to do Thy will and I know Thou surely will not forsake me."

Miss Crawford in relating the experience as told her at length by Miss Kate immediately after Mark’s departure, said it was the most wonderful story of perfect faith she had ever head and that she had never seen her Aunt so moved.

Mark strong in the Lord, went to court. It was ten days before the Judge gave his decision but Mark’s faith never wavered. The verdict not only completely vindicated Mark but cordially commended him and his Session in the following language unusual from the Bench:

"The Court not only found Rev. Mark Arthur not guilty of any misdemeanor, but commended him and his session for their good religious and business sense in dealing with this troublesome man."

To be used to mold and prepare for Christian leadership a strong, vigorous character, such as Mark Arthur, is highest service in the Kingdom. Such was Miss Kate McBeth’s work. "by their fruits ye shall know them"

After this story my reverie, under the wide spreading locust trees was interrupted by little Isaiah, Mark’s small grandson, depositing an unruly kitten in my lap. Just below the high bench of land, on which the house is built, is the Lapwai church, of which Mark Arthur has been pastor for fifteen years.

A little beyond, the Lapwai flows in to the sparkling Clearwater at this point very wide – a treacherous and dangerous river; in the bend between the rivers are a few twisted and gnarled apple trees, planted seventy years ago by Rev. H.H Spalding the great missionary pathfinder; in the distance are dim outlines of some of the old buildings erected by him, and away off to the right, those tall swaying poplars are in the little cemetery where he and his wife are lying. It is suggestive to recall that this is also the resting place of the Rev. A.R. McFarland, whose last earthly service was here, and whose heroic wife, several years after his death, became the first missionary in Alaska. Al around the smooth, treeless hills are shimmering in opalescent colors.