Leschi: Justice in our Time
HISTORICAL FIGURESCLOSE TIESPRELUDE TO WARINDIAN WARS 1855-56LESCHI ON TRIALLESCHI'S LEGACYTEACHING
 
Prominent individuals caught up in the conflict
Nisqually Indian relationships with the Hudson Bay Trading Company
The circumstances leading to heightened hostilities
The events of the Indian Wars
A Nisqually leader is tried for murder
The legend continues into the present
Teacher's Guide: Lesson Plans, Learning Requirements, etc
 
   
  HISTORICAL FIGURES
These individuals played prominent roles in the conflict that gripped Washington Territory in the mid-1850's.

The Key Players

History has documented in great detail the events surrounding the Treaties of Isaac Stevens and the Indian Wars that followed them. Consequently, we know quite a bit about the conflicts between the Indians, who wished only to keep their homelands, and the settlers, who wanted the same land for agricultural purposes. We can read volumes about the issues of discipline and training that regularly erupted between Army officers and members of the Volunteer Militia.

The making of history is not constrained to only the events of an era, or the terrain of a specific place, however. History is often made — in both time and space — by individuals, acting out of love or hate, greed or altruism, bravery or cowardice. The deeds of sometimes rather unlikely individuals are often remembered and recorded for future generations.

In this section we seek to introduce you to some of the stories, the real, human stories, that have become a part of Washington's history. Here you will meet the first Territorial Governor, whose hasty ambition may have contributed heartily to the resentment of the Indians; Army officers, many of whom found themselves at odds with the ambitions of the Governor; the Indian Judas Iscariot who betrayed his chief; the avenging angel who sought retribution for his people. Each individual, each life described on these pages, played a prominent role in the early Washington Territorial history, and each deserves to have his or her story told.

Leschi
Isaac Stevens

Quiemuth
Yelm Jim

Sluggia
General John Wool

Col. Silas Casey
Lieutenant Augustus Kautz

Lt. William Slaughter
Col. George Wright
HomeResearch CollectionsBibliographySite Map