An interesting peek into the past:
.Greetings Blind History Lady fans:
Thoughts of September remind me of the Indian Summer days in late
September back in Minnesota when the weather warms up for just a few
days. So, I thought
I would bring to you this month, a story of a blind Indian.
When looking at blind minorities in the United States, the American
Indian is most difficult to trace, even more so than Black Americans
before the Civil
War. Language, attitudes and cultural barriers, led to incomplete or
inaccurate census and government records listings. In far too many
cases, just a
first name for the individual Indian, even if it was just a white name
given to the individual by a few white settlers or government agents
but never used
by the tribes. A lack of understanding of naming traditions also
disconnected an individual from their previous records. Families were
not always listed
together, making it hard to track how many children that each family
may have had or what family each belonged to biologically.
One Indian man has left a bit of a trail for us to get a glimpse of
his life. This is “Blind Jim”, the chief of the tribe called the
Columbia River Renegades. (there
were other blind Jim’s in the area as well). So far, I find no
indication of his Indian name, just what the White residents called
him.
Blind Jim’s tribe traveled through the Blue Mountain region of
Oregon/Washington State, settling primarily near the town of Heppner,
Morrow County, Oregon area. Morrow
County is located on the northern border of the state, in the
mid-eastern section. There is no indication of when “Blind Jim” was
born for certain or when
he went blind.
The first mention of “Blind Jim” comes from the diaries of the white
settlers in the Heppner area, Melvina Ferguson. An ancestor of
Melvina’s wrote in
a remembrance;
“In 1870 the Indians went on the war path. The Chief, Old Blind Jim
they called him, (didn't know his real name) came by the cabin and
told Melvina not
to be afraid, they would not harm her. She could hear them with their
war paint and war hoops riding by their cabin. She was so afraid, she
took her little
baby girl (Mollie) Mary Elizabeth, 4 months old and hid in the old log
corral with a blanket and spent the night.”
Melvina and her husband James took the time to learn the Indian
language when they moved into the area about 1869. Blind Jim also
learned to speak the
language of his new neighbors, the white settlers.
It was said, even by the whites, that Blind Jim could recognize almost
anyone he had previously talked to. His ability with his knife was
said to be just
as good, if not better than a sighted man. Notes from others indicate
that he used his knife to hunt and kill as well as cut off his cooked
meats to eat. He
had a good sense of direction, taking charge of where he wanted to go.
Blind Jim chose a brave to travel with him. When visiting with some
of the settlers around the area, would take a ‘squaw” with him. He did
not let others
speak or visit for his tribe when visiting. The guide was just that, his guide.
He, and whom every he chose to lead him would visit the white
settlers and frequent the white people’s towns as they began to build
up. When negotiating
with the military leaders, he brought a brave with him. A photo of one
of Blind Jim’s guides has been saved in a California collection,
however, there
does not seem to be a picture of Blind Jim, himself.
Reviewing old news articles of the time gives a clear view of the
opinion of the whites at the turn of the century towards the Native
Americans. These
attitudes were not lost on Blind Jim. To get the best of a bad
situation, Blind Jim often used the prejudices of the town’s people
against the whites. Today,
we look back at Blind Jim and must question who was the more superior,
he or the educated, “civilized” settlers. Blind Jim kept his temper,
tried to get
along with all, white or Indian. He demonstrated respect to the town’s
people and tried to respect their laws.
An example of this comes from an article in the Heppner Gazette dated
May 22, 1902. One of his tribe had been arrested. Blind Jim went to
visit him in
the jail before the trial and was present in the courtroom during the
trial. He acted as interpreter for the family of “George”, the Indian
on trial. Not
only did he visit in jail, but also tracked down the attorney’s and
spoke on behalf of his friend to the attorneys and the press.
Quotes such as the following accompanied the article. “That the
Indians have affection for one another and have shown some of the
finer sensibilities
that belong to the human race has been demonstrated in this case.” and
later in the article, “good live Indian”.
The winter of 1902-03 was very cold for Heppner. Many of the white and
Indian ranchers lost their stock. For Blind Jim and his people, who
recycled everything,
they went into the fields and pulled the wool from the dead sheep they
came across. In April, the band loaded up the wool into bags, strapped
them to their
horses and road into town to sell the wool. They did very well,
netting more than $300.
No one could say that Blind Jim and his tribesmen had not learned from
past mistakes. When they brought in the wool in 1903, they would only
accept payment
in silver or gold. No paper money or credit at the local businesses.
Today, the traces of Blind Jim and his people along with the other
tribes that lived in that area for millennia’s are only found along
the petroglyphs
near The Dells in Washington State along the Columbia River. Local
history museums have nothing on Blind Jim.
Many may have forgotten Blind Jim. But today, we will help keep his
memory alive.
