Volume 005-2 - March 1951 (2 pages)

March, 1951 Vol. 5, No. 2 The Mysterious Indian of Grass Valley He Saved the Digger Indians of That Section From Famine and the Whites From an Indian War San Francisco Chronicle Sunday, August 3rd, 1896 by — Albert Monson One of the most remarkable Indians ever known in the West, and one who deserves to take rank among the greatest of the red men, was Wad-Lu-Pe, at one time sub-chief to Chief Wymmer of the Digger Indian Tribe at the Buena Vista Agency, near Grass Valley, California. Wad-Lu-Pe, as he was known and his name was pronounced, came into the Digger tribe as a creature of mystery and as a mystery, he disappeared after serving the purpose for which it would seem he had been ordained by Divine Providence. To the lowly and ignorant Diggers of Buena Vista and Penn Valley this man was as a reincarnation of Joseph among the Israelites in Egypt. He was a profit, a teacher and a savior. It is more than probable that WadLu-Pe’s right name was the Spanish Guadalupe, but as pronounced by the lowly people, among whom he made his home for a few years, it was spoken as spelled in the first instance, and was so written in the books of the merchants in Grass Valley. He was not a Digger Indian. To what race or tribe of American aborigines he belonged is as much of a mystery as the place whence he came and the places whither he went after his mysterious departure. His personal appearance and bearing gave rise to the supposition that he was of the Sioux tribe, probably of the Brule branch, but this is mere surmise. Wad-Lu-Pe was by nature a prince among men, a person of royal bearing and kingly tread, proud as any monarch of the Orient, and yet withal as gentle as a woman and as kindly as a true saint whose life was devoted to doing good to his fellowmen. When first he made his appearance in Grass Valley he created a sensation among the settlers. Never before had such a perfect, such an ideal type of the “noble red man” been seen in that part of the country. One glance was sufficient to satisfy the beholder that Wad-Lu-Pe was not a Digger. He was about 30 years old, 6 feet 5 inches tall, broad shouldered, straight as a lance, with a high forehead, sparkling eyes, aquiline nose, prominent chin, and complexion of a rich, deep copper hue. He was dressed as the Diggers dressed, in a clout, and a mantle made of the skins of wild animals. Over his shoulders he carried a bow and a quiver full of arrows. A truly striking figure was Wad-Lu-Pe and a startling contrast to the lazy, shiftless aborigines, among whom he had taken his abode. S. P. Storms, who was an Indian agent at Buena Vista in 1852, at the time that the mysterious Indian first made his appearance was besieged by questions from all the settlements around as to who the handsome Indian was. Mr. Storms could only give an answer that he knew nothing of the new-comer. Chief Wymmer, head of the tribe, when questioned on the subject, could reply only in these words: “Ough! Wad-Lu-Pe, him great big Chief, son of great spirit Maviton. Him come from sunrise after one night of big storm and rain. Him be chief when Wymmer gone.” That was all that old Chief Wymmer could or would say of his noble guest and intended successor. Among the most remarkable circumstances connected with Wad-Lu-Pe was his knowledge of languages. He spoke read and wrote English, French and Spanish with perfect fluency and with only the slightest touch of Indian accent. Besides, he proved, on various occasions, that he possessed considerable knowledge in most of the branches of learning that go to make up the education of the average civilized man. When spoken to on these subjects, he was always genial and communicative, but when questioned as to his antecedents, his ancestry and his former Place of abode he closed his lips and became as silent as a Sphinx. Wad-Lu-Pe made his first public appearance as a leader in Grass Valley in the fall of 1853. It was a season of famine among the poor Diggers. The crops of pinenuts, manzanita berries and grasshoppers had been total failures, the Government supplies had been cut off by an act of Congress, and the Diggers’ means of subsistence had been reduced to the point of actual starvation. Hence it came about that one day, when the cold winds of autumn were beginning to blow keenly over the hillside wastes, Wad-Lu-Pe at the head of a party of about 100 Diggers—men, women and children, marched into Grass Valley and halted in front of the general merchandise store of Henry O. Waite, who is now a resident of San Francisco. Wad-Lu-Pe addressed a few words to his followers, and then with the air and tread and bearing of a King, he strode alone into the store of Mr. Waite, and in perfect English, asked for the proprietor. One of the clerks pointed out Mr. Waite, who at that moment was engaged in conversation, in the French language, with a customer who was a Frenchman, unacquainted with the English tongue. Wad-Lu-Pe, chancing to hear Mr. Waite speaking French, after politely waiting until the latter was at leisure, addressed him in French. “Monsieur Merchant,” he said, “I have come with some of my adopted people to secure food on my word of honor without money. At present we have no gold, but when the rains of spring shall have washed the hillsides and the ravines of which my people know we will have gold in abundance with which to pay. Our women, our mothers, our sisters, and our daughters are starving. Our papooses, cry and whimper in vain. Will the white merchant, who has an abundance in store, help the poor Indians to live through the winter?” This speech was made, not as a whining plea for charity, but as a business proposition, based upon the honor and integrity of this copper hued prince, on one side, and the white merchant’s confidence on the other. “You shall have what you need,” was Mr. Waite’s reply, made unhesitatingly, notwithstanding the fact that he would receive not a shadow of security. “But just now the roads to your village are impassable on account of the melting of the first snow. I will give you what you and your men can carry, and in a few days.when the ground has settled I will send my teams with supplies.” At this the Indian made a stately bow then he went to the door and called in ten of the strongest bucks in his following. On the back of each of these sturdy sons of the forest was placed a hundred-pound sack of flour, ten sacks in all, together with some other articles necessary to the diet of a Digger. Then, after Wad-Lu-Pe, who carried no burden, had shaken hands with Mr. Waite and thanked him for his kindness, the entire party quietly departed for their own village, eight miles distant. A few days later Mr. Waite sent three wagonloads of supplies to the two Digger villages, Buena Vista and Penn Valley, thereby completely allaying a threatened outbreak by the hungry aborigines. What might have happened had not the pressing need of the Indians been satisfied can only be surmised but the Digger is known to have a desperate and ferocious nature, akin to the wolf, when suffering from hunger. On a bright, sunny and balmy day in the following spring, Wad-Lu-Pe, followed by fully 300 Diggers, men, women and children, marched into Grass Valley and formed themselves into a semi-circle in front of Mr. Waite’s store. Wad-Lu-Pe and about — forty bucks entered the store, one at a time, each in turn as he was called by the mysterious leader. Each buck carried in his hand a bag of gold dust, weighing in value from $100 to $150 which was deposited on the counter before Mr.+ Waite, Wad-Lu-Pe, the while standing nearby, his arms folded across his expansive chest, like a feudal prince supervising the payment to an imperial master. “Thus shall faith be kept and each man of my people shall pay his debt of honor,” spoke Wad-Lu-Pe. The gold dust was weighed and in each sack there was more than the pro rata debt of the payers, hence under the regular rules of business, vach payer was entitled to more or less

March, 1951 Vol. 5, No. 2 The Mysterious Indian of Grass Valley He Saved the Digger Indians of That Section From Famine and the Whites From an Indian War San Francisco Chronicle Sunday, August 3rd, 1896 by — Albert Monson One of the most remarkable Indians ever known in the West, and one who deserves to take rank among the greatest of the red men, was Wad-Lu-Pe, at one time sub-chief to Chief Wymmer of the Digger Indian Tribe at the Buena Vista Agency, near Grass Valley, California. Wad-Lu-Pe, as he was known and his name was pronounced, came into the Digger tribe as a creature of mystery and as a mystery, he disappeared after serving the purpose for which it would seem he had been ordained by Divine Providence. To the lowly and ignorant Diggers of Buena Vista and Penn Valley this man was as a reincarnation of Joseph among the Israelites in Egypt. He was a profit, a teacher and a savior. It is more than probable that WadLu-Pe’s right name was the Spanish Guadalupe, but as pronounced by the lowly people, among whom he made his home for a few years, it was spoken as spelled in the first instance, and was so written in the books of the merchants in Grass Valley. He was not a Digger Indian. To what race or tribe of American aborigines he belonged is as much of a mystery as the place whence he came and the places whither he went after his mysterious departure. His personal appearance and bearing gave rise to the supposition that he was of the Sioux tribe, probably of the Brule branch, but this is mere surmise. Wad-Lu-Pe was by nature a prince among men, a person of royal bearing and kingly tread, proud as any monarch of the Orient, and yet withal as gentle as a woman and as kindly as a true saint whose life was devoted to doing good to his fellowmen. When first he made his appearance in Grass Valley he created a sensation among the settlers. Never before had such a perfect, such an ideal type of the “noble red man” been seen in that part of the country. One glance was sufficient to satisfy the beholder that Wad-Lu-Pe was not a Digger. He was about 30 years old, 6 feet 5 inches tall, broad shouldered, straight as a lance, with a high forehead, sparkling eyes, aquiline nose, prominent chin, and complexion of a rich, deep copper hue. He was dressed as the Diggers dressed, in a clout, and a mantle made of the skins of wild animals. Over his shoulders he carried a bow and a quiver full of arrows. A truly striking figure was Wad-Lu-Pe and a startling contrast to the lazy, shiftless aborigines, among whom he had taken his abode. S. P. Storms, who was an Indian agent at Buena Vista in 1852, at the time that the mysterious Indian first made his appearance was besieged by questions from all the settlements around as to who the handsome Indian was. Mr. Storms could only give an answer that he knew nothing of the new-comer. Chief Wymmer, head of the tribe, when questioned on the subject, could reply only in these words: “Ough! Wad-Lu-Pe, him great big Chief, son of great spirit Maviton. Him come from sunrise after one night of big storm and rain. Him be chief when Wymmer gone.” That was all that old Chief Wymmer could or would say of his noble guest and intended successor. Among the most remarkable circumstances connected with Wad-Lu-Pe was his knowledge of languages. He spoke read and wrote English, French and Spanish with perfect fluency and with only the slightest touch of Indian accent. Besides, he proved, on various occasions, that he possessed considerable knowledge in most of the branches of learning that go to make up the education of the average civilized man. When spoken to on these subjects, he was always genial and communicative, but when questioned as to his antecedents, his ancestry and his former Place of abode he closed his lips and became as silent as a Sphinx. Wad-Lu-Pe made his first public appearance as a leader in Grass Valley in the fall of 1853. It was a season of famine among the poor Diggers. The crops of pinenuts, manzanita berries and grasshoppers had been total failures, the Government supplies had been cut off by an act of Congress, and

the Diggers’ means of subsistence had been reduced to the point of actual starvation. Hence it came about that one day, when the cold winds of autumn were beginning to blow keenly over the hillside wastes, Wad-Lu-Pe at the head of a party of about 100 Diggers—men, women and children, marched into Grass Valley and halted in front of the general merchandise store of Henry O. Waite, who is now a resident of San Francisco. Wad-Lu-Pe addressed a few words to his followers, and then with the air and tread and bearing of a King, he strode alone into the store of Mr. Waite, and in perfect English, asked for the proprietor. One of the clerks pointed out Mr. Waite, who at that moment was engaged in conversation, in the French language, with a customer who was a Frenchman, unacquainted with the English tongue. Wad-Lu-Pe, chancing to hear Mr. Waite speaking French, after politely waiting until the latter was at leisure, addressed him in French. “Monsieur Merchant,” he said, “I have come with some of my adopted people to secure food on my word of honor without money. At present we have no gold, but when the rains of spring shall have washed the hillsides and the ravines of which my people know we will have gold in abundance with which to pay. Our women, our mothers, our sisters, and our daughters are starving. Our papooses, cry and whimper in vain. Will the white merchant, who has an abundance in store, help the poor Indians to live through the winter?” This speech was made, not as a whining plea for charity, but as a business proposition, based upon the honor and integrity of this copper hued prince, on one side, and the white merchant’s confidence on the other. “You shall have what you need,” was Mr. Waite’s reply, made unhesitatingly, notwithstanding the fact that he would receive not a shadow of security. “But just now the roads to your village are impassable on account of the melting of the first snow. I will give you what you and your men can carry, and in a few days.when the ground has settled I will send my teams with supplies.” At this the Indian made a stately bow then he went to the door and called in ten of the strongest bucks in his following. On the back of each of these sturdy sons of the forest was placed a hundred-pound sack of flour, ten sacks in all, together with some other articles necessary to the diet of a Digger. Then, after Wad-Lu-Pe, who carried no burden, had shaken hands with Mr. Waite and thanked him for his kindness, the entire party quietly departed for their own village, eight miles distant. A few days later Mr. Waite sent three wagonloads of supplies to the two Digger villages, Buena Vista and Penn Valley, thereby completely allaying a threatened outbreak by the hungry aborigines. What might have happened had not the pressing need of the Indians been satisfied can only be surmised but the Digger is known to have a desperate and ferocious nature, akin to the wolf, when suffering from hunger. On a bright, sunny and balmy day in the following spring, Wad-Lu-Pe, followed by fully 300 Diggers, men, women and children, marched into Grass Valley and formed themselves into a semi-circle in front of Mr. Waite’s store. Wad-Lu-Pe and about — forty bucks entered the store, one at a time, each in turn as he was called by the mysterious leader. Each buck carried in his hand a bag of gold dust, weighing in value from $100 to $150 which was deposited on the counter before Mr.+ Waite, Wad-Lu-Pe, the while standing nearby, his arms folded across his expansive chest, like a feudal prince supervising the payment to an imperial master. “Thus shall faith be kept and each man of my people shall pay his debt of honor,” spoke Wad-Lu-Pe. The gold dust was weighed and in each sack there was more than the pro rata debt of the payers, hence under the regular rules of business, vach payer was entitled to more or less