Department of State,
Washington, July 17,
1884.
Adding that the Department of Justice is still pursuing its
investigations in regard to this subject,
[Inclosure.]
Mr. Teller to
Mr. Frelinghuysen.
Department of the Interior,
Washington, July 14,
1884. (Received July 15.)
Sir: Referring to previous correspondence
upon the subject, and more particularly to your letter of the 16th
ultimo, I have the honor to inclose herewith a copy of a letter from
the governor of Washington Territory in the matter of the alleged
lynching of the Indian boy “Jack,” in British Columbia, by American
citizens from Washington Territory.
Very respectfully,
Territory of Washington, Executive
Department,
Olympia, July 7,
1884.
Sir: I have the honor to acknowledge the
receipt of your communication accompanied by papers concerning the
lynching of the Indian boy Jack by a mob, upon the soil of British
Columbia, on the 25th of February, 1884, and beg leave respectfully
to state that I have made every possible effort to ascertain who
committed the outrage, but without any satisfactory result. I
telegraphed, at my own expense, to the governor-general of British
Columbia, that I would make diligent search for the perpetrators,
and also dispatched to the Hon. C. M. Bradshaw, the prosecuting
attorney for that district. He informed me that he instituted the
most vigorous proceedings at his command, but had not been able to
make any discoveries. This information I have already transmitted to
the Department of the Interior.
It will be apparent that it is well-nigh impossible to make
discoveries of a band of disguised people who, with the entire
community, are interested in the secrecy which pertains to such
illegal and violent transactions. Again, the country is covered by a
dense forest, which precludes the possibility of successful search.
Furthermore, many of the people ofttimes make but little account of
an Indian’s life when any act, which they assume to justify hanging
by a mob has been perpetrated, and are ofttimes not fastidious about
the guilt of their action. As governor I have acted
[Page 253]
with all possible zeal and vigor, and
can, so far as I know, do nothing more, having no money at my
command for that or for any other public purpose.
The prosecuting attorney has exhausted his resources of effort. I
respectfully recommend that the district attorney of the United
States be instructed to undertake the case, and be provided with
means to carry out the investigation, and that he co-operate with
the governor of the Territory in this most important matter of
international interest.
I have, &c.,
Hon. H. M. Teller,
Secretary of the Interior.
