[Nd-talk] FW: Indian Summer

Tue Sep 4 11:50:56 UTC 2018

From: The Blind History Lady <theblindhistorylady at gmail.com> 
Sent: Tuesday, September 4, 2018 6:45 AM
To: mota1252 at gmail.com
Subject: Indian Summer

One of many Blind American Indiaa 

.

.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.

.

www.theblindhistorylady.com

.

‌

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