US Bureau of Indian Affairs, Oregon Superintendency, roll 7, 1855.

Abstract

"The laws and customs of their forefathers as handed down to them from generation to generation are rivewed with a sacredness bordering on devotion and are maintained with a zeal and tenacity truly astonishing. When therefore we see them discarding their own laws and adopting those of the whites we may indeed hope that the dark chambers of their understanding have been opened and that the efforts of the philanthroptic have not been altogether in vain."