Nez Perce Agency, Idaho Ter.
Dec. 22, 1885
Rev. F.F. Ellinwood, D.D.

Dear Doctor:
Your letter of Nov. 30, was received and read on my return from Moscow week before last: without any preliminaries I will begin an answer to it. In general you direct my attention to three matters and in replying I will notice them in order…

III The consideration of a third paragraph in your letter leads me to introduce a personal matter about which I would much prefer to keep silent. And I trust you will pardon me if I display some feeling as I proceed. To bring the matter squarely before us, I will quote some of your words:

"I hope that you among other things are making good progress in the language. Dr Lindsley insists upon the absolute necessity of learning the language if one would be useful among the Nez Perces." I suppose the Doctor intends this to be administered to me as a counter-irritant in the matter of the McBeth difficulties. But with all due respect to his gray hairs and superior wisdom and intelligence, I must decline to take it. Since I began my labors here among the Nez Perces, my experiences have been too precious and God’s favor and blessing have been to manifest to allow my kindly accepting any criticism so disparaging as the above. My indignation will not diminish though I have deferred writing that it might cool down. And if you will give me permission I will write the same to him and also ask his reason or reasons for making such a remark to you.

And my dear Doctor Lowrie has wronged me, unintentionally I believe, in intimating to you that I have failed to get at the bottom facts in regard to the Kamiah difficulties; that my knowledge of the language is not sufficient to enable me to understand the feuds &c of the Nez Perces. I cannot allow the statement to go unchallenged. That any white person has the advantage of me in getting at first hand the ideas and views of these people, excepting of course Mr. Whitman. My, dear Doctor, that was the sole and only end I had in view in attempting to learn the language, and for three years at least I have taken the words and thought of the people at first hand. And for one thing only do I desire to prosecute the study further viz. that I may be independent of an interpreter in preaching. Now I always [illegible] of the presence of an interpreter at religious service, I should not deem it necessary to possess more than the ability to converse with and understand the people in their own home or mine. This I have been able to do for some years. I simply refer you to some remarks made on the occasion of the return of the Nez Perces last June, which I took down at first hand and [illegible] in a short article for the Foreign Missionary, also to a letter to Dr Lowrie that I wrote from the lips of Walter Lowrie, which was printed I believe in the Reserve or Missionary.

In regard to Miss McBeth’s knowledge of the native feuds, as I have said to Dr. Lowrie, so I say to you, that it is correct without a doubt that her treatment of them has been wrong, all wrong. It is not possible to believe anything different when I know that all along it has been her policy to crush Jimmy Lawyer, because he happened to fall in the line of the Chiefs, and on the other hand to exalt Robert Williams to the position of a Gov. Wright among his people. I maintain with all earnestness that a person possessed of such likes and dislikes is not competent to deal impartially with such a delicate matter as presented itself at Kamiah. My own words have been many, strong and clear against the continuance of the hereditary chieftainship in the tribe, but my endeavor was first and last to treat that matter impartially. It is my judgement that had Miss McBeth pursued a similar course, a very different state of affairs would exist in the Kamiah church and settlement today. I care not what might have been the previous condition of those feuds. And just here I would like to refer you again to a letter I handed you in Portland addressed by me to Miss McBeth some years ago. It covers the matter now as well as it did them. (As I have no copy of it, will you please return it – as I requested on handing it to you. I will try to remember to enclose a stamp for that purpose)

The late developments in regard to the Mt. Idaho school amount to positive proof in my mind that Miss McBeth has been teaching, (hinting at, if not teaching), insubordination to the powers that be; and she came near reaping of her own sowing. Her pupils expressed great indignation because the Agent required them to get permits to live at Mt. Idaho and at first refused to ask such permission, choosing rather to go without it, or remain at home. At least two of her men came down to Lapwai to receive annuities of the Agent, but they did not speak to him about going to Mt. Idaho. They had been educated to the point of being "too independent" to do that. But afterwards Miss McBeth succeeded in getting some to apply for permits by letter and others to sign applications written by herself, and so escaped the humiliation of being without a class.

Now, Doctor, I know it would have been better had some one else written the words found under the third heading – as there was no one else to present my case, I have attempted to do so myself. The interests I have at stake in this matter seem to warrant a plain statement of what I regard as the facts in the case. And believe me, I have written all in the most kindly feeling towards you and Dr Lowrie.

Now a few concluding words about Miss Kate. I think she will soon come to feel all right about her transfer to this place. Twelve or thirteen promising women have entered her school and she already has some hopes of us Lapwai people. She thinks the Lord is very good in giving her such a nice class. She seemed to think that we Lapwaians were so degraded that no one would desire to know a better way…
Very Sincerely Yours

G.L. Deffenbaugh