- June 9th [actually June , 1853]. After waiting for ebb tide, and assisted by a light wind and oars, we passed through without seeing any of the horrors we had been told of. We soon arrived at a place called Gumbay, which I subsequently found was the best rendition the Indians could give of Capt. Fay, who had a house on the northeastern end of Whidby island. He seemed to be engaged in trade with the Indians. He confirmed the stories I had heard concerning Sla-hai as the murderer of Church, and showed me several articles belonging to Church and which the Indians had obtained from Sla-hai.
- On the llth [June 1853] we reached Capt. Fay’s. Here I learned that some chiefs whom I could hold responsible for Sla-hai were at hand, and I decided to make some arrests.
- June l1th [of 1853]. George Sna-te-lum is chief of the Skagits and is encamped near by. But as Sla-hai is half Kikealis, I took the opportunity of arresting Patch-ka-num, chief of the Kikealis, just as he was landing. In the meanwhile Sna-te-lum, whom I had told Capt. Fay to watch, wisely decamped into the woods. I had put Patch-ka-num into a tent with a sentinel. He took the first opportunity to strip himself, and with a sudden dart he split open the back of the tent with his knife, and with nothing on but a shirt he ran swifter than a deer over the logs and along the beach. He was pursued by the sergeant and the sentinel, but they had no orders to fire, as a collision was not desirable, but this the Indian probably expected or he would not have attempted to escape. A returning hunting party forced him into the woods and it was useless to follow him. I soon realized my mistake in making such a half-hearted arrest in deference to Capt. Fay’s opinion. I should not have made any or have made it in earnest. Fay, however, maintained that the moral effect on the Indians was just as good, and would probably lead to the ultimate surrender of Sla-hai.
- During the short period of arrest several canoes had departed with Indians who had promised to bring Sla-hai. But they returned in the evening without the prisoner. An Indian named Charley, in whom Fay had great reliance, told a long and what was intended to be a thrilling story of how he failed to get Sla-hai. The reason he failed was because Sla-hai’s brother frightened him away with a pistol, but Charley was much disappointed that we did not get excited over his recital, and he cooled off very suddenly.