Squinteye, also known as Inuqa-Jem, was a Klahoose man.
1 He worked as a packer for
the Bute Inlet Road crew during the attacks known as the Chilcotin War.
2 According to Squinteye’s testimony in
this document, the leader of the Chilcotin War,
Lhatŝ’aŝʔin, told
them they need not go to the Ferry; that they would find nobody there, for he had
killed Smith.
3 Squinteye passed on the news of
Timothy Smith’s death to
Victoria, but little was done in response.
4 Lhatŝ’aŝʔin and his party went on to kill a total of 14 people.
5
After the main attack of the Chilcotin War, Squinteye assisted the three surviving
workers and later testified against
Lhatŝ’aŝʔin in court, in
1864.
6 Lhatŝ’aŝʔin and five other Tsilhqot’in chiefs were hanged for killing the road crew.
7 They have since been exonerated, and the Canadian government has recognized that
the Tsilhqot’in were protecting their lands from encroachment.
8