Texts of the North American Indian

THE NEZ PERCES, PART 5

HISTORICAL SKETCH

In the discussion of the ensuing conflict between the hostile Nez Perces and the United States troops, the author desires to state clearly that it is to be considered as a Nez Perce war,, not a "Joseph war..." His study of this campaign convinces him that Joseph was no more responsible for the success or failure than were several other chiefs, and far less so than Looking Glass, and at no time, with the possible exception of the first battle, was he either in executive or active command of the Indian forces; that his voice in council during that period was no greater than that of any other individual among the head-men; and that Looking Glass -after he had joined the hostile forces was in fact their leader and was, so far as such is possible in Indian wars, their commander., To make of Joseph a national hero through his connection with this war was but a natural human impulse. Historians, as well as popular writers, are will go to notify the people, and bring our cattle together, and our horses! It had been our plan to go to Umatilla for the horse-racing, but he decided there was not time enough for that. I got my stock across the river, and went to Camas prairie. Joseph came and brought his stock. He was keeping a count of the days that had been given him by General Howard. After some days Alokut, Joseph, and another man from our lodge went with some men from another lodge to kill some cattle in the hills. They killed what they wanted, then started back home." Joseph, in his famous speech of surrender to General Miles, practically proves this contention in the words, "He who led the young men is dead." Joseph was here unquestionably referring to Looking Glass. According to Three Eagles, "Joseph was looked upon as the head-man of his band [the people of upper Snake river), but Alokut had more influence because he was the better speaker." THE NEZ PERCES 23 apt to yield to a popular demand for heroes and scapegoats. Commonplace men make dull history. Joseph, through his family name and by reason of the fact that his ancestral home was the principal bone of contention, was thrust into prominence. Writers in their search for heroes did the rest. Each vied with the other in his effort to find words immortalizing "General Joseph." His name became synonymous of the tribe. Howard was largely responsible for this. He invariably reported Joseph as the author of acts which, in fact, were acts of the tribe, and then the news went out: "General Joseph has won another battle!" when in truth he was no more responsible for the winning of the fight than any other warrior engaged. Joseph was, in the minds of his people, more a peace chief than a war leader, and he was not a tiwat, consequently he had no position among those whose standing depended on their medicine-power. Toward the end of the stipulated truce the "non-treaties" were largely together in a camp on Cames prairie. Joseph and Alokut were in the mountains killing some of their cattle in final preparation for the removal to the reservation. Looking Glass with the majority of his people was in camp at Cottonwood creek. The young Indians at Cames prairie were securing a great deal of whiskey, and were loud in their defiance of the Government, consequently the whole camp was a smouldering furnace, apt to break into a wild conflagration at any instant. just at this critical time an irresponsible young Indian thrust himself into history. Walaitifs, crazy-drunk, rode through the camp.

Those who have not seen a drunken Indian can have scant conception of what that means. Whiskey seems to set fire to the brain, and if one can imagine a wild beast of the forest gone mad, he may have some idea of an intoxicated Indian. That crimes committed by Indians in this state are so few is indeed marvellous.

The father of Walaitifs, had been killed in an unprovoked quarrel with a settler over some land, and naturally his heart was bitter against the white men. This hatred was intensified by intoxication, and his brain robbed of reason. In this condition he was riding through the camp, shouting his maudlin defiance of white men, when some one in derision taunted him, "If you are so brave, why do you not avenge the murder of your father by killing the man who did it?"' His confused brain now took on a fixed purpose, and, accompanied by two other intoxicated youths, he started out to kill the man who had murdered his father. With the killing See pages 166-167. ges Yn~Tn7 24. THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN of the first man their brains became fired with the lust for blood, and before they returned to camp they had murdered four.

This act gave the disgruntled their looked-for opportunity. Big Dawn jumped on one of the captured horses and rode about the camp, shouting: "Now you will have to go to war! See! Walaitifs has killed men and stolen horses! Now the soldiers will be after us! Prepare for war! Prepare for war!" The beginning of the war was the act of a boy crazed with the white man's whiskey, avenging the white man's killing of his father. It is easy to conceive that by Big Dawn's first words of war the camp was aroused to the greatest excitement. The young and irresponsible were naturally for war, as were also the medicine-men who had so steadfastly argued against parting with their beloved valleys. The conservative ones contended for peace, but unfortunately Looking Glass, the strongest advocate of a peaceful course, was not there. Also the two brothers, Joseph and Alokut, who undoubtedly would have opposed hostilities, were absent. Had these three men been present, it is possible that they would have been able to hold the hostile element in check, but it is doubtful if any conduct within the power of the chiefs could have saved them from open hostility after the first murders. The natural clamor of the settlers that these crimes be avenged would have precipitated war regardless of any effort of the head-men.

While the camp was in its first ferment other young men went out and committed further outrages. In the meanwhile the camp broke up and moved to Sapafsash (Cottonwood creek), leaving at the old ground only the lodges of Joseph's immediate family. When the hostiles reached Cottonwood creek, where Looking Glass was encamped, he, wishing not to be drawn into the trouble, immediately moved to his own ground on the Clearwater. Hushush-keut, also desiring to remain friendly, moved to the Clearwater, above Stites, and many of Joseph's band, as well as the people of Hasotoin, joined either one group or the other. As soon as the murderers came in, a message was despatched to Joseph and his brother, informing them of the situation.' On their return to camp Joseph's brother I Says Three Eagles: "Joseph, Alokut, and I had come about halfway home from killing cattle, when the news of what the young men had done reached the camp. A brother of Yellow Bull, Himakuskon, Big Dawn, rode around the camp crying: 'People, do not worry about coming into the reservation! We shall have to fight! See the horse, and see the gun!' He showed the gun and the horse the young men had brought. While he was still talking, the people began to get their horses and move away. After a while there were only one double and one single lodge left standing. There was also a small lodge where Joseph's wife was having a baby. About sunset Joseph and Alokut and the others came back. The others THE NEZ PERCES 25 in-law urged that they go to Lapwai and take no part in the conflict. Three Eagles spoke in the same strain, claiming that, as they had been away when the killing occurred, they would not be held responsible for the crimes. The brothers, however, thought that it was too late to keep out of the trouble, as the settlers would blame them without investigating, consequently they packed up and moved to the camp on the Cottonwood. There were, in fact, but about thirty lodges in the camp of hostiles. The others had expressed their disinclination for war by withdrawing from this camp.'

The following day Tuhulhufsut ordered the camp to move across Salmon river, where they would have the protection of the mountains and forests if they had to fight. This movement was wholly under the leadership of Tuhulhufsut. Captain Perry, with ninety-nine troops from Fort Lapwai and eleven volunteers, was so close behind the Indians that the latter caught a distant view of the troops on the afternoon of the sixteenth of June. The Indians reached Whitebird canon by night and made camp there. It should be borne in mind that the war-party was still a small one. According to Three Eagles - whose statement is borne out by much other evidence - they had in the beginning but about fifty guns. From this it is apparent that Perry had the stronger force.

The Indians kept scouts out in this instance, and from them had a fair knowledge of Perry's movements. They knew that Jonah Hayes, a friendly Nez Perce, was with the troops, and they hoped went on after their families, and that left only five men in the two lodges. Joseph's brotherin-law told him: 'We must go back to Lapwai. There is no reason why we should have trouble. We were not here when the white men were killed, and we need not go with them.' I said the same thing. He answered: 'I can hardly go back. The white people will blame me, telling me that my young men have killed the white men, and the blame will come on me.' Alokut said nothing. The young men who had killed the white men did not belong to Joseph's band, but to the Lamtama [White Bird's band], yet Joseph knew that the blame would extend to him. So we packed up and moved to the camp at Sapafsash. When we got there, Looking Glass and Hushush-keut, with their bands, and some of the Hasotoin people and some of Joseph's band had left and gone to Kamnaka [Clear creek, about one mile east of Stites, Idaho]. Looking Glass had not been with the large camp at Tipahliwam [Camas prairie] from which Joseph and Alokut went out to kill cattle, but at Sapafsash, to which place the others moved from Camas prairie. From Sapafsash they moved apart to Kamnaka, not wishing to be involved in the trouble which now threatened." Three Eagles says: "There were about thirty lodges left, mostly single ones. The next morning Tuhulhufsut rode around the camp and called out: 'We must move back through Tipahliwam and cross the river [Salmon river] into the mountains, where there is timber and we can fight if we have to!' Most of the people there belonged to his band, since many of Joseph's people had moved on with Looking Glass. So we moved. Joseph said nothing. On this march nobody had anything to say except Tuhulhufsut. We passed through Tipahliwam and Lamata [Whitebird creek] and came to Tamantoyam, a hill on the eastern side of Salmon river. We were travelling westward." 26 THE NORTH AMERICAN INDIAN that through him they might arrange terms to save themselves from going to war.'

Chapman, a hot-headed settler leading the volunteers, precipitated the action in such a way that any movement looking toward peace was impossible. In fact, the volunteers were not out to parley with the Indians. Many of them had lost friends or relatives at the hands of the hostiles, and their only desire was to kill, and to kill as many as possible.

The fighting ability of the Nez Perces was at that time unknown, and our knowledge of their mettle was bought on this day at a fearful price. Perry made his attack just after daylight. The Indians quickly concealed themselves behind rocks, and shot at the soldiers as they would at game in the mountains, and at the same time demoralized Perry's command by flank movements. The fire of the Indians was so terrific that the soldiers and volunteers were panicstricken from the start, and fled up out of the canon and across the plain toward Mount Hope. Captain Perry finally succeeded in assembling a small group of men, whom he held together in the retreat.

This was certainly a disastrous day for the troops and their citizen allies. Their loss was almost a third of their number. They had thrown away their guns and fled from the field in disorder, while the loss inflicted on the Indians was only two wounded. The Indians captured more guns than they possessed at the beginning of the battle.

The defeat of Perry's troops convinced General Howard that he had in the Nez Perces a worthy foe, and he continued the most active preparation for a vigorous campaign. Still it is evident that I "From Tamantoyam we looked back and saw the soldiers. This was about an hour before sunset. We went on down the hill and camped on Lamata. We had scouts on Tamantoyam all night, and they kept us informed of every move of the soldiers. In the morning we heard the bugle, and Joseph said, 'Maybe there are some Nez Perces with them, and they will tell us if the soldiers are coming with good hearts.' Alokut looked through field-glasses to see if there were any Indians with the soldiers, and then passed the glasses to Joseph. Two of our men started riding up the hill. We saw a man [Chapman] shoot at them. Then the two Nez Perces shot. Jonah Hayes was with the soldiers, and came with the intention of talking to Joseph to see if he could not bring him back in peace. If Chapman had not fired, Jonah Hayes would have come and talked with Joseph, and the whole war would have been avoided. When the soldiers kept advancing, and Chapman shot at the two men, we placed ourselves in shelter where we could not be hit. Joseph had charge at one end of the line and Alokut at the other. I do not know what Tuhulhufsut was doing. We drove the soldiers out of the canon to the hills, and chased them almost to Tipahliwam. We returned, and remained at that camp that night. Two were wounded but none was killed. We think about thirty soldiers were killed. We took their guns and ammunition and good horses. We had about fifty men with guns in that fight. There were more men than that, but some had only bows. Many soldiers threw away their guns, and we got those." (Three Eagles.) THE NEZ PERCES 27 he had not fully gauged the ability of these Indians, nor could he surmise that he was starting on the most remarkable Indian campaign in our history, and one from which he was to withdraw practically defeated. On the other hand, the success of the Indians in their first conflict with the white men lent color to the contention of the war element that the Indians were superior to the whites and that all they needed was to make a stand for their rights. Many who had wavered now joined the hostile forces. Some of Looking Glass's young men slipped away and entered the camp of the warriors. This induced General Howard to make the ill-advised move of sending Captains Whipple and Winters with Gatling guns to capture Looking Glass's camp. That chief had proved his desire for peace, but evidently did not fancy captivity, for at the first attack of the troops he deserted his camp and immediately joined the hostiles. By this unwise act Howard had added materially to the strength of his foe, even more than he could perhaps realize, as Looking Glass was without doubt the ablest of all the chiefs, and the fact that he had joined the war-party induced all the doubting ones to do the same.

In the twenty-four days following Perry's defeat at Whitebird canon Howard was getting his forces in readiness for a campaign, and in the same time, the Indians kept moving about from place to place within a comparatively small area and gathering all members of the tribe who could be induced to join them. There were, however, several minor conflicts between soldiers, volunteers, and Indians, the most unfortunate being the killing of eleven volunteers, including Lieutenant Rains, on the third of July.

On July eleventh and twelfth Howard's combined force, amounting to about four hundred men, had a two days' engagement with the Nez Perces on the Clearwater. The Indians had now assembled their entire fighting strength, and had almost two men to Howard's three. The fight was a remarkable one, in that it was waged largely in the open, which gave the Indian forces but slight natural advantage over Howard's men. For the second time the Nez Perces proved their ability as warriors against trained soldiers, but this was to be no rout such as occurred at Whitebird canon. The failure there had taught men and officers that they were meeting an enemy who knew how to fight and lacked nothing in courage, and while they perhaps did not realize it, they were pitted against a foe who was fighting as a patriot and a religious enthusiast, infuriated by many years of wrong inflicted by civilization. The Indians were, however, considerably outnumbered, and besides Howard had Gatling guns and howitzers. They quickly threw up rude barricades in the gullies and ravines, and stubbornly resisted the steady storm, while flanking parties continually annoyed the troops in order to weaken their main attack. The first day closed with slight advantage to either side, other than that signified by the psychological fact that Indians rarely, if ever, have won a serious conflict which continued to the second day. Their hearts are not of the mettle which endures long punishment, and they are so strongly fatalistic that if a battle cannot be won in the first grand rush, they begin to question the medicine power of the leader and think it better to fight at another time and place, where the spirits may be with them. The Indians in this instance could look for no encouragement by reinforcements. Their strength was at its maximum. Each man killed irreparably weakened their fighting strength, while, on the other hand, Howard was on the second day greatly encouraged and materially reinforced by the arrival of a company of cavalry.

EDWARD S. CURTIS

...to be continued next month
Last month's excerpt

5-01-01