40 



AEMY, UNITED STATES. 



Early in 1877 the Government decided to 

 have Joseph and his band removed from the 

 Wallowa to the reservation in Idaho. Orders 

 were accordingly given to General Howard 

 " to occupy Wallowa Valley in the interest of 

 peace," and efforts were made by that officer 

 to induce Joseph to comply with the wishes of 

 the Government. On the 21st of May, General 

 Howard reported that he had had a conference 

 with Joseph and other chiefs on the 19th, and 

 that "they yielded a constrained compliance 

 with the orders of the Government, and had 

 been allowed 30 days in which to gather in their 

 people, stock," etc. On June 14th the Indians 

 belonging to Joseph from Wallowa, White Bird 

 from Salmon River, and Looking-Glass from 

 Clearwater, had assembled near Cottonwood 

 Creek, on the border of the reservation, ap- 

 parently in compliance with their engagement, 

 when news reached General Howard, who was 

 at Fort Lapwai, that four white men had been 

 murdered on John Day's Creek, to the south of 

 this reservation, by some Nez Perces, and that 

 "White Bird had proclaimed that he would not 

 go on the reservation. Information of other 

 murders was also received. General Howard 

 now dispatched two cavalry companies, with 

 99 men, under Captain Perry, to the scene of 

 disorder. The latter officer found the Indian 

 camp at White Bird Caflon, and on June 17th 

 made an unsuccessful attack, with a loss of one 

 lieutenant and 33 men. 



General Howard now determined to take the 

 field in person, and, having collected a force of 

 about 400 men, on July llth discovered the In- 

 dians in a deep ravine on Clearwater, near the 

 mouth of Cottonwood Creek, where he at once 

 attacked them. On the next day the Indians 

 were fairly defeated and driven in confusion, 

 losing their camp and much of their provis- 

 ions. General Howard reported 23 warriors 

 killed, " at least twice as many " wounded, and 

 23 taken prisoners, besides 17 women and chil- 

 dren captives. His own loss was 13 men killed, 

 and 2 officers and 22 men wounded. General 

 Howard's force was about 400 ; the Indians 

 numbered 400 warriors. 



On the 17th Joseph began his famous retreat 

 eastward toward the Buffalo country by the 

 Lo-Lo trail, which, in the language of General 

 Sherman, is " one of the worst trails for man 

 and beast on this continent." General How- 

 ard delayed pursuit for some days, to give in- 

 creased security to the people in his rear against 

 apprehended danger, and to enable his own re- 

 enforcements to come within reach. He then 

 reorganized his command, sending one force up 

 north into the Spokane country; another was 

 held in reserve near the Indian reservation ; 

 and he himself, with a select force, started in 

 pursuit on the Lo-Lo trail. The Indians reached 

 Rawn's Fort and passed up the Bitter-Root 

 Valley with a large herd of horses. Colonel 

 Gibbon^who was then in Montana, started in 

 pursuit with 15 officers and 146 men, who were 

 afterward joined by 34 citizens. He overtook 



the Indians on a branch of Big Hole or Wis- 

 dom River, and attacked them August 9th ; but 

 being greatly outnumbered, he was compelled 

 to assume the defensive, till the Indians with- 

 drew on the night of the 10th. Colonel Gib- 

 bon reported his loss at 2 officers, 6 citizens, 

 and 21 enlisted men killed, and 5 officers, 4 

 citizens, and 31 men wounded. The enemy's 

 loss was about 90 killed, besides a large num- 

 ber wounded. 



On the morning of the llth General Howard 

 arrived with a small escort, and resumed the 

 pursuit. On August 20th, when General How- 

 ard was at Camas Prairie, the Indians turned 

 on him, stampeded and ran off his pack-train, 

 which was partly recovered by his cavalry. 

 The Nez Perces, after leaving Henry's Lake in 

 Montana, passed up the Madison and Fire-Hole 

 Basin into the National Park, and crossed the 

 divide and the Yellowstone River above the 

 falls and below the lake. They next crossed 

 the Snowy Mountains and moved down Clark's 

 Fork, with General Howard in close pursuit. 

 On September 13th Colonel Sturgis had a fight 

 with them on the Yellowstone below the 

 mouth of Clark's Fork, capturing several hun- 

 dred of their horses, and killing a number of 

 the Indians. He continued the pursuit. The 

 Indians crossed the Yellowstone, passed north 

 through the Judith Mountains, and reached the 

 Missouri River near Cow Island on September 

 22d. On the following day they crossed the 

 Missouri, and continued north toward the Brit- 

 ish boundary. 



Meanwhile General Howard had sent word 

 to Colonel Miles, at Tongue River, of the flight 

 of the Indians. Colonel Miles at once moved 

 across the country with such troops as he had 

 at hand, and, turning north, crossed the Mis- 

 souri River near the mouth of the Mussel-Shell. 

 On September 30th he overtook the Nez Perces 

 near the mouth of Eagle Creek, and, after a se- 

 vere engagement, in which 2 officers and 21 

 men were killed, and 4 officers and 38 men 

 wounded, he captured the entire band of In- 

 dians, numbering between 400 and 500 men, 

 women, and children. The Indians in this fight 

 lost, in killed, 6 of their leading chiefs and 25 

 warriors, besides 46 wounded. General How- 

 ard, with a small escort, arrived on the field a 

 short time before the surrender, but did not 

 exercise any command. 



" Thus," says General Sherman, " has termi- 

 minated one of the most extraordinary Indian 

 wars of which there is any record. The Indi- 

 ans throughout displayed a courage and skill 

 that elicited universal praise ; they abstained 

 from scalping; let captive women go free; did 

 not commit indiscriminate murder of peaceful 

 families, which is usual; and fought with almost 

 scientific skill, using advance and rear guards, 

 skirmish-lines, and field-fortifications. Never- 

 theless, they would not settle down on lands 

 set apart for them ample for their mainte- 

 nance ; and, when commanded by proper 

 authority, they began resistance by murdering 



