Bozeman avant courier. [volume] (Bozeman, Mont.) 1872-1882, 1877-08-23

ht 80 ACoo, dlter COnslde
IS "'ie number OF whites had sc,,l d IN u
ianos acknowledged to be within w..
oo"hds. 1t provided that no whit. ~,
should De permitted, either bescra or ;,
'ef us ratification, to reside upon the ira
reserved, but in the meantime il sbopld ,
$ lawful for the Indians to r. side on 49,
lands, eith'r within or outside Of IN
iact' not III the actual claim and occun,
''on OF citizens. The whole of the Va
iowa valley, the contest for which was Il,
'mh date c'rse of the present insure,
. 'on, Was distinctly included in the r.se
'alon, aud, unless it hid been SO. Il,
J chlt1 Joseph aud his band. who elaine
ana occupied it, would never have bee
lnauced to agree to the treaty. Even wit
'hat stipulation, their signatures wer
procured with great difficulty and over
persuasion. These facts are no. matter
oi Inference, but were formally rcporte
oy the Commission which in 1873 inyest
gated all the subjects in controversy. Tn
Dands of the tribe own' d sepcrate tract
OF territory. with the full right of treatin
severally respecting them. tbere being l.,
Org niAed nation, and the loose copt,dtr
acy not recognizing any head chief. Al
Eng lish- -sp, aking Chief of mere band
A-sha-loic, generally called Lawyer, wa
appointed head chief by The U. $. Com
mlssioners as convenient part of thei
programme. but had no original or accept
ed authority AS such.
This trca.y was rot ratified until April
looo, without any apparent reason for til,
delay but the mere neglect Of the C,nate
and during these four years re hal
ragged throughout the region an extensiv,
Indian war, in which the Nez Perces hac
proved the only stay and bulwark OF
lhe Government. They escorted The
Governor OF Oregon through hostile
hor!es, rescued Col. Steptoc and his whole
command after his defeat on May 18th
1858, and in the Campaign OF that veal
joined Col. Wright with mounted com.
pany raise by themselves, which render
ed invaluable all. for which and for many
horses furnished they were not paid.
they II sisted all the attempts of the
Mormons, who established a station on
tie Salmon river expressly to alienate
them from the Government, and by theil
fidelity and courage saved the infant set
Elements. When, after ungrateful delay
the rattle alton was at last proclaimed, and
Congress added to neg lee; an absolute dis
honesty. by Withholding appropriations
10 carry out the contract made, the tribe
yet remained faithful and patient. Nu'
mcrOus emissaries from the Confederate
States in rebellion vainly came to them
with arms aud money, representing with
strong argument that the United Stat
Govcrnn est Mas broken up, aud urged as
proofuf the statement the non-paymcnt OF
the anuu;ies and oih'r sums guaranteed
While they received no help in establish
lny the mselves on the reservation, TO which
most of them obedicntly repaired, they
continued to assist the Federal authorities
in tn r hour of trial, though the latter
markedly. and in every possible mode,
violated their agreements. Cold was dis
covered in 1860, and fifteen thousand
white men poured into the very land sci
apart exclusively for the Indian home,
not only committing numberess i"dlvlc'
ual ou;rages, but also violating the treaty
with such system that town OF l,2oO
white Inhabitants was laid out In the
centre of the reservation without the con-
sent of the tribe aud against the protest OF
its agent.
In 1862 the proposition was made by
Congress to settle these evils by ne"
treaty the debates showing it to be fully
understood that the Indians had faithful
ly observed all the obligations on theli
mart. while the Government had wholly
its own. The idea OF begin
ming to fulfill these honorably was not
however. entertained. Accordingly, ID
June 1868, Joseph and his band, Eagle
from ,,he-L,ght, Big Thunder, and other
chiefs who did not recognize the suppo-
sititious head chief, Lawyer, came ID ooe-
dience to summons, to council ane'
epcampcd on the west bank OF the Lap,
wa; while the Lawyer faction remained
on the EAST bank. The main poiut OF the
treaty proposed by the Commissioners was
- rednce the reservation to about one
,s.,th of it's actual limits, leaving out OF
tho new boundaries the whole OF the
Wallowa Valley. To this Joseph ana n''
nsrtv utterly and expressly refused agree
mcnt DENYING any authority in any Other
mart of the tribe to dispose OF the land MOI
pnlv possessed by HIM before the treaty
~ 1s55 hut also guaranteed BY it. and re
tirod from the council. The tribe tnus
hscame formally divided abcat equally
;n,o treaties and mon treaties Tue
latter never recognizing any treaty 'a'e'
than that of 1856, and never aceept''s any
consideration. ,;.a 10.
About the year 1871 Joseph died. oe,
q neathine his beloved valley to MS oano
snd his son, Young Joseph, as MS sue
oa.sor in the chieftaipcy. The above iac''
40 all admitted by the Commission o.
1874. The legal position, then, was 'ns
the hands occupying the terri'ory ro,
nosed TO be ceded in 1868 had l's"' :.
consider, and did consider the o'u .Ies',
..o,.r,tive because of the acknoWt
edged failure of the United states % na, ovIa :
80 ,~ With irs terms, but whether or not !
p's 80, ~ he valid they retained the iano
fore ss owned by them aud reserved IN !. i
% .,so having q perfect right to refust
sroen. A..s' 10 the new treaty, they d'd g