The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1877-10-13

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inc through the Sherman resumption act, and
this honest peoples plan got no fab hearing
But the day is at hand when it Will receive
more respectful attention.
END OF AN0THEY INDIAN WAR JOSEPH
AND HIS BAND CAPTUREl.
Last week we stated that JOSEPH and his
band of Ncz Perez Indians had SUCCEEDED in
crossing the Missouri river at Cow Hand and
were making such rapid time towardlhe Cana
da !inc--but 100 miles away--that fil'thcr pur-
suit by S;urgis and Howard, who we're fifty
miles behind, had been abandoned The dis
patches stating such to be the situation, how
ever, left out of the account Gen. Miles who
at the time was near Snake Creek moth of the
Missouri with six or seven HUNDRED men
mounted on fresh ponies, and hearing that lo-
seph had crossed the Missouri, he at once got
on his trail and at the Bear Paw mountains
but twenty miles from the Canada Inc, over.
| took him on the I'd inst. The Indians number
ed about 1000, including women and children,
and had with them about 1000 horses, mule,
and ponies They were cncampcd in ravnc
on Snake Creek about eight miles fipm Milk
river The camp was discovered by Capt.
! Owen Hale, who was in the lead with three
companies, and Immediately made charge,
He was received at "A distance of 300 yards by
IA CALLING fire, in which he and Lieut. James
A. Biddle received their death wounds. The
Indi:ns who delivered the fire were protected
by a high bank, over which the soldiers after
Idismounting scrambled, on which the Indians
retired slowly to their rifle pits in front Of their
camp. The loss on our side in this movement,
which includes nearly the whole loss of the
four days fighting, was Is killed and about
10 wounded, and the Indian loss was about
q flag OF truce, and Joseph himself came over
10 Cen Miles tent and offered to surrender,
but before he could return the Indians reopen.
ed fire, and Joseph spent the night with Gen.
Miles. Next day Joseph was exchanged for
Lieut.. jerome, who, while the flag of truce
was up, had entered the Indian camp and was
then detained. The fight was kept up with
varying fortunes for the next three days, our
troops during the time capturing about 600 of
the cnemy's horses and ponies, about 20 of 10
seph's young bucks escaping with the rest.
Finally on the 9th Joseph and his band agreed
to surrender Internationally, and did So lay
ing down their arms They have since been
marched back to the Missouri river-their ex-
act number is not stated in any of the dis
patches-and are to be conveyed by steamer to
Iankton, there to be taken care Of until the
government decides what to do with them.
Gems Sturgis and Howard arrived at Bear
a few hours after the surrender
The campaign, all in ALL has been most re-
one. From the first outbreak in
Idaho, in July, Joseph had conducted his little
band, including women and children, in safety
for over thousand miles, GLIDING the pursuit |
not only of Gen Howard, with superior num-
bcrs and seldom over Il days march behind
him. but also of Gibbon and Sturgis, with each
Of whom he had sharp collisions, until finally, |
within few hours of safety and triumph, he
was gobbled by Gen. Miles. Really he seem
ed to deserve better fate.
at is to be remembered" justly remarks the
Times, "to the credit Of the Nez Pcrces, that
in the war thus closed they have been guilty |
of few if any, of the beStial barbarties which
the warfare of the Sioux. A
number of soldiers lay wounded within reach |
of the Indians during the four days fighting, |
but none were butchered while helpless, none
of the dead were scalped or mutllatc,l, and sew
eral of the wounded, who, if the foe had been
of any other tribe, would certainly have suf-
fcred horrible death, are yet living and likely !
to recover The first irenZicd outbreak of the |
tribe appears to have been almost their only |
oilense, and the history for the provocation of
that has not yet been fully written. Atterward |
they defended themselves when attacked, but |
did not turn upon their porsuers, and rarely, |
if ever went aside from their line of march to
murder or steal Driven from the ancient
home of the tribe, Joseph gathered his people |
and their movables and turned his face toward |
Canada, where he had been taught to believe
the Indian is safe and his rights respected.
They have proved that they know
how to fight like men, not like Sioux, and
their heroic qualities may certainly be turned |
to advantage in the management of other and
more savage tribes"
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CONGRESS.
In accordance with the Presidents procla-