Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1877-08-23
THE BATTLE OF THE BIG HOLE.
The Account Given by General Gibbon and
Other officers.

Deen given III Sellclai tctHho h S>'io"s wv
there is still details of the operations pre-
| ceding and the plan of action untold. This
we will give briefly and as correctly as WE
can collate it from numerous sources.
The march of General Gibbon and COM
mand from Fort Shaw to Missoula with 100
men, arriving just after the forced passage
of the hostiles through Lo Lo is well Known.
Here he took Capt. Rawn'sl and Capt.
Browning's little commands, and putting
his Infantry in wagons pushed as
ally as horses could go up the valley after
the Indians, then in Upper Bitter Root Wall
ley. His entire command of regulars con-
sisted Of of 14s men. 10 these were added,
principally near Sleeping Child, volunteers
to the number of 80. TIE hostiles number
ed ut least $50 warriors, with squaws, chit
dren, horses, ect., the latter somewhat en-
numbering their movements, but calculated
to make their fighting doubly desperate.
Thus matters stood on Aug. It'll, when the
command passed out Of the Bitter Root valr
ley and over into what is called Ross Hole.
On the south side of the valley the COM
mand encamped. That night Lieut.. Brad
ley in command passed On. Lieut.. Jacobs,
Bostwick, post guide at Fort Shaw, and
Sergeant Wilson, with 81 regulars and vol
unteers bringing the number aupoto about
80 mounted men, accompanied him. They
rode ahead all night and at daybreak on the
morning of the Sth came close upon the In
dian rear guard without alarming them.
The command rode off the trail and dis
mounted. Two men went forward on foot
and returning reported they, could. see and
hear the Indians chopping in camp Lieut.
enants Bradley and Jacobs tllen: went for
ward 2 miles, climbed a high hill and then
a tree and found the situation as reported,
seeing the herd and hearing the Indians dis
tincuy.z' A courier was at once sent back to
| Gen. Gibbon, twelve miles, with word that
the camp was found. Gen. iGlbbon dropped
his train and pushed o reaching the ad-
vance at dark and the train arrived soon saat-
ter. ~o,. -. - - .,,.-.... IN. !,
Cen. GibboonI at. once once determined on a
night movement and a daylight. attack.
One hundred rounds Of ammunition
per man were ISSUED, and orders CIV
en- to move. forward ut II O'clock that night,
The wagon train, untler Hugh Kirkendall
was parked and left with a guard, and the
howitzer with one pack mule and 1000
rounds Of ammunition left with it, but Or
dereed to move up at daybreak.. Promptly,
at IL O'Clock the command moved forward
Lieut. Bradley having the left and Capt.
Rawll the right, the command moving left
in 'front.' Astonishing as it may seem the
Indians, who had not moved camp during
the day or discovered the presence of Brad
ley's force, had neither scouts, rear or camp
guard out, and from whatever cause, au-
dacity or fancied security, were !casnped as
detiantly and boldly us though there was
no war and the soldiers were - Ten thou
sand miles away" ,9a a'@' Pal om1 &,@2yt. @1
Emerging from theimouthlof the canyon
the trail down the Big Hole river hugs close
along the foot hills of the mountain. This
The Indian herd was grazing OH the foot
hills-the Indians encaimped in the bottom.
In advancing the command passed dir ectly
between the herd and the camp. Gen. Glib
bon OH nearing the camp, suggested to
Bostwick, post guide. that he had best take
q small force and drive the herd back eanu
up the canyon, but Bostwick remarking
there was probably a strong herd guard re-
curing many men to whip them, and that
the alarm would arouse the whole camp
close by, the General was so impressed by
the suggestion hat he countermanded the
discretionary order. 1t subsequently trans
niral th nra urorn M lhaY.lapc ont Mc.;pn