The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1879-04-06
AN INDIAN HISTORIAN.
THE NEE PERCEs WAR PROM CHIEF
JOsEPH's POINT OF VIEW.

1ho 1ubho. - lu~Iuhh-G0O~ van lAt-tnt, better
known as Chief Joseph, Of the Nez perces.
His views con be gathered from the following
passages:
want the white people to understand my
people. Some Of you think nm Indian ID like
a wild animal. This Ia great mistake I
will toll you all about our people, and then
you can Judge whether III Indian Id man ar
not, believe much trouble and blood would
bs saved If we opened our hearts more.
In the council Gen. Howard In
formed me In q naughty spirit that he would
give my people thirty days to go back home,
collect oil their stock and move on TO the
reservation, saying. "If you are not here In
that time / shall consider that you want to
| fight, and will send my soldiers to help you
| on"
| ! said: "War can be avoided, and 1t ought
to be avoided. / want no war; My people
have always been friends Of the white man.
| Why are you In such hurry2 cannot get
ready to move In thirty days. Our stock Ia
scattered, and Snake river liz very high. Let
US walt until fall-then the river will be low
We want time to hunt up our stock and gather
supplies for winter"
| Gen. Howard replied: "Tf you let the time
run over one day, tho soldiers will be there to
| drive you ON To the reservation and al. your
cattle and horses outside Of the reservation at
that time will fall into the hands OF the white
men,"
| knew / had never sold my country, and
that had no land in Lapwai; but / did not
killed. Some Of my people had been muir
dered by white men, and the white murderers
were never punished for It. told Gen.
Howard about this, and again said wanted
no war. ! wanted the people who lived upon
the lands was TO occupy at Lapwai to have
time to gather In their harvest.
/ said In my heart that rather than have
war would give up my country. ! would
up everything rather than have the blood Of
white men upon the hands OF my people.
Con. Howard refused to allow me more
than thirty days to move my people and their
stock. am sure that he began to prepare
i for war at once.
/ # Gen. Howard had given me plenty of
time to gather up my stock, and treated Too
| hool-hool-suit as O man should be treated,
there would have been no war.
/ My friends among white men have blamed
/ me for the war; | am not to blame. When
my young men began the killing my heart
was hurt. Although / did not Justify them.
/ remembered all the insults had endured
and my heart was on fire. Still, would have
| taken my people to the buffalo country with
out fighting, II possible.
could see no other way to avoid d war
We moved over to White Bird creek, sixteen
miles away, and there canped, intending to
collect our stock before leaving; but the SOL
diers attacked us. and the first battle was
fought. We numbered In that battle sixty
men. and the soldiers 100. The fight lasted
but d few minutes when the soldiers retreated
before us for twelve miles. They lost thirty
three killed and seven wounded. When an
Indian fights, he only shoots to kill but sol
diers shoot ut random. None Of the soldiers
we're scalped We do not believe In scalplng,
nor In killing wounded men. Soldiers do not
kill many Indians unless they are wounded
and left upon. the battlefield. Then they kill
knowledge Of Gen. Miles army until short
time before he made charge upon us. cutting
four camp In two and capturing nearly all our
ihurses. About seventy men. myself among
tthem, were cut off. My little daughter, II
years OF age, was with me. gave her q rope
and told her to catch q horse and join the
others who were cut off from the camp.
have not seen her since, but have learned
that she iB alive and we'll.
/ thought of my wife and children, who
were now surrounded by soldiers, and re-
my mouth to the Great Spirit Chief, who
rules above, / dashed unarmed through the
line Of soldiers. II seemed to me that there
were guns on every side, before and behind
me. Ny clothes were cut to pieces and my
horse was wounded but / was not hurt. As
reached the door Of my lodge. my wife handed
me my rifle, saying, Here's your gun fight"
/ could not bear to see my wounded men
and women suffering any longer; we had lost
enough already. Gen. Miles had promised
that we might return to our own country
with what stock we had left / thought we
could start again. believed Gen. Miles, or
never would have surrendered have heard
/ that he has been cenSured for making the
promise to return us to Lapwai He could
not bave made any other terms with me at
that time j would have held him In check
! until my friends came to my assistance, and
would have ever left Bear Paw Mountain
alive At last was granted permission to
| come to Washington and bring my friend
Yellow Bull and our interpreter with me. |
am glad | came. | have shaken hands with a
| great many friends, but there are some things
/ want o know which no one seems able to
explain. | cannot understand how the gov
eminent sends man out to fight u.s. as It did
/ Gen. Miles, and then breaks his word. Such
/ q government has something wrong about it.
are allowed to take 30 many different
ways and promise SO many different things.
| have seen the great father chief, tine
President), the next great chief, Secretary OF
the INTERIOR, the commissioner chief (Hayt),
the law chief Gen. Butler), and many other
law chiefs (congressmen), and they all say
they are my friends, and that shall have
justice; but while their mouths all talk right,
/ do not understand why nothing is done for
my people. / have heard talk and talk but
nothing is done. Good words do not last
long, unless they amount to something.
Words do not pay for my dead people. They
do not pay for my country, now overrun by
white men. They do not protect my fathers
grave. I know that my race must change.
We cannot hold our own with the white men
as we are. We only ask an even chance to
live BIS other men live. We ask to be recog-
nized as men. We ask that the same law
shall work alike on all men. II the Indian
breaks the law punish him by the law. II the
white man breaks the law punish him also.
stop, free to work, free to trade where /
choose, free to choose my own teachers, free
to follow the religion Of my fathers, free to
obey every law or submit to the penalty.
Whenever the white man treats the Indian as
they treat each other, then we will have no
/ more wars.
Why Elizabeth of Austria Dlned With a
| station Master
/ correspondent of Fiqaro tells why the