The new North-west. [volume] (Deer Lodge, Mont.) 1869-1897, 1879-05-30

VANCOUVER BARRACKS, w. T..
April 8, 1879. ]
To the Editor Of tie Army and Macy Jour,
nal:
The statements made by correspondent
in your paper of the 29th of March that 10.
seph, chief of the Nez Perces, and his In,
dians were humane in their conduct of the
SO called Nez Perees war, is mistake.
How far the chief himself is responsible,
cannot say, but more horrid outrages than
those committed near the Mount Idaho
country cannot be found in any annals OF
Indian massacres.
I saw poor woman who had suffered
from repeated acts of brutality, one Indian
succeeding another in outrage. [ saw
little child with part of its tongue cut out!
The details concerning the dead-coneern-
ing what preceded the final acts that ended
life, are sickening in their horrors.
To what purports to be Joseph's account
Of the war, you will find complete answer
in my report, part of which | send you.
Joseph did not at the time complain OF
the thirty days. 1t was long enough, if his
people had intended to comply with the
will of the government.
Even with the old Too-hul-hul-soot l
was patient. White Bird and Looking
Glass pledged themselves for his subse-
quent good behavior after he had defied the
authority of the government and behaved
as harshly and iinprudently as any Indian
could. Upon this pledge and his own prom
Use released him.
No band of Indians in the United States
were ever treated with more carefulness
and consideration than Joseph's by the of
ficers of the army, and Joseph said to me at
the final capture that if he had taken my
advice and submitted to the instructions of
the government he would have avoided all
trouble.
People not belonging to the army were
killed in the beginning of the war, as we
have seen in the Horse Prairie country;
after passing Lemhi in that vicinity along
the stage road in the National Park, sever
al of different parties killed OF wounded;
on the Clark's Fork upper waters; num-
ber of miners, several near Hart mountain;
and scattered along to the crossing of the
Missouri, every white man was killed or
badly wounded that came in their way, so
far as can learn.
The only exception was where atIuce ar
,,, ha
Root country and when Joseph spared two
ladies and brother with them in the Ma
tional Pagk; also couple of white men he
used as guides.
Joseph's Indians had primary provoca-
tions when the whites of Wallowa killed
one of their number; but these savages
were not saints, and it is not well TO attempt
to use their treacherous memories to falsify
history.
Again, the government had to require
obedience to its authority, and ! believe
this to be right throughout our domain.
We do not redress the wrongs of the In
dians because the army is called in to make
the Indian obey, and cannot from our sys-
tenn be called in to make the white man do
the same. We did our best in Joseph's
case, and have done our utmost under the
law In all other cases to help the civil au-
thorities punish white men who murder In
dians and steal their property but the
posse comitatus law finally hindered even
this help. The balances of justice-are not
in equilibrium, but it is the fault of an in
adequate and one-sided system and not SO
much the fault of the executors of it.
Extracts from my reports at your pleas
ure. Yours truly,
O. o. HOWARD