The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1895-12-01

and they also made signs that the big
chief was all right, to the great de-
light of my wife and little daughter.
yet for several hours the other Of
ficers' families were in great distress
to learn what two officers had been
killed, but it was not until three or
four hours later when the interpreter,
John Brughier arrived, that they
could be informed. Although a good
rider Brughier had not been able to
keep up with the pace of the Indians.
When he did arrive he announced that
the two officers were the two bachelors,
Hale and Biddle. and also gave the
names of the others who had been
killed and wounded. There was then
three days of anxious waiting for the
returning command.
On the fourth day it made its appear
ance on the high bluffs to the west.
slowly approaching the edge of the
mesa and descending along the wind
ing trail down to the ferry which
crossed the Yellowstone at the point
where twenty-seven days before it had
climbed the steep in the darkness of the
night and in the gray of the morning
of Sept. Is. The families of the officers
and soldiers. and all other people at
the garrison, including the band of the
Fifth infantry, citizens and Indians,
lined the bank of the Yellowstone; and
as some Of the principal officers, in
Guiding myself, together with Chief
Joseph and one or two of the principal
Indians, stepped into the boat and it
moved from the southern shore, The
band struck up Hail to the Chief"
and then as we neared the other shore
it suddenly changed to 80, No! No!
Not for Joseph, which it played for
short time and then went back to the
former strain.
Disposing of the Subdued Nez Perces
The Nez Perces Indians were given a
comfortable camp on the right bank Of
the Yellowstone, and it was my pur-
pose to keep them there during the
winter and send them back to Idaho in
the spring. They were a, very bright,
energetic body of Indians, the most in
telligent that ! have ever seen. Ex-
caedingly self-reliant, each individual
man seemed to be a unit within him
self able to do his own thinking. and
purely democratic and Independent in
his ideas and purposes. 1t was my
opinion that if they We're justly
treated they could be made a loyal and
useful people. They remained there for
ten days or two weeks, when I re-
ceived an order from the higher au-
thorities to send them down the river
to Bismarck, Dakota. They were
therefore loaded In boats and sent
down the Yellowstone to its junction
with the Missouri, thence down the
Missouri to Bismarck.
bad Indians" in Abundance
Among the Nez Perces was an old
been named George Washington"
possibly on the presumption that he
and the father of his country possessed
at least one characteristic in common,
and if so, in this instance he certain
~ maintained that reputation. After
leaving the Mandan agency and con-
tinuing down the river, this old man
said to the officer in charge. Those
Mandans back there are bad Indians"
The officer asked him why, and he re-
piled, because they stole two Nez
mendous march of nearly a Thousand
miles, together with the severe en-
gagements in which they had taken
part, the Nez Perces had lost nearly
everything; so the officer could not
help thinking how much they needed
the blankets in the approaching cold
winter, and accordingly expressed
much sympathy, though of course 1t
was impossible to turn back up the
stream to recover them. Finally after
giving his strong condemnation of the
Washington if the Nez Perces had
taken anything belonging to the Man
dams. 80, yes" he responded, I'VE
got away with four buffalo robes" So
it seems that the Mandans were not
the only bad Indians according to his
own standard.
From Bismarck, they were ordered
to be sent to Fort Leavenworth, Kan,
where they remained during the winter,
and in the spring they were sent to
the Indian Territory. They remained
there for few years and the low ma
larial district and climate caused sad
havoc in their ranks. In a short time
they had lost nearly so per cent of
their number by death. 1 frequently
and persistently for seven long years,
urged that they be sent home to their
own country, but not until 1884, when
/ was in command of the Department
of the Columbia, did / succeed in hav-
ing them returned west of the noun
tains to near their own country, where
they have remained at peace ever
since that time.