Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-05-29
COLONEL WRIGHT'S WAR
CONQUEST OF EASTERN WASHING
TON ny TROOPS.
Condipn Punishment That Was New
err Forgotten by the Indians
of This Section.

The official report of Colonel Wright's
conquest of this country, preliminary to
the construction of the historic "Mullan
road" is of thrilling and romantic inter-
est on every page, and Of especial interest
to citizens of Spokane. Across the very
site of our city marched the soldiers q nd
the surveying party, pursued and har-
assed by savage foes. The echoes Of can
non and musketry, in actual war, aston
ished these peaceful hills and woods.
Leaving The Dalles, Or. on July Is, 1853,
the expedition marched from that place to
the Occur d'Alene mission during the sum
mer and autumn Of that year. The friend
ly Nez Perez tribe were apprized of the
coming of the soldiers, met with them in
council and fitted out from their own mum
ber some 80 scouts and allies who accom-
panied the army
The entire command consisted of four
companies of First dragons, under. Major
Grier, five companies of Third artillery
under Captain Keyes, two companies of
Nlneth infantry under Captain Dent and
the 80 friendly Nez Perces under Iieuten-
ant Mullan, the whole under command Of
Colonel Wright.
Nothing interferred with the advance
of the column until they reached the nor
thern portion of the great Spokane plain,
where preliminary brush with few hos
tiles opened the campaign. The next day,
August 81, drawing near to the Medical
lake country, During the entire day the
hostile Indians appeared on the hills to
our right, and increasing in numbers,
about p. m, while the friendly Nez
erces were spying the country from hill
tops, they were charged by the enemy,
and must have necessarily been over
powered had not the colonel seeing 1t,
Immediately despatched strong squad
ron of dragons, under Major Grier and
Lieutenant Davidson, to the rescue, wuo
drove them from the field"
Remaining in camp to rest the next
day, the soldiers were continually menaced
by the hostiles, who set the grass on fire
in many places. The colonel at length
decided to accommodate them with the
fight they seemed to be hunting SO assid
uously.
Accordingly, about $3.50 o'clock on the
morning of September LIST, leaving a
strong guard in camp, the main body of
the army with one of the howitzers movad
out to the place where the savages were
massing for an attack. Colonel Wright 5
report says "On reaching the crest Of the
HILL / saw at once that the Indians wece
dete rmined to measure their strength
with us, showing no disposition to avoid
a combat, and firmly maintaining tn ar
position at the base of the hill, keeping IT
a constant fire upon the two squadrons 81
dragons who were awaiting the arrival
of the foot troops. In front of us lay a
vast plain, with some four or five hun
dred mounted warriors rushing to and fro,
wild with excitement, and apparently
eager for the fray; to the right, at the foot
of the hill in the pine forest, the Indians
were also seen in large numbers.
I'm five minutes the troops were de-
ployed; 1 ordered the advance; Captain
Keyes moved steadily down the long slope,
passed the dragons and opened a sharp
well-directed fire which drove the indians
TO the plains and pine forest. At the same
| time Captain Dent with the rifle battalion,
Lieutenant White with the howitzer and
Lieutenant Tyler with his company, were
hotly engaged with the Indians in thu
pine forest who were constantly increa3-
| ing by fugitives from the left. Captain
Keyes continued to advance, the Indians
| retiring slowly; Major Grier, with both
| squadrons, quietly leading his horses IN
| the rear. At a signal they mount, they
| rush with lighting speed through the in
| terv ais of skrmlshers and charge the In
dams on the plains, overwhelm them an
| tirely, kill many, defeat and dispense them
| all; and in few minutes not a hostile
| Indian was to be seen on the plain. While
| this scene was enacting, Dent, Winder and
| Fleming with the rifle battalion, and ry-
| Ter and White with company A and the
howitzer, had pushed rapidly forward
| and driven the Indians out of the forest
| beyond view"
n pursuit of a mile, couple of shots
| from the howhzer sent after the denior-
| allied fugitives and the battle of the Four
J Lakes was fought and won. 1T sounded
| the recall" says the colonel, Assembled
| the troops and returned to our camp st
D. m. 1t affords me the highest gratifi-
| ca tion to report that we did not lose a
| man, either killed or wounded, during the
/ action, attributable, I doubt not, in a
| great measure, to the fact that our long
| range rifles can reach the enemy where
| he cannot reach u.s." an hypothesis which
| certainly appears eminently reasonable
1.-The enemy" he adds, lost some Is OF
20 men killed and many wounded"
Battle Near the Falls.
But this lesson, though severe, was moi
| sufficient for the red men, and 1t required
the disastrous battle of September 9Th, 6
few miles southwestward from the Spo
kane falls, to convince them of the III
tility of resistance to the superior arm:
of the invaders.
Not to quote fully the details Of tina
fight, which the Indians precipitated b!
enveloping the troops and pack train in
prairie fire, it may be said that the sol
diers steadily advanced, driving the in
dams over rocks and through ravines,
and inficting constant punishment. y
summing up, the colonel says: "After
continuous fight for seven hours. over
distance of IA miles, we encamped on tn
: banks of the Spokane, the troops exhaus;
! ed by long and fatiguing march of
: miles without water and for two-third
, of the distance under fire. The battle We
won, two chiefs and two brothers of "a
chief Carey killed, besides many of lesss
note, either killed or wounded. A kin
d ! Providence again protected us. althoug
a at many times the balls flew thick an
i fast through our ranks, yet strange