The Saint Paul globe., 1900-05-08
BUREAU PRETTY SMOOTH
NEZ PERCEs CHIEF COULD NOT
MAKE INDIAN COMMISSIONERS
BELIEVE HIM
PLAYED WHITE AGAINST RED
And Though Versed In Poker, Chief
Joseph Was Not Master of
the CommfssiOner,s
ColOrscOpe.

~
the Colville reservation in Oregon. after
a conference with the powers at Wash
ington. He was accompanied by his in
terpreter, Stephen Reuben. Carlisle
| graduate, and his trusted henchman and
adviser, Peo-Peo-Telec. Joseph went to
| Washington tc ask the government for
manual training schools for his tribes
men. He had a number of different re-
quests of minor nature to make and has
been at the national capital for six weeks.
| The party left almost Immediately over
the Northern Pacific for the West. While
in st. Paul, Joseph chatted of his visit
to the great father, saying that he had
| heap plenty good visit and many good
| words with the national executive. Jo-
seph even attempted a faint touch of
| humOr at the expense of Peo-Peo-Telec
| and gravely insisted that mis- counselor
! had been pining all the way west on ac-
count of pretty squaw in the Indian
bureau, who made words on a machine
| Stephen Reuben came to the rescue and
with great earnestness protested that Pee
had carried himself with the greatest dig,
nifty throughout.
The fact of the matter was, however,
!
ing, the first few days at the national
capital in having a good time and failed
| to show up at the Indian bureau at all
for nearly week. Then satiated with
the whirl of Washington life, they sent
for more money and began to talk over
| the matters which called them East.
Joseph IS one of the few living war
! chiefs of the Western tribes who contest
| ed the march Of civilization. Old Ger
| onimo, another of the same stamp, has
| also forsaken tht trail and now spends
! most of his time playing poker at mill
| tary post, where he is under surveillance
! Joseph, however, was of a more business,
| like trend of character and since his
| famous campaign, has Accumulated
moneys and chattels representing a COM
| Portable fortune.
JOSEPH'S FAMOUS CAMPAIGN.
AS Josephs famous campaign is forgot
! ten history with the general public, il
! may not be out of place to refer briefly to
! it here Few even of those who know
the outlines. of the story know that the
! outbreak grew 7qFiginally from a ghost
! dance and Messiah craze long antedating
| the more famous, craze. that ,culuinated a
| few years ago in the bloody massacre at
| Wounded Knee4 Thai. was the case, how
! ever, for the belief in an Indian Messiah
|
! 1850, with the PuebloS il the Southwest
! There has been hardly q decade since that
/ time that has not seen a Messiah revival
| among one or another of the tribes from
! Ohio to the mouth OF the Columbia and
from old Mexico to the Canadian line.
| The originator of the craze among the
| Nez Perces in 1870 was Somoholla, a mys-
| tic, and head of an order of dreamer
| priests, who gained great ascendancy
+ over all,the Indians of the Columbia val-
| icy. Their restlessness got some of the
! Indian agents nervous, and, futile. orders
! were issued to certain of sthe<s bands to
! stop dancing and come back to the res-
! ervatio1ts, whence they had strayed
/ Ehen recurred the OLD. old story of every
| Indian outbreak, a government commits
sion made up of men who knew every
| thing except Indians, to treat with the
| recalctrants; a land-gra bling treaty
| which the Indians did not want to sign.
| and which the white settlers thereabout
| did noc want to keep; a murder or two by
| the whites, reprisalss5by the Indians, and
! then wild cries for the. .troonsfto stop the
trouble. which they had had no hand in
| starting.
The commission IN this craze wanted
| the Nez Pereess toN1eed away their claim
! to the Walula valley and move into
| 1daho. Some. agreed, but Josephs band
refused to sign. Things. dragged along
| ~
Joseph had agreed to go OH the reserva-
tion at Lapwaie. The lawiese elernenr
| among the white settlers had been aggrS-
waiting the Indians. Several col
|. hsions occurred, and finally one of Jo-
| seph' s men was killed. Still the old chief
| held the whip-hand on his band. 1t was
| the 18th of June, Joseph had gathered
| up all his cattle, and he had promised tho
| next day to move upon the reservation
| 'That night band of white cattle rustIers
| struck the Nez PerceS' camp ran of
| large number of horses, and killed one
| of the Indian herders
WANTED TO FIGHT HIS WAY OUT.
Joseph could hold his men no longer.
| and they swooped down on the/ settle
ment at White Bird Creek, Idaho. killing
! tWenty-one persons in one night The war
was on, end Joseph, with a little over
100 braves and all his women and chill
| dren, numbering $50, started to fight his
way out of the country. His plan of cam
paign was well-nigh perfect. It had all
| the mobility of an Indian war party, with
| all the regular army's precautions of
| scouts and videttes, and system of signal
! ing.
Gen. o. O. Howard started on his trail
+ and struck the band on June II at Hang
mans Creek, only to lose thirty-four SOL
! diers. On July Howard's advance came
1
| more men. Joseph slipped away in the
night, and On July II crossed trails with
| Gen. Howard himself, killing eleven of
| the latters' men and wounding twenty
! six. Again the willy old chief side-stepped
| and slipped away into the hills Then
! began the remarkable thousand-mile re-
treat. Howard was behind him with a
| greatly superior force. Miles was in his
| front, and Col. Sturgis was coming down
| with troops and a band of Crow scouts
on his flank. Joseph pushed up the Clear
! water over the mountains into Montana
| stopped in the Pig Hole Pass long enough
| to beat off his pursuers with loss to
| them of sixty men, then through the
mountains southeast to the Yellowstone
Park, where Howard again caught up
! with him long enough to lose some more
men and have part of his band of horses
| cut out by the Indians. Never stopping
| Joseph slipped between the -f1anking com
mands and cut across the corner of Wy
! oming into Montana again, hoping to
! reach the Canadian line beyond the pur-
| suit of the American troops. This time it
was Col. Sturgis with fresh troops who
! caught up with the hard-pressed band
| There were two fights, both sides losing
| heavily. This was the first time Joseph's s
| loss had been. serious. Still with consum-
| mate generalShip he managed to slip
| away from a beaten field and crossed the
| Missouri with scarcely fifty able men, but
still carrying his wounded and his women
! and children. He lodged into the Bear
! paw mountains, and seemed on the point
| of gaining the Canadian line when Col
Miles, with fresh troops and fresh Grow
scouts, cut off his retreat, and in bloody
| fight, captured more than half his horses
| and killed or wounded forty of his band
Joseph surrendered to save his women
and children. He was promised permis-