The Powder River County examiner and the Broadus independent. [volume] (Broadus, Mont.) 1919-1935, 1921-02-04
MCCORMICK SAW blAckFEET MASSACRE on
MARlAS AND FOUGHT SIOUX At FORT PEASE

last three months of his life was con-
fined to his bed, gradually growing
weaker, until the end came.
Paul Mccormick witnessed many
stirring scenes during the Indian
fighting days Of the COS and 7O's.
In 1870 he was master of Transports
ton for Major Eugene M. Baker, who
disgraced the uniform of the United
States army by massacring 173 help
less Blackfeet Indians, mostly women
and children and all sick with small
pox, on the Marias river in Northern
Montana. Needless to say, McCor-
mick, civilian, had no part in this
shameful affair, but was an unwill-
ing spectator. He was one of the
organizers of the famous Fort Pease
expedition ON the Yellowstone in
1875, when 20 men invaded the coun-
try of the hostile Sioux and built
Fort Pease, which was besieged by
the reds for months and finally was
relieved by an expedition of U. s. cav
airy. He spent half q century of his
ern and southeastern Montana from
q wilderness to an agricultural and
stock growing empire, and has we'll
deserved place as q builder in the
history of the state.
A native of the state of New York,
Mccormick was born in Steuben
county in 1916, spending his boyhood
days there. He came to Montana in
1866. first locating on Middle creek,
in Gallatin county, where he engaged
in freighting and farming.
About the time Mccormick came
to Montana trouble began brewing
with the warlike and hostile Black
feet, due to many acts of aggression
and murders both by whites and reds.
There were two outstanding incidents
that fomented the bitter feeling that
led up to the so-called Blackfeet war
Of 1870. One of these happened at
Fort Benton, where the citizens were
stirred up by series of attacks on
whites by Blackfeet. In the summer
of 1859 four or five wagons were at
tackled by Indians, who afterward
were discovered to be Crows. Sew
eral white men were killed. This
took place about Is miles from Fort
Benton, and the populace of the town
were up In arms. At this critical
time q Blackfeet youth Of II years,
brother of Mountain Chief, head
chief of the powerful Blackfeet con-
federacy, rode into Fort Benton car
rying dispatches from Major Culbert-
SON. This boy and two or three COM
panions we're shot to death in the
streets of the town. Mountain Chief
swore that he would have revenge
and declared war on the whites.
This incident was followed by the
murder by Blackfeet In the Prickly
Pear valley Of the noted pioneer.
Malcolm Clarke. The government
demanded of the Blackfeet the sur
render Of Clarke's murderers, and
this was refused. A desultory guer-
lila warfare followed and the war de-
partment. in January, 1870, ordered
out troops from Fort Ellis. near
Bozeman, and Fort Shaw, on Sun
river, to punish the Blackfeet.
The difficulties of a campaign at
that time of the year were enormous,
as the weather was bitterly cold and
there was much snow that obscured
trails and made travel very hard.
Mccormick was engaged to furnish
freight train for transportation for
the troops equipment. On January
10, 1870, q column composed of
troops F, G, H and l. of the Second
cavalry and detachment of mounted
infantry, under command Of Major
Baker. left Fort Shaw to attack
Mountain Chiefs camp Of 1900 men,
women and children on the Marias
river, in what today Is Teton county.
Major Baker impressed into SER
vice the noted Indian trader, Joe
Kipp, and some other halfbreeds as
scouts, and there were also with the
including Horace and Nathan Clarke,
sons of the murdered Malcolm
Clarke.
After a hard march of four days
the scouts reported that they had
found Mountain Chiefs camp on the
Marias. Joe Kipp, who was friendly
with the Blackfeet and knew them
we'll, protested that the trail they
were taking would not take them to
Mountain Chiefs camp. but to the
smallpox camp Of Heavy Runner.
whose band were all sick and dying
from the disease and had been quar-
antined at a point on the Marias.
Baker. who is said to have been
drunk most Of the time after leaving
Fort Shaw, evidently thought that
Kipp was deceiving him, and he plac-
ed soldier on either side of Kipp
with orders to shoot the latter II he
tried to turn back or refused to lead
the column to the camp that had
been located.
The troops came upon the camp
in the darkness of the winter MORN
ing Of January -. The bowling of
their dogs awakened the Indians, and
their aged chief, Heavy Runner, came
out. holding above his head his Gre