Plentywood herald. [volume] (Plentywood, Mont.) 1908-current, 1927-03-25
The Plains.
fBy MRS. Nj. r.. PLASSMANN)

a. NA1~C
Y VIEWED from =, the historical
" standpoint, or that of romanti-
' cism, there is nc more interest
ing portion of Montana than the Bit
ter Root valley.
Through 1t passed the Lewis and
Clark expedition. A short distance
from its mouth Father DeSmet estab-
lished st. Mary's mission, and there
made the first attempt to instruct
the Indians in agriculture; and 1t
was part of The road traversed by
Chief Joseph and his people in their
memorable flight, which began in
western Idaho to end in defeat and
humiliation near the Canadian boun-
dairy line.
never see Mount Lolo, its huge bulk
lifted above the neighboring peaks, that
my imagination does not picture that hur-
rying procession of Indians ascending its
western slope along the trail they had
often followed when In pursuit OF buffalo.
1t is not alone an army, 1t Is a band OF
warriors encountered with their families.
The way Is rough, and INSTRUCTED by fallen
trees over which they must pass quickly,
there being no time to find an easier route.
Hurrying, always hurrying, they press for
ward, their road marked by the blood Of
their horses, which they cannot afford to
favor. The travels, loaded with the lodge
coverings, blankets and robes, also bear
the wounded from the two battles already
waged, and little black-eyed children who
cling to their precariOus support as 1t
bumps over rocks and forces Its way
through underbrush.
l know how these Indians looked, for
General Howard has given, in his book
entitled Among Our Hostile Indians a
graphic description Of them, which, taken
In connection with knowledge OF other In
dian tribes, bring s them wildly before us.
He says: 9TH men averaged about five
feet eight inches in height, and perhaps
one hundred and forty pounds in weight.
They wore their hair cut short. They
looked. when on foot, like the Spanish
speaking inhabitants of Arizona; when
mounted they. sat their horses firmly and
naturally and were more graceful In their
motions than the Mexicans or our own
frontiersmen.
1.-THE women wore their hair long enough
to reach down to the neck, sometimes
banged in front, and sometimes tied back
with bits Of ribbon. Their skirts, even
for young girls. were never short. They
had a fondness for bright shawls, and
wore. them pulled over the head so that
the face was half hidden"
Nex Perces Had Good Horses
All Indians were good horsemen, but 1t
is not strange II the Nez Perces were con-
sidered the best, as they had the reputa-
tion of having the finest horses to be
found in the west; horses that were greatly
coveted by other tribes, notably the Crows.
Such were the people who fed over the
Lolo trail in 1877, before the %avenging
forces of the United States government, and
30 / think of them now. ! viewed them
differently while the Nez Perez war en-
dured.
! was then living in Helena, and remem-
Der well when the first news of an Indian up
rising in Idaho REACHED us; No one seemed
much concerned. Few had any knowledge
Of the Nez Perces and no one thought
Montana could be affected by an Indian war
In western Idaho. Were there not plenty
of soldiers In that region to hold In check
an insignificant tribe OF barbarians? SO
we believed at first. Then came the alarm