The Ely miner., 1930-10-24

~ American history. And
paradOXical as it may
seem, this fighter of In
dians also became known as one Of
the best friends the Indian ever had.
The date of his birth was Novem-
Der S, 1880; the place was on farm
near Leeds, Maine; and his name was
Oliver Otis Howard. 1t would seem
that from the beginning Destiny ruled
that his career should be closely linked
with the fate of the red men, not just
those of one tribe but of many tribes.
AS a boy he heard from the lips of
his grandfather stirring tales of In
dian warfare during the Revolution.
When he went to West Point as a
cadet at the United States Military
academy he came in contact with
many army officers who had served
on the frontier against the wild tribes
beyond the Mississippi, among them
Maj. George H. Thomas, who had re-
ceived three brevet commissions for
gallant conduct in Indian fights and
who. as General Thomas, was to be
hailed as "the Rock Of Chickamauga"
III the Civil war;
Howard himself rose to the position
of major general of volunteers in the
Civil war, and repeatedly distinguished
himself during those four years. He
left his right arm on the bloody field
of Fair Oaks during gallant charge
at the head of the SiXty-first New
York infantry and won for himself
the medal of honor. He received the
thanks of congress for his "skill and
heroic valor" at Gettysburg and for
his gallant and meritorious services in
the battle of Ezra Church and during
the campaign against Atlanta. Ga, he
was brevetted major general in the
regular army.
His contact with the red men be-
gan almost Immediately after he was
graduated from West Point in 1854 In
Decen Der, 1856, he was ordered to re-
port to Gen. w. S. Harvey. distin.
guished Indian fighter, In Florida,
where a remnant of the Seminoles,
were continuing their raids on white
sClliCliltlllS luclT ltdutI, Culel
Billy Bowlegs. Howard was placed
in command of an expedition to
round up these recalcitrants and al
though it failed of its immediate OBJ
ject, it resulted eventually in the sur
render of Billy Bowlegs and perma-
nent peace in the Everglades for the
first time in many years.
Howard was next detailed to duty
at West Point and was there when
the Civil war began. At the close of
the war he was made commissioner
of the bureau of freedmen and refu-
gees and served in that capacity until
1874. Then with the Inauguration of
President Grants Indian Peace Pol
Icy" Howard was detailed as a special
commissioner to Arizona and New
Mexico and especially to make peace
with the Chiricahua Apaches under
Chief Cochise whose reign of terror
in the Southwest was holding back
the settlement of that region. After
holding councils with the Yumas, the
Pimas, the Maricopas, the Arivipas,
the Mojaves, the Tontos and the
White Mountain Apaches, and settling
the troubles between them and the
whites, Howard next went among the
Navajoes for the same purpose. He
accomplished this by establishing a
force of Indian police and inducing
their great war chief, Manuelito, to
be the head of the force.
But his main objective was still
ahead of him-that of bringing Co
chise, the Apache, in off the warpath.
After several unsuccessful attempts
to get the chief to come in for con-
ference, Howard, accompanied by a
noted frontiersman named Tom JEFF
fords, took his life in his hands and
visited Cochises stronghold. There
he persuaded the Apache leader to
make good peace" which Cochise
Kept as long as he lived.
Howard's next assignment was in
the Pacific Northwest where he was
one of the chief actors In the Nez
Perce war. 1t was during this short
war that Chief Joseph of that tribe
made his epic dash for freedom to-
ward Canada which has come down
as one Of the greatest military ex-
ploits In American history. No less
brilliant than Josephs retreat was