Coeur d ' Alene War The Coeur d ' Alene War of 1858 was the second phase of the Yakima War , involving a series of encounters between the allied Native American tribes of the Coeur d ’ Alene , Spokane , Palouse and Northern Paiute against United States Army forces in the Washington and Idaho areas . In May 1858 a combined force of about 1 , 000 Coeur d ’ Alene , Spokane , and Palouse attacked and defeated a force of 164 American troops under Colonel Edward Steptoe at the Battle of Pine Creek . A larger force of 600 men under Colonel George Wright was sent to subdue the tribes . On September 1 , 1858 Wright ' s troops defeated the allied tribes at the Battle of Four Lakes and four days later he defeated another force in the Battle of Spokane Plains . After the Four Lakes battle , the army hanged seventeen Palouse along Latah Creek which was later called Hangman Creek as a result , though the name has reverted to Latah Creek . Among the hanged was a chief named Qualchan of the Yakima . Background . Isaac Stevens , who became the Governor of Washington Territory in 1853 , promoted the idea of a transcontinental railroad to the Pacific Northwest in order to transport the raw materials found in the region to the East . In 1851 , Stevens had negotiated a series of treaties with many of the tribes in the area , with the aim of moving the Native Americans to reservations so that settlers could begin moving into the Northwest and begin railway and road building . The treaties promised the Indian tribes annuities in return and guaranteed that the US would prevent whites from trespassing on their allotted lands . The Coeur d ' Alene Indians , however , attempted to stay out of negotiations with Stevens , hoping they could retain their ancestral lands and not be moved . The discovery of gold on the upper Columbia River drainage in the summer of 1855 brought a large influx of miners into the area , trespassing on the land that was promised ( during the Walla Walla Council ( 1855 ) ) to many of the tribes in the area , including the Yakima . This violation angered the tribes who felt that the promises that had been made to them by the United States government were not being honored . This led to a retaliation through the murder of the Indian agent for that area , thereby inciting the Yakima War . The local tribes were defeated , and Stevens held a peace council at Fort Walla Walla in September 1856 that brought an end to the Yakima War . Causes of the Coeur d ' Alene War . In 1857 , Isaac Stevens was elected as the Washington territorial delegate to Congress , causing him to leave the territory . His departure angered the tribes who had not yet made treaties . The Coeur d ’ Alenes , seeing that white settlement in the area was inevitable , feared that without a treaty , they would lose the rights to their ancestral lands and therefore have no protection against the encroaching white settlers . When the settlers actually did begin moving onto tribal lands , there were strong tensions between the white miners and the tribes , which caused small skirmishes that raised the tribes ’ fears of United States military intervention . A Yakima Chief , Qualchan , who was disgruntled following the loss of the Yakima War to the U . S . Army , gathered the Colville , the Coeur d ' Alene , the Columbia River , and the Kalispel tribes at a council in order to convince the tribes that the white man was encroaching on their lands and that they needed to defend them . The Coeur d ’ Alene and other tribes subsequently held a council discussing their concerns that the army would invade their territory as a result of the growing tensions . A line was drawn at the Snake River , agreeing that if the army crossed it , they would have effectively crossed into the Indians ’ territory , and this would be considered a hostile action . Interestingly , the Coeur d ’ Alene tribe was split in their feelings toward war . The tribal leaders did not want war , fearing that the consequences to their people would be devastating , while the younger warriors , led by Milkapsi , were angry and wanted to fight . Due to a miner ' s a death in Colville , Washington , committed by unknown Indians in early 1858 , Colonel Edward Steptoe received orders to lead an expedition to the area to show the strength of the U . S . Army in order to convince the Indians to turn in those who were responsible . He left Fort Walla Walla in May 1858 to head for the Colville area and planned to cut through the Coeur d ’ Alene and Spokane territories . However , the troops that Steptoe brought numbered only 159 , and they were very poorly armed . Steptoe expected cooperation from the Nez Perce and Spokanes since in the past they had given him boats and men at the Snake River , which was the main barrier to reaching Colville . Therefore , in their attempts to reach Colville , Steptoe crossed the Snake River , unaided however , which was the previously assigned line of hostility , sparking the tribes ’ belief that the army was going to engage them . The Coeur d ' Alene , Palouse , Spokane , and some of the Yakima gathered in preparation of a fight . Chief Vincent of the Coeur d ’ Alene demanded Steptoe ’ s reason for his trespass , and he responded that they were on their way to Colville . Vincent returned to his camp in order to try and calm down the young warriors who were intent on fighting , while Steptoe attempted to return to Fort Walla Walla . Steptoe ' s journey , however , was interrupted by the Indian leaders , who asked him to return to meet with them . The meeting ended with a handshake and a mutual agreement that Steptoe would leave their territory and travel via a different route to reach Colville . Despite this peaceful agreement , a frustrated Coeur d ’ Alene warrior later shot at Steptoe ’ s men , inciting the start of fighting between Steptoe and the Coeur d ’ Alene , Spokane , and other tribes . Steptoe ’ s men struggled to fight the 1000 Indian warriors , but because they were so severely outnumbered , Steptoe made the decision to escape that night , and return to Fort Walla Walla . After hearing the news of Steptoe ' s clash on top of other recent unsatisfactory events , such as the Yakima War , that the Army had suffered at the hands of the Indians , General Newman S . Clarke would not tolerate another defeat . When Steptoe returned to the fort , Clarke sent a peace proposal in June 1858 , demanding that the tribes surrender their weapons and those who were responsible for the fighting . The tribes , however , were divided in their opinions and could not agree upon a solution . General Clarke , determined not be defeated again at the hands of the Indians , responded by sending a strong military force . He sent orders to Army posts calling for all available regulars to be sent in to aid the fight . Clarke sent all available troops to the region , including those under the leadership of Colonel George Wright , who had previously been a leading figure in the Yakima War . Clarke ordered the troops to attack vigorously until they had complete submission by the Indians . Wright led the United States troops at the Battle of Four Lakes on September 1 , and was able to beat back the tribal forces . The tribes then fought back in the Battle of Spokane Plains , where they set fire to the grass and shot at the troops through the smoke ; while there was no decisive winner , the tribes were greatly weakened . At this point , the tribes were greatly divided over whether to continue fighting , as the elder leaders saw little chance of victory . Wright then killed over 800 of the Indians ' horses that had been captured throughout the fighting , depriving the tribes of their means to fight and hunt , and showing the extremes that the Army would go to in order to subdue the tribes . The Chiefs of the Coeur d ' Alene tribe , who realized that they would not be able to defeat the Army , especially without the aid of their horses , sent a Coeur d ’ Alene member to Wright ’ s camp to present their peace proposal . Peace Negotiations . Wright arrived to meet with the tribes three days later and negotiated a peace treaty , to which the Coeur d ’ Alene ’ s and the other tribes agreed to , realizing that they would not be able to defeat the United States troops . The treaty required that the Coeur d ’ Alene return army property and hand over the individuals responsible for the attack on Steptoe , and give permission for whites to pass through their lands without interference in the future . In return , Wright promised that there would be no more war waged against the Coeur d ’ Alene people . The tribes turned over those who were responsible , including Qualchan , who had been one of the main leaders throughout , and they were hanged at Latah Creek . Wright ' s actions opened the mountain valley of the Pacific Northwest to settlement by whites , and forced the tribes onto reservations that consisted of only a fraction of their former lands , where they were quickly struck by disease and malnutrition as a result .