THE FIRST WHITE MEN OF YOUR PEOPLE
WHO CAME TO OUR COUNTRY WERE NAMED LEWIS AND CLARK.
ALL THE NEZ PERCE MADE FRIENDS WITH LEWIS AND CLARK
AND AGREED TO LET THEM PASS THROUGH THEIR COUNTRY
AND NEVER TO MAKE WAR ON WHITE MEN.
THIS PROMISE THE NEZ PERCE HAVE NEVER BROKEN.
IT HAS ALWAYS BEEN THE PRIDE OF THE NEZ PERCE
THAT THEY WERE THE FRIENDS OF THE WHITE MEN.
CHIEF JOSEPH.
IN 1871, AN AGING NEZ PERCE CHIEF
SUMMONED ONE OF HIS SONS,
HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKHT, ALSO CALLED JOSEPH,
TO HIS DEATHBED.
THEIR HOMELAND IN THE WALLOWA COUNTRY
OF NORTHEASTERN OREGON
WAS BEING OVERWHELMED BY WHITE SETTLERS.
AFTER 3/4 OF A CENTURY
OF UNBROKEN PEACE WITH THE UNITED STATES,
THE NEZ PERCE FELT BETRAYED.
ALTHOUGH THE GOVERNMENT CLAIMED
A TREATY PERMITTED THE NEW SETTLEMENTS,
JOSEPH'S BAND HAD NEVER SIGNED THAT TREATY
AND INSISTED THE LAND STILL BELONGED TO THEM.
MY FATHER WAS THE FIRST
TO SEE THROUGH THE SCHEMES OF THE WHITE MEN.
HE SAID, "MY SON, WHEN I AM GONE,
"YOU ARE THE CHIEF OF THESE PEOPLE.
"ALWAYS REMEMBER THAT YOUR FATHER
"NEVER SOLD HIS COUNTRY.
"YOU MUST STOP YOUR EARS WHENEVER YOU ARE ASKED
"TO SIGN A TREATY SELLING YOUR HOME.
MY SON, NEVER FORGET MY DYING WORDS."
"THIS COUNTRY HOLDS YOUR FATHER'S BODY.
NEVER SELL THE BONES OF YOUR FATHER AND MOTHER."
I PRESSED MY FATHER'S HAND
AND TOLD HIM I WOULD PROTECT HIS GRAVE WITH MY LIFE.
A MAN WHO WOULD NOT LOVE HIS FATHER'S GRAVE
IS WORSE THAN A WILD ANIMAL.
CHIEF JOSEPH.
BY 1874, RAILROADS HAD BROUGHT
MILLIONS OF SETTLERS TO THE WEST,
OPENING UP NEW LANDS FOR HOMESTEADERS,
ELIMINATING THE GREAT BUFFALO HERDS
FROM THE SOUTHERN PLAINS,
CHANGING FOREVER THE LIVES OF THOSE
WHO CALLED THE WEST THEIR HOME.
AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
BEGAN CONSOLIDATING ITS CONTROL OVER THE ENTIRE REGION
AS IT NEVER HAD BEFORE.
BY 1874, WASHINGTON HAD MOUNTED STILL ANOTHER ASSAULT
ON THE MORMONS WHO HAD SOUGHT SANCTUARY IN UTAH...
AND THE PROPHET WHO HAD BROUGHT THEM THERE
WOULD BE FORCED TO CHOOSE BETWEEN SAVING HIS CHURCH
OR SACRIFICING HIS SPIRITUAL SON.
BY 1874, THE GOVERNMENT HAD FORCED
THE CAYUSE, MIWOK, AND YOKUT, THE UTE AND COEUR D'ALENE,
THE MODOC, THE PAIUTE, SHOSHONE, AND NAVAJO TO SURRENDER.
MOST TRIBES WERE OFFICIALLY CONFINED TO RESERVATIONS NOW,
DEPENDENT FOR THEIR SURVIVAL ON GOVERNMENT RATIONS
THAT OFTEN DID NOT ARRIVE
AND ON THE WHIMS OF GOVERNMENT AGENTS
WHO OFTEN DID NOT CARE.
BUT A FEW BANDS HELD OUT,
CONVINCED THEY COULD STILL LIVE AS THEY WISHED SOMEHOW,
IN A WEST THAT HAD ALREADY BEEN TRANSFORMED.
BETWEEN 1874 AND 1877,
THEY WOULD MAKE THEIR LAST STAND TO REMAIN FREE.
A LAKOTA MEDICINE MAN
WHO SAW THE AMERICANS AS HIS MORTAL ENEMIES
BECAME A SYMBOL OF ARMED RESISTANCE
AND WOULD WIN THE GREATEST VICTORY OF THE INDIAN WARS,
ONLY TO BRING DOWN UPON HIS PEOPLE
THE WRATH OF AN AVENGING NATION...
WHILE A NEZ PERCE CHIEF
WHO HAD STRUGGLED ALL HIS LIFE TO MAINTAIN PEACE WITH WHITES
WOULD FIND HIMSELF HELPING TO LEAD
ONE OF THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY MILITARY CAMPAIGNS
IN AMERICAN HISTORY.
TO DEFEAT THEM, THE GOVERNMENT WOULD CALL ON AN UNLIKELY ARMY
MADE UP OF IMMIGRANTS, FUGITIVES, SOCIAL OUTCASTS,
AND A DASHING YOUNG HERO OF THE CIVIL WAR
WHO CAME WEST PURSUING A VISION OF HIS OWN INVINCIBILITY,
ONLY TO CONFRONT AN ENEMY
WHOSE VISIONS WOULD PROVE EVEN STRONGER.
I NEVER TAUGHT MY PEOPLE TO TRUST AMERICANS.
I HAVE TOLD THEM THE TRUTH--
THAT THE AMERICANS ARE GREAT LIARS.
I HAVE NEVER DEALT WITH THE AMERICANS.
WHY SHOULD I?
THE LAND BELONGED TO MY PEOPLE.
SITTING BULL.
IT IS SUCH AN UNLIKELY PLACE IN THE LANDSCAPE.
IT IS AN ISLAND,
AND IT'S THERE IN THIS VASTNESS OF THE GREAT PLAINS,
BUT IT IS RICH.
IT IS FULL OF TIMBER, FULL OF GAME.
IT'S A PLACE WHERE THUNDER RESOUNDS
MORE THAN IN OTHER PLACES,
AND SO IT'S THOUGHT TO BE THE PLACE OF THE DEITIES.
WHEN YOU SEE THE BLACK HILLS,
YOU UNDERSTAND SOMETHING ABOUT THE SPIRITUAL ASPECT OF IT.
YOU ENJOYED, UH...
THE WEALTH OF THE LAND THERE,
AND AT THE SAME TIME, YOU RESTORED YOURSELF,
NOT ONLY PHYSICALLY, BUT SPIRITUALLY.
IN THE SUMMER OF 1874,
MORE THAN 1,000 SOLDIERS,
100 WAGONS, 61 ARIKARA SCOUTS, AND 3 NEWSPAPERMEN
MARCHED OUT OF FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN
IN THE DAKOTA TERRITORY AND STARTED SOUTHWEST,
STRAIGHT INTO THE BLACK HILLS--
AN AREA THE LAKOTA CONSIDERED SACRED GROUND.
OFFICIALLY, THE SOLDIERS WERE LOOKING FOR A SITE
ON WHICH TO BUILD A FORT
SO THAT THEY COULD KEEP AN EYE ON THE LAKOTA.
UNOFFICIALLY, THEY WERE LOOKING FOR GOLD.
I SAY THAT OUR OBJECT IS A PEACEFUL ONE,
BUT I HAVE NO IDEA THAT OUR TRIP WILL BE.
THE INDIANS HAVE LONG OPPOSED ALL EFFORTS OF WHITE MEN
TO ENTER THE BLACK HILLS,
BUT I HAVE A WELL-EQUIPPED FORCE,
STRONG ENOUGH TO TAKE CARE OF ITSELF.
GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER.
AT THE HEAD OF THE EXPEDITION
RODE THE ARMY'S MOST CELEBRATED INDIAN FIGHTER,
THE COMMANDER OF THE SEVENTH CAVALRY,
GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER.
AN OHIO BLACKSMITH'S SON
WHO WAS GRADUATED AT THE BOTTOM OF HIS CLASS AT WEST POINT,
AT 23 HE HAD BECOME
THE YOUNGEST GENERAL IN THE UNION ARMY.
IMPULSIVE AND HIGH-SPIRITED,
HE HAD LED THE CHARGE AGAINST THE CONFEDERATES
AT GETTYSBURG, WINCHESTER, FIVE FORKS.
11 HORSES HAD BEEN SHOT OUT FROM UNDER HIM.
OH, COULD YOU HAVE BUT SEEN SOME OF THE CHARGES WE MADE.
I GAVE THE COMMAND "FORWARD,"
AND I NEVER EXPECT TO SEE A PRETTIER SIGHT.
WHILE THINKING OF THEM, I CANNOT BUT EXCLAIM,
"GLORIOUS WAR!"
HIS JUDGMENT WOULD OFTEN BE CALLED INTO QUESTION,
BUT NO ONE EVER QUESTIONED HIS HEADLONG COURAGE.
HE WAS A SELF-PROMOTER.
HE WAS A MAN WHO RODE TO THE TOP
OVER THE BACKS OF FALLEN COMRADES--
NOT THAT HE DIDN'T TAKE THE RISKS THAT THEY DID,
BUT HE WAS TAKING THOSE RISKS
SO THAT HE COULD GET PROMOTION FOR HIMSELF,
AND A LOT OF MEN FELL
BECAUSE CUSTER WAS LEADING THEM INTO SITUATIONS
THAT HE SHOULDN'T HAVE BEEN LEADING THEM INTO.
ONCE HE'D COME WEST,
CUSTER DESIGNED FOR HIMSELF A DISTINCTIVE COSTUME
MEANT TO CATCH THE EYE OF VISITING NEWSPAPERMEN.
THE CHEYENNE ESPECIALLY ADMIRED THE WAY HE LOOKED
AND BEGAN TO CALL HIM "YELLOW HAIR."
BUT DURING HIS FIRST CAMPAIGN AGAINST THEM IN 1867,
HIS CAREER HAD VERY NEARLY COME TO AN END.
OUT HUNTING ONE DAY WITH HIS HOUNDS,
FAR FROM HIS COLUMN
AND IN THE HEART OF INDIAN COUNTRY,
HE GALLOPED AFTER A BUFFALO, AIMED HIS REVOLVER--
AND SOMEHOW SHOT HIS OWN HORSE THROUGH THE HEAD.
THE HORSE DID A FLIP,
AND HE DID A FLIP AND HE CAME UP ON HIS FEET.
NOW HERE HE WAS ALL ALONE OUT IN THE PRAIRIE
IN THE MIDDLE OF HOSTILE TERRITORY,
SUPPOSEDLY ON AN EXPEDITION AGAINST HOSTILE INDIANS,
HAVING SHOT HIS HORSE IN THE HEAD
ON A FOOL CHASE AFTER A BUFFALO.
ON FOOT, BRUISED, AND TOTALLY LOST,
HE HAD TO BE RESCUED BY HIS OWN MEN.
THEN, IN 1868, HE MOUNTED A SURPRISE ATTACK
ON BLACK KETTLE'S CHEYENNE ON THE OUACHITA
THAT ESTABLISHED HIS REPUTATION AS AN INDIAN FIGHTER
AND MADE HIM A HERO IN THE NEWSPAPERS.
NOW CUSTER AND HIS SOLDIERS
HAD RIDDEN RIGHT INTO THE HEART OF THE BLACK HILLS,
THE LAKOTA'S MOST PRIZED HUNTING GROUND.
AUGUST 15, 1874.
WE HAVE DISCOVERED A RICH AND BEAUTIFUL COUNTRY.
WE HAVE BEEN IN AND THROUGH THE BLACK HILLS,
AND I HAVE THE PROUD SATISFACTION OF KNOWING
THAT OUR EXPLORATIONS
HAVE EXCEEDED THE MOST SANGUINE EXPECTATIONS...
AND I HAVE REACHED THE HUNTER'S HIGHEST ROUND OF FAME--
I HAVE KILLED MY GRIZZLY.
CUSTER'S MEN FISHED, HUNTED, PLAYED BASEBALL,
AND THEY FOUND GOLD-- NOT A REAL BONANZA,
BUT ENOUGH TO PERSUADE THEM TO LINE UP SHOULDER-TO-SHOULDER
ALONG THE CREEK
TO TRY THEIR LUCK AT PANNING--
MORE THAN ENOUGH TO INSPIRE WILD-EYED STORIES IN THE PRESS
OF PAY DIRT FROM THE GRASS ROOTS DOWN.
FROM EVERY CORNER OF THE COUNTRY,
GOLD-HUNGRY WHITES POURED IN.
THEY WOULD SOON BANG TOGETHER A DOZEN MINING CAMPS--
DEADWOOD, BLACKTAIL,
GOLDEN GATE,
AND CUSTER CITY.
BUT THE MINERS' INVASION
VIOLATED THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY OF 1868,
SIGNED BY THE LAKOTA AND THE UNITED STATES
AFTER YEARS OF COSTLY WARFARE ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS.
IN THE TREATY,
THE LAKOTA AGREED TO STOP HARASSING TRAVELERS,
RAIDING SETTLERS, ATTACKING ARMY UNITS.
IN EXCHANGE, THE UNITED STATES PROMISED THE LAKOTA
THAT THE BLACK HILLS WOULD BE THEIRS FOREVER.
SO MANY TIMES,
THE INDIANS WERE PROMISED THAT THEY COULD KEEP THE LAND,
AND SO MANY TIMES, THOSE PROMISES WERE BROKEN.
I DON'T THINK THEY WERE NAIVE.
I THINK THAT THE INDIANS UNDERSTOOD
THE MEANING OF THE TREATIES
AND WANTED VERY MUCH TO--TO LIVE BY THEM,
BUT MANY OF THE TREATIES CAME TO NOTHING,
AND SO, THE CUMULATIVE EFFECT WAS ONE OF DISTRUST, BETRAYAL.
THE WHITES WHO FOLLOWED CUSTER'S PATH INTO THE BLACK HILLS
CALLED IT THE "FREEDOM TRAIL."
THE LAKOTA CALLED IT THE "THIEVES ROAD."
EITHER WAY, IT WOULD LEAD TO DISASTER.
I WILL REMAIN WHAT I AM
UNTIL I DIE--A HUNTER--
AND WHEN THERE ARE NO BUFFALO OR OTHER GAME,
I WILL SEND MY CHILDREN TO HUNT AND LIVE ON PRAIRIE MICE,
FOR WHERE AN INDIAN IS SHUT UP IN ONE PLACE,
HIS BODY BECOMES WEAK.
SITTING BULL.
THE LAKOTA HAD MANY LEADERS--
BLACK MOON, FOUR HORNS, GALL, CRAZY HORSE.
BUT THE MAN TO WHOM EVEN THESE VETERAN FIGHTERS
NOW LOOKED FOR GUIDANCE WAS SITTING BULL,
A CHIEF AND HOLY MAN
WHO WAS DETERMINED NEVER TO RELINQUISH THE BLACK HILLS.
THEIR BANDS STILL HUNTED THE REMAINING BUFFALO HERDS
ON THE NORTHERN PLAINS,
AND SITTING BULL SCORNED THOSE INDIANS--
FROM OTHER TRIBES AND HIS OWN--
WHO HAD MOVED CLOSE TO AGENCIES
AND DEPENDED ON THE GOVERNMENT TO FEED THEM.
LOOK AT ME!
SEE IF I AM POOR, OR MY PEOPLE, EITHER.
THE WHITES MAY GET ME AT LAST, AS YOU SAY,
BUT I WILL HAVE GOOD TIMES TILL THEN.
YOU ARE FOOLS TO MAKE YOURSELVES SLAVES TO A PIECE OF FAT BACON,
SOME HARDTACK, AND A LITTLE SUGAR AND COFFEE.
SITTING BULL WAS BORN ABOUT 1831
AT A PLACE THE LAKOTA CALLED MANY CACHES
BECAUSE OF THE PITS FOR STORING FOOD
THEY HAD DUG THERE,
AND HE WOULD DEVOTE MUCH OF HIS LIFE
SIMPLY TO ENSURING THAT HIS PEOPLE HAD ENOUGH TO EAT.
NO ONE HAD EARNED A GREATER REPUTATION FOR BRAVERY.
HE COUNTED HIS FIRST COUP AT 14 DURING A RAID ON THE CROW
AND LED THE STRONG HEART WARRIOR SOCIETY,
WHOSE MEMBERS CAME TO ASCRIBE THEIR TRIUMPHS IN BATTLE
TO THE EXTRAORDINARY POWER OF HIS VISIONS.
IN THE MIDST OF A BATTLE
WITH SOLDIERS GUARDING A RAILROAD CREW
ON THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER IN 1872,
HE AND FOUR OTHER WARRIORS STROLLED OUT BETWEEN THE LINES.
SITTING BULL CALMLY SAT DOWN.
WITH THE BULLETS PATTERING ALL AROUND HIM,
HE FILLED HIS PIPE, SMOKED IT,
AND PASSED IT BACK AND FORTH TO HIS COMPANIONS
UNTIL THE BOWL WAS EMPTY.
THEN, HE REAMED IT OUT AND WALKED AWAY.
HIS LAKOTA NAME, TATANKA IYOTANKA,
DESCRIBED AN INTRACTABLE BUFFALO BULL
SITTING ON ITS HAUNCHES, RESOLUTE IN THE FACE OF DANGER.
SITTING BULL WAS ONE OF THOSE MEN
WHO, DURING HIS LIFE, WAS AN EPITOME OF EVERYTHING
A LAKOTA MAN WOULD WANT TO BE.
YOUNG MEN WOULD FOLLOW HIM,
HOPING THAT IT WOULD STILL BE POSSIBLE SOMEHOW
TO REMAIN IN SOME HOMELAND, SOME LAKOTA HOMELAND,
IN WHICH THEY REALLY WOULD BE FREE.
BY THE WINTER OF 1875,
SOME 15,000 MINERS HAD CROWDED INTO THE BLACK HILLS.
UNDER THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY,
IT WAS THE ARMY'S TASK TO DRIVE THE PROSPECTORS OUT.
BUT THEIR GROWING NUMBERS MADE IT POLITICALLY IMPOSSIBLE.
ANOTHER SOLUTION HAD TO BE FOUND.
A SENATE COMMISSION WAS SENT WEST
TO RENEGOTIATE THE TREATY,
AND SOME 20,000 LAKOTA CAME TO MEET WITH THEM.
THE COMMISSION WAS PREPARED TO OFFER $6 MILLION
FOR THE BLACK HILLS,
BUT THE LAKOTA WANTED A SUM LARGE ENOUGH
SO THAT THEIR PEOPLE COULD LIVE OFF IT FOREVER.
SITTING BULL, CRAZY HORSE, AND OTHER DEFIANT WARRIORS
STAYED AWAY FROM THE COUNCIL ENTIRELY,
UNWILLING EVEN TO DISCUSS A SALE OF THEIR MOST SACRED PLACE.
I WANT TO HUNT IN THIS PLACE.
I WANT YOU TO TURN BACK FROM HERE.
I WANT YOU TO LEAVE WHAT YOU HAVE GOT HERE
AND TURN BACK.
IF YOU DON'T, I'LL FIGHT YOU.
SITTING BULL.
WASHINGTON DECIDED TO CLAMP DOWN
AND ORDERED ALL THE CHIEFS
TO COME IN TO THE RESERVATION HEADQUARTERS
BY JANUARY 31, 1876.
WHEN SITTING BULL AND THE OTHERS REFUSED,
GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER
AND A LARGE PART OF THE U.S. ARMY IN THE WEST
WERE ORDERED TO BRING THEM IN.
RIGHT SHOULDER, PULL!
I AM NOW WEARING TWO FLANNEL AND A BUCKSKIN SHIRT,
ONE PAIR OF DRAWERS,
TROUSERS OF BUCKSKIN AND A PAIR OF ARMY TROUSERS,
TWO PAIRS WOOLEN SOCKS,
A PAIR OF BUFFALO OVERSHOES AND BIG BOOTS,
A HEAVY PAIR OF BLANKET LEGGINS,
A THICK BLOUSE AND HEAVY OVERCOAT,
A HEAVY WOOLEN CAP THAT COMPLETELY COVERS
MY HEAD, FACE, AND NECK EXCEPT NOSE AND EYES,
AND STILL I AM NOT HAPPY.
THE UNITED STATES ARMY HAD AN IMPOSSIBLE JOB--
POLICING SOME 2.5 MILLION SQUARE MILES OF LAND
BETWEEN THE MISSOURI
AND THE EASTERN SLOPE OF THE SIERRAS.
THERE WERE NEVER MORE THAN 15,000 MEN
SCATTERED AMONG 100 FORTS AND OUTPOSTS,
YET THEY WERE SOMEHOW EXPECTED TO DEFEND SETTLERS, RANCHERS,
MINERS, AND RAILROAD CREWS;
KEEP THOUSANDS OF INDIANS CONFINED TO THEIR RESERVATIONS;
AND KEEP TENS OF THOUSANDS OF WHITES
OUT OF INDIAN LANDS.
EVEN THOUGH ARMY PAY WAS LOW-- JUST $13 A MONTH--
STEADY JOBS WERE SCARCE DURING THE ECONOMIC SLUMP
THAT FOLLOWED THE CIVIL WAR.
ARMY RANKS WERE FILLED WITH IMMIGRANTS,
SOME OF WHOM COULD SPEAK ALMOST NO ENGLISH.
THERE WERE DRIFTERS, TOO-- MEN WITH ASSUMED NAMES,
MEN ESCAPING BAD MARRIAGES... OR THE LAW.
SOME OF THE RECRUITS I JOINED WITH
HAD NO DOUBT SERVED IN SOME PENITENTIARY
BEFORE ENLISTING,
AND I SHOULDN'T WONDER THAT SOME WENT BACK TO THEIR OLD PRISONS
AS A HAVEN OF REST AND DECENT TREATMENT.
PRIVATE C.C. CHRISMAN, 13th INFANTRY.
BOREDOM WAS ALL THE MEN COULD DEPEND UPON--
THREE TO FIVE YEARS OF IT.
THEY QUARRELED, DRANK,
PITTED RED ANTS AGAINST BLACK ANTS
JUST TO STIR THINGS UP...
AND THEY LIVED FOR NEWS FROM HOME.
WHAT WOULD OUR LIVES BE WITHOUT MAIL?
A NULLITY, A VOID,
A HATED, WEARY BURDEN OF NOTHINGNESS.
IT IS THE ONLY CONNECTING LINK BETWEEN US AND CIVILIZATION--
BETWEEN THE DREARY MONOTONY OF THE PRESENT
AND THE EXCITING PLEASURES OF THE PAST--
THE ONE SOLE OASIS IN THE DESERT OF OUR LIVES.
ARMY FOOD WAS ALMOST ALWAYS UNPALATABLE,
SOMETIMES INEDIBLE.
HARDTACK-- FLOUR-AND-WATER BISCUITS--
DELIVERED TO THE SEVENTH CAVALRY WAS SIX YEARS OLD
AND HAD TO BE SHATTERED WITH A HAMMER.
WHISKEY WAS THE SOLDIER'S CURSE.
40 MEN OUT OF EVERY 1,000
WERE HOSPITALIZED FOR ALCOHOLISM.
TWICE AS MANY KILLED THEMSELVES.
BUT DISEASE WAS THE WORST KILLER.
IN JUST TWO YEARS,
THE SEVENTH CAVALRY LOST 51 MEN TO CHOLERA.
MOST SOLDIERS NEVER MET AN INDIAN IN BATTLE.
SOME NEVER SAW AN INDIAN AT ALL.
DAKOTA TERRITORY, MARCH 5, 1876.
DEAR SISTER, I THINK WE WILL HAVE
SOME HARD TIMES THIS SUMMER.
THE OLD CHIEF SITTING BULL
SAYS THAT HE WILL NOT MAKE PEACE WITH THE WHITES
AS LONG AS HE HAS A MAN TO FIGHT.
AS SOON AS I GET BACK FROM THE CAMPAIGN,
I WILL WRITE YOU--
THAT IS, IF I DO NOT GET MY HAIR LIFTED BY SOME INDIAN.
FROM YOUR LOVING BROTHER, T.P. EAGAN, SEVENTH CAVALRY.
SOMETIME IN THE EARLY SPRING OF 1876,
SITTING BULL CLIMBED TO A HILLTOP,
SEEKING A VISION.
IN HIS DREAM,
A GREAT DUST STORM SWIRLED DOWN UPON A SMALL, WHITE CLOUD
THAT RESEMBLED A LAKOTA VILLAGE.
THROUGH THE WHIRLWIND,
SITTING BULL COULD SEE SOLDIERS MARCHING.
THE LITTLE CLOUD WAS SWALLOWED UP FOR A TIME...
BUT THE STORM EVENTUALLY DISSIPATED,
AND THE VILLAGE EMERGED UNHARMED.
IT WAS AN ENCOURAGING DREAM,
AND IN THE SPRING OF 1876,
THE LAKOTA NEEDED ENCOURAGEMENT.
HUMANITARIANS MAY WEEP FOR THE POOR INDIAN
AND TELL THE WRONGS HE HAS SUFFERED,
BUT HE IS PASSING AWAY.
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE NEED THE COUNTRY
THE INDIANS NOW OCCUPY.
MANY OF OUR PEOPLE ARE OUT OF EMPLOYMENT.
THE MASSES NEED SOME NEW EXCITEMENT.
AN INDIAN WAR WOULD DO NO HARM,
FOR IT MUST COME, SOONER OR LATER.
MARK KELLOGG, "BISMARCK TRIBUNE."
IN HIS OFFICE IN CHICAGO,
GENERAL PHILIP SHERIDAN HAD ALREADY DRAWN UP A PLAN
THAT WOULD SEND THREE COLUMNS OF SOLDIERS
TO DRIVE SITTING BULL AND THE OTHER DEFIANT CHIEFS
ONTO THE RESERVATIONS.
ONE COLUMN, LED BY BRIGADIER GENERAL GEORGE CROOK,
WAS TO MOVE NORTH FROM FORT FETTERMAN.
ANOTHER, UNDER COLONEL JOHN GIBBON,
WAS TO MARCH EAST FROM WESTERN MONTANA.
THE THIRD, COMMANDED BY GENERAL ALFRED TERRY,
MARCHED WEST FROM FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN.
WITH HIM WENT THE 566 ENLISTED MEN AND 31 OFFICERS
OF THE SEVENTH CAVALRY, LED BY GEORGE ARMSTRONG CUSTER.
THEY MOVED OUT TO THE TUNE OF "THE GIRL I LEFT BEHIND ME."
GENERAL GEORGE A. CUSTER,
DRESSED IN A DASHING SUIT OF BUCKSKIN,
IS PROMINENT EVERYWHERE.
THE GENERAL IS FULL OF PERFECT READINESS
FOR A FRAY WITH THE HOSTILE RED DEVILS,
AND WOE TO THE BODY OF SCALP-LIFTERS
THAT COMES WITHIN REACH OF HIMSELF
AND BRAVE COMPANIONS-IN-ARMS.
"BISMARCK TRIBUNE."
NONE OF THE COMMANDERS KNEW
PRECISELY WHERE SITTING BULL AND HIS FOLLOWERS WERE,
BUT THEY WERE CONFIDENT THAT ONE COLUMN OR ANOTHER
WOULD FIND AND DESTROY THEM.
ON JUNE 6, SOME 3,000 LAKOTA AND CHEYENNE
WERE CAMPED ALONG ROSEBUD CREEK IN MONTANA.
THERE, THEY HELD THEIR MOST SACRED RITUAL--A SUN DANCE--
IN WHICH PRAYERS WERE OFFERED AND VOWS MADE TO WAKAN TANKA,
THEIR GREAT SPIRIT.
SITTING BULL SLASHED HIS ARMS 100 TIMES
AS A SIGN OF SACRIFICE.
THEN HE HAD ANOTHER VISION.
THE SOLDIERS CAME AGAIN TO ATTACK HIS PEOPLE--
"AS MANY AS GRASSHOPPERS," HE SAID--
BUT THIS TIME, THEY WERE UPSIDE DOWN,
THEIR HORSES' HOOVES IN THE AIR,
THEIR HATS TUMBLING TO THE GROUND
AS THEY RODE INTO THE LAKOTA CAMP.
HE HAS THIS TREMENDOUS VISION THAT HE TELLS THE PEOPLE
ABOUT THAT THE SOLDIERS ARE GOING TO FALL INTO THE CAMP
AND THAT THERE'S GOING TO BE THIS GREAT VICTORY.
AND ARMED WITH THIS VISION,
THE WARRIORS GO OUT LOOKING FOR SOMEBODY TO FIGHT.
ON THE MORNING OF JUNE 17,
GENERAL CROOK'S COLUMN HAD STOPPED TO BREW COFFEE
ON THE BANK OF THE ROSEBUD,
SURE THAT NO INDIANS WOULD DARE ATTACK
SO LARGE A FORCE AS THEIRS.
SUDDENLY, CRAZY HORSE
AND MORE THAN 500 SIOUX AND CHEYENNE WARRIORS
RODE DOWN UPON THEM.
SITTING BULL'S ARMS WERE TOO SWOLLEN
FROM THE SUN DANCE TO FIGHT,
BUT HE URGED THE YOUNG MEN INTO BATTLE.
CROOK'S COMMAND INCLUDED CROW AND SHOSHONE SCOUTS
EAGER TO FIGHT THEIR ENEMIES, THE CHEYENNE AND LAKOTA,
WHO HAD ONCE TAKEN THEIR LANDS.
IN THE FIERCE, DESPERATE FIGHT THAT FOLLOWED,
THE INDIAN SCOUTS TWICE RESCUED THE SOLDIERS
BY RIDING THROUGH THE LAKOTA AND CHEYENNE RANKS.
UNNERVED BY THE ENEMY SHOW OF FORCE,
CROOK WITHDREW THE NEXT MORNING.
THE LAKOTA AND CHEYENNE MOVED NORTH
AND FORMED A NEW CAMP,
WHERE FOR SIX DAYS THEY CELEBRATED THEIR VICTORY
ALONG A WINDING STREAM THEY CALLED THE GREASY GRASS.
WHITES CALLED IT THE LITTLE BIGHORN.
ON JUNE 21, CUSTER MET ON THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER
WITH COLONEL GIBBON AND THEIR SUPERIOR,
BRIGADIER GENERAL ALFRED TERRY.
THEY KNEW NOTHING OF CROOK'S RETREAT.
TERRY ORDERED GIBBON TO MARCH
TO THE MOUTH OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN
WHILE CUSTER AND THE SEVENTH CAVALRY,
IF THEY COULD LOCATE THE INDIANS,
WOULD DRIVE THEM DOWN THE VALLEY TOWARD GIBBON AND ANNIHILATION.
AS CUSTER RODE OFF, GIBBON CALLED OUT TO HIM,
"NOW, CUSTER, DON'T BE GREEDY.
WAIT FOR US."
"NO," HE SAID. "I WILL NOT."
I NOW HAVE SOME CROW SCOUTS WITH ME.
THEY ARE MAGNIFICENT-LOOKING MEN,
SO MUCH HANDSOMER AND MORE INDIAN-LIKE
THAN ANY WE HAVE EVER SEEN,
AND JOLLY AND SPORTIVE.
NOTHING OF THE GLOOMY, SILENT RED MAN ABOUT THEM.
THEY SAID THEY HAD HEARD THAT I NEVER ABANDON A TRAIL--
THAT WHEN MY FOOD GAVE OUT, I ATE MULE.
THAT WAS THE KIND OF MAN THEY WANTED TO FIGHT UNDER.
THEY WERE WILLING TO EAT MULE, TOO.
I KNOW FIVE OF THOSE SCOUTS.
THEY WERE OLD MEN WHEN I WAS A YOUNG FELLOW,
INCLUDING MY GRANDFATHER, WHITE MAN RUNS HIM.
WHY WOULD A TRIBE OF INDIANS DECIDE TO FIGHT OTHER TRIBES
IN BEHALF OF THE WHITE MAN?
SIOUX WON'T LET US FORGET THAT.
THEY ALWAYS SAY, "YOU CROWS ARE NO GOOD.
"YOU WERE WHITE LOVERS.
YOU HELPED THEM FIGHT AGAINST US."
BUT THEY FORGOT THE FACT THAT THEY CAME OUT HERE
TO ANNIHILATE US, TAKE OUR LAND AWAY FROM US,
SO THERE WAS A MATTER OF PROTECTION.
FEARFUL THAT SITTING BULL WOULD ELUDE HIM,
CUSTER PUSHED HIS COLUMN HARD UNDER A MERCILESS PRAIRIE SUN--
12 MILES THE FIRST DAY, 33 THE SECOND,
28 THE THIRD.
THE EXHAUSTED TROOPERS BEGAN TO GRUMBLE
ABOUT THE MAN THEY PRIVATELY CALLED "HARD ASS."
THEY FOUND THE INDIANS' TRAIL
BUT DID NOT GRASP THE FULL MEANING
OF THE FRESH LAYERS OF PONY TRACKS
THAT SEEMED TO CROSS AND RECROSS IT.
IN THE LAST FEW DAYS, 3,000 MORE INDIANS--
LAKOTA, ARAPAHO, AND CHEYENNE-- HAD LEFT THE RESERVATIONS
TO JOIN SITTING BULL.
THEIR ENCAMPMENT NOW STRETCHED FOR 3 MILES
ALONG THE GREASY GRASS.
IN IT WERE MORE THAN 6,000 INDIANS.
1,800 OF THEM WERE WARRIORS.
ON THE EVENING OF JUNE 24,
SITTING BULL MADE HIS WAY TO A RIDGE
THAT OVERLOOKED THE ENCAMPMENT.
THERE HE MADE OFFERINGS TO THE GREAT SPIRIT
AND PRAYED FOR THE PROTECTION OF HIS PEOPLE.
WAKAN TANKA, PITY ME.
IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE, I OFFER YOU THIS SACRED PIPE.
WHEREVER THE SUN, THE MOON, THE EARTH,
THE FOUR POINTS OF THE WIND,
THERE YOU ARE ALWAYS.
SAVE THE PEOPLE, I BEG YOU.
WE WANT TO LIVE.
GUARD US AGAINST ALL MISFORTUNE.
PITY ME.
TATANKA IYOTANKA.
THE NEXT DAY WAS JUNE 25, A SUNDAY--
CLOUDLESS AND HOT.
CUSTER'S CROW SCOUTS SPOTTED THE VILLAGE
FROM A DISTANT HILLTOP.
THEY CALLED CUSTER UP TO HAVE A LOOK.
EVEN WITH A TELESCOPE,
HE WAS UNABLE TO SEE MUCH MORE
THAN A WHITE BLUR ON THE VALLEY FLOOR.
HIS ONLY CONCERN WAS THAT HE HAD ALREADY BEEN SPOTTED,
THAT UNLESS HE ATTACKED RIGHT AWAY,
THE INDIANS WOULD SPLIT UP AND FLEE
IN SO MANY DIFFERENT BANDS THAT HE COULD NEVER STOP THEM.
CUSTER HAD NEVER YET ENCOUNTERED AN INDIAN BAND
THAT WOULDN'T RUN WHEN THE CAVALRY ATTACKED,
SO HE PUSHED TO AN ATTACK
AS QUICKLY AS IT COULD BE MOUNTED.
DREADFUL MISTAKE ON HIS PART BECAUSE HIS MEN WERE EXHAUSTED.
HE SHOULD HAVE BIVOUACKED, GIVEN THEM A NIGHT'S SLEEP,
SENT OUT SOME SCOUTS TO FIND OUT HOW FAR
THAT VILLAGE EXTENDS IN THIS DIRECTION AND THAT
BECAUSE MUCH OF IT WAS HIDDEN BY WOODS
ALONG THE LITTLE BIGHORN.
HE KNEW NOTHING OF THE TERRAIN,
COULD NOT TELL HOW MANY INDIANS AWAITED HIM,
BUT IT HAD BEEN A SURPRISE ATTACK
THAT HAD ALLOWED HIM TO DESTROY BLACK KETTLE'S CHEYENNE
ON THE OUACHITA EIGHT YEARS EARLIER.
A VICTORY HERE SEEMED JUST AS LIKELY.
CUSTER HURRIED TOWARD THE LITTLE BIGHORN.
HE SAW DUST RISING OVER A RIDGE
JUST AHEAD OF HIM.
THE INDIANS, HE THOUGHT,
WERE ALREADY ON THE MOVE TO ESCAPE.
IT WAS NOW OR NEVER.
SOME 40 WARRIORS APPEARED,
THEN BEGAN RACING BACK TOWARD THEIR CAMP.
CUSTER SENT MAJOR MARCUS RENO AND THREE COMPANIES--
140 MEN--IN PURSUIT, PROMISING TO SUPPORT THEM.
THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN
WAS ABOUT TO BEGIN.
IT WAS SOMEWHERE PAST THE MIDDLE OF THE AFTERNOON,
AND ALL OF US WERE HAVING A GOOD TIME.
WE FOUND OUR WOMEN FRIENDS BATHING IN THE RIVER,
AND WE JOINED THEM.
OTHER GROUPS WERE PLAYING IN THE WATER.
TWO SIOUX BOYS CAME RUNNING TOWARD US.
THEY WERE SHOUTING, "SOLDIERS ARE COMING!"
WE HEARD SHOOTING.
WE HID IN THE BRUSH.
KATE BIGHEAD.
RENO'S MEN CROSSED THE RIVER,
FORMED A THIN SKIRMISH LINE,
AND BEGIN FIRING INTO ONE EDGE OF THE VILLAGE,
ASSUMING THAT CUSTER WOULD REINFORCE THEM.
THEY WERE SOON OUTNUMBERED.
RENO ORDERED A RETREAT.
THE SOLDIERS WERE FALLING INTO THE VILLAGE,
JUST AS SITTING BULL'S VISION HAD SUGGESTED THEY WOULD.
MORE INDIAN WARRIORS SWARMED OUT OF THE VILLAGE.
AND STILL, CUSTER DID NOT COME.
INSTEAD OF FOLLOWING RENO INTO THE VALLEY,
HE HAD LED HIS 5 COMPANIES OF 210 MEN TOWARD A RIDGE,
CONVINCED THE INDIANS WERE FLEEING
AND THAT BY CHARGING DOWN INTO THE VILLAGE FROM THERE,
HE COULD CUT THEM OFF.
HE SENT SOME OF HIS SCOUTS TO GO LOOK OVER THE HILL.
THEY CAME BACK, TOLD HIM, "WELL, THEY'RE STILL THERE,"
SO HE DECIDED TO GO LOOK HIMSELF.
HE WENT UP OVER THERE, AND PRETTY SOON HE BEAT IT BACK.
HE WAS ALL SHOOK UP, AS THEY SAY, YOU KNOW.
MY GRANDFATHER USED TO SAY, UH,
"CUSTER LOOKED WHITER THAN EVER."
CUSTER WAS OUTNUMBERED MORE THAN FOUR TO ONE,
BUT HE LED HIS TROOPS DOWN TOWARD THE VILLAGE,
FIRING AS THEY CAME.
CHEYENNE WARRIORS LED BY LAME WHITE MAN,
HUNKPAPA LAKOTA UNDER GALL,
AND OGLALA UNDER CRAZY HORSE RODE OUT TO TURN CUSTER BACK.
CUSTER'S MEN STOPPED SHORT,
STUNNED AT THE SIGHT OF HUNDREDS OF WARRIORS
HEADED RIGHT AT THEM.
IT APPEARED THERE WOULD BE NO END
TO THE RUSHING PROCESSION OF WARRIORS.
THEY KEPT GOING, GOING, GOING.
I WANTED TO GO, TOO.
I HAD SEEN OTHER BATTLES IN PAST TIMES.
I ALWAYS LIKED TO WATCH THE MEN FIGHTING.
THE SOLDIERS BEGAN A HEADLONG RETREAT
TOWARD THE SUMMIT OF A LONG, HIGH RIDGE.
SOME OF THE INDIANS REMEMBERED LATER
THAT THE LEGS OF THE MEN AND THE HORSES TREMBLED
AS THEY SCRAMBLED UP THE SLOPE.
I CALLED TO MY MEN,
"THIS IS A GOOD DAY TO DIE. FOLLOW ME."
AS WE RUSHED UPON THEM,
THE SOLDIERS DISMOUNTED TO FIRE,
BUT THEY DID VERY POOR SHOOTING.
THEY HELD THEIR HORSES' REINS ON ONE ARM
WHILE THEY WERE SHOOTING,
BUT THE HORSES WERE SO FRIGHTENED
THAT THEY PULLED THE MEN ALL AROUND,
AND A GREAT MANY OF THEIR SHOTS WENT UP INTO THE AIR
AND DID US NO HARM.
LOW DOG.
I CHARGED IN.
A TALL, WELL-BUILT SOLDIER SAW ME COMING.
WHEN I RUSHED HIM,
HE THREW HIS RIFLE AT ME WITHOUT SHOOTING.
WE GRABBED EACH OTHER AND WRESTLED
THERE IN THE DUST AND THE SMOKE.
HE HIT ME WITH HIS FISTS ON THE JAW AND SHOULDERS,
THEN GRABBED MY LONG BRAIDS WITH BOTH HANDS,
PULLED MY FACE CLOSE, AND TRIED TO BITE MY NOSE OFF.
I YELLED AS LOUD AS I COULD TO SCARE MY ENEMY,
BUT HE WOULD NOT LET GO.
FINALLY, I BROKE FREE.
HE DREW HIS PISTOL.
I WRENCHED IT OUT OF HIS HAND
AND STRUCK HIM WITH IT THREE OR FOUR TIMES ON THE HEAD,
KNOCKED HIM OVER,
SHOT HIM IN THE HEAD, THEN FIRED AT HIS HEART.
HO HECHETU!
THAT WAS A FIGHT, A HARD FIGHT,
BUT IT WAS A GLORIOUS BATTLE.
I ENJOYED IT.
WHITE BULL.
THE SHOTS QUIT COMING FROM THE SOLDIERS.
WARRIORS WHO HAD CREPT CLOSE TO THEM
BEGAN TO CALL OUT THAT ALL THE WHITE MEN WERE DEAD.
ALL OF THE INDIANS WERE SAYING THESE SOLDIERS WENT CRAZY
AND KILLED THEMSELVES.
I DO NOT KNOW. I COULD NOT SEE THEM.
BUT I BELIEVE THEY DID SO.
WOODEN LEG.
I SAW SEVERAL DIFFERENT ONES OF THE SOLDIERS
NOT YET QUITE DEAD.
THE INDIANS CUT OFF ARMS OR LEGS OR FEET OF THESE--
THE SAME AS WAS DONE FOR THE ENTIRELY DEAD.
SOME OF THE WOMEN MOURNING FOR THEIR OWN DEAD
BEAT AND CUT THE DEAD BODIES OF THE WHITE MEN.
THE SOLDIERS, ONE LAKOTA REMEMBERED,
"WERE AS GOOD MEN AS EVER FOUGHT,"
BUT THE FIGHTING, RECALLED ANOTHER,
HAD LASTED NO LONGER THAN A HUNGRY MAN NEEDED
TO EAT HIS LUNCH.
IN THE END,
ALL OF THE MEN IN CUSTER'S COMMAND--
210 OF THEM--LAY DEAD.
IT WAS THE GREATEST INDIAN VICTORY
OF THE PLAINS WARS.
TWO CHEYENNE WOMEN WERE SAID TO HAVE FOUND CUSTER'S BODY.
THE WOMEN PUSHED THE POINT OF A SEWING AWL
INTO EACH OF HIS EARS, INTO HIS HEAD.
THIS WAS DONE TO IMPROVE HIS HEARING
AS IT SEEMED HE HAD NOT HEARD
WHAT OUR CHIEFS IN THE SOUTH HAD SAID
WHEN HE SMOKED THE PIPE WITH THEM.
THEY TOLD HIM THEN THAT IF EVER AFTERWARD
HE SHOULD BREAK THAT PEACE PROMISE
AND SHOULD FIGHT THE CHEYENNES,
THE EVERYWHERE SPIRIT SURELY WOULD CAUSE HIM TO BE KILLED.
I OFTEN HAVE WONDERED IF,
WHEN I WAS RIDING AMONG THE DEAD
WHERE HE WAS LYING,
MY PONY MAY HAVE KICKED DIRT UPON HIS BODY.
KATE BIGHEAD.
WITH OUR HUSBANDS AWAY
CAMPAIGNING AGAINST THE INDIANS,
OUR ONLY PLEASURE AFTER THE TORRID DAY
WAS TO GATHER ON SOMEONE'S PORCH
IN THE LONG TWILIGHT,
ENJOY WHAT LITTLE MUSIC WE COULD MUSTER,
AND TRY TO FORGET OUR WORRIES
AND THE DEVILISH MOSQUITOES.
MANY AMONG US HAD SWEET VOICES,
AND WHILE I PLAYED THE GUITAR, EVERYONE SANG.
THEN, GLANCING ACROSS THE PARADE GROUND,
WE NOTICED SMALL GROUPS OF SOLDIERS
TALKING EXCITEDLY TOGETHER,
AND SEVERAL PEOPLE CAME RUNNING TOWARD US,
FACES SET AND WILD-EYED.
ONE WAS HORN TOAD, THE INDIAN SCOUT,
WHO GASPED IN SHORT, SHARP SENTENCES,
"CUSTER KILLED. WHOLE COMMAND KILLED."
THE GUITAR SLIPPED FROM MY KNEES TO THE FLOOR.
THE PINK BALL OF KNITTING
FELL OUT OF CHARLOTTE MOYLAN'S HANDS.
THE LETTER LYING IDLY IN MRS. BENTEEN'S LAP
FLUTTERED OVER THE RAIL AND ONTO THE LAWN.
KATHERINE GIBSON.
AMERICANS WERE CELEBRATING THEIR CENTENNIAL THAT SUMMER,
PROUD OF 100 YEARS OF INDEPENDENCE.
THE NEWS THAT CUSTER AND ALL THE MEN IN HIS COMMAND
HAD BEEN KILLED BY INDIANS WAS GREETED WITH SIMPLE DISBELIEF.
HOW COULD SUCH A THING POSSIBLY HAVE HAPPENED?
HOW COULD MERE INDIANS WITH NAMES THAT SOUNDED ABSURD
TO EASTERN EARS--
LOW DOG, CRAZY HORSE, SITTING BULL--
HAVE DEFEATED SO CELEBRATED A SOLDIER?
GENERAL PHILIP SHERIDAN,
ARCHITECT OF THE PLAN THAT HAD ENDED IN DISASTER,
PROMISED CUSTER WOULD BE AVENGED.
WASHINGTON HURRIED 2,500 ADDITIONAL CAVALRYMEN WEST.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE BATTLE OF THE LITTLE BIGHORN,
IT WAS CUSTER'S LAST STAND,
BUT IN A LOT OF WAYS, IT WAS THE LAST STAND
FOR INDIAN PEOPLE AS A FREE PEOPLE,
AS A PEOPLE THAT WERE LIVING ON THE PLAINS
AND IN A LIFESTYLE THAT WAS GOING TO CHANGE
BECAUSE OF THAT VICTORY.
FRESH BLUE COLUMNS
COMMANDED BY CROOK, TERRY, AND COLONEL NELSON MILES
CRISSCROSSED THE POWDER RIVER COUNTRY,
HUNTING DOWN THE BANDS THAT HAD SPLIT UP
AFTER THE CUSTER FIGHT.
ONE BY ONE, THEY WERE FORCED TO SURRENDER.
INDIANS WHO HAD HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH THE FIGHTING
WERE DISARMED
AND HAD THEIR PONIES SEIZED AND SOLD.
WHATEVER WE DO, WHEREVER WE GO,
WE ARE EXPECTED TO SAY YES, YES, YES, YES,
AND WHEN WE DON'T AGREE AT ONCE
TO WHAT YOU ASK OF US IN COUNCIL,
YOU ALWAYS SAY, "YOU WON'T GET ANYTHING TO EAT."
STANDING ELK.
DESPITE THE FORT LARAMIE TREATY,
CONGRESS TOOK AWAY THE BLACK HILLS
AND ANOTHER 40 MILLION ACRES OF LAKOTA LAND.
THE RESERVATION CHIEFS WERE MADE TO AGREE TO ALL OF IT.
BUT SITTING BULL STILL HELD OUT.
HE AND HIS FOLLOWERS WERE BEYOND THE REACH
OF AMERICAN TROOPS, ACROSS THE BORDER IN CANADA,
WHICH HE CALLED THE LAND OF THE GRANDMOTHER
IN HONOR OF QUEEN VICTORIA.
WHEN GENERAL ALFRED TERRY TRAVELED NORTH
TO OFFER HIM A FULL PARDON
ON THE CONDITION THAT HE SETTLE ON A RESERVATION,
SITTING BULL ANGRILY SENT HIM AWAY.
THIS COUNTRY IS MY COUNTRY NOW,
AND I INTEND TO STAY HERE AND RAISE MY PEOPLE TO FILL IT.
WE DID NOT GIVE OUR COUNTRY TO YOU.
YOU STOLE IT.
YOU COME HERE TO TELL LIES.
WHEN YOU GO HOME, TAKE THEM WITH YOU.
I FEEL LIKE A FATHER
WITH A GREAT FAMILY OF CHILDREN AROUND ME IN A WINTER STORM,
AND I AM LOOKING WITH CALMNESS, CONFIDENCE, AND PATIENCE
FOR THE CLOUDS TO BREAK AND THE SUN TO SHINE
SO THAT I CAN RUN OUT AND SAY, "CHILDREN, COME HOME."
I AM READY TO KILL THE FATTED CALF
AND MAKE A JOYFUL FEAST TO ALL WHO WILL COME AND PARTAKE.
BRIGHAM YOUNG.
FOR 30 HARD YEARS,
BRIGHAM YOUNG HAD ATTENDED TO EVERY DETAIL OF LIFE
IN MORMON UTAH,
WHERE UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP, 150,000 LATTER DAY SAINTS
HAD SETTLED IN HIS DESERT SANCTUARY.
YOUNG HAD TRIED TO FASHION A DISTINCT SOCIETY
BASED ON COMMUNAL ECONOMICS, POLYGAMY,
AND ONE-PARTY POLITICS-- ALL RUN BY THE CHURCH--
BUT NOW HE FELT BESIEGED.
CONGRESS WAS ONCE AGAIN TRYING TO ASSERT CONTROL OVER UTAH.
A NEW LAW GAVE FEDERAL COURTS, NOT MORMONS,
JURISDICTION OVER CRIMINAL CASES.
THE FEDERAL OFFICIALS IN UTAH
THEN REALLY WANTED TO NAIL BRIGHAM YOUNG.
THEY WERE TRYING TO REDUCE HIS POWER OVER THE PEOPLE.
ONE OF THE FIRST ACTIONS OF THE FEDERAL PROSECUTORS
WAS TO ARREST YOUNG'S DEVOTED FOLLOWER, JOHN D. LEE,
AND PUT HIM ON TRIAL FOR MURDER.
20 YEARS EARLIER, A GROUP OF UNSUSPECTING EMIGRANTS
FROM MISSOURI AND ARKANSAS HAD BEEN ATTACKED
BY A COMBINED FORCE OF PAIUTE INDIANS
AND MORMON SETTLERS
AT A PLACE CALLED MOUNTAIN MEADOWS.
JOHN D. LEE HAD OPPOSED THE ATTACK AT FIRST,
BUT IN THE END, HE WENT ALONG WITH IT,
AND MORE THAN 100 MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN
HAD BEEN SLAUGHTERED WITHOUT MERCY.
IT HAD BEEN THE DARKEST EVENT IN MORMON HISTORY.
JOHN D. LEE WAS ONE OF MY GREAT-GRANDFATHERS,
AND HE, UNTIL RECENT TIMES,
WAS CONSIDERED THE LEADER
WHO CARRIED OUT THE MOUNTAIN MEADOW MASSACRE.
ACTUALLY, HE WAS ABOUT THIRD IN LINE
IN THE CHAIN OF COMMAND OF A MILITIA
THAT CARRIED THIS OUT.
HE LATER THEN WAS SENT TO SOUTHERN UTAH
AND KIND OF OUT OF THE IMMEDIATE ORBIT
OF BRIGHAM YOUNG,
BUT THERE WAS A FATHER/SON TYPE RELATIONSHIP
BETWEEN THOSE TWO MEN.
FOR YEARS, YOUNG TRIED TO PROTECT HIS PROTEGE
FROM CAPTURE AND PROSECUTION FOR HIS ROLE IN THE MASSACRE,
SENDING HIM TO EXILE IN THE ARIZONA WILDERNESS
NEAR THE GRAND CANYON.
IT WAS A ROUGH, SOLITARY EXISTENCE.
LEE NAMED HIS NEW HOME LONELY DELL.
PROSECUTORS OFFERED HIM MONEY AND LENIENCY
IF HE WOULD IMPLICATE OTHERS IN THE KILLINGS.
IT IS TOLD AROUND FOR A FACT
THAT I COULD TELL GREAT CONFESSIONS
AND BRING IN BRIGHAM YOUNG AND THE HEADS OF THE CHURCH,
BUT I WILL NOT BE THE MEANS OF BRINGING TROUBLES
ON MY PEOPLE...
FOR THIS PEOPLE IS A MISREPRESENTED
AND CRIED-DOWN COMMUNITY--
YES, A PEOPLE SCATTERED AND PEELED.
AND IF AT LAST THEY DID RISE UP
AND SHED THE BLOOD OF THEIR ENEMIES,
I WON'T CONSENT TO GIVE THEM UP.
JOHN D. LEE.
WHEN LEE'S TRIAL BEGAN,
ORDERS WENT OUT THAT NO MORMON SHOULD TESTIFY.
THE FOUR GENTILES ON THE JURY FOUND LEE GUILTY,
BUT ALL EIGHT MORMONS HELD OUT FOR ACQUITTAL.
ACROSS THE NATION, THE CASE BECAME A SYMBOL
FOR EVERYTHING AMERICANS DESPISED ABOUT MORMONISM.
PRESSURES MOUNTED FOR THE GOVERNMENT
TO STRIP BRIGHAM YOUNG AND THE CHURCH
OF THEIR AUTHORITY IN UTAH.
A SECOND TRIAL WAS SCHEDULED.
AND I THINK A DECISION WAS MADE--
"WELL, IF WE SACRIFICE LEE,
MAYBE THE PRESSURES WILL GO AWAY,"
BECAUSE AT THE SECOND TRIAL,
THE WORD WAS SENT DOWN TO THE MORMONS
THAT THIS HAD TO BE COMPLETED
AND THEY SHOULD VOTE FOR CONVICTION.
HE WAS SINGLED OUT AS THE PERPETRATOR,
AND MORMONS EVEN PUT IT IN THEIR SUNDAY SCHOOL LESSONS,
WHICH BOTHERED MY FAMILY FOR A LONG TIME.
AND HE WAS, IN EFFECT, THE SCAPEGOAT.
THIS TIME, ALL THE MEMBERS OF THE JURY WERE MORMONS.
ALL VOTED TO CONVICT.
NO ONE ELSE WHO TOOK PART IN THE MASSACRE
WAS EVER BROUGHT TO TRIAL.
UNDER UTAH LAW, LEE WAS ALLOWED TO CHOOSE
WHETHER HE WISHED TO BE SHOT, HANGED, OR BEHEADED.
HE CHOSE TO FACE A FIRING SQUAD.
ON MARCH 23, 1877, JOHN D. LEE WAS ESCORTED
TO THE SITE OF THE MOUNTAIN MEADOWS MASSACRE,
SEATED ON A COFFIN, AND PHOTOGRAPHED.
HE MADE ARRANGEMENTS FOR EACH OF THE TWO WIVES
WHO REMAINED TRUE TO HIM TO GET A COPY OF THE PICTURE.
THEN HE SPOKE TO THE LITTLE CROWD
THAT HAD COME TO SEE HIM DIE.
I HAVE BUT LITTLE TO SAY THIS MORNING.
OF COURSE, I FEEL THAT I AM UPON THE BRINK OF ETERNITY.
I FEEL AS CALM AS A SUMMER MORN.
I AM READY TO MEET MY REDEEMER.
I DO NOT BELIEVE EVERYTHING THAT IS NOW BEING TAUGHT
AND PRACTICED BY BRIGHAM YOUNG.
I DO NOT CARE WHO HEARS IT.
I STUDIED TO MAKE THIS MAN'S WILL MY PLEASURE
FOR 30 YEARS.
SEE NOW WHAT I HAVE COME TO THIS DAY.
I HAVE BEEN SACRIFICED
IN A COWARDLY, DASTARDLY MANNER.
WHAT CONFIDENCE CAN I HAVE IN SUCH A MAN?
I HAVE NONE,
AND I DON'T THINK MY FATHER IN HEAVEN HAS ANY.
THEN LEE SHOOK HANDS WITH HIS EXECUTIONERS,
HANDED HIS HAT AND OVERCOAT TO A FRIEND.
HIS LAST WORDS WERE TO THE FIRING SQUAD.
"CENTER MY HEART, BOYS," HE SAID.
"DON'T MANGLE MY BODY."
FIVE MONTHS LATER,
BRIGHAM YOUNG WAS SEIZED BY TERRIBLE STOMACH PAINS.
FOR DAYS, SURROUNDED BY HIS HUGE FAMILY,
THE PATRIARCH FLOATED IN AND OUT OF CONSCIOUSNESS.
ON AUGUST 29, HE CALLED OUT THE NAME OF JOSEPH SMITH,
FOUNDER OF THE MORMON FAITH.
THEN BRIGHAM YOUNG,
THE MAN WHO HAD LED HIS PEOPLE TO THE WEST
AND HAD SHIELDED THEM FROM THEIR ENEMIES
FOR THREE DECADES, DIED.
EVEN IN DEATH, HE REMAINED IN CHARGE.
FOLLOWING PRECISE INSTRUCTIONS LEFT IN HIS WILL,
HIS REMAINS WERE PLACED IN A STONE VAULT
OVERLOOKING THE MAGNIFICENT CITY
HE HAD BUILT IN THE DESERT.
NOW HIS FOLLOWERS WOULD HAVE TO FACE THE WORLD
WITHOUT HIM.
I CAN'T UNDERTAKE TO EXPLAIN BRIGHAM YOUNG
TO YOUR ATLANTIC CITIZENS
OR EXPECT YOU TO PUT HIM AT HIS VALUE.
YOUR GREAT MEN EASTWARD ARE TO ME
LIKE YOUR IVORY- AND PEARL-HANDLED TABLE KNIVES--
MORE SHINY THAN THE INSIDE OF MY WATCH CASE
BUT WITH ONLY EDGE ENOUGH TO SLICE BREAD AND CHEESE
AND ALL ALIKE BY THE DOZEN, ONE WITH ANOTHER.
BRIGHAM IS THE ARTICLE THAT SELLS OUT WEST WITH US--
BETWEEN A ROMAN CUTLASS AND A BEEF BUTCHER KNIFE--
THE THING TO CUT UP A DEER OR CUT DOWN AN ENEMY
EVERY BIT AS WELL.
YOU THAT JUDGE MEN BY THE HANDLE AND THE SHEATH,
HOW CAN I MAKE YOU KNOW A GOOD BLADE?
JEDEDIAH M. GRANT.
OUR FATHERS GAVE US MANY LAWS,
WHICH THEY HAD LEARNED FROM THEIR FATHERS.
THEY TOLD US TO TREAT ALL MEN AS THEY TREATED US,
THAT WE SHOULD NEVER BE THE FIRST TO BREAK A BARGAIN,
THAT IT WAS A DISGRACE TO TELL A LIE,
THAT WE SHOULD SPEAK ONLY THE TRUTH.
WE WERE TAUGHT TO BELIEVE
THAT THE GREAT SPIRIT SEES AND HEARS EVERYTHING
AND THAT HE NEVER FORGETS.
THIS I BELIEVE,
AND ALL MY PEOPLE BELIEVE THE SAME.
HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKHT.
BY 1877, MOST NEZ PERCE
WERE LIVING ON A RESERVATION ALONG THE CLEARWATER RIVER
IN WESTERN IDAHO.
MANY HAD CONVERTED TO CHRISTIANITY,
WORE WHITE MEN'S CLOTHES, AND HAD TAKEN UP FARMING.
BUT SOME REFUSED TO MOVE ONTO THE RESERVATION.
AMONG THEM WAS A BAND THAT LIVED IN THE BEAUTIFUL WALLOWA VALLEY
OF EASTERN OREGON.
THEIR VILLAGE CHIEF--
RESPONSIBLE FOR THE OVERALL WELFARE OF HIS PEOPLE--
WAS A TALL, RESERVED MAN WHOSE NEZ PERCE NAME--
HIN-MAH-TOO-YAH-LAT-KEKHT--
MEANT "THUNDER ROLLING FROM THE MOUNTAINS."
WHITES CALLED HIM CHIEF JOSEPH.
HE WAS STILL A YOUNG MAN
WHEN HE PROMISED HIS DYING FATHER
THAT HE WOULD NEVER SELL THEIR HOMELAND,
AND FOR SIX YEARS,
HE HAD REFUSED TO MOVE ONTO THE RESERVATION
TO COMPLY WITH A TREATY
HIS BAND OF NEZ PERCE HAD NEVER SIGNED.
DO NOT MISUNDERSTAND ME
AND MY AFFECTION FOR THE LAND.
I NEVER SAID THE LAND WAS MINE TO DO WITH AS I CHOSE.
THE ONE WHO HAS THE RIGHT TO DISPOSE OF IT
IS THE ONE WHO HAS CREATED IT.
I CLAIM A RIGHT TO LIVE ON MY LAND
AND ACCORD YOU THE PRIVILEGE TO LIVE ON YOURS.
THE EARTH IS THE MOTHER OF ALL PEOPLE,
AND ALL PEOPLE SHOULD HAVE EQUAL RIGHTS UPON IT.
CHIEF JOSEPH.
WE DO NOT WISH TO INTERFERE WITH YOUR RELIGION
BUT MUST TALK ABOUT PRACTICABLE THINGS.
20 TIMES OVER, YOU REPEAT THAT THE EARTH IS YOUR MOTHER.
LET US HEAR NO MORE BUT COME TO BUSINESS AT ONCE.
GENERAL OLIVER O. HOWARD.
GENERAL OLIVER OTIS HOWARD
WAS A ONE-ARMED CIVIL WAR HERO
WHO HAD RUN THE FREEDMEN'S BUREAU
AND FOUNDED HOWARD UNIVERSITY FOR EMANCIPATED BLACKS
IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
NOW HE WAS DISPATCHED TO DEAL WITH THE NEZ PERCE.
HOWARD BECAME CONVINCED
THAT THE INDIANS WERE RIGHT ABOUT THE TREATY
AND WROTE THE WAR DEPARTMENT TO SAY SO.
I THINK IT IS A GREAT MISTAKE
TO TAKE THE VALLEY FROM JOSEPH AND HIS BAND.
POSSIBLY CONGRESS CAN BE INDUCED
TO LET THESE PEACEABLE INDIANS HAVE THIS VALLEY FOR THEIR OWN.
HOWARD OFFERED TO BUY THE WALLOWA VALLEY,
BUT JOSEPH REFUSED TO SELL IT.
NOW WASHINGTON ORDERED HOWARD TO MOVE THE NEZ PERCE,
ONE WAY OR ANOTHER.
HE TOLD JOSEPH AND THE OTHERS
THAT IF THEY WEREN'T ON THE RESERVATION
IN LAPWAI, IDAHO, WITHIN A MONTH,
HIS SOLDIERS WOULD FORCE THEM TO GO THERE.
I KNEW I HAD NEVER SOLD MY COUNTRY
AND THAT I HAD NO LAND IN LAPWAI,
BUT I DID NOT WANT BLOODSHED.
I DID NOT WANT MY PEOPLE KILLED.
I DID NOT WANT ANYBODY KILLED.
I SAID IN MY HEART THAT, RATHER THAN HAVE WAR,
I WOULD GIVE UP EVERYTHING
RATHER THAN HAVE THE BLOOD OF WHITE MEN
UPON THE HANDS OF MY PEOPLE.
JOSEPH AND THE OTHER CHIEFS BEGAN MOVING THEIR PEOPLE.
BUT A HANDFUL OF YOUNG WARRIORS,
SEEKING REVENGE FOR THE WAY THEIR PEOPLE HAD BEEN TREATED,
SLIPPED AWAY AND KILLED 18 WHITE SETTLERS.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR HISTORY,
JOSEPH'S PEOPLE FOUND THEMSELVES AT WAR WITH THE AMERICANS.
I KNEW WE WERE TOO WEAK TO FIGHT THE UNITED STATES.
WE HAD MANY GRIEVANCES,
BUT I KNEW THAT WAR WOULD BRING MORE.
HOWARD SENT CAPTAIN DAVID PERRY
AND TWO TROOPS OF CAVALRY
TO BRING THE YOUNG WARRIORS
AND THE REST OF THE NEZ PERCE IN
AND CONFIDENTLY WIRED HIS SUPERIORS,
"THINK WE WILL MAKE SHORT WORK OF IT."
AT WHITE BIRD CANYON ON THE SALMON RIVER,
PERRY ATTACKED.
THE NEZ PERCE HURLED THEM BACK.
THOSE SOLDIERS DID NOT HOLD THEIR POSITION 10 MINUTES.
SOME SOLDIERS WERE QUICKLY ON THE RUN.
THEN THE ENTIRE ENEMY FORCE GAVE WAY.
WE COUNTED 33 DEAD SOLDIERS.
WE DID NO SCALPING. WE DID NOT STRIP THEM NAKED.
WE DID NOT HURT THE DEAD-- ONLY LET THEM LIE.
ONLY THREE NEZ PERCE WARRIORS HAD BEEN WOUNDED IN THE BATTLE,
BUT PERRY HAD LOST 1/3 OF HIS COMMAND
AND BEEN DRIVEN FROM THE FIELD.
"I HAVE BEEN IN LOTS OF SCRAPES,"
ONE ARMY SCOUT REMEMBERED,
"BUT I NEVER WENT UP AGAINST ANYTHING LIKE THE NEZ PERCE
IN ALL MY LIFE."
NEWS OF THE STUNNING DEFEAT AT WHITE BIRD CANYON,
ALMOST ONE YEAR AFTER CUSTER'S DEATH AT THE LITTLE BIG HORN,
SHOCKED THE COUNTRY.
HOWARD CALLED FOR MORE TROOPS.
FOR THE NEXT THREE MONTHS,
SEEKING SOME PLACE WHERE THE SOLDIERS WOULD NOT FOLLOW,
THE NEZ PERCE WOULD LEAD THE UNITED STATES ARMY
ON ONE OF THE MOST REMARKABLE PURSUITS IN MILITARY HISTORY.
ON JULY 3, THE NEZ PERCE WIPED OUT AN ARMY SCOUTING PARTY
OF 13 MEN THAT GOT TOO CLOSE.
ON INDEPENDENCE DAY, THEY FOUGHT OFF AN ATTACK
AT AN OLD STAGE STOP CALLED COTTONWOOD.
A WEEK LATER ON THE CLEARWATER RIVER,
THEY KILLED 13 MORE OF HOWARD'S MEN
WHO SOUGHT TO STOP THEM.
THEN THEY BEGAN CLIMBING THE BITTERROOT MOUNTAINS
LED BY A WAR CHIEF NAMED LOOKING GLASS,
FOLLOWING THE SAME TRAIL
THAT HAD BROUGHT LEWIS AND CLARK TO THEM
3/4 OF A CENTURY EARLIER.
THERE WERE ABOUT 700 OF THEM, ONLY 200 WARRIORS--
THE REST WOMEN, CHILDREN, AND OLD PEOPLE,
ALL IN JOSEPH'S CARE.
STILL, THEY MOVED QUICKLY,
BELIEVING THAT IF THEY COULD MAKE IT TO MONTANA
AND JOIN THEIR ALLIES THE CROW, THEY WOULD BE SAFE.
WHEN THEY REACHED MONTANA,
THE NEZ PERCE TURNED SOUTH ALONG THE BITTERROOT RIVER,
PAYING FOR FOOD AND SUPPLIES FROM WHITE SETTLERS.
BUT THE FRIGHTENED TOWNSPEOPLE
OF MISSOULA, BUTTE, BANNOCK, AND VIRGINIA CITY
DEMANDED ARMY PROTECTION.
ON AN ELEVATED PLATEAU SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS
CALLED THE BIG HOLE,
LOOKING GLASS CONVINCED THE WEARY INDIANS
THEY COULD REST FOR SEVERAL DAYS.
HOWARD, HE SAID,
WAS TOO FAR BEHIND THEM TO WORRY ABOUT.
BUT COLONEL JOHN GIBBON
HAD ASSEMBLED ALL THE AVAILABLE SOLDIERS IN WESTERN MONTANA
AND, WITH THE HELP OF BANNOCK SCOUTS,
TRACKED THE UNSUSPECTING NEZ PERCE TO THE BIG HOLE.
THE TRAIL LED US ALONG THE BLUFFS
OVERLOOKING THE BRUSH-COVERED VALLEY,
AND AS WE MOVED STEALTHILY FORWARD,
I COULD HEAR A CAUTIOUS WHISPER--
"THERE THEY ARE. LOOK!"
AND THE MAIN CAMP OF OUR ENEMIES
WAS AS PLAINLY IN SIGHT AS THE DIM STARLIGHT PERMITTED.
COLONEL JOHN GIBBON.
THE TROOPS ATTACKED AT DAWN.
IN THE FIRST MOMENTS,
BETWEEN 60 AND 90 NEZ PERCE WERE CUT DOWN--
MANY OF THEM DEAD
BEFORE THEY COULD KICK FREE OF THEIR BLANKETS.
BUT THE SURVIVORS REGROUPED,
WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND OLD MEN FIGHTING ALONGSIDE THE WARRIORS
WITH SUCH FURY THAT THEY DROVE THE SOLDIERS FROM THE CAMP.
FEW OF US WILL SOON FORGET
THE WAIL OF MINGLED GRIEF, RAGE, AND HORROR
WHICH CAME FROM THE CAMP 400 OR 500 YARDS FROM US
WHEN THE INDIANS RETURNED TO IT
AND RECOGNIZED THEIR SLAUGHTERED WARRIORS, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN.
ABOVE THIS WAIL OF HORROR,
WE COULD HEAR THE PASSIONATE APPEAL OF THE LEADERS
URGING THEIR FOLLOWERS TO FIGHT
AND THE WAR WHOOPS IN ANSWER WHICH BODED US NO GOOD.
THE ENRAGED WARRIORS
PINNED GIBBON'S MEN DOWN WITH THEIR FIRE
WHILE JOSEPH LED THE OTHERS AWAY FROM THE FIGHTING.
THE NEZ PERCE SLIPPED BACK INTO IDAHO,
THEN TURNED EAST AGAIN TOWARD THE YELLOWSTONE PLATEAU,
WHICH HAD RECENTLY BEEN SET ASIDE AS A NATIONAL PARK.
WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN HIMSELF
HAD ASSURED VISITORS THERE WAS NO DANGER.
INDIANS, HE SAID, WERE TOO SUPERSTITIOUS
TO VENTURE NEAR THE GEYSERS.
BUT THE NEZ PERCE SWEPT RIGHT INTO THE PARK.
THEY CAPTURED MORE THAN A DOZEN HORRIFIED TOURISTS
AND KILLED TWO OF THEM
BEFORE THE CHIEFS TOLD THE WARRIORS
TO LET THE OTHERS GO.
THE INDIANS MOVED ON, STILL HOPING TO JOIN FORCES
WITH THEIR LONGTIME FRIENDS THE CROW
AND TO FIND A COUNTRY SOMEWHERE FREE OF WHITES.
BUT THE CROW WERE NOW PURSUING THEM
ON BEHALF OF THE ARMY,
STEALING HORSES, KILLING STRAGGLERS.
MANY SNOWS THE CROWS HAVE BEEN OUR FRIENDS,
BUT NOW TURNED ENEMIES.
I DO NOT UNDERSTAND
HOW THE CROWS COULD THINK TO HELP THE SOLDIERS.
MY HEART WAS JUST LIKE FIRE.
THE NEZ PERCE WERE ALONE.
THE WEST THEY HAD ONCE KNOWN HAD VANISHED.
NOW THEY FASTENED ON ONE LAST CHANCE FOR ESCAPE.
THE LAKOTA CHIEF SITTING BULL HAD FOUND SAFETY IN CANADA.
THEY WOULD HEAD NORTH ACROSS MONTANA TO JOIN HIM.
THEY CROSSED THE YELLOWSTONE RIVER,
THEN THE MUSSELSHELL,
AND FINALLY, IN LATE SEPTEMBER, THE MISSOURI.
THEY HAD COME MORE THAN 1,500 MILES,
FOUGHT IN 17 ENGAGEMENTS
AGAINST MORE THAN 2,000 SOLDIERS AND INDIAN SCOUTS,
SUFFERED HARDSHIPS, DISAPPOINTMENTS,
AND THE LOSS OF LOVED ONES.
BUT THEY HAD BEATEN OR ELUDED EVERY ARMY SENT AGAINST THEM.
"THE WHOLE NEZ PERCE MOVEMENT," ONE U.S. ARMY OFFICER MARVELED,
"IS UNEQUALED IN THE HISTORY OF INDIAN WARFARE."
NOW CANADA--AND FREEDOM-- WERE ONLY 40 MILES AWAY.
BEFORE CROSSING THE BORDER,
THE NEZ PERCE STOPPED TO CAMP ON SNAKE CREEK,
NEAR THE BEAR PAW MOUNTAINS.
GENERAL HOWARD, THEY KNEW,
WAS MORE THAN TWO DAYS' MARCH BEHIND THEM.
BUT UNKNOWN TO THEM, COLONEL NELSON A. MILES
HAD MERCILESSLY PUSHED HIS OWN FIFTH INFANTRY
AND CUSTER'S OLD COMMAND, THE SEVENTH CAVALRY,
ALL THE WAY FROM EASTERN MONTANA TO INTERCEPT THE NEZ PERCE.
WITH HIM RODE LAKOTA AND CHEYENNE WARRIORS,
WHO JUST A YEAR BEFORE HAD DEFEATED THE SEVENTH
AT THE LITTLE BIG HORN.
THE NEZ PERCE WERE QUIETLY SLUMBERING IN THEIR TENTS.
WHEN THE CHARGE WAS MADE,
THE TRAMP OF AT LEAST 600 HORSES OVER THE PRAIRIE
FAIRLY SHOOK THE GROUND,
AND ALTHOUGH A COMPLETE SURPRISE TO THE INDIANS IN THE MAIN,
IT MUST HAVE GIVEN THEM A FEW MINUTES' NOTICE,
FOR AS THE TROOPS CHARGED AGAINST THE VILLAGE,
THE INDIANS OPENED A HOT FIRE UPON THEM.
COLONEL NELSON A. MILES.
NEZ PERCE WARRIORS DROVE OFF ONE ATTACK,
THEN A SECOND AND A THIRD.
THEY KILLED OR WOUNDED 53 OF THE SOLDIERS...
BUT ALL THEIR HORSES HAD BEEN DRIVEN OFF.
THEY COULD NOT ESCAPE.
MILES DUG IN FOR A SIEGE.
THE WEATHER TURNED COLDER.
MOST OF OUR FEW WARRIORS LEFT FROM THE BIG HOLE
HAD BEEN SWEPT AS LEAVES BEFORE THE STORM.
A YOUNG WARRIOR, WOUNDED,
LAY ON A BUFFALO ROBE, DYING WITHOUT COMPLAINT.
CHILDREN CRYING WITH COLD. NO FIRE.
THERE COULD BE NO LIGHT.
EVERYWHERE THE CRYING, THE DEATH WAIL.
I FELT THE COMING END.
ALL FOR WHICH WE HAD SUFFERED--LOST!
THOUGHTS CAME OF THE WALLOWA WHERE I GREW UP,
OF MY OWN COUNTRY WHEN ONLY INDIANS WERE THERE,
OF TEEPEES ALONG THE BENDING RIVER,
OF THE BLUE, CLEAR LAKE,
WIDE MEADOWS WITH HORSE AND CATTLE HERDS.
FROM THE MOUNTAIN FOREST, VOICES SEEMED CALLING.
I FELT AS DREAMING-- NOT MY LIVING SELF.
FOR FIVE MORE DAYS, THE SIEGE WENT ON.
A FEW NEZ PERCE SLIPPED BEHIND THE LINES
AND STRAGGLED INTO CANADA.
SITTING BULL WELCOMED THEM
BUT WOULD SEND NO FORCE TO RESCUE THE OTHERS.
UNDER A WHITE FLAG, MILES OPENED NEGOTIATIONS.
JOSEPH WAS SELECTED TO TALK WITH HIM.
TURN OVER YOUR RIFLES, MILES SAID,
AND IN THE SPRING, YOU WILL BE ALLOWED TO RETURN HOME.
MY PEOPLE WERE DIVIDED ABOUT SURRENDERING,
BUT I COULD NOT BEAR TO SEE MY WOUNDED MEN AND WOMEN
SUFFER ANY LONGER.
WE HAD LOST ENOUGH ALREADY.
COLONEL MILES PROMISED
THAT WE MIGHT RETURN TO OUR OWN COUNTRY
WITH WHAT STOCK WE HAD LEFT.
I THOUGHT WE COULD START AGAIN.
I BELIEVED COLONEL MILES,
OR I NEVER WOULD HAVE SURRENDERED.
ON THE AFTERNOON OF OCTOBER 5, 1877,
JOSEPH RODE OUT TO THE FOOT OF A BLUFF ON THE PRAIRIE.
COLONEL MILES AND GENERAL HOWARD WERE WAITING FOR HIM.
JOSEPH THREW HIMSELF OFF HIS HORSE,
DRAPED HIS BLANKET ABOUT HIM,
AND WITH A QUIET PRIDE, NOT EXACTLY DEFIANCE,
ADVANCED TOWARD GENERAL HOWARD
AND HELD OUT HIS RIFLE IN TOKEN OF SUBMISSION.
LIEUTENANT CHARLES ERSKINE WOOD.
I AM TIRED OF FIGHTING.
OUR CHIEFS ARE ALL KILLED. LOOKING GLASS IS DEAD.
THE OLD MEN ARE ALL DEAD.
IT IS COLD, AND WE HAVE NO BLANKETS.
THE LITTLE CHILDREN ARE FREEZING TO DEATH.
MY PEOPLE, SOME OF THEM, HAVE RUN AWAY TO THE HILLS
AND HAVE NO FOOD.
NO ONE KNOWS WHERE THEY ARE.
I WANT TO HAVE TIME TO LOOK FOR MY CHILDREN
AND SEE HOW MANY OF THEM I CAN FIND.
MAYBE I SHALL FIND THEM AMONG THE DEAD.
HEAR ME, MY CHIEFS. I AM TIRED.
MY HEART IS SICK AND SAD.
FROM WHERE THE SUN NOW STANDS, I WILL FIGHT NO MORE FOREVER.
JOSEPH AND HIS PEOPLE WERE LOADED ONTO A RIVERBOAT
AND SENT DOWN THE MISSOURI RIVER
TOWARD FORT ABRAHAM LINCOLN IN DAKOTA TERRITORY,
WHERE THEY EXPECTED TO SPEND THE WINTER.
BUT WHILE THEY WERE ON THE WAY, MILES' AND HOWARD'S PROMISE
THAT THEY WOULD BE ALLOWED TO RETURN HOME
HAD BEEN OVERRULED BY GENERAL SHERMAN.
THE INDIANS THROUGHOUT DISPLAYED A COURAGE AND SKILL
THAT ELICITED UNIVERSAL PRAISE.
THEY ABSTAINED FROM SCALPING, LET CAPTIVE WOMEN GO FREE,
DID NOT COMMIT INDISCRIMINATE MURDER OF PEACEFUL FAMILIES,
WHICH IS USUAL,
AND FOUGHT WITH ALMOST SCIENTIFIC SKILL.
NEVERTHELESS, THEY WOULD NOT SETTLE DOWN
ON LANDS SET APART FOR THEM,
AND WHEN COMMANDED BY PROPER AUTHORITY,
THEY BEGAN RESISTANCE BY MURDERING PERSONS
IN NO MANNER CONNECTED WITH THEIR ALLEGED GRIEVANCES.
THEY SHOULD NEVER AGAIN BE ALLOWED TO RETURN TO OREGON.
GENERAL WILLIAM TECUMSEH SHERMAN.
MILES AND HOWARD COULD NOT CHANGE SHERMAN'S DECISION.
THE NEZ PERCE HAD BEEN BETRAYED AGAIN.
WHEN THE INDIANS ARRIVED AT THE FORT,
ITS CANNON GREETED THEM,
AND THE STEAM ENGINE OF THE NORTHERN PACIFIC TRAIN
BLASTED ITS WHISTLE THREE TIMES.
THEY HAD NEVER SEEN A TRAIN BEFORE,
AND THE NEZ PERCE BEGAN A MOURNFUL SONG.
IT SOUNDED, ONE ONLOOKER SAID, LIKE A DEATH CHANT.
THEN, JOSEPH AND HIS PEOPLE WERE LOADED ONTO THE TRAIN.
THEY WERE NOT GOING HOME,
THEY WERE NOW TOLD, BUT FAR AWAY,
INTO EXILE IN THE NORTHEASTERN CORNER OF INDIAN TERRITORY
IN WHAT IS NOW OKLAHOMA--
NEARLY 2,000 MILES FROM THEIR BELOVED WALLOWA VALLEY.
ONCE THERE, THEY FOUND CONDITIONS UNSANITARY,
MEDICINE SCARCE.
68 OF THEM PERISHED IN THE FIRST YEAR ALONE.
SOON, THEY HAD A CEMETERY SET ASIDE SOLELY FOR BABIES
WITH 100 GRAVES.
AMONG THE NEZ PERCE WHO DIED
WAS AN OLD MAN NAMED HALAHTOOKIT, OR DAYTIME SMOKE.
ACCORDING TO JOSEPH'S PEOPLE,
HE WAS THE HALF-INDIAN SON OF WILLIAM CLARK,
THE AMERICAN EXPLORER THE NEZ PERCE HAD SHELTERED
MORE THAN 70 YEARS EARLIER,
THE MAN WHO HAD FIRST PROMISED
THAT THE UNITED STATES WOULD ALWAYS BE THEIR FRIEND.
GOOD WORDS DO NOT LAST LONG.
GOOD WORDS DO NOT PAY FOR MY DEAD PEOPLE.
THEY DO NOT PAY FOR MY COUNTRY, NOW OVERRUN BY WHITE MEN.
GOOD WORDS WILL NOT GET MY PEOPLE A HOME
WHERE THEY CAN LIVE IN PEACE AND TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES.
I AM TIRED OF TALK THAT COMES TO NOTHING.
IT MAKES MY HEART SICK
WHEN I REMEMBER ALL THE GOOD WORDS
AND BROKEN PROMISES.
YOU MIGHT AS WELL EXPECT THE RIVERS TO RUN BACKWARD
AS THAT ANY MAN WHO WAS BORN A FREE MAN
SHOULD BE CONTENTED WHEN PENNED UP
AND DENIED LIBERTY TO GO WHERE HE PLEASES.
CHIEF JOSEPH.