Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 47 Marias River with three Expe- dition members, and encoun- tered a party of eight Piegan men just south of the present- day town of Cut Bank. ey camped together for the night and the next morning, Lewis was awakened by shouts of his men. e Piegans had taken their rifles. One Piegan was stabbed and killed in a struggle with Reuben Field while Lewis shot another. is encounter was the only violent conflict between the Corps of Discovery and American Indians. One outcome of this event is that the Blackfeet remembered bitterly when He-Who- Looks-At-e-Calf and Calf-Standing-On-A-Side-Hill were killed by the Americans and refused to permit the American fur companies to operate within their territory. HAYFIELD FIGHT, August 1, 1867, an engage- ment of Red Cloud's War, near Fort C. F. Smith (current site of Yellowtail Dam, south of Hardin). Fort C. F. Smith was one of three military posts established along the Bozeman Trail. A hay-cutting crew was attacked by Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors (allies with the Lakota) during a coordinated series of attacks by the Lakota and Chey- enne designed to close the Bozeman Trail. Although a little-known encounter where only three non-Indians were killed, the Hayfield Fight, together with the Wagon Box Fight (August 2), near Fort Phil Kearny, Wyoming, convinced the Government that it could not guarantee safe travel of non-Indian civilians using the Bozeman Trail. e Government agreed to withdraw from the Bozeman Trail and the forts were abandoned. Red Cloud's War ended with the 1868 Treaty of Fort Laramie which saw the creation of the Great Sioux Reservation and the promise that the Powder River country would be "unceded Indian Territory," a reserve for Indians who chose not to live on the reservation. Red Cloud is said to be the only Indian leader to win a war against the United States. BATTLE OF BEAR PAW, between the Nez Perce and soldiers commanded by General Oliver O. Howard and Colonel Nelson A. Miles, September 30 – October 5, 1877. e Battle of Bear Paw (aka, Battle of the Bears Paw Mountains) was the final engagement of the so-called Nez Perce War of 1877. After a five month and 1,170 mile trek, the Nez Perce, cold and tired, were just 42 miles from sanctuary in Canada when they were forced to surrender following a siege that lasted several days in cold and snowy conditions. On October 5, Chief Joseph delivered his surrender speech that concluded, "From where the sun now stands I will fight no more forever." e flight of the Nez Perce is regarded as one of the last attempts to avoid reservation life by the Plains tribes. BATTLE OF THE BIG HOLE, August 9-10, 1877, between the U.S. Army and the Nez Perce, during the Nez Perce Flight. One of a series of battles and skirmishes, the Battle of the Big Hole was especially costly to both sides. Colonel John Gibbon, from Fort Shaw (near Great Falls) followed the Nez Perce into the Bitterroot Valley. On August 8, he located the Nez Perce camp in the Big Hole. e next day, Gibbon attacked the village and after the Nez Perce scattered, he halted the pursuit, allowing the Nez Perce to rally. is hesitation provided the Nez Perce with time enough for the camp to pack up and escape. Both sides suffered relatively heavy casualties; Gibbon suffered 29 dead while it is estimated that the total dead among the Nez Perce was between 70 and 90, the majority of whom were women and chil- dren. is battle convinced the Nez Perce that they could not expect sympathy from the military thereafter. Site of Two Medicine Fight Fort C.F. Smith Bear Paw Battlefield National Historic Park Dr. Fleming discusses political issues www.distinctlymontana.com/fleming193 DISTINCTLY MONTANA | DIGITAL Big Hole Battlefield HAYFIELD FIGHT BATTLE OF BEAR PAW BATTLE OF THE BIG HOLE 5 6 7

• Cover