Distinctly Montana Magazine

DISTINCTLY MONTANA MAGAZINE • WINTER 2022-23 62 loids of the time. The whole country was following, like a mod- ern-day reality show. They were becoming cult heroes, especial- ly Chief Joseph. There could be no peace for them in Montana. It was only a year earlier that Sitting Bull had defeated Custer. This band of "renegades" must be made to feel the full boot of the military and brought into line, lest other tribes sense an opportunity for freedom and they have a full-scale uprising across the West. They had not left Howard permanently behind and he would, indeed, continue to pursue them across Montana over the next few months. The military must not be bested again. But bested they were at each encounter. Even at the end it was less of a military defeat and more of a standoff where Chief Joseph felt surrender was in the best interests of the children, elders and wounded remaining. For a people who had never en- gaged in warfare with an organized military before, the tactics of the Nez Perce were surprisingly astute and effective. As the old saying goes, "hindsight is 20/20." There were blun- ders on both sides. Howard proved to be a less than competent tactician, and was often found to be days behind the band. Out- running his forces was not difficult. The Nez Perce could have easily made it were it not for puzzling errors of their own, that went along with their brilliance in battle. Although history (and the military) considered Joseph as the overall leader, he was not. His brother, Ollokot, was the war chief of the Wallowa Band, while Joseph was responsible for the safe- ty and health of the whole group. Other bands were led by Look- ing Glass, Toohoolhoolzoote, and White Bird. In addition, there were some smaller, affiliated bands from the neighboring Palouse Tribes. Among the leaders there was a consensus to appoint Look- ing Glass to the lead position. Looking Glass was a brilliant tacti- cian in battle, but some of his other decisions were disastrous. After peacefully moving south through the Bitterroot Valley, the exiles camped along the North Fork of the Big Hole River, just west of present-day Wisdom. They were tired, and there was good forage for the horses and camas bulbs for food. Looking Glass sensed no danger, having left General Howard behind. Others, such as White Bird, tried to press a sense of urgency, but Looking Glass turned a deaf ear to it. He didn't even post any scouts. In the meantime, Howard had already telegraphed Col. John Gibbon at Fort Shaw, west of Great Falls, to intercept the Nez Perce and force their surrender. During the pre-dawn hours on August 9, 1877, Gibbon's small force of fewer than 200 men attacked the encampment, firing low into the teepees. Their barrage of bullets killed mainly women and children who were sleeping there. Joseph acted quickly to save the horses from stampeding, and the warriors conducted a successful counter offensive, holding Gibbon's men at bay for a day and a half while they packed up camp and left. Later, Gibbon would say that the war was "an unjustifiable outrage upon the red man, due to our aggressive and untruthful behavior towards these poor people." The Nez Perce now headed east, through the newly formed Yellowstone National Park. Again, feeling no particular urgen- cy, and needing to build up their horses' strength once more, they tarried there for two weeks. It was there that they learned the Crows were not going to help them, so they decided to head north to the "Medicine Line." Once again, they eluded forces dispatched to meet them exiting the park and began a more di- rect route to meet up with Sitting Bull in Canada. They arrived at the banks of Snake Creek in the Bear Paw Mountains on September 29. They were now barely 40 miles south of the border. People and horses were tired. Knowing they were days ahead of Howard, they had been moving rather slow- ly. Looking Glass again did not listen to counsel to keep moving and posted no guards that night. In the meantime, Howard had telegraphed Col. Nelson Miles, stationed in eastern Montana, to set out as quickly as possible to Teepees, Big Hole National Battlefield DOUG STEVENS

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