Chapter VI: Indian Wars and Opening of Country to Settlement (2)

"On the morning of the fourth, a body of Indians was observed on the opposite side of the Columbia, apparently making preparations to cross the river with a large amount of baggage. Seeing us in possession of the fort, they were deterred from making the attempt, when I sent a small detachment down to a bar making into the Columbia immediately below the mouth of the Walla Walla, and opposite to where the Indians were, with directions to fire upon them and prevent the removal of their packs of provisions. The width of the river at this place is about 250 yards; and a brisk fire was at once opened upon the Indians, which was returned by them from behind the rocks on the opposite shore. No boats could be procured to cross the river in order to secure the provisions or to attack the body of Indians, numbering about fifty, who had made their appearance on the hill north of Walla Walla, who, after surveying our encampment, started off in a northeasterly direction. I at once determined to follow in pursuit of them on the following day.

"Early on the morning of the fifth I dispatched Second Major Chinn, with 150 men, to escort the baggage and packtrains to the mouth of the Touchet, there to await my return with the remainder of the forces under my command. On the same morning I marched with about two hundred men to a point on the Touchet River about twelve miles from its mouth, with the view of attacking the Walla Walla Indians, who were supposed to be encamped there. When I was near to and making towards the village, Peupeumoxmox, the chief of the tribe, with six other Indians, made their appearance under a flag of truce. He stated that he did not wish to fight; that his people did not wish to fight; and that on the following day he would come and have a talk and make a treaty of peace. On consultation with Hon. Nathan Olney, Indian agent, we concluded that this was simply a ruse to gain time for removing his village and preparing for battle. I stated to him that we had come to chastise him for the wrongs he had done to our people, and that we would not defer making an attack on his people unless he and his five followers would consent to accompany and remain with us until all difficulties were settled. I told him that he might go away under his flag of truce if he chose; but, if he did so, we would forthwith attack his village. The alternative was distinctly made known to him; and, to save his people, he chose to remain with us as a hostage for the fulfillment of his promise, as did also those who accompanied him. He at the same time said that on the following day he would accompany us to his village; that he would then assemble his people and make them deliver up all their arms and ammunition, restore the property which had been taken from the white settlers, or pay the full value of that which could not be restored; and that he would furnish fresh horses to remount my command, and cattle to supply them with provisions, to enable us to wage war against other hostile tribes who were leagued with him. Having made these promises, we refrained from making the attack, thinking we had him in our power, and that on the next day his promises would be fulfilled. I also permitted him to send one of the men who accompanied him to his village to apprise the tribes of the terms of the expected treaty, so that they might be prepared to fulfill it.

"On the sixth, we marched to the village and found it entirely deserted, but saw the Indians in considerable force on the distant hills, and watching our movements. I sent out a messenger to induce them to come in, but could not do so. And I will here observe that I have since learned from a Nez Percé boy who was taken at the same time with Peupeumoxmox, that instead of sending word to his people to make a treaty of peace, he sent an order for them to remove their women and children and prepare for battle. From all I have since learned, I am well persuaded that he was acting with duplicity, and that he expected to entrap my command in the deep ravine in which his camp was situated, and make his escape from us. We remained at the deserted village until about one o'clock in the afternoon; and seeing no hope of coming to any terms we proceeded to the mouth of the Touchet with a view of going from thence to some spot near Whitman's Station, where I had intended to form a permanent camp for the winter.

"On the morning of the seventh, Companies H and K crossed the Touchet, leading the column on the route to Whitman's Valley, and when formed on the plain, were joined by Company B. A few persons in front were driving our cattle; and a few were on the flanks of the companies and near the foot of the hills that extended along the river. These persons, as well as I can ascertain, were fired on by the Indians. Immediately all the companies except A and F (who were ordered to remain with the baggage) commenced an eager chase of the Indians in sight. A running fight was the consequence, the force of the Indians increasing with every mile. Several of the enemy were killed in the chase before reaching the farm of La Rocque, which is about twelve miles from the mouth of the Touchet. At this point they made a stand, their left resting on the river covered with trees and underbrush, their center occupying the flat, as this place was covered with clumps of sagebrush and small sand knolls, their right on the high ridge of hills which skirt the river bottom.

"When the volunteers reached this point, they were not more than forty or fifty men, being those mounted on the fleetest horses. Upon these the Indians poured a murderous fire from the brushwood and willows along the river, and from the sage bushes along the plain, wounding a number of the volunteers. The men fell back. The moment was critical. They were commanded to cross the fence which surrounds La Rocque's field, and charge upon the Indians in the brush. In executing this order, Lieutenant Burrows of Company H was killed; and Captain Munson of Company I, Isaac Miller, sergeant-major, and G. W. Smith of Company B, were wounded. A dispatch having been sent to Captain Wilson of Company A to come forward, he and his company came up on the gallop, dismounted at a slough, and with fixed bayonets pushed on through the brush. In the course of half an hour Captain Bennett was on the ground with Company F; and, with this accession, the enemy was steadily driven forward for two miles, when they took possession of a farm house and close fence, in attempting to carry which Captain Bennett of Company F and Private Kelso of Company A were killed.

"A howitzer found at Fort Walla Walla under charge of Captain Wilson, by this time was brought to bear upon the enemy. Four rounds were fired, when the piece bursted, wounding Captain Wilson. The Indians then gave way at all points; and the house and fence were seized and held by the volunteers and the bodies of our men recovered. These positions were held by as until nightfall, when the volunteers fell slowly back and returned unmolested to camp.

"Early on the morning of the 8th the Indians appeared with increased forces, amounting to fully six hundred warriors. They were posted as usual in the thick brush by the river, among the sage bushes and sand knolls, and on the surrounding hills. This day Lieutenant Pillow with Company A and Lieutenant Hannah with Company H were ordered to take and hold the brush skirting the river and the sage bushes on the plain. Lieutenant Fellows, with Company F, was directed to take and keep the possession of the point at the foot of the hill. Lieutenant Jeffries with Company B, Lieutenant Hand with Company I, and Captain Cornoyer with Company K, were posted on three several points on the hills, with orders to maintain them and to assail the enemy on other points of the same hills. As usual, the Indians were driven from their position, although they fought with skill and bravery.

"On the ninth, they did not make their appearance until about ten o'clock in the morning, and then in somewhat diminished numbers. As I had sent to Fort Henrietta for Companies D and E, and expected them on the tenth, I thought it best to act on the defensive and hold our positions, which were the same as on the eighth, until we could get an accession to our forces sufficient to enable us to assail their rear and cut off their retreat. An attack was made during the day on Companies A and H in the brushwood, and upon B on the hill, both of which were repulsed with great gallantry by those companies, and with considerable loss to the enemy. Companies F, I, and K also did honor to themselves in repelling all approaches to their positions, although in doing so one man in Company F and one in Company I were severely wounded. Darkness as usual closed the combat, by the enemy withdrawing from the field. Owing to the inclemency of the night, the companies on the hill were withdrawn from their several positions, Company B abandoning the rifle pits which were made by the men for its protection. At early dawn on the next day, the Indians were observed from our camp to be in possession of all points held by us on the preceding day. Upon seeing them, Lieutenant McAuliffe of Company B gallantly observed that his company had dug those holes, and that after breakfast they would have them again. And well was his declaration fulfilled; for in less than half an hour the enemy were driven from the rifle pits, and had fled to an adjoining hill which they had occupied the day before. This position was at once assailed. Captain Cornoyer with Company K and a portion of Company I, being mounted, gallantly charged the enemy on his right flank, while Lieutenant McAuliffe with Company B, dismounted, rushed up the hill in face of a heavy fire, and scattered them in all directions. They at once fled in all directions to return to this battlefield no more; and thus ended our long-contested fight.

"I have already given you a list of the killed and wounded on the first two days of the battle. On the last two days, we had only three wounded, whose names you will find subjoined to this report. J. Fleming of Company A, before reported as mortally wounded, has since died. I am happy to state, however, that Private Jasper Snook of Company H, reported by me as mortally wounded, is in a fair way to recover. The surgeon informs me that all the wounded in the hospital are now doing well. The loss of the enemy in killed, during the four days, I estimate at about seventy-five. Thirty-nine dead bodies have already been found by the volunteers; and many were carried off the field by their friends and comrades. So that I think that my estimate is about correct. The number of their wounded must, of course, be great. In making my report, I cannot say too much in the praise of the conduct of the officers of the several companies and most of the soldiers under my command. They did their duty bravely and well during those four trying days of battle. To Second Major Chinn, who took charge of the companies in the bush by the river, credit is due for his bravery and skill, also to Assistant Adjutant Monroe Atkinson for his efficiency and zeal as well in the field as in the camp. And here, while giving to the officers and men of the regiment the praise that is justly due, I cannot omit the name of Hon. Nathan Olney, although he is not one of the volunteers. Having accompanied me in the capacity of Indian agent, I requested him to act as my aid, on account of his admitted skill in Indian warfare; and, to his wisdom in council and daring courage on the field of battle, I am much indebted and shall never cease to appreciate his worth.

"Companies D and E having arrived from Fort Henrietta on the evening of the tenth, the next morning I followed with all the available troops along the Nez Perces' trail in pursuit of the Indians. On Mill Creek, about twelve miles from here, we passed through their village, numbering 196 fires, which had been deserted the night before. Much of their provisions were scattered along the wayside, indicating that they had fled in great haste to the north. We pursued them until it was too dark to follow the track of their horses, when we camped on Coppei Creek. On the twelfth we continued the pursuit until we passed some distance beyond the station of Brooke, Noble and Bumford on the Touchet, when we found the chase was in vain, as many of our horses were completely broken down and the men on foot. We therefore returned and arrived in camp on yesterday evening with about one hundred head of cattle which the Indians left scattered along the trail in their flight.

"On the eleventh, while in pursuit of the enemy, I received a letter from Narcisse Raymond by the hands of Tintinmetzy, a friendly chief (which I enclose), asking our protection of the French and friendly Indians under his charge.

"On the morning of the twelfth, I dispatched Captain Cornoyer with his company to their relief. Mr. Olney, who accompanied them, returned to camp this evening, and reports that Captain Cornoyer will return tomorrow with Mr. Raymond and his people, who now feel greatly relieved from their critical situation. Mr. Olney learned from these friendly Indians what we before strongly believed, that the Palouses, Walla Wallas, Umatillas, Cayuses, and Stock Whitley's band of Des Chutes Indians were all engaged in the battle on the Walla Walla. These Indians also informed Mr. Olney that, after the battle, the Palouses, Walla Wallas, and Umatillas had gone partly to the Grande Ronde and partly to the country of the Nez Perces, and that Stock Whitley, disgusted with the manner in which the Cayuses fought in the battle, has abandoned them and gone to the Yakima country to join his forces with those of Kamiakin. We have now the undisputed possession of the country south of the Snake River; and I would suggest the propriety of retaining this possession until such time as it can be occupied by the regular troops. The Indians have left much of their stock behind, which will doubtless be lost to us if we go away. The troops here will not be in a situation for some time to go to the Palouse country, as our horses at present are too much jaded to endure the journey; and we have no boats to cross Snake River and no timber to make them nearer than this place. But I would suggest the propriety of following up the Indians with all possible speed, now that their hopes are blighted and their spirits broken. Unless this be done, they will perhaps rally again.

"Today I received a letter from Governor Stevens, dated yesterday, which I enclose. You will perceive that he is in favor of a vigorous prosecution of the war. With his views I fully concur.

"I must earnestly ask that supplies be sent forward to us without delay. For the last three days none of the volunteers, except the two companies from Fort Henrietta, have had any flour. There is none here, and but little at that post. We are now living on beef and potatoes which are found _en cache_; and the men are becoming much discontented with this mode of living. Clothing for the men is much needed as the winter approaches. Tomorrow we will remove to a more suitable point, where grass can be obtained in greater abundance for our worn-out horses. A place has been selected about two miles above Whitman's Station, on the same (north) side of the Walla Walla; consequently I will abandon this fort, named in honor of Captain Bennett of Company F, who now sleeps beneath its stockade, and whose career of usefulness and bravery was here so sadly but nobly closed.

"Very respectfully, your ob't serv't,
"JAMES K. KELLY,
"Lieut.-Col., Com'g Left Col."

A most bitterly disputed feature of this battle was the killing of Peupeumoxmox. It has been esteemed by many as nothing short of murder. The author of this work found difference of opinion among the old-timers formerly resident in Walla Walla, as Lewis McMorris and James McAuliffe, as to the rights and wrongs of the case. The former narrated a ghastly story as follows: The Indian chief having been taken prisoner with several followers was under guard. In the hottest of the fight they undertook to escape. The guards shot them down. The body of the old chieftain was mutilated. His ears were cut off and put in a jar of whiskey in order to preserve them, and subsequently they were nailed to the State House at Salem. But, according to McMorris, the whiskey in the jar disappeared. It was believed by the soldiers that a certain lieutenant had taken it for beverage purposes, and it was common for someone in camp to bawl out at night when he could not be identified, "Who drank the whiskey off of Peupeumoxmox's ears?" This event, while so repulsive, casts a certain light on the conditions. Perhaps a fuller view can be obtained by quoting the official superintendent, Joel Palmer, as follows:

"We arrived near the camp (Walla Wallas) just before night (the 5th of December), and were met by Peupeumoxmox and about fifty of his men with a white flag. They asked for a talk. We halted (Colonel Kelly's command) and demanded what he wanted. He said peace. We told him to come with us and we would talk. He said no. We then told him to take back his flag and we would fight. He said no. We then told him to take his choice--go back and fight or come and stop with us. He chose the latter. We retained him until the next day. We tried to come to an understanding, but could not. We still retained him as a prisoner, with four of his men who came along with him. The next morning, the seventh, a large force attacked us as we left camp. In trying to escape from their guard during the seventh, they were killed."

As presenting the other view of the subject, we quote from Colonel Gilbert as follows:

"An important event transpired that day which it would be more proper to designate as a disgraceful tragedy enacted, that is omitted from this official report. The following is an account of it, as given to the writer by Lewis McMorris, who was present at the time and saw what he narrated. * * * The combatants had passed on up the valley, and the distant detonation of their guns could be heard. The flag of truce prisoners were there under guard, and everyone seemed electrified with suppressed excitement. A wounded man came in with his shattered arm dangling at his side, and reported Captain Bennett killed at the front. This added to the excitement, and the attention of all was more or less attracted to the wounded man, when some one said, 'Look out, or the Indians will get away!' At this, seemingly, every one yelled, 'Shoot 'em! Shoot 'em!' and on the instant there was a rattle of musketry on all sides.

"What followed was so quick, and there were so many acting that McMorris could not see it in detail, though all was transpiring within a few yards of, and around him. It was over in a minute, and three of the five prisoners were dead; another was wounded, knocked senseless and supposed to be dead, who afterwards recovered consciousness, and was shot to put him out of misery, while the fifth was spared because he was a Nez Percé. * * * All were scalped in a few minutes, and later the body of Yellow Bird, the great Walla Walla chief, was mutilated in a way that should entitle those who did it to a prominent niche in the ghoulish temple erected to commemorate the infamous acts of soulless men. Let us draw a screen upon this affair that has cast a shadow over the otherwise bright record of Oregon volunteers in that war, remembering, when we do so, that but few of them were responsible for its occurrence."

Following this decisive victory of Colonel Kelly and his command, in December, 1855, on the Walla Walla, a second regiment of Washington volunteers was despatched for Walla Walla in the summer of 1856 in command of Col. B. F. Shaw. On July 17, 1856, Colonel Shaw gained a brilliant victory over the allied forces of the savages in the Grande Ronde. While this important campaign was in progress, Governor Stevens had his hands full in Western Washington. The little settlement at Seattle had been nearly destroyed. Many of the settlers in the scattered settlements on the sound had lost their lives, their homes were destroyed and their stock driven off. In the spring the Klickitat Indians had made a sudden dash upon the settlements on the Columbia River between the White Salmon and the Cascades. A certain young lieutenant, afterwards somewhat distinguished, fought his first battle at the latter point. It was Phil Sheridan. In spite of these absorbing events in Western Washington and at the Cascades, Governor Stevens, realizing the vital importance of holding the allegiance of the Nez Perces, proceeded to Walla Walla for another council. His location was about two miles above the camp of 1855. Shortly after his arrival, Col. E. J. Steptoe of the regular army made camp at the location of the present fort.

And now came on the second great Walla Walla council. The tribes were fathered as before, and were aligned as before. The division of Nez Perces under Lawyer stood firmly by Stevens and the treaty. The others did not. The most unfortunate feature of the entire matter was that Colonel Steptoe, acting under General Wool's instructions, thus far kept secret, refused to grant Stevens adequate support and subjected him to humiliations which galled the fiery Governor to the limit. In fact, had it not been for the vigilance of the faithful Nez Perces of Lawyer's band, Stevens and his force would surely have met the doom prepared for them at the first council. The debt of gratitude due Lawyer is incalculable. Spotted Eagle ought to be recorded, too, as of similar devotion and watchfulness. Governor Stevens afterward declared that a speech by him in favor of the whites was equal in feeling, truth, and courage to any speech that he ever heard from any orator whatever.

But in spite of oratory, zeal, and argument, nothing could overcome the influence of Kamiakin, Owhi, Quelchen, Five Crows and others of the Yakimas and Cayuses. Nothing was gained. They stood just where they were a year before. The fatal results of divided counsels between regulars and volunteers were apparent.

The baffled Governor now started on his way down the river, but not without another battle. For, as he was marching a short distance south of what is now Walla Walla City, the Indians burst upon his small force with the evident intention of ending all scores then and there. But Colonel Steptoe established a rude stockade fort on Mill Creek in what is now the heart of the present Walla Walla City, and went into winter quarters there in 1856-57. Governor Stevens returned to Olympia and launched forth a bitter arraignment against Wool. The latter, however, was in a position of vantage and issued a proclamation commanding all whites in the upper country to go down the river and leave the Cascade Mountains as the eastern limit of the white settlement. Thus ended for a time this unsatisfactory and distressing war. To all appearances Kamiakin and his adherents had accomplished all they wanted.

But this was not the end. Gold had been discovered in Eastern Washington. Vast possibilities of cattle raising were evident on those endless bunch-grass hills. Although there was as yet little conception of the future developments of the Inland Empire in agriculture and gardening, yet the keen-eyed immigrants and volunteers had scanned the pleasant vales and abounding streams of the Walla Walla and Umatilla and Palouse, and had decided in their own minds that, Wool or no Wool, this land most be opened. In 1857 the Government, as already noted, decided on a change of policy and sent Gen. N. S. Clarke to take Wool's place. General Clarke opened the gates, and the impatient army of land hunters and gold hunters began to move in. Meanwhile, Colonel Wright and Colonel Steptoe, though formerly they had closely followed Wool's policy, now began to experience a change of heart. Out of these conditions the third Indian war, in 1858, quickly succeeded the second, being indeed its inevitable sequence.

Three campaigns marked this third war. The first was conducted by Colonel Steptoe against the Spokanes and Coeur d'Alenes, and ended in his humiliating and disastrous defeat. The second was directed by Major Garnett against the Yakimas, resulting in their permanent overthrow. The third was conducted by Colonel Wright against the Spokanes and other northern tribes who had defeated Steptoe. This was the Waterloo of the Indians, and it ushered in the occupation and settlement of the upper Columbia country.

The Steptoe expedition, the first of that series of campaigns, was one of the most disastrous in the history of Indian warfare. When the command had reached a point near Four Lakes, probably the group of which Silver Lake is largest, a formidable array of Indians met them, all the hosts of the Spokanes, Pend Oreilles, and allied tribes. Seeing the dangerous situation into which they were running, Steptoe gave the word to retreat.

The force turned back and that night all seemed well. But at 9 o'clock the next morning, while the soldiers were descending a cañon to Pine Creek, near the present site of Rosalia, a large force of Indians burst upon them like a cyclone. As the battle began to wax hot the terrible consequences of the error of lack of ammunition began to become manifest. Man after man had to cease firing. Capt. O. H. P. Taylor and Lieutenant Gaston commanded the rear-guard. With extraordinary skill and devotion they held the line intact and foiled the efforts of the savages to burst through. Meanwhile the whole force was moving as rapidly as consistent with formation on their way southward. Taylor and Gaston sent a messenger forward, begging Steptoe to halt the line and give them a chance to load. But the commander felt that the safety of the whole force depended on pressing on. Soon a fierce rush of Indians followed, and, when the surge had passed, the gallant rear-guard was buried under it. One notable figure in the death-grapple was De May, a Frenchman, trained in the Crimea and Algeria, and an expert fencer. For some time he used his gun barrel as a sword and swept the Indians down by dozens with his terrific sweeps. But at last he fell before numbers and one of his surviving comrades relates that he heard him shouting his last words, "O my God, my God, for a sabre!"

But the lost rear-guard saved the rest. For they managed to hold back the swarm of foes until nightfall, when they reached a somewhat defensible position a few miles from the towering cone of what is now known as Steptoe Butte. There they spent part of a dark, rainy, and dismal night, anticipating a savage attack. But the Indians, sure of their prey, waited till morning. Surely the first light would have revealed a massacre equal to the Custer massacre of later date, had not the unexpected happened. And the unexpected was that old Timothy, the Nez Percé guide, knew a trail through a rough cañon, the only possible exit without discovery. In the darkness of midnight the shattered command mounted and followed at a gallop the faithful Timothy, on whose keen eyes and mind their satiation rested. The wounded and a few footmen were dropped at intervals along the trail. After an eighty-mile gallop during the day and night following, the yellow flood of Snake River suddenly broke before them between its desolate banks. Saved! The unwearied Timothy threw out his own warriors as a screen against the pursuing foe, and set his women to ferrying the soldiers across the turbulent stream.

Thus the larger part of the command reached Fort Walla Walla alive.

With the defeat of Steptoe, the Indians may well have felt that they were invincible. But their exultation was short-lived. As already noted, Garnett crushed the Yakimas at one blow, and Wright a little later repeated Steptoe's march to Spokane, but did not repeat his retreat. For in the battle of Four Lakes, on September 1st, and that of Spokane Plains on September 5th, Wright broke forever the power and spirits of the northern Indians.

The treaties were thus established at last by war. The reservations, embracing the finest parts of the Umatilla, Yakima, Clearwater, and Coeur d'Alene regions, were set apart, and to them after considerable delay and difficulty the tribes were gathered.

With the end of this third great Indian war and the public announcement by General Clarke that the country might now be considered open to settlement, immigration began to pour in, and on ranch and river, in mine and forest, the well-known labors of the American state-builders and home-builders were displayed. The ever-new West was repeating itself. Almost immediately upon the tidings of General Clarke's proclamation, a motley throng of prospective miners, cowboys, pioneer merchants, promoters and adventurers of all kinds began to pour into the "Upper Country." The fur-traders, foreign missionaries, scouts, and advance guard of pioneers were passing off the stage and the modern builders were coming. The varied activities and enterprises of these builders of the foundations during the decades of the '60s and '70s, which may be styled the first division of the era of modern times will compose Part Two of this volume.