Saga of Chief Joseph

by Helen Addison Howard

  When Odeneal and Monteith insisted that he must move to Lapwai, Joseph answered:

  I will not. I do not need your help; we have plenty, and we are contented and happy if the white man will let us alone. The reservation is too small for so many people with all their stock. You can keep your presents; we can go to your towns and pay for all we need; we have plenty of horses and cattle to sell, and we won’t have any help from you; we are free now; we can go where we please. Our fathers were born here. Here they lived, here they died, here are their graves. We will never leave them.16

  The commissioners, favorably impressed with the character of Chief Joseph as well as the logic of his arguments, discussed with him the possibility of making the Wallowa Valley into a reservation. They offered the usual government annuities as an inducement for the tribe to become civilized. Their offer, however, was rejected by the chief for various surprising reasons. Odeneal relates the following conversation in his report to the Secretary of the Interior:

  Joseph was asked: “Do you want schools or school houses on the Wallowa Reservation?”

  The chief answered: “No, we do not want schools or school houses on the Wallowa Reservation.”

  Commissioner: “Why do you not want schools?”

  Chief Joseph: “They will teach us to have churches.”

  Commissioner: “Do you not want churches?”

  Chief Joseph: “No, we do not want churches.”

  Commissioner: “Why do you not want churches?”

  Chief Joseph: “They will teach us to quarrel about God, as the Catholics and Protestants do on the Nez Perce Reservation and at other places. We do not want to learn that. We may quarrel with men sometimes about things on this earth, but we never quarrel about God. We do not want to learn that.”17

  Joseph won his first verbal battle with the government by convincing Commissioners Odeneal and Monteith that he was in the right, and that it would be impracticable to remove his people. Upon their recommendation President Grant issued an executive order on June 16, 1873, withdrawing Wallowa Valley from settlement as public domain.18 However, the tract did not include all the land claimed by Joseph, nor all the area which the commissioners had recommended. It excluded the headwaters of the Wallowa and Imnaha rivers, Wallowa Lake, and the territory adjacent to the left bank of the Grande Ronde River.19

  Monteith tried to induce Joseph’s band to settle permanently near Wallowa Lake. Joseph, though, asked the agent’s permission to visit Washington during the fall of 1873, for the purpose of taking the matter up with the President. For some reason Agent Monteith refused the chief’s request.20

  In September, Monteith reported: “Joseph and band have spent the greater part of the summer in the Wallowa Valley and will remain there until snow falls.”21 It was the habit of Joseph’s people to spend the winters in the Imnaha Valley, which was closer to the Snake River gorge and which, being sheltered, had a milder climate. This valley was recognized by other Indians as belonging to the Wal-lam-wat-kins. In the summer the Wallowa was shared with visiting tribes of Nez Perces, but Joseph’s band alone asserted their claim to ownership. Neither the nontreaty nor treaty Indians disputed Joseph’s sole claim.

  In Monteith’s report quoted above, he protested to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs the nomadic life of Looking Glass’s nontreaty band:

  Some measures ought to be adopted whereby the Indians can be prevented from going to the buffalo country. A party has just come in with great stories of how they whipped a party of Sioux and captured mules, horses, etc., creating quite a desire on the part of many to go back next spring and try their hand at it.22

  Such expeditions, sometimes lasting one or two years, seriously interfered with the agent’s efforts to civilize the reservation Indians.

  Upon pressure brought by white settlers, Governor L. F. Grover of Oregon wrote to the Secretary of the Interior on July 21, 1873, protesting Grant’s revocation order. The Wallowa Road and Bridge Company and the Prairie Creek Ditch Company owned improvements in the valley which, together with those of stockmen, amounted to $67,860, according to the assessment made by the Department of the Interior. These interests, apparently, were behind the move to oust the Indians.

  The following excerpts are taken from Grover’s letter:

  By this amendatory treaty (1863) the Nez Perces tribe relinquished to the United States all the territory embraced in the reservation created by the treaty of 1855, which lay within the boundaries of the state of Oregon, including the said Wallowa valley; so that on and after said 9th day of June, 1863, the Nez Perces tribe did not lawfully hold or occupy any land within the state of Oregon. . . .

  I learn that young Joseph does not object to going on the reservation at this time, but that certain leading spirits of his band do object, for the reason that by so doing they would have to abandon some of their nomadic habits and haunts. The very objection which they make is a strong reason why they should be required to do so; for no beneficial influence can be exerted by agents and missionaries among the Indians while they maintain their aboriginal habits. . . .

  JOSEPH’S BAND DO NOT DESIRE WALLOWA VALLEY FOR A RESERVATION AND FOR A HOME. I understand that they will not accept it on condition that they shall occupy it as such. . . . This small band wish the possession of this large section of Oregon simply for room to gratify a wild, roaming disposition and not for a home.23

  While Grover advances seemingly strong arguments for the removal of Joseph’s band, a study of his statements reveals numerous fallacies here, as in the rest of the letter. In the first place, his contention that the Nez Perces did not own the Wallowa Valley after June 9, 1863, is patently incorrect. After careful consideration of all the facts, Major Henry Clay Wood, the Assistant Adjutant General to the Commander of the Department of the Pacific, made an official report on the matter directly contrary to Grover’s assertion. Wood states:

  The non-treaty Nez-Perces cannot in law be regarded as bound by the treaty of 1863; and in so far as it attempts to deprive them of a right to occupancy of any land its provisions are null and void. The extinguishment of their title of occupancy contemplated by this treaty is imperfect and incomplete . . . this title of occupancy is “as sacred as the fee simple, absolute title of the whites.”24

  If failure of one party to fulfill treaty provisions nullifies a document, then the government had already abrogated its treaties with the Nez Perces. On this point Wood further states: “The Nez Perces, undoubtedly, were at liberty to renounce the treaty of 1855 (and probably the treaty of 1863), the Government having violated the treaty obligations.”25

  Again the governor’s statement asserting Joseph’s willingness to move onto a reservation is diametrically the opposite of all government reports, which show Joseph to be emphatically opposed to reservations. Naturally the Indians desired to maintain their “nomadic habits,” for freedom of movement is a human urge in practically every race. Had the governor given due consideration to the matter, he would have realized that these same nomadic habits in the white race had been responsible for populating his own state of Oregon, with the thousands of pioneers who crossed the plains in covered wagons. Assuredly, he must have known the whites were not “indigenous to Oregon.”

  As to the “beneficial influence” exerted by “agents and missionaries,” that is a moot question. It must be remembered that the aboriginal morals of the Nez Perces were very high. Their agent remarked that the tribe “in general avoids its [civilization’s] vices to a greater extent than is usual among Indians.”26 Certainly, the actions of those agents who diverted the Nez Perce funds could exert no exemplary influence on such a tribe. Nor were all the missionaries of the high caliber of Dr. Marcus Whitman and Father Pierre Jean De Smet, although it may be granted that, as a whole, they were actuated by spiritual motives.

  It is true that Joseph’s band did not want Wallowa Valley for a “reservation,” as his people were definitely opposed to any form of reservation control. But Grover made a grossly
incorrect statement when he declared that Joseph and his people did not desire the Wallowa “for a home.” Never did the chief renounce his claims to Wallowa as the home of the Wal-lam-wat-kins. On the contrary, Joseph’s desire to remain at home in that beloved valley of winding waters became the wellspring of his life.

  Grover’s letter further revealed that the disputed territory was nearly as large as the state of Massachusetts. The governor emphasized that such an extensive area should not be granted to the Indians, as the few hundred natives would interfere with the growth of settlements in the region. At the time approximately eighty families were settled in Wallowa Valley proper, so the argument about overcrowding was ridiculous. Even today the valley has few towns of any consequence. The largest place, Enterprise, has less than fifteen hundred population, while Imnaha Valley is practically a wilderness roamed by sheepherders with their flocks. And yet the fallacious and ridiculous arguments of Governor Grover were accepted by the Commission of 1876. Acting on its recommendation, the government forced the removal of Joseph’s band from Wallowa.

  8

  The Earth-mother Drinks Blood

  In the winter of 1872–73 news of the Modoc Indian uprising in western Oregon and northern California reached the Nez Perces. This rebellion stirred all the tribes throughout the Northwest as well as the white settlers. Nontreaty bands of Nez Perces assembled in Paradise Valley, near where the Grande Ronde River flows from Oregon into Washington, to discuss their future course if the insurrection should become general. They supplemented their councils by digging roots and gathering berries. However, the agitation of the malcontents among the nontreaties wore away in talk, and no hostile action resulted.

  The following year (1874), the Nez Perces held another meeting at the Weippe prairie in Idaho near the start of the Lolo Trail to Montana. The nontreaties used to gather there annually to engage in trading, gambling, collecting the camas roots, and horse racing. But this time they met for a “long talk.”

  Agent Monteith suspected that trouble might eventuate from the gathering, and so he attended the conference, escorted by a company of cavalry from Fort Lapwai under Captain David Perry. Starting on July 4, the meetings lasted several days, but the appearance of troops probably intimidated the malcontents among the chiefs and the parleys abruptly ended.

  Brief though it was, this council is important for revealing the dissatisfaction in White Bird’s band. It also indicates that he had been active for several years in spreading war propaganda among the nontreaty Indians. As to the subjects discussed at this powwow, we have the account of Grizzly Bear Ferocious, who relates:

  Three years before the council with General Howard in 1877, while I was down on Snake river, word came that there was to be a dead feast at Tipahliwam, and I was wanted there. The word came from . . . Rainbow, and . . . Shot Five Times, both brave and well-known warriors like myself. We three were to speak before the council of the chiefs. I did not know what it was about. The house of the feasting was of nine fires. When the Kamiahpu, who were church Indians, heard that there was to be a feast, they came, but although they were not refused admission to the feast, when it was time for the council guards were posted around the council-house, that none of them might spy on us and hear what was said. Jim Lawyer, son of the old Lawyer, was their chief.

  . . . Before this council and feast, White Bird had been going to the country of Joseph and Alokut and discussing with them the possibilities of successful war with the white people. Others had gone to Waiilatpu, and others even to the Shoshoni, our old enemies. After the council with General Howard, nobody had any intention to fight. Joseph, Alokut, White Bird—all had made up their minds to go to the reservation.

  The council was held at night. White Bird, Tuhulhutsut, Joseph, Alokut, Looking Glass, and others were there. Joseph, son of the Joseph who signed the treaty of 1855, was chief of the bands on upper Snake river, and particularly of the Inantoinnu [Wal-lam-wat-kins], who were at the mouth of the Grande Ronde. Alokut was his younger brother. White Bird was chief of the Lamtama, on White-bird creek, and was the most influential man among the Salmon River bands. Tuhulhutsut was a tiwat and chief of the Pikunanmu, on Snake river above the mouth of the Imnaha, and Looking Glass, son of the Looking Glass who was present at the council of 1855, was chief at Hasotoin [Asotin]. After the chiefs had assembled, we three warriors were called before them. White Bird sat at the end. This did not signify that he was of any more importance than the others. Looking Glass said: “Brothers, you have been called to hear our plans. The question is, if the Waiilatpu [Cayuses, Umatillas, and Walla Wallas], the people of Moses [Sinkiuses], and ourselves shall fight with the white people. This plan is before the council-house today. We have called you to come and speak.”1

  When White Bird requested that he express his views, Grizzly Bear Ferocious spoke in favor of peace. White Bird then asked several other chiefs to speak. Finally Looking Glass said: “Aa, brothers, I do not like to fight the white man.” Another old chief voiced this same opinion. No one else spoke, and the council terminated.

  Fate, or the unknown power that guides the destiny of a people, relentlessly entangled Joseph’s hapless band in a web of unfortunate circumstances. In the first place the combined efforts of Governor Grover and the Oregon congressman, in behalf of their constituents, changed the attitude of President Grant and the Secretary of the Interior toward Wallowa. The Interior Department recommended a revocation of the executive order of 1873. The President, on June 10, 1875, issued a new proclamation throwing open the Wallowa Valley to white settlement, and once again took away from Joseph’s people their exclusive right to it. The valley of winding waters became known as Union County, from which Wallowa County, embracing the valley of that name, was carved in 1887. Henry Clay Wood said of the President’s action: “If not a crime, it was a blunder. In intercourse with the Indian, it is not wise to speak with a forked tongue.”2

  The summary revocation order perplexed and angered the Nez Perces. However, the presence of Major John Green’s two troops of cavalry averted trouble in the valley when Joseph’s band made their summer visit to Wallowa for purposes of fishing and grazing their ponies. After a short stay the detachment returned to its post. According to Captain Whipple, when Joseph learned of Grant’s decision,

  . . . he looked disappointed, and after a short silence he said he hoped I could tell something of a possible doubt of their being obliged to relinquish this valley to the settlers. I told him the case was decided against the Indians by higher authority than that of any army officer. This declaration did not make the countenances of the Indians more cheerful.3

  In 1875 General Oliver O. Howard,4 the new Commander of the Department of the Columbia with headquarters at Fort Vancouver, for the first time met Joseph, against whom in two short years he was to be aligned in the hardest-fought campaign known to Indian warfare. Howard was on a tour of inspection of the military posts of the Northwest. Joseph and ten warriors were visiting Young Chief at the Umatilla Agency in northeastern Oregon, and requested an interview with the new “long-knife chief,” thinking that the latter, perhaps, could shed some light on the President’s contradictory order. The general writes that the Nez Perces were

  . . . carefully dressed in Indian costume. . . . At the time I was out of doors with the agent, looking at his buildings. The Indians first approached in single file, Young Joseph ahead. One after another took the agent’s hand, and then mine, in the most solemn manner. Joseph put his large black eyes on my face, and maintained a fixed look for some time. It did not appear to me as an audacious stare; but I thought he was trying to open the windows of his heart to me, and at the same time endeavoring to read my disposition and character. . . . I think that Joseph and I became then quite good friends. There was at the time little appearance of that distrust and deceit which some time afterward very strongly marked his face, especially while listening to white men in council.5

  After a short chat, the Indians took their leave. Foll
owing this visit, Howard wrote in his first report to the Secretary of War:

  The troubles at Lapwai, and at Wallowa Valley, have not thus far resulted in bloodshed; but it has been prevented by great carefulness on the part of government agents. . . . I think it a great mistake to take from Joseph and his band of Nez Perces Indians that valley. The white people really do not want it. They wished to be bought out. . . . Possibly congress can be induced to let these really peaceable Indians have this poor valley for their own.6

  But these “peaceable Indians” continued to have their own difficulties in remaining so. Agent Monteith writes of an erroneous report sent out by the settlers of the Wallowa Valley in February of 1876. They had telegraphed the governor of Oregon that Joseph’s band was driving off and killing stock and threatening the citizens. General Howard had responded by dispatching two troops of cavalry to the valley. Upon investigating the rumors Monteith found them to be even more than the opposite of the truth. In his report to the Commissioner of Indian Affairs, he states:

  Joseph and most of his band have been spending Xmas and New Years in the vicinity of the Agency attending feasts and having a good time generally, and at no time have they been more than twenty miles from the Agency, and were here at the time that the trouble was said to have taken place in the Wallowa Valley, in connection with them.7

  The Indians, Monteith further explained, had driven cattle back into the hills that had come along with herds of Indian ponies. Foreseeing future troubles, the agent again urged the Military Department of the Columbia to force the nontreaties to move onto the reservation in order to prevent more friction with stockmen.