Nez Perce Forlorn Hope A Study of the Battle of White Bird Canyon

1. Larry Ott was born on February 19, 1836, in Blair County, Pennsylvania. In 1856 he traveled to San Francisco by boat and prospected around Marysville and elsewhere. In 1859 he moved to Virginia City, Nevada, and in 1862 made his first journey to Idaho. During the next two years, he spent time in Auburn, Oregon, and Walla Walla, Washington. In 1864 he returned to Idaho, and in 1872 he settled on the south side of the Salmon River at Horseshoe Bend, where he began farming and ranching. In the beginning he fenced only a small parcel of land, but in the spring of 1874 he decided to extend his fence line to enclose a small piece of property that had been formerly used as a campground by the Nez Perce. The Indians objected, but Ott ignored them and began plowing. In a fit of anger, Eagle Robe threw a rock at Ott and knocked him to the ground. Ott retaliated by pulling his revolver and shooting the chief, who died a few days later. A grand jury looked into the matter but discharged the case, because the Indian witnesses refused to be sworn on the grounds that it was unnecessary. Agent Monteith believed that Ott had not been justified but was powerless to act. The failure to convict Ott was but one example of the general lack of law enforcement in cases involving the Nez Perce and another addition to a long list of Indian grievances. General Howard remarked in an article written in 1879 that the slow process of civil law, and the prejudice against Indians in all frontier courts, almost invariably prevented the punishment of crimes against the Indians. "Lawrence Ott," An Illustrated History of North Idaho (Western Historical Publishing Company, 1903), p. 513; Mark H. Brown, The Flight of the Nez Perce (New York, 1967), p. 64; O. O. Howard, "The True Story of the Wallowa Campaign," The North American Review, 129 (1879), p. 56.

2. I have followed Lucullus McWhorter in the details of the incident that prompted Shore Crossing to begin the blood bath on Salmon River. One of the Indians whom McWhorter relied upon in writing his history was Two Moons, who rode at the end of the horse column and undoubtedly witnessed the happening. Unfortunately McWhorter does not specify the exact source of his information, and in an account of Two Moons reproduced later in the book, the old warrior does not go into the details surrounding the departure of the avengers. He does indicate, however, that the main cause of the outbreak was liquor rather than insult. Because of the lack of definite evidence relating to the McWhorter version, it must be accepted with some reservations, and it becomes necessary to relate other plausible accounts. Yellow Bull claimed that Shore Crossing became intoxicated one evening and rode through the camp firing his rifle and boasting of his bravery. An old man was not impressed and challenged him to prove his courage by killing the murderer of his father. In 1878 Duncan McDonald wrote that the insult came from the relative of a girl whom Shore Crossing had compromised. See McWhorter and Two Moons in Hear Me My Chiefs! (Caldwell 1952), pp. 188-90, 201; Account of Yellow Bull in Edward S. Curtis, The North American Indian (20 vols., Norwood, 1911), 8, p. 164; and McDonald, "Goaded to the War-Path," The New Northwest (Deer Lodge, Montana), June 21, 1878, p. 2.

3. Although McWhorter accepts the statement of Camille Williams (War Singer) that Shore Crossing was a teetotaler, Two Moons, Yellow Bull, and Joseph among others state that the warriors had been drinking heavily. See Two Moons in Hear Me, p. 201; Yellow Bull in North American Indian, 8, p. 164; and "Chief Joseph Was a Great Indian," The Indian School Journal 5 (1904), p. 39.

4. At the time of the outbreak the boy was known as Red Sun-rayed Grizzly, but after the war he "put away" the name and took that of his father, Swan Necklace. Yellow Wolf found it more comfortable to refer to the Indian by his later name and historians have followed suit. McWhorter, Yellow Wolf: His Own Story (Caldwell, 1948), fn. 10, p. 44.

5. A letter from L. P. Brown to the Commanding Officer of Fort Lapwai on June 14 definitely establishes that the parade took place on June 13. McWhorter states that Shore Crossing spent the night brooding over the insult before deciding to take action and that the war party left the camp early in the morning the following day. Subsequent testimony, however, will show that the avengers departed before noon on June 13 and stopped a number of places on White Bird Creek and Salmon River before darkness came. Most historians follow McWhorter's lead and perpetuate the error. See letter from Brown to Colonel David Perry, June 14, in O. O. Howard, Nez Perce Joseph (Boston, 1881), pp. 90-91; McWhorter and Camille Williams in Hear Me, pp. 190-91.

6. Byron Defenbach, Idaho, The Place and Its People (3 vols., Chicago, 1933), 1, p. 415.

7. Helen J. Walsh, "Personal Experiences of the Nez Perce War" (University of Washington Library, Seattle, Washington), pp. 4-6; O. O. Howard, p. 102; Helen Addison Howard, Saga of Chief Joseph (Caldwell, 1965), p. 155; Chester Anders Fee, Chief Joseph: The Biography of a Great Indian (New York, 1936). p. 82; Francis Haines, The Nez Perces: Tribesmen of the Columbia Plateau (Norman, 1955), p. 219.

8. Letter from Camille Williams to McWhorter, c. May, 1942, packet 164, item 103, McWhorter Collection (Washington State University Library Archives, Pullman, Washington); Hear Me, p. 191.

9. Ott had made a trip to Florence where he had fallen ill. He later returned to the region and later served as a scout for Captain Trimble. "Lawrence Ott," North Idaho, p. 513; Letter from E. R. Sherwin, et al, to Governor Brayman, Slate Creek, June 30, 1877, in Eugene B. Chafee, ed., "Nez Perce War Letters to Governor Mason Brayman," Fifteenth Biennial Report of the Board of Trustees of the State Historical Society for the Year 1935-1936 (Boise, 1936), pp. 55-56. The Nez Perce claimed that Ott had feared for his life and fled to the Florence mines. According to them, he disguised himself as a Chinese to escape detection and panned for gold until it was safe to return to his ranch. Hear Me, p. 191; Yellow Wolf, p. 44.

10. Cone was one of the few settlers in the canyon who actually purchased his land from the Nez Perce. In 1863 he paid Chief Whistle Knocker $1200 for the land, and he continued to maintain good relations with the Indians throughout the rest of his life. "Charles P. Cone," North Idaho, p. 550.

11. H. W. Cone, "White Bird Battle," (Idaho Historical Society, Boise, Idaho), p. 2.

According to War Singer the Indians reached the Devine ranch late at night. Leaving the horses in charge of Swan Necklace, the avengers entered the shack where they found the old man awake. He was no match for the young warriors, and they killed him with a bullet from his own rifle. [14] Following the murder the party decided to retrace its steps and pay a return visit to Jurden Henry Elfers. The German had some fine horses and his heart had not always opened to the Nez Perce. [15]

12. Charlotte M. Kirkwood, The Nez Perce Indian War Under Chiefs Joseph and Whitebird (Grangeville, Idaho, 1928), pp. 40-41.

13. Little is known of the early life of Richard Devine, except that he was an Englishman by birth and a sailor by profession. Forsaking the sea in later life he decided to try his hand at ranching and built a cabin on the bank of the Salmon River near its juncture with Carver Creek. In a short time he won an unenviable reputation among the Nez Perce for cruelty and brutality. The very sight of a red skin apparently sent him into a rage. An interloper on the reservation, Devine protected his claim with fences, and no Indian dared to trespass upon his domain. Those who neared his boundaries might expect an encounter with his pack of dogs, which he loosed at the first opportunity. The Nez Perce were amazed at his vocabulary and still remember him for the epithets he was capable of delivering when fully aroused. He possessed a very fine rifle, a weapon coveted by some of the young Indians. It was well known to them, since Devine usually had it with him when he made an appearance and used it to give force to his curses and gesticulations. He was 52 years old in 1877.

In his general study of the Nez Perce, McWhorter accused Devine of the murder of a crippled Indian known as Broken Leg under circumstances of "inexcusable malignance," but did not specify the source of his information or give the details. One writer referred to Devine as "a harmless old man," but the evidence indicates that at his best the old sailor was irascible and at his worst he was sadistic in his treatment of the Nez Perce. J. W. Poe, "Beginning of Nez Perce Hostilities," Lewiston Teller, April 13, 1878, p. 2; Robert G. Bailey, River of No Return (Lewiston, 1943), D. 184; Yellow Wolf, fn 13, pp. 145, 146; Yellow Bull in North American Indian, 8, p. 165; Defenbach, 1, p. 416; H. W. Cone, p. 2; Letter from Camille Williams to McWhorter, January 2, 1934, packet 164, item 75; McWhorter Collection; Hear Me, pp. 121, 192.

14. Hear Me, p. 192. His neighbors generally supposed that the Indians ambushed Devine as he emerged from his cabin the following morning. Since the body lay outside the shelter when discovered, the supposition may be valid. H. W. Cone, p. 2; Fee, p. 118.

15. Then 42 years old, Jurden Henry Elfers was a native of Hanover, Germany. While in his teens he emigrated to California to seek his fortune in the gold fields. His quest proving unsuccessful, he headed north to Idaho when news of fresh discoveries precipitated another rush in 1861. He settled on John Day Creek a year later and almost immediately began to prosper. At first in partnership with Harry Mason and John Wessell, Elfers became the sole owner of the spread in 1872. Like most residents in the canyon, the enterprising German sought affluence in diversity. In addition to his ranch, Elfers derived income from a general store and hotel, and by 1877 kept the largest stock of goods on the Salmon River. He also did a thriving dairy business, raised grain on the benchlands near the river, and grew vegetables for the table and counter. Always hoping to strike it rich, Elfers continued his search for gold. Entering into partnership with Philip Cleary and M. Dasey, he staked out a claim on Slate Creek. Cleary supervised the work at the diggings, and each year when winter put a stop to the operation, he retreated to the warmth of Elfers hearth.

In 1870 Elfers returned to his fatherland to woo and win a bride. His choice was Catherine Beckrodge, a rather plain fraulein in her 25th year. In order to gain American citizenship for Catherine, the couple delayed marriage until the boat docked at San Francisco on October 16, 1871. By June of 1877 three children had blessed the union, and the Elfers expected another child before the snow grew deep in the canyon.

Relatively speaking Henry Elfers apparently got along with his Indian neighbors better than most settlers on the Salmon. He had not done any of them direct physical harm. One tribal historian, however, referred to him as an "uncompromising enemy " and McWhorter claimed that he was prone to set his dogs on defenseless Indians. The evidence seems to indicate that the Nez Perce respected Elfers whether they liked him or not. They agreed to permit Elfers to sit as a member on the council of arbitration convened to determine the justice of the whipping Mason gave to two Nez Perce. The fact speaks well of him, since it must have been common knowledge that he and Mason had been in partnership only a few years before. The avengers may have been among those who resented the decision of the council and accorded Elfers more than his proportionate share of the blame. "Henry Elfers," North Idaho, p. 4 - Statements of Catherine [Elfers] Cleary, April 16, 1888, and September 23, 1890 and statement of Philip Cleary, September 23, 1890, Claim of Catherine Cleary, no. 2723 [hereafter cited as Cleary 2723], Records of the United States Court of Claims, Record Group 123, National Archives; McWhorter and Camille Williams in Hear Me, pp. 192, 212, Monterey, California, packet 188, item 34; McWhorter Collection; H. W. Cone, p. 2; Bailey, p. 184.

16. Although Beckrodge's real name was Burn, he was universally known as Harry after a brother of his who had died who had "lived with the Elfers and had died before Burn joined them." See North Idaho, p. 52.

17. Kirkwood, p. 41; Statement of Catherine Cleary, September 23, 1890, Cleary 2723, RG 123.

18. Camille Williams in Hear Me, p. 192.

19. Elfers," North Idaho, p. 4- Statement of Catherine Cleary, September 23, 1890, Cleary 2723.

20. Fee, p. 118; Yellow Bull in North American Indian, 8, p. 165; Statement of Norman Gould, September 12, 1890, Cleary 2723; North Idaho, pp. 52-53.

21. "John T. Johnson" and "Elfers", North Idaho, pp. 541, 549.

22. Statement of Norman Gould, Cleary 2723. Kirkwood, pp. 41-42; "Norman Gould," and Elfers," North Idaho, pp. 478-541.

23. On June 16, Philip Cleary and several others returned to the Elfers ranch and buried the bodies. They laid Elfers near a large weeping willow tree that grew by his bedroom window. After the war Mrs. Elfers had the bodies removed to a graveyard on a hill on the opposite side of John Day Creek. After spending six weeks at Slate Creek, Mrs. Elfers returned to the ranch and engaged Philip Cleary to manage it for her. They were married on April 13, 1884. Kirkwood, p. 42; Marriage Certificate, Cleary 2723.

24. H. W. Cone, pp. 2-3; North Idaho, p. 53.

25. Affidavit of Isabella [Benedict] Robie, November 9, 1889, Claim of Isabella Robie, no. 10557, Records of the Assistant Attorney General for Claims Cases, Record Group 205, National Archives; Poe, p. 2; Hear Me, p. 210.

26. Yellow Bull in North American Indian, 8, p. 165.

27. Camille William in Hear Me, pp. 194-195; Round Willow was also known as Thorn Creek. It was located about three-quarters of a mile from the summit of White Bird Hill.

28. Poe gave the number of recruits as 17 or more, and O. O. Howard followed suit. See Poe, p. 2 and Howard, p. 103. Eyewitnesses reported that the total party numbered between 18 and 25. See George Popham, "From the Scene of Hostilities," Lewiston Teller, June 30, 1877, p. 4; Helen Walsh, "Incidents of an Indian Murder," Lewiston Teller, September 9, 1877, p. 2; Affidavit of Isabella Robie, November 9, 1889, Robie 10557.

29. Camille Williams in Hear Me, pp. 194-95; Yellow Bull in North American Indian, 8, p. 165.

30. Two Moons and Yellow Wolf stated that Swan Necklace rode into camp after dark on June 14 and the second war party departed the following morning. See Hear Me, p. 201 and Yellow Wolf, pp. 45-46. Although more than three decades had passed, McWhorter accepted the testimony at face value. See Hear Me, pp. 193-211. Without exception modern historians have followed McWhorter, and yet contemporary accounts of the second foray prove without a shadow of a doubt that the Nez Perce returned in force to Salmon River on the afternoon of June 14 to kill Baker, Bacon, and Benedict, and wound Manuel, Brown, and George. For example, George Popham, who was at the Manuel ranch during the raid, wrote his account of the affair between June 18 and June 22. According to Popham the attack on the Manuel ranch occurred on the afternoon of June 14. Isabella Benedict wrote in a letter on June 19: "They came to our house Thursday evening, June 14th and killed Samuel and another man that was at our house. They had shot Samuel through both legs in the morning...." See Popham, Lewiston Teller; Letter from Isabella Benedict to Mrs. Orchard and Mrs. Doughtery, June 19, 1897, Mount Idaho, Idaho World (Idaho City), July 13, 1877, p. l.

31. Thirty-seven years old, Joseph was very striking in appearance. Of him Lieutenant Forse wrote: "I thought he was the finest Indian I had ever seen not only physically but intelligently. He was about six feet in height, powerfully built, and strength of character written on every feature." His role was that of a diplomat and statesman; he was a civic rather than a military leader. His younger brother Frog was a warrior of renown and served as Joseph's confidant and advisor. See Albert Gallatin Forse, "Chief Joseph as a Commander," Winners of the West 13 (November, 1936), p. 1; McWhorter, Hear Me, pp. 178-181; Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., The Patriot Chiefs (New York, 1961), pp. 314-15, 329-330.

32. Two Moons in Hear Me, pp. 201-02; Yellow Wolf, p. 45; C. E. S. Wood, "Chief Joseph, The Nez Perce," Century Magazine 28 (1884), pp. 136-37

33. Two Moons was in his early 40's. His father was a notable Selish warrior; his mother was a Nez Perce. McWhorter, Hear Me, p. 30; Account of Wetatonmi [wife of Frog] in Hear Me, pp. 195-96.

34. Account of Three Eagles in North American Indian, 8 fn. 1, pp. 24-25.

35. Wetatonmi and Two Moons in Hear Me, pp. 196, 202; Yellow Wolf, p. 45; and Yellow Bull in North American Indian, 8, p. 165.

1. A native Virginian, Manuel migrated to Idaho during the gold rush and settled in Warren, where he built and managed a hotel. In 1873 he sold his property and bought a ranch from Arthur Chapman on White Bird Creek, one mile east of the present town of White Bird. Manuel owned about 300 head of cattle in partnership with Benjamin F. Morris. In the late 1860's he married Jennet Popham. Her father, George Popham, was a frequent visitor and had been at the Manuel ranch since the fall of 1876. Statement of J. J. Manuel, February 6, 1878; statement of Benjamin F. Morris, August 16, 1890; and statement of George Woodward, August 16, 1890, in Claim of Benjamin F. Morris, no. 2718, RG 123. See also the account of Maggie Manuel Bowman in "William Bowman, North Idaho, pp. 529-30; George Popham, "From the Scene of Hostilities," Lewiston Teller, June 30, 1877, p. 1.

2. Baker was a bachelor. His ranch stood near the center of the present town of White Bird. Baker was one of 57 settlers who had petitioned Howard on May 7 to remove the nontreaty band to the reservation. H. W. Cone, p. 4; Mark Brown, The Flight of the Nez Perce, p. 61.

3. Patrick Brice was born in Londonderry, Ireland, in 1837. At the age of 14 he emigrated to the United States. After spending some time in Oregon, he moved to Idaho to search for gold. In his later years he worked as a miner in Montana and apparently died sometime around the turn of the century. Statement of Patrick Brice, November 23, 1897. Anaconda, Montana, Claim of Patrick Brice, no. 7427, RG 123.

4. Patrick Brice, "The Nez Perce Outbreak," Idaho World, (Idaho City), September 14, 1877, p. 2; Popham, Lewiston Teller, p. 1; Maggie Bowman in North Idaho, p. 529. The third Manuel child, Julia, was in school at Mount Idaho.

5. Maggie Bowman in North Idaho, 530.

6. Statement of Manuel, February 6, 1878, Morris 2718; Statement of Manuel, February 13, 1878, and statement of George Popham, August 13, 1890, Claim of John J. Manuel, no. 3496, RG 123; Brice, Idaho World; Popham, Lewiston Teller; Maggie Bowman in North Idaho, pp. 529-30.

7. Samuel Benedict was a Canadian by birth. Born in Shannonville Ontario, he migrated to Idaho in 1862 during the gold rush and in 1868 settled near the mouth of White Bird Creek. On February 7, 1863, he married Isabella Kelly, a fiery redhead of Irish ancestry, who had been born on Staten Island in 1848, shortly after her parents disembarked to find a new life in a new country. The Benedicts had four children: Grant, Caroline, Frances, and Addie. At the time of the outbreak the two older children were attending school in Mount Idaho.

Like Henry Elfers, Samuel Benedict had more than one source of income. In addition to farming and raising horse, cattle, hogs, and chickens, Benedict ran a general store and wayside inn and did blacksmithing. In 1874 he obtained a franchise from the county to operate a ferry across the Salmon River. His extensive orchards produced apples, pears plums, peaches, cherries, and grapes, and he kept a few acres in vegetables. Isabella also put her talents to work and occasionally taught school in a building her husband erected for the purpose. Apparently rich in physical assets and promises to pay, Benedict was short on cash. At the time of the outbreak, his books showed that the debts of his customers totaled more than $1000.

Benedict had a reputation as a bootlegger, and one settler noted that the Indians who congregated around his store were often drunk and quarrelsome. According to J. W. Poe, who apparently investigated the matter thoroughly in 1878, some Nez Perce attempted to force their way into Benedict's store to obtain liquor late on the night of August 29, 1875. Grabbing his rifle, Benedict opened fire and succeeded in driving them off. In the process, according to Poe, he killed one Indian and wounded one or two others. On the other hand, Isabella Benedict stated in a letter to the editor of the Lewiston Teller that her husband had wounded two Indians, but that he had not killed any. She went on to relate that they found the body of an Indian near the store the following morning. He had been killed with a pistol, which they later learned was his own. The Nez Perce, however, tell a different story. They declared that the shooting occurred in broad daylight and that Red Moccasin Tops was the only casualty. According to them, he took some buckshot in the back of his head but quickly recovered. Sometime before or after the incident, the Nez Perce said Benedict apparently murdered an Indian named Chipmunk for stealing liquor from under his nose.

For information on Benedict and the killing see "Edward W. Robie" and "William G. Brown," in North Idaho, pp. 464-65, 543. Robie later married Isabella Benedict and Brown married her daughter Addie. See also Letter from Isabella Benedict to Alonzo Leland, April 17, 1878, Lewiston Teller, April 26, 1878, p. 1; Affidavit of Isabella Robie, November 9, 1899, and the statement of Charles F. Cone, Robie, 10557; M. Alfreda Elsensohn, Pioneer Days in Idaho County by Eugene F. Hoy (Caldwell, 1951), 2, p. 71; Bailey, River of No Return, p. 205; Poe, "Beginnings of Nez Perce Hostilities," Lewiston Teller, April 13, 1878, p. 2; McWhorter, Hear Me pp. 210-11.

8. Letter from Isabella Benedict to Mrs. Orchard and Mrs. Dougherty, Mount Idaho, June 19, Idaho World, July 13, 1877, p. 1; Affidavit of Isabella Robie, November 9, 1889, Robie 10557.

9. Account of Isabella Robie in Kirkwood, Nez Perce Indian War, p. 50.

10. Affidavit of John Doumecq, Abstract of Evidence, May 10, 1898, Robie 10557; "John Doumecq," North Idaho, p. 525.

11. Isabella Robie in Kirkwood, p. 50.

12. Benedict letter, June 19, Idaho World, p. 1; Kirkwood, p. 50.

13. Letter from Camille Williams to McWhorter, c. May, 1942, McWhorter Collection; Brice, Idaho World, p. 2; McWhorter, Hear Me, p. 212. On June 20 Louis Boucher returned to the Benedict ranch and found it destroyed by fire. He saw the body of Benedict "laying in the creek," but made no effort to retrieve it. When others later searched for the corpse, it could not be found. Affidavit of Louis Boucher, August 1, 1890, Robie 10557.

14. Isabella Robie in Kirkwood, pp. 50-51.

15. Kirkwood, p. 46; McWhorter, Hear Me, pp. 212-13.

16. Harry Mason was born in 1830, apparently in England. When about 18 years old, he signed on a whaling vessel and sailed around Cape Horn to San Francisco. The dream of quick riches kept him in California for more than a decade In 1861 he formed a partnership with his friend Henry Elfers and headed for Warren, Idaho, to try his luck in the new goldfields. The following year Mason and Elfers settled on John Day Creek and began raising stock. Mason later sold his share in the ranch to Elfers and moved to Mason Prairie, where he kept a stage station. In 1872 he returned to Salmon River and bought a ranch and store about three miles upriver from the mouth of White Bird Creek.

Mason and William Osborn married sisters, Anna and Elizabeth Klein. Osborn located one-half mile upriver and operated a placer mine on the bank of the Salmon. About 48 years old, Osborn had been born in Massachusetts and reached Idaho as early as 1864. Elizabeth Osborn was born in Hessendamstodt, Germany, in 1842. She married Osborn on October 29, 1867. After his wife died in 1876. Mason asked his sister and her husband, Helen and Edward Walsh, to live with him Edward might work in the store and Helen could keep house. Walsh was a Civil War amputee with one arm and was apparently having difficulty making a living, so the couple accepted. Helen reached the Mason ranch with her two children early in the fall of 1876, and Edward planned to follow a year later. See Helen Julia Walsh, "Personal Experiences of the Nez Perce War," pp. 1-4.

17. H. W. Cone identifies French Frank as Francois Chodoze. Apparently all of the men were in the employ of Mason at the time. H. W. Cone account in River of No Return, p. 187.

18. The following account of the Mason Affair is based primarily on three accounts written by Helen Walsh. See "Personal Experiences of the Nez Perce War," pp. 5-29; "Incident of an Indian Murder," Lewiston Teller, September 9, 1877, p. 2; and her account in Kirkwood, pp. 43-45.

19. C. A. Sears, "Letter from Mount Idaho," Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, (Boise) July 3, 1877, p. 2; North Idaho, p. 53.

20. In her accounts of the affair, Helen Walsh indicated that she and Elizabeth Osborn had been treated kindly by the war party. Apparently she did not wish the fact of their misfortune known. A diarist, who visited Slate Creek on June 26, reported that the women had been raped and would not show themselves because of their shame. Michael McCarthy, "Diary," June 26, 1877 (The Journals and Papers of Michael McCarthy, Library of Congress). See also North Idaho, p. 54.

21. "William J. Wilson," North Idaho, p. 571.

22. H.W. Cone, "White Bird Battle," pp. 3-4; "Wilson," North Idaho, p. 571; Walsh "Personal Experiences," pp. 29-31; Statement of Hiram Titman, 1888, Claim of Hiram Titman, no. 4945 and statement of Philip Cleary, September 23, 1890, Cleary 2723, RG 123; Kirkwood, p. 42. Cone reported that there were 25 miners who came to the rescue but Wilson stated that there were 12 and Cleary placed the number between 12 and 15.

23. "Wilson," p. 571; "Charles P. Cone," p. 550; H.W. Cone, "White Bird Battle," p. 3; H.W. Cone in River of No Return, pp. 184-85; Walsh, "Personal Experiences," p. 30; Elsensohn, 2, pp. 279-281.

24. Benedict letter, June 19, Idaho World, September 14, p. 2.

25. Brice, Nez Perce Outbreak," Idaho World, September 14, p. 2.

1. Luther P. Wilmot was born in 1839 in Freeport, Illinois. His father took the family west to Oregon and eventually settled near Fort Walla Walla, Washington. Luther married Louisa Haworth on October 4, 1863, and in 1866, they moved to Idaho. The couple had four children at the time of the outbreak and they were expecting a fifth in a matter of days. Ready was born in Detroit in 1849. After spending some time in the goldfields in Colorado and Montana, he migrated to Idaho and settled on Camas Prairie in 1870. Norman B. Adkison, Nez Perce Indian War and Original Stories (Grangeville, 1966), pp. 20-21; "Peter H. Ready," North Idaho, p. 564.

2. Luther P. Wilmot, "The Norton Massacre," in Original Stories, p. 21; W. A. Goulder, "Northern Idaho," Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, March 4, 1876, p. 2; Hear Me, fn. 19, p. 221. Letter from J. G. Rowton to McWhorter, packet 179, item 4, McWhorter Collection.

3. Named for the lumber used in its construction, Cottonwood House was built in 1862 by a man named Allen. In 1874 it became the possession of Norton, an experienced carpenter and former miner. Norton married Jennie Bowers in 1864, and their only child, Hill, was born in December, 1867. Lynn Bowers had been living with the Nortons for several years. She was a great help to her sister, who appeared to be saddled with enough chores to distract any woman. In addition to being a stage station proprietor, postmaster hotel keeper, bartender, and merchant, Benjamin Norton was also a livestock raiser and dairyman. He had a special love for horses and bred some of the finest animals in the country. Norton also had political ambitions but had been unsuccessful in his quest for elective office. Defeated for co-auditor in 1864 and probate judge in 1868, he appeared to have won election in the Territorial legislature in 1866 but soon found himself disqualified for failure to measure up to the requirements prescribed by law. Account of Jennie [Norton] Bunker in D. W. Greenburg, "Victim of the Nez Perce Tells Story of Indian Atrocities," Winners of the West 3 (February 15, 1926), p. 8; Statement of Jennie Bunker, July 20, 1898 and statement of Lynn [Bowers] Schafter, July 20, 1895, claim of Jennie Bunker, no. 7816, RG 123; D. W. Greenburg, "Old Luna Clock Rich in History," Lewiston Morning Tribune, May 3, 1936; Twenty-Seventh Biennial Report of the Secretary of the State of Idaho, 1943-1944, (Boise, 1944), p. 71; Elsensohn, Pioneer Days, 1, p. 297.

4. Wilmot in Original Stories, p. 21.

5. Jennie Bunker statement, July 20, 1898, Bunker 9816.

6. Statement of James Chamberlin [father of John], September 15, 1890, Claim of James Chamberlin, no. 8632, RG 123; Wilmot in Original Stories, p. 22.

7. "Killing of Norton," Lewiston Teller, June 30, 1877, p. 2. The reporter who prepared the article based it in part on a statement obtained from Lew Day before he died.

8. Accounts conflict concerning the number of men on horseback and the number of men in the wagon. The Teller of June 30 reported that only Norton rode a saddle horse, but in a letter written on July 17, Mrs. Norton indicated that all the men except Chamberlin were mounted. In an interview in 1926, she specifically mentioned the horsemen and discussed the fate of each. See copy of letter from Jennie Norton to her mother and sister, July 17, 1877, Mount Idaho, packet 188, item 36, McWhorter Collection and the statement of Jennie Bunker in Winners of the West, p. 8.

9. Wilmot in Original Stories, pp. 23-25.

10. Statement of Jennie Bunker, July 20, 1898, Bunker 9816; Bunker in Winners of the West, p. 8; Norton Letter, July 17, 1877; Lewiston Teller, June 30, 1877; Kirkwood, Nez Perce Indian War, pp. 52-55; Poe, "Beginning of Nez Perce Hostilities," Lewiston Teller, April 13, 1878, p. 2

11. Hill Beachy Norton, "Hill Beachy Norton Speaks Out of the Past," in Original Stories, p. 39; Statement of Hill Norton, Lewiston Morning Tribune, December 18, 1938, reproduced in part in Elsensohn, Pioneer Days (Caldwell, 1947), 1, p. 299; Statement of Lynn Schafter, July 20, 1898, Bunker 9816; Norton Letter, July 17, 1877.

12. Bunker in Winners of the West, p. 8.

13. Hill Norton in Original Stories, p. 39; Elsensohn 1, pp. 298-99; Account of Frank Fenn in Lewiston Tribune, April 17, 1927.

14. There may have been a seventh man in the party. Elias Darr claimed to have been present, but he is not mentioned by Adkison or any of the others who wrote about the affair. According to Darr he fell behind in the retreat to Grangeville due to a poor horse and took shelter in some rocks. See his statement in Hear Me, pp. 219-21.

15. John R. Adkison, "The Norton Rescue," in Original Stories, pp. 36-37.

16. Wilmot in Original Stories, pp. 24-25; J. G. Rowton, "A Tribute to Mrs. Bunker," Winners of the West 3 (March 30, 1926), P. 2; "Shocking Details," Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, July 21, 1877, p. 2.

17. Rowton in Winners of the West, p. 2; Statement of James Chamberlin, September 15, 1890, Chamberlin 8632; C. A. Sears, "Letter from Mount Idaho," Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, July 3, 1877, p. 2.

18. Yellow Wolf, pp. 47-48.

19. Account of Rowton in Hear Me, p. 222.

20. Yellow Wolf, pp. 48-49; Accounts of Rowton, Elias Darr, and David B. Ouster in Hear Me, pp. 222-23; fn 24, pp. 224-25.

21. Yellow Wolf, pp. 48-49; Rowton in Hear Me, p. 224; L. P. Brown, "From the Scene of Hostilities," Lewiston Teller, June 30, 1877, p. 1.

22. Yellow Wolf, pp. 49-50; Account of Chief White Hawk in Hear Me, p. 273; Yellow Bull and Three Eagles in North American Indian, 8, fn 1, pp. 24-25, 165. Francis Haines, "Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce Warriors," Pacific Northwest Quarterly 45 (1954), p. 2; Statement of Arthur Chapman, November 23, 1886, Claim of Arthur Chapman, No. 1102, R6 123.

White Bird, Chief of the Lamtamas, was about 70 years old. In his youth, he had been a famous buffalo hunter and fighter. Sound was the leader of the Pikunans. A gifted orator, his influence spread beyond his little band of followers. McWhorter, Hear Me, pp. 181-84.

1. Elsensohn, Pioneer Days 1, pp. 106-08; Bailey, River of No Return, pp. 336-37.

2. Loyal P. Brown was born in Stratford, New Hampshire, on September 26, 1829. He left Boston in 1849 to try his luck in California and spent a year mining for gold on the Middle Fork of the American River at Rector's Bar. In 1850 he moved to Trinity River and engaged in trading and packing. In 1852 he settled at Scottsburg on the Umpqua River and remained in southern Oregon until he decided to leave for Idaho in 1862. He was a member of the Territorial Council and in 1875 he was instrumental in arranging the boundaries of Idaho County so that Mount Idaho became the county seat. He married his wife Sarah on October 24, 1855. L. P. Brown," North Idaho, p. 574; H. H. Bancroft, History of Washington, Idaho and Montana (San Francisco, 1890), fn. 15, p. 553.

3. W. A. Goulder, "Northern Idaho," Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, February 24, 1877, p. 2.

4. W. A. Goulder, "Northern Idaho," Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesmen, March 4, 1876, pp. 3-4; "Mount Idaho," Lewiston Teller, June 2, 1877, p. l.

5. John M. Crooks was born in Indiana in 1820. He crossed the plains to Oregon in 1852, and ten years later he settled on Camas Prairie. He secured the land, which became the site for Grangeville, in 1865. Among other things, he operated a stage line between Lewiston and Grangeville for many years. See Defenbach, Idaho, 1, fn. 11, p. 479.

6. Idaho Statesman, March 4, 1876, and February 24, 1877; O. O. Howard, Nez Perce, p. 109; Herbert Joseph Spinder, The Nez Perce Indians (Lancaster, 1908), p. 176; Defenbach, 1, p. 480.

7. McWhorter listed 28 Nez Perce who had been murdered by whites between 1861 and 1877. In the late 1870's, James Reuben is supposed to have submitted a list of names that totaled 32. McWhorter, Hear Me, pp. 116-31. See also Haines, Nez Perce, 180-84; Brown, Flight of the Nez Perce, pp. 44-67.

8. Harriet Brown Adkison in Nez Perce Indian War and Original Stories, p. 42.

9. North Idaho, p. 56.

10. Letter from Brown to captain David Perry, June 14, in O. O. Howard, Nez Perce, pp. 90-91.

11. Looking Glass was the leader of the Alpowai band, and was one of the most respected warriors among the nontreaty Indians. McWhorter, Hear Me, pp. 182-83.

12. Statement of Arthur Chapman, November 23, 1886, Chapman 1102; Letter from Major James P. Canby to AAG, Department of the Columbia, August 6, 1877, in Claim of Henry Croasdaile, no. 7439, RG 123.

13. Harriet Adkison in Original Stories, p. 44; J. Loyal Adkison and Norman B. Adkison in Lewiston Morning Tribune, January 12, 1958, p. 1; Accounts of Harriet Adkison and Alice Overman in Pioneer Days, I p. 115; 2, p. 527; North Idaho, p. 60.

14. Jennie Bunker in Winners of the West, p. 8; Harriet Adkison in Original Stories, p. 44.

15. Elsensohn, 1, pp. 130-31.

16. Statement of Chapman, November 23, 1886, Chapman 1102.

17. Brown to Perry, 7 a.m., June 15, 1877, in O. O. Howard, Nez Perce, p. 95.

18. Statement of Chapman, November 23, 1886; Brown to Perry, 8 a.m. June 15, 1877, in O. O. Howard, Nez Perce, pp. 95-96.

19. Bunker in Winners of the West, p. 8; Adkison in Original Stories, p. 43.

20. Statement of L. P. Brown, September 27, 1890, and Claimant's Brief, 1897-1898, Claim of L. P. Brown, no. 2714, RG 123; Patrick Brice, "The Nez Perce Outbreak," Idaho World, September 14, 1877, p. 2.

21. Statement of Lynn A. Schafter, July 20, 1898, Bunker 9816; Kirkwood, Nez Perce Indian War, pp. 56-57.

22. Statement of Henry C. Johnson, August 18, 1890, and statement of I. A. Watson, August 23, 1890, Claim of Henry C. Johnson, no. 3501, RG 123.

23. Wilmot in Original Stories, p. 25.

24. Adkison in Original Stories, p. 44.

1. Howard was born on November 8, 1830, at Leeds, Maine. He graduated fourth in his class at West Point in 1854. Rising to the rank of Major General of the Volunteers during the Civil War, he took over command of the Army of Tennessee in the summer of 1864 and led General Sherman's right wing on the March to the Sea. After the war he became head of the Freedmen's Bureau and served until its demise in 1872. President Grant used him as a special emissary to the Apaches, and he succeeded in persuading Cochise to come to terms. He became the commander of the Department of the Columbia in 1874. Known as a man of strong religious conviction, he had been called "the Havelock of the Army." Howard lost his right arm in the Battle of Fair Oaks in 1862, and the Indians commonly referred to him as "Cut Arm." J.G. deR. Hamilton, "Oliver Otis Howard," in Dictionary of American Biography, ed. by Dumas Malone (New York, 1943), 9, pp. 279-81; John A. Carpenter, "General Howard and the Nez Perce War of 1877," Pacific Northwest Quarterly 49 (1958), p. 129.

2. A native of New York, Wilkinson made captain during the Civil War before being mustered out on June 30, 1866. Later in the year, he received a commission in the peacetime army and in 1871, achieved the rank of first lieutenant in the Third Infantry. Also a native of New York, Watkins had a military background. He had served as a captain in the Volunteers before resigning his commission on April 5, 1865. Howard described the Indian inspector as "a large, full-built, wholesome man, backed up with genuine courage in any dangerous position." Francis B. Heitman Historical Register of the United States Army (2 vols., Washington, D.C., 1903), 1, pp. 1008, 1037; O. O. Howard, Nez Perce, p. 76.

3. O. O. Howard, p. 87.

4. Peter Sporr Bomus graduated from the Military Academy on June 15, 1870, and became a second lieutenant in the First Cavalry. He made first lieutenant on June 5, 1876. Heitman, 1, p. 229.

5. O. O. Howard, p. 88.

6. Letter from Trimble to Maj. H. Clay Wood, January 29, 1878, Fort Walla Walla, letter no. 301, Letters Received, Department of the Columbia, Records of United States Army Commands, Record Group 98, National Archives. Hereafter cited as Letters Received, DC.

7. O. O. Howard, pp. 90-91.

8. Testimony of Captain David Perry, Transcript of a Court of Inquiry Concerning the Conduct of Captain David Perry During the Nez Perce Campaign of 1877, file no. QQ1738, Records of the Office of the Judge Advocate General, Record Group 153, national Archives, pp. 113-14. Hereafter cited as Perry, CI.

9. Joseph F. Lytte was born in Buffalo, New York. About 33 years of age, he was five feet seven inches tall. One of the more experienced soldiers in Company F, he had previously completed an enlistment in the Fifth Artillery. John Schorr was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on June 26, 1853. When he enlisted in the Army on April 13, 1875, he gave his previous occupation as carrier. He was five feet six inches tall, blue-eyed, and brown-haired. Registry of Enlistments in the United States Army, 1798-1914 Vol. 1875, Microcopy No. 223, National Archives. Hereafter cited as Registry of Enlistments followed by year. See also John Schorr, "Participant in Whitebird Massacre Recalls Fatal March into Ambush," The Idaho Statesman, September 13, 1931, section 2, p. 2; Schorr obituary, clipping from unidentified Dayton, Ohio, newspaper, c. June, 1935, packet 179, item 9, McWhorter Collection.

10. Account of John Schorr in Hear Me, p. 223; Schorr, "The White Bird Fight," Winners of the West 6 (February 28, 1929), p. 7. Statement of Joe Rabusco, December 19, 1899, Claims of the Nez Perce Indians, Senate Executive Document 257, 56th Congress, 1st Session, p. 100; Account of Nat Webb in Hear Me, p. 231.

11. Letter from Trimble to Wood, January 29, 1878.

12. John B. Monteith was the son of a Presbyterian minister and had been appointed agent of the Lapwai Agency in February, 1871. Alvin M. Josephy, Jr., The Nez Perce Indians and the Opening of the Northwest (New Haven, Connecticut, 1965), p. 441.

13. Perin Whitman was the nephew of Marcus Whitman. He went west in 1843 with his uncle and remained in the Northwest. He was about 47 years old and had a reputation as an able interpreter. Clifford M. Drury, Marcus Whitman, M.D. (Caldwell, 1937), pp. 93, 324-25.

14. Letter from Perry to Lt. Col. James W. Forsyth, c. October 22, 1878, Fort Walla Walla, letter no. 1024, Letters Received, DC.

15. O. O. Howard, pp. 92-96; Letter from Howard to Assistant Adjutant General, Military Division of the Pacific, August 27, 1877, Camp Ebstein, Letters Sent, DC.

16. Telegram from Howard to H. Clay Wood, June 17, 1877, Fort Lapwai, Letters Sent, DC.

17. Perry, "The Battle of White Bird Canõn," in Northwestern Fights and Fighters, by Cyrus Townsend Brady (Garden City, 1913), p. 112.

18. Muster Rolls of Company F and Company H of the First Cavalry, April 30 to June 30, 1877, Regular Army Muster Rolls, Record Group 98, National Archives.

19. Abraham Brooks testified that there were only 10 scouts, including Rabusco, who left Fort Lapwai with Perry, but Amos Wapsheli added the name of Matthew Sottoks, and Lucullus McWhorter presented strong evidence in favor of Robinson Minthon. At Cottonwood yet another Nez Perce, Abraham Watsinma, joined the party. Nez Perce Claims, Sen. Ex. Doc. 257, pp. 81, 84, 96. Yellow Wolf, p. 65.

20. O. O. Howard, p. 99.

21. Ibid., 98-100.

1. Obituary of David Perry, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of United States, Circular No. 16, Series of 1908, Washington, D. C., ACP File of David Perry, Records of the Office of the Adjutant General, Record Group 94, National Archives. Hereafter cited as ACP. Heitman, Historical Register, 1, p. 785.

2. George W. Webb, Chronological List of Engagements Between the Regular Army of the United States and Various Tribes of Hostile Indians Which Occurred During the Years 1790 to 1898, Inclusive (St. Joseph, 1939), pp. 27-28, 36, 64; Perry Obituary, ACP; Heitman, 1, p. 885; Perry, "The First and Second Battles in the Lava Beds, and the Capture of Captain Jack," in North Western Fights and Fighters, pp. 291-304.

3. Letter from Creek to Assistant Adjutant General, Department of the Columbia, March 27, 1868, Camp Warner, Oregon, letter 1024. Letters received, 1878, DC.

4. O. O. Howard, Nez Perce, p. 88.

5. Account of Angie B. Bowden in Hear Me, fn 3, p. 232.

6. Brown, Flight of the Nez Perce, p. 118.

7. "Idaho County Marks Sites of Nez Perce Battleground," The Idaho Statesman, September 4, 1927, section 3, p. 2; Letter from Theller to Board of Examiners, April 21, 1867, San Francisco, ACP File of Edward Russell Theller.

8. Heitman, 1, p. 952, Letter from Theller to Secretary of War W. W. Belknap, May 3, 1870, San Francisco, ACP.

9. O. O. Howard, p. 90.

10. Brown, pp. 121-22.

11. Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, June 23, 1877, p. 1.

12, Muster Roll of Company F of the First Cavalry, April 30 to June 30, 1877.

13. Registry of Enlistments, 1873; List of Remains of Soldiers and Others Disinterred in Post Cemetery at Fort Lapwai by Second Lieutenant N. F. McClure, c. November 15, 1890, General Correspondence, Military Cemeteries File, Records of the Office of the Quartermaster General, Record Group 92, National Archives.

14. Company F Muster Roll.

15. Letter from Jones to Howard, May 14, 1877, Fort Lapwai, Letters Received, Fort Lapwai, Record Group 98, National Archives; Account of John Schorr in Hear Me, fn. 21, p. 246; Registry of Enlistments, 1869.

16. Company F Muster Roll.

17. The government furnished transportation for Alice Hurlbert and the children. The cost was $400, and the Army made arrangements to deduct $10 per month from Hurlbert's pay until the debt had been satisfied. This meant that Hurlbert received only $3 per month in wages. "Soldier Life and Death," New York Times, July 12, 1877, p. 2; The Idaho Avalanche (Silver City), August 4, 1877, p. 2.

18. Registry of Enlistments, 1869; Statements of Parnell and McCarthy, CI, pp. 72, 83. There is no available data on Levi Buckner, and, therefore, the generalizations are based on the records of 48 men.

19. Obituary of Joel Graham Trimble, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Circular No. 33, Series of 1911, San Francisco, California, ACP File of Joel Graham Trimble; Will J. Trimble, "A Soldier of the Oregon Frontier," The Quarterly of the Oregon Historical Society 8 (1907), pp. 42-43.

20. Military History of Joel G. Trimble, April 29, 1879, ACP.

21. Will Trimble, p. 43; Letter from Trimble to Senator John S. Fowler, c. March, 1867, ACP.

22. Military History of Trimble; Trimble letter c. March, 1867; Heitman, 1, p. 970; Will Trimble, p. 43.

23. Keith A. Murray, The Modocs and Their War (Norman, 1959), p. 270. For more information on Trimble in the Modoc War see his accounts "The Country They Marched and Fought over," "The Killing of the Commissioners," and "Carrying a Stretcher Through the Lava-Beds" in Northwestern Fights and Fighters," pp. 281-85, 286-90, 314-19.

24. Will Trimble, p. 44; Muster Roll of Company H.

25. Michael McCarthy, "Journal" (Journals and Papers of Michael McCarthy, Library of Congress), p. 102.

26. Brown, p. 120; Certificate of Disability, Case of Captain Trimble, October 28, 1877, ACP.

27. Obituary of William Russell Parnell, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Circular No. 29, Series of 1910, San Francisco, August 27, 1910, ACP File of William Parnell.

28. Military Record of Captain William Russell Parnell, Appendix B, Proceedings of Retiring Board, April 1, 1885, ACP. Letter from Parnell to Secretary of War, February 19, 1894, San Francisco, Medal of Honor File 3310, Case of Captain William Russell Parnell, Record Group 94, National Archives; William R. Parnell, "Recollections of 1861," The United Service 13 (1885) pp. 264-70; Parnell Obituary; Heitman, 2, p. 771.

29. Statement of Major Thomas McGregor, February 27, 1885, Appendix G, and statement of General George Crook, March 2, 1885, Appendix H, in Retirement Board Proceedings; Memorandum of the Service of Captain W. R. Parnell in Indian Campaigns, c. 1885, ACP; General Orders 32, Department of the Columbia, November 1, 1867; Webb, pp. 33, 36.

30. Statement of Assistant Surgeon Ezra Woodruff, March 23, 1885, and statement of Assistant Surgeon G. E. Bushnell, April 1, 1885, Appendix C, Retirement Board Proceedings; Letter from Parnell to Adjutant General USA, January 14, 1871, Camp Harney Oregon, ACP.

31. Letter from McCarthy to Howard, September 10, 1897, San Francisco, Medal of Honor File, Case of First Sergeant Michael McCarthy, RG 94.

32. footnote missing.

33. Registry of Enlistments, 1869, 1874; McCarthy, "Army Sketches," (Journals and Papers of Michael McCarthy, Library of Congress).

34. Company H Muster Roll.

35. Registry of Enlistments, 1869-1876; Statements of Parnell and McCarthy, CI, pp. 64, 83-84.

36. Registry of Enlistments, 1873. Unnumbered essay on James Shay found in McCarthy, "Journal."

37. Registry of Enlistments, 1876; McCarthy, "Journal," p. 80.

1. Perry, CI, p. 115.

2. Parnell, CI, p. 70.

3. McCarthy, "Diary," June 16, 1877.

4. Account of Schorr in Hear Me, p. 23+.

5. McCarthy, "Diary," June 16, 1877.

6. Perry, CI, pp. 115-16; O. O. Howard, Nez Perce, p. 108; Schorr in Hear Me, p. 233.

7. Letter from Perry to Lt. Col. James W. Forsyth, c. October, 1878, Fort Walla Walla, letter no. 1024, Letter received DC, p. 1; Perry, "The Battle of White Bird Canõn," in Northwestern Fights, pp. 113-14.

8. McCarthy, "Diary." June 16, 1877. The names of the three men left behind are not known.

9. Letter from Theodore Swarts to Alonzo Leland, July 21, Mount Idaho, Lewiston Teller, July 28, 1877, p. 4.

10. The nickname may have been a short term for adjutant. In a letter to A. F. Parker, Frank Fenn referred to "Adjutant Chapman." See The Idaho Statesman, September 4, 1927, section 3, p. 2.

11. Statement of Chapman, November 23, 1886; Statement of Chapman, March 21, 1890; Statement of David B. Baldwin, December 1, 1886; and Report of Special Agent Stanley, 1890, in Chapman 1102; "Colonel William William Chapman," in Portland, Oregon: Its History and Builders by Joseph Gaston (Chicago, 1911), 3, pp. 218-23.

12. McWhorter Notes, packet 150, item 28; letter from Many Wounds to McWhorter, November, 1926, packet 189, item 15; and undated statement by Thomas Beal, packet 189, item 19, McWhorter Collection; "Frank D. Vansise," North Idaho, p. 506; O. O. Howard, p. 133; Haines, Nez Perce, p. 220.

13. Although Shearer was commonly referred to as a major, Union dispatches called him a captain, and he is not listed in List of Field Officers, Regiments, and Battalions in the Confederate States Army, 1861-1865, which gives the names of all those holding the rank of major and above. For biographical information on Shearer see Twenty-seventh Biennial Report of the Board of Trustees of the Secretary of the State of Idaho, p. 73; Francis Haines, ed., "The Skirmish at Cottonwood: A Previously Unpublished Eyewitness Account of an Engagement of the Nez Perce War by George Shearer," Idaho Yesterdays 2 (1958), pp. 2-7.

14. Elsensohn, Pioneer Days, 1, pp. 470-71; Eleventh Biennial Report of the Board of Trustees of the State Historical Society of Idaho (Boise, 1928), p. 80; "Frank Fenn, North Idaho, pp. 457-58; Defenbach, Idaho, 1, fn. 13, p. 481; 3, p. 386.

15. "Theodore Swarts," North Idaho, p. 474.

16. McWhorter Notes, packet 150, item 29.

17. Elsensohn, 1, p. 131.

18. "William Coram," North Idaho, p. 493.

19. Letter from H. A. Faxon to George W. Webb, Winners of the West 14 (February, 1937), p. 7.

20. McCarthy, "Diary." June 16, 1877.

21. Parnell, CI, p. 58; Parnell, "The Battle of White Bird Canõn," in Northwestern Fights, pp. 100-101.

22. Schorr in Hear Me, p. 235. See also Schorr, "Participant in Whitebird Massacre Recalls Fatal March into Ambush," The Idaho Statesman, September 13, 1931, section 2, p. 2; Schorr, "The White Bird Fight," Winners of the West 6 (February 28, 1929), p. 7.

1. McWhorter, Hear Me, pp. 236-37.

2. O. O. Howard, Nez Perce, p. 6; Perry, CI, p. 117; Perry, "The Battle of White Bird Canõn," in Northwestern Fights, p. 114; Parnell, "The Battle of White Bird Canõn," in Northwestern Fights, p. 101; Joel G. Trimble, Report of the Nez Perce Campaign, c. December, 1877, Fort Walla Walla, letter no. 131, Letter Received, DC, 1878, p. 6. Hereafter cited as Trimble Report.

3. Perry, CI, p. 116; Trimble Report, pp. 5-6; Schorr In Hear Me, p. 235; McCarthy, "Army Sketches," pp. 10-11.

4. Parnell in Northwestern Fights, p. 101.

5. Perry, CI, p. 117; Parnell, CI, p. 58; Trimble, CI, p. 26; Trimble Report, p. 6; Testimony of Frank Husush in Nez Perce claims, Sen. Ex. Doc. 257, p. 94.

6. For Perry's description of the terrain see CI, p. 118 and Northwestern Fights, p. 115.

7. McWhorter, Yellow Wolf, p. 51.

8. According to Indian sources, there were 55 warriors in Joseph's band (Wallowas), 50 In White Bird's band, (Lamtamas), and 30 in Sound's band (Pikunans). However, apparently some of the Wallowa had stayed with Looking Glass on the Clearwater, so that the figure may be somewhat smaller. Account of Three Eagle. in North American Indian, 8, fn. 1, p. 25; Josephy, Nez Perce, p. 525; Hear Me, fn. 28, p. 251, p. 177 ff.

9. Hand in Hand, Vicious Weasel, Red Raven, and No Feet had been located on the summit of a butte that stood on the east side of Grasshopper Spring, a little more than four miles north of the battleground. Many Wounds showed Lucullus McWhorter the spot in 1932. No Feet had been a slave to the Yakima chief Kamiakin. The chief had purchased him from some tribe farther west, and his tribal origin has never been determined. No Feet had lost both feet and one of his hands when Kamiakin left him outdoors, shackled with traps, one sub-zero night to punish him for stealing. Later Kamiakin gave the Indian his freedom, and he settled among the Nez Perce. Because of his condition, he spent a great deal of time on horseback and became an excellent rider. Hear Me, pp. 236-37; Yellow Wolf, pp. 52-53; Yellow Bull in North American Indian, 8, p. 165; Account of First Red Feather on the Wing, n.d. packet 211-b, McWhorter Collection.

10. Josephy, Nez Perce p. 524; Three Eagles in North American Indian, 8, fn. 1, p. 26.

11. Account of About Asleep, n.d. packet 168, item 49, McWhorter Collection; Yellow Wolf, p. 51; Wounded Head and Black Feather in Hear Me, pp. 239, 241.

12. Participants give varying estimates concerning the number of warriors in the battle. Joseph reported that about 60 Nez Perce fought in the engagement and Yellow Wolf put the number at about 70. Most white estimates were surprisingly close to Indian figures. Trimble believed that there were about 100 warriors, although he noted that he had not seen more than 30 or 40 at one time. McCarthy, Richard Powers, and George Shearer estimated that there were about 60 Nez Perce. Perry believed that he had encountered about 125. Joseph, "Chief Joseph's Own Story," in Northwestern Fights, p. 64; Yellow Wolf, pp. 51, 55; Trimble CI, p. 87; Shearer, CI, p. 93; Letter from Perry to Howard, June 17, 1877, Camp near Idaho, letter no. 1450 Letters Received, DC; Stephen Perry Jocelyn, Mostly Alkali (Caldwell, 1953), p. 225.

13. McWhorter believed that about 45 of the warriors carried firearms. Three Eagles estimated about 50 guns. Hear Me, fn. 28, p. 251; Three Eagles in North American Indian, fn. 1, p. 26. See also Wounded Head and George Comedown in Hear Me, pp. 239, 250-51; Robert H. Ruby, "First Account of Nez Perce War by Man who Went: Josiah Red Wolf," Inland Empire Magazine November 17, 1963, p. 3.

14. Yellow Wolf, pp. 51-55. Three Eagles claimed that Joseph was in charge of one group of warriors. John Miles reported that while Joseph did some fighting, "he did no leading." Yellow Bull agreed when he stated that Joseph fought like any other warrior. Bow and Arrow Case also confirmed the presence of Joseph in the battle. See Three Eagles and Yellow Bull in North American Indian, 8, fn. 1, p. 26, p. 165; John Miles and Bow and Arrow Case in Hear Me, pp. 249, 254.

15. John Miles in Hear Me, p. 249

16. Perry, CI, p. 118; Perry in Northwestern Fights, p. 114.

17. Husush in Nez Perce Claims, p. 94; Yellow Wolf, pp. 55-56; Three Eagles in North American Indian, 8, fn. 1, p. 26; Floyd Laird, ed., "Reminiscences of Francis M. Redfield, Chief Joseph's War," Pacific Northwest Quarterly 28 (1936), p. 72.

18. Two Moon and Bow and Arrow Case in Hear Me, pp. 246-254; Yellow Wolf, pp. 55-56.

19. Perry, CI, p. 118

20. Shearer, CI, p. 89.

21. Perry CI, p. 118; Perry in Northwestern Fights, p. 119.

22. Powers, CI, p. 85; Charles Luman, CI, pp. 97-98, 103; Bartholomew Coughlin, CI, pp. 104-5; Perry, CI, p. 118.

23. Perry, CI, p. 119.

24. Trimble, CI, pp. 26, 38, 51; Trimble Report, p. 7; Parnell, CI, pp. 58, 64, 70; Parnell in Northwestern Fights, p. 102; McCarthy, CI, pp.75, 84; Powers, CI, p. 85; Coughlin, CI, p. 104; Yellow Wolf, fn. 4, p. 57; Two Moons and John Miles in Hear Me, pp. 247, 249.

25. Reman Lee was about 26 years old. Born in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania, he had worked as a laborer before enlisting on October 21, 1873. He was five feet five inches in height and had blue eyes and brown hair. Registry of Enlistments, 1873.

26. Trimble, CI, p. 27; Trimble Report, p. 8; Letter from Trimble to the Adjutant General, April 14, 1897, Berkely, California, McCarthy Medal of Honor File; McCarthy, CI, pp. 76-83; McCarthy, "Diary," June 17, 1877; McCarthy, "Army Sketches," p.6.

27. Perry, CI, p. 119.

28. Shearer, CI, pp. 89, 93; Perry CI, p. 119; Perry in Northwestern Fights, p. 115; Yellow Wolf, p. 57; Two Moons in Hear Me, p. 247.

29. McWhorter Notes, "Old Timers," packet 150, item 29 McWhorter Collection.

30. Perry, CI, p. 119; Perry in Northwestern Fights, pp. 114-15; Shearer, CI, p. 89; Trimble, CI, pp. 38-51; Coughlin, CI, p. 103; Parnell, CI, p. 61; C. A. Sears, "Letter from Mount Idaho, "Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, July 7, 1877, p. 3; Letter from L. P. Brown to Commanding Officer of Fort Lapwai, June 17, 1877, Mount Idaho, The Daily Oregonian, (Portland), June 21, 1877, p. 3; "Theodore Swarts," North Idaho, p. 474; Letter from T. D. Swarts to Alonzo Stanzo Leland, July 21, 1877, Mount Idaho, Lewiston Teller, July 28, 1877, p. 4.

31. Perry CI, pp. 119-20; Perry in Northwestern Fights, pp. 114-15; Parnell, CI, p. 64, Trimble CI, p. 38; Trimble Report, p. 8; McCarthy, CI, p. 84.

32. Perry, CI, p. 120; Perry in Northwestern Fights, p. 116; Parnell, CI, pp. 59, 62, 73; Leeman, CI, pp. 98-100; Coughlin, CI, pp. 104-105.

33. Perry, I, p. 120; Perry in Northwestern Fights, p. 116; Trimble, I, p. 27; Trimble Report, p. 8; Parnell, I, p. 64.

34, Trimble, CI, pp. 26-27; Trimble Report, pp. 9-10; Parnell, CI, pp. 61, 64; Parnell, "The Nez Perce Indian War-1877: Battle of White-Bird Canõn", The United Service n.s. 2 (1889), p. 370.

35. McCarthy, "Diary," June 17; McCarthy CI, pp. 76, 79; Letter from McCarthy to General Howard, September 20, 1897, San Francisco, McCarthy Medal of Honor File; McCarthy, "Army Sketches," p. 10.

36. Trimble, CI, pp. 28-29; Trimble Report, pp. 9-10; Letter from Trimble to the Adjutant General, April 14, 1897; McCarthy, "Diary," June 17; McCarthy CI, p. 76.

37. Perry in Northwestern Fights, p. 116; Parnell, CI, p. 59. Parnell in Northwestern Fights, p. 103; Leeman, CI, p. 99.

38. McCarthy, Diary, June 17; McCarthy, CI, pp. 76-81; Letter from McCarthy to Howard, September 20, 1897; McCarthy, "Journal," p. 80.

39. Michael Curran was born in Ireland and had previously worked as a laborer before entering the army on April 12, 1875. About 27 years old, he was almost five feet seven inches in height and had brown hair and brown eyes. Frank Powers was a native of Connecticut. A shoemaker before enlisting in the service, he was five feet seven and one-half inches in height, blond-haired and blue-eyed. He was about 26 years old. Registry of Enlistments, 1875, 1876.

40. Parnell, CI, pp. 59, 67; Parnell in Northwestern Fights, pp. 104-5; McCarthy, "Diary," June 17; McCarthy, CI, pp. 79-80; Letters from McCarthy to Howard, September 20, 1897. For what McCarthy referred to as a "glowing account" of his part in the battle see W. F. Beyer and O. F. Keydel, eds., Deeds of Valor (2 vols., Detroit, 1903), 2, pp. 239-43.

41. Perry, C I, p. 120; Perry in Northwestern Fights, p. 116; Shearer, CI, pp. 91-92; Coughlin, CI, p. 104; Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, June 28, 1877, p, 3.

42. Perry CI, p. 119-120; Perry in Northwestern Fights, p. 116-17; Trimble, CI, pp. 29-30; Trimble Report, p. 11.

43. William Havens was born in Lynde, Connecticut, in about 1839. At the time of his first enlistment in 1873. he had given his profession as a "bodymaker." He had dark hair and hazel eyes and was a little over five feet eight inches in height. Registry of Enlistments, 1873.

44. Perry CI, pp. 121-22; Perry in Northwestern Fights, p. 117; Letter from Perry to Lt. Col. James W. Forsyth, c. October 22, 1878, pp. 3-4; Trimble CI, 30-32; Trimble Report, pp. 11-12; Shearer, CI, pp. 90-91.

45, Perry, CI, p. 122. According to Bartholomew Coughlin, the horse belonged to Trumpeter Jones, Coughlin, CI, p. 105.

46. Perry, CI, p. 122; Letter from Perry to Forsyth, c. October 22, 1878, pp. 3-4.

47. In his report of the battle written on June 17, Perry gave the number as 22. Later he said there were 26. Parnell reported the figure as 27 or 28. Letter from Perry to Howard, June 17, Camp near Mount Idaho, Letter Received, DC; Letter from Perry to Forsyth, c. October 22, 1878; Parnell, CI, p. 61.

48. The account of the retreat by Perry and Parnell, unless otherwise noted, is based on Perry, CI, pp. 122-23; Perry in Northwestern Fights, p. 18; Parnell, CI, pp. 59-61, 67-68, 71; Parnell in Northwestern Fights, pp. 105-8; Parnell, "The Nez Perce Indian War," pp. 371-2.

49. Affidavit of Aman Hartman, May 24, 1897, Parnell Medal of Honor File.

50. Trimble, CI, pp. 32-36.

1. Yellow Wolf was about 21 years old. Well-built and a fine athlete, he stood about five feet ten and one-half inches in height. McWhorter, Yellow Wolf, pp. 13-16, 58.

2. Account of Roaring Eagle in Hear Me, fn 29, p. 251; Yellow Wolf, p. 59; Beal, I Will Fight No More Forever (Seattle, 1963), p. 56.

3. Account of About Asleep, Packet 168, item 49, McWhorter Collection.

4. Account of Two Moons in Hear Me, p. 247.

5. Account of Arthur Simon as told to Camille Williams, packet 166, item 19, McWhorter Collection.

6. Wounded Head had had too much to drink. Wandering from camp while intoxicated, he had lost consciousness and fallen into some bushes. it was there that his wife found him the next morning, after most of the men had already left to meet the enemy. She was able to arouse him, and he quickly looked for his rifle, but it was not to be seen; another warrior must have taken it. Mounting his horse, he rode after the rest of the men. Later he overtook one of his tribesmen, and, stopping, he asked the man if he had his gun. The warrior handed him an old pistol with the last powder and cap in place. But then one shot was better than none, and Wounded Head accepted the offering and hurried ahead to join in the fray. Account of Wounded Head in Hear Me, p. 240.

7. During the retreat, Isabella had been given a horse by William Coram and Private John Schorr, but she had been unable to control the frightened animal and had been thrown. Her children also had been mounted by the men, but they had been more fortunate and had made their way back to Mount Idaho with the retreating party. Letter from Isabella Benedict to Mrs. Orchard and Mrs. Daugherty, June 19, Mount Idaho, Idaho World, July 13, 1877, p. 1; "William Coram," North Idaho, p. 493; Schorr in Hear Me, p. 235; Elsensohn, Pioneer Days, 1, p. 528.

8. Wounded Head's version of the release of Mrs. Benedict is slightly different. He stated that he took a circuitous route down the hill, which hid him from the rest of the Nez Perce. Later he halted in a gulch and told the woman to dismount. He knew that she feared for her life, but he soon put her at ease. He told her how to make her way back to safety, and, after shaking hands, he continued back to the village. Account of Wounded Head in Hear Me, pp. 240-1; Letter from Isabella Benedict to Mrs. Orchard and Mrs. Daugherty, Idaho World, p. 1; Account of Isabella Benedict in Kirkwood, Nez Perce Indian War, p. 52.

9. Yuwishakaikt, one of the friendly Nez Perce captured in the battle, reported to an officer shortly after his return to Fort Lapwai that there were four warriors suffering from wounds. H. M. Chase of Lewiston also claimed that there were four wounded Indians in a letter written on June 22 to The Daily Oregonian. He had spoken with an Indian who had come directly from the Nez Perce camp. See Memorandum of Indian's Statement Relative to Fight with Colonel Perry, Letter no. 1451. Letter Received, DC, 1877; The Daily Oregonian, June 26, 1877, p. 3.

10. Bow and Arrow case received the wound about 40 feet west of the White Bird Monument on U. S. Highway 95, near the end of the first diagonal ridge referred to by Perry. see account of Bow and Arrow Case in Hear Me, p. 253.

11. Land Above received the wound when he reached for the gun of a soldier who appeared to be dead. The man had been wounded but was still alive, and when the Indian attempted to obtain the weapon, the soldier pulled the trigger. Yellow Wolf, p. 60.

12. Four Blankets fell from the horse when fired at by one of the men in the dead-end ravine. Account of Philip Williams in Yellow Wolf, fn. 7, p. 60.

13. Memorandum of Indian's Statement, Letters Received, DC; Statement of Yuwishakaikt, December 30, 1899, Nez Perce Claims, Sen. Ex. Dec. 257, p. 103.

14. Yellow Wolf, p. 65.

15. Memorandum of Indian's Statement.

16. Yellow Wolf, p. 61; Account of Yellow Bull in North American Indian, 8, p. 165. Perhaps the differences can be partially reconciled by considering that Yuwishakaikt may have been speaking of carbines only, while Yellow Wolf and Yellow Bull included revolvers in their estimates.

17. Account of Black Feather in Hear Me, pp. 216-7; Patrick Brice, "The Nez Perce Outbreak," Idaho World, September 14, 1877, p. 2. Brice mistook Black Feather for White Bird, and in his account of the affair, the Irishman credited the chief with saving his life. In later years a story evolved that Brice had gained his freedom by awing the Indians with a cross tattooed on his breast, but it is probably untrue. Brice did not mention it in his first account, which is elaborate in detail Black Feather denied having seen markings of any kind. Besides the nontreaty Indians were non-Christian and did not hold the sign in reverence. In any event the story came to be accepted as fact, and, as the years passed, the tale grew to heroic proportions. Apparently it was nurtured and fed by Brice and eagerly swallowed and relished by all who heard it. The story reached the epitome of preposterousness in an article entitled, "The Bravest Deed I Ever Knew," written by Charles Stuart Moody for the March issue of Century Magazine in 1911. In it Moody related that Brice made a deal with the Nez Perce to return to the Indian camp after he had taken the girl to Haunt Idaho. According to Moody, Brice offered to let the warriors work their will upon him after he had seen the girl placed in good hands. To cap the story, Moody had Brice return as promised and gain his freedom because the Nez Perce were impressed by his courage.

18. Statement of Brice, November 23, 1897, Anaconda, Montana, Brice 7427; Brice in Idaho World, September 14.

19. George Popham, "From the Scene of Hostilities," Lewiston Teller, June 30, 1877, p. 1; Account of Maggie Manuel Bowman in Defenbach, Idaho, 1, p. 418. For other accounts written by Maggie Manuel see the Walla Walla Union Bulletin, January 23, 1944, copy in McWhorter Collection, packet, 211-D; and the Grangeville Free Press, April 1, 1903.

20. McCarthy, "Diary," June 17, 1877. This account was probably written on June 20. The narrative has been partially punctuated and paragraphed for greater readability.

21. Yellow Wolf, pp. 61-2. The council took place just within the corporate limits of the town of White Bird at a point a short distance north of U. S. Highway 95.

22. Testimony of Yuwishakaikt, December 30, 1899, Nez Perce Claims, Sen. Ex. Doc. 257, p. 103.

23. Albert later rejoined the nontreaty Nez Perce during the Clearwater Battle, after he learned that his father had been killed in the fighting at Cottonwood, July 4-5. Yellow Wolf, p. 65.

24. Because he stayed with the victors for a short time, Minthon earned the emnity of his agency associates and became an outcast to both sides. Yellow Wolf, p. 65.

25. Yellow Wolf, pp. 63, 69; Josephy, Nez Perce, 527.

26. H. W. Cone, "White Bird Battle," pp. 5-6. Robert Bailey erroneously stated that Cone had written that Yellow Bull had bragged to the settlers that Mrs. Manuel was in his camp. See Bailey, River of No Return, p. 188. Cone's statement is as follows: "She [Tolo] began to talk upbraiding them for killing their friends and hers, and Mrs. Manuel, who we learned from them [that] 'one of them had killed, who was full of bad whiskey.'"

27. Yellow Wolf, pp. 62-3.

28. After the war had ended, Rudolph had second thoughts and presented McCarthy with a bill for the items. See note in McCarthy, "Diary," June 20, 1877.

29. Muster Rolls of Companies H and F. See also I.W. Redington, "Battle of White Bird Canyon, Idaho, June 17, 1877," Winners of the West 4 (April 30, 1929), p. 2.

30. McCarthy, "Diary," June 21; Letter from Perry to Forsyth, c. October 21, 1878, DC.

1. Unless otherwise indicated, the material used in this chapter comes from O. O. Howard, Nez Perce, pp. 118-46.

2. McCarthy, CI, p. 84. A native of Massachusetts, Fuller had enlisted on October 25, 1873. He was about 26 years old. White had been born in Brooklyn, New York, in about 1850. He was one of the few soldiers in the company that had served more than one enlistment. Registry of Enlistments, 1873, 1875.

3. Assistant Surgeon John Fitzgerald, Report for June, 1877, Medical History of Fort Lapwai, Records of the Office of the Surgeon General, Record Group 94, National Archives; McCarthy, "Diary," June 21, 1877.

4. Letter from Perry to Howard, June 17, 1877, camp near Mount Idaho, Letters Received, DC.

5. Letter from Robert Pollock to his wife, June 27, 1877, Johnson's Ranch, in Robert W. Pollock, Grandfather, Chief Joseph and Psychodynamics (Caldwell, 1964), p. 55.

6. "Blackeagle, Chief Joseph's Nephew, Has Passed Away." The Nez Perce Indian (Lapwai Agency) 14 (1918), p. l.

7. Brown, Flight of the Nez Perce, pp. 144-46; Josephy, Nez Perce, p. 530.

8. Perry, CI, p. 123.

9. Muster Roll of Company H; McCarthy, "Diary," June 24 and 25, 1877; Brown, p. 157.

10. George Popham, "From the Scene of Hostilities," Lewiston Teller, June 30, 1877, p. 1; Kirkwood, Nez Perce Indian War, p. 52-53; Statement of George Woodward, August 16, 1890, Morris 2718.

11. O. O. Howard, p. 139.

12. John Baker Morris was born in Knoxville, Missouri, on October 1, 1850. A graduate of St. Louis Medical College, he began practicing medicine in Mount Idaho in 1875. Accounts conflict concerning the date of his return to Mount Idaho following the outbreak, but according to his official biography he reached the settlement on June 22. "John Baker Morris, M. D.," History of Idaho, ed. by James H. Hawley (Chicago, 1920), 4, p. 9; Tenth Biennial Report of the Board of Trustees of the State Historical Society of Idaho, 1925-1926, (Boise, 1926), p. 65.

13. Elsensohn, Pioneer Days, 2, p. 523; "From the Scene of Hostilities," Lewiston Teller, April 13, 1878, p. 2; C. A. Sears, "Letter from Mount Idaho," Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, July 3, 1877, p. 2.

14. McCarthy, "Diary," June 25, 1877.

15. Ibid., June 26 and 27, 1877.

16. A native of Massachusetts, Miller graduated from West Point In 1858. He attained the rank of captain in the Fourth Artillery on May 11, 1864. Winters served in the Ohio infantry in 1861-1862 and rose to the rank of captain. In 1864 he enlisted in the First Cavalry and rose through the ranks to become an officer on March 12, 1865. He was promoted to captain on June 25, 1876. Heitman, Historical Register, 1, pp. 711, 1051.

17. Letter from Lt. Harry Lee Bailey to his parents, June 27, 1877, Camp at Johnson's Ranch, packet 180, item 108, McWhorter Collection; George Francis Bromlow, ed., "Nez Perce War Diary - 1877 of Private Frederick Mayer of Troop L, 1st United States Cavalry," in Seventeenth Biennial Report of the Board of Trustees of the Idaho Historical Society, 1939-1940, p. 28; E. J. Bunker in Kirkwood, p. 5; George Hunter, Reiminiscences of an Old Timer (San Francisco, 1887), p. 306.

18. Account of Lieutenant Bailey in Hear Me, p. 259; See also Memorandum of Indian's Statement, Letters Received, DC; Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, July 3, 1877, Account of John Schorr in Hear Me, p. 257.

19. Letter from Bailey to McWhorter, December 7, 1930, Fort Davis, Canal Zone, packet 180, item 4, McWhorter Collection; Coughlin, CI, p. 104; H. W. Cone in Bailey, River of No Return, p. 187.

20. Letter from Bailey to McWhorter December 7, 1930.

21. Letter from Bailey to parents, June 27, 1877; "Nez Perce War Diary," p. 28; Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, July 3, 1877, p. 1; Brown, p. 160.

22. Statement of Manuel, February 6, 1878, Morris 2718; Account of Maggie Manuel in Defenbach, Idaho, p. 419; Letter from Bailey to parents, June 27; C.A. Sears, "Letter from Mount Idaho," Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, August 4, 1877, p. 2.

23. Sears, "Letter from Mount Idaho," Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, July 3, 1877, p. 3.

After Howard returned to camp, he wrote a letter to E. C. Watkins at the agency. In it he gave his analysis of the White Bird Battle:

24. Letter from Howard to Watkins, June 27, 1877, Camp at Johnson's Ranch, Letter Sent, DC.

25. Born in Michigan, Sevier McClellan Rains graduated from West Point on June 15, 1876. Heitman, 1, p. 813.

26. "Indian Status Since Our Last Issue," Lewiston Teller, July 7, 1877, p. 4; C. A. Sears, "Letter from Mount Idaho," Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, July 7, 1877, p. 3; Brown, p. 161.

27. Born in Vermont, Stephen Girard Whipple served with the California infantry during the Civil War. He received a commission as a captain in the Thirty-second Infantry on January 22, 1867. He transferred to the First Cavalry on December 15, 1870. Heitman, 1, p. 1025.

28. For good detailed accounts of the rest of the Nez Perce campaign see Beale "I Will Eight No More Forever," chapters 6-23; Brown, Flight of the Nez Perce, chapters 11-25; Haines, The Nez Perce, chapters 27-31; Helen Howard, Saga of Chief Joseph chapters 13-23; Josephy, The Nez Perce Indians, chapters 13-14; and McWhorter, Hear Me, chapters 15-28.

29. Beale, p. 266.

30. Brown, Flight of the Nez Perce, p. 161.

31. Lewiston Teller, September 1, 1877, p. 2.

32. Letter from Howard to Assistant Adjutant General, Division of the Pacific, December 14, 1877, Portland, Letters Sent, DC, RG 98.

33. Letter from Lt. Melville Wilkinson to Commander of the District of the Clearwater, December 14, 1877, Portland, Letters Sent, DC; Theller's Remains," Lewiston Teller, December 15, 1877, p. 2; Charlotte Kirkwood, Nez Perce Indian War, p. 7.

34. Telegram from Adjutant General, DC, to Commanding Officer, Fort Walla Walla, December 20, 1877, and letter from Howard to Wilkinson, December 24, 1877, Portland, Letters Sent, DC; San Francisco Chronicle, January 3, p. 4, and January 4, p. 1; "Idaho County Marks Site of Nez Perce Battleground," The Idaho Statesman, September 4, 1927, section 3, p. 2. Theller was buried in lot 2110 and grave 1318.

35. J. W. Poe, "Letter from Mount Idaho," Lewiston Teller, July 28, 1877, p. l.

36. Grangeville Free Press, July 22, 1887, p. 1; Letter from Acting Assistant Inspector General to Assistant Adjutant General of the Department of the Columbia, December 5, 1879, Vancouver Barracks, letter no. 4546, Letters Received, DC.

1. Letter from O. O. Howard to Asst. Adj. Gen. John C. Kelton, Division of the Pacific, December 13, 1877, Portland, Letters Sent, DC.

2. Trimble Report, p. 19.

3. Ibid., pp. 4, 30.

4. Ibid., pp. 8-9, 28-29.

5. Ibid., pp. 30-31.

6. Letter from Trimble to Wood, January 29, 1878, Fort Walla Walla, letter no. 131, Letters Received, DC.

7. Reports of Captain S. G. Whipple, December 30, 1877, Fort Walla Walla, and Report of Captain W. H. Winters, January 2, 1878, Fort Walla Walla, letter packet 131, Letters Received, DC, 1878.

8. Proceedings of a Court of Inquiry which convened at Lewiston, Idaho Territory, on September 3, 1877, to Investigate certain charges brought against Captain David Perry, 1st Cavalry, by citizens of the Territory of Idaho, packet no. 2521, Letters Received, DC.

9. Letter from Kelton to Howard, April 10, 1878, San Francisco, letter no. 1024; Letter from Grover to Assistant Adjutant General of the Department of the Columbia, July 13, 1878, Letters Received, DC.

10. Perry, Detailed Account of the Affair in White Bird Canyon, June 17th, 1877, October 22, 1878, Fort Walla Walla, letter no. 1024, Letters Received, DC. Except for the paragraph reproduced above, this account is identical to that which appears as Perry's statement in CI, pp. 112-23.

11. Letter from Perry to Lt. Col. James W. Forsyth, c. October 22, 1878, p. 1.

12. Ibid, pp. 4-5.

13. Trimble Report, p. 5; Letter from Perry to Forsyth, pp. 1-2.

14. Trimble Report, pp. 11-12; Letter from Perry to Forsyth, p. 3.

15. Trimble Report, p. 13; Letter from Perry to Forsyth, pp. 3-4.

16. Letter from Perry to Forsyth, p. 4.

17. Ibid., pp. 8-10.

18. Letter from Forsyth to Assistant Adjutant General, Department of the Columbia, November 14, 1878. Fort Walla Walla, letter no. 1024, Letters Received, DC.

19. Telegram from Perry to Maj. Azor Nickerson, November 23, 1878, Letter no. 3675, Letters Received, DC. Special Order No. 142, Department of the Columbia, November 27, 1878.

20. Trimble, CI, pp. 26-37.

21. Ibid, pp. 50-51, 53-55.

22. footnote missing.

23. Ibid., pp. 38, 47, 51-52.

24. Ibid., p. 41.

25. Letters from McCarthy to J. W. Redington, April 26, 1904, and June 14, 1905, Walla Walla, packet 211-B, McWhorter Collection.

26. McCarthy, CI, p. 78.

27. Parnell, pp. 61, 63-65, 67, 73; Shearer, pp. 93-94; Leeman pp. 98-99; Coughlin, p. 103.

28. Parnell, pp. 64, 73; Powers, p. 87; Shearer, pp. 90-92; Leeman, pp. 100-1; Chapman also defended Perry on this count. In the Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman (July 28, 1877, p. 3), Chapman was reported as saying that Col. Perry fought bravely to the last and that he did his best to rally his troops, threatening with pistol in hand to shoot the first man to retire, but that it was impossible to hold the men."

29. Parnell, pp. 71, 74.

30. Shearer, p. 90; Parnell, p. 63.

31. CI, p. 125.

32. Ibid, pp. 127-28.

33. The opinion of the court and Howard's revision of it are reproduced in Brady, Northwestern Fights, p. 122.

1. Trimble Report, pp. 3-4, 32; Parnell, CI, p. 72; McCarthy, CI, pp. 83-84.

2. Trimble Report, p. 3; Trimble, CI, pp. 43-52; Parnell, CI, pp. 72-73; McCarthy, CI, p. 84; F. Whittaker, "The American Army," The Galaxy 24 (1877), p. 397.

3. Report of the Secretary of War, 1878 (Washington, D.C., 1878), 1, p. 36. The actual strength of the entire United States Army in 1877 was 24,000 men. "Statistics of the Army," Frank Leslie's Illustrated Newspaper (New York), February 8, 1879, p. 415.

4. James S. Hutchins, "Mounted Riflemen: The Real Role of Cavalry in the Indian Wars," in Probing the American West, ed. by K. Ross Toole, et. al. (Santa Fe, 1962), p. 81; Letter from Perry to Forsyth, c. October 22, 1878, p. 2; McCarthy, "Army Sketches," p. 18. Company F had arrived at Fort Lapwai on November 11, 1875. See Muster Roll of Company F, October-December, 1875.

5. Trimble Report, p. 3; McCarthy, CI, p. 84; McCarthy, "Diary," June 11-12, 1877.

6. Trimble Report, p. 3; Parnell, CI, p. 64; McCarthy, CI, p. 84; McCarthy, "Army Sketches," p. 18; Letter from Lt. M.C. Wilkinson to the Commanding Officer of Fort Cabrille, June 30, 1877, Fort Lapwai, Letters Sent, D.C.

7. Oliver Knight, Following the Indian Wars (Norman, 1960), p. 19; Hutchins, p. 83; Joseph, "Chief Joseph's Own Story," in Northwestern Fights, p. 64; Trimble Report, p. 32; McCarthy, "Army Sketches," p. 18; G. W. Baird, "The Capture of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce, The International Review 7 (1879), p. 214.

8. Parnell, CI, p. 74; McCarthy, "Army Sketches," pp. 9, 18.

9. Trimble Report, p. 32.

10. Trimble Report, p. 32; McCarthy, "Army Sketches," p. 24.

11. McCarthy, "Army Sketches," p. 18.

1. Accounts of Maggie Manuel Bowman in Grangeville Free Press, April 1, 1903; the Walla Walla Union Bulletin, January 23, 1944; Defenbach, Idaho, 1, pp. 415-19; and North Idaho, pp. 54-55, 29-30.

2. Patrick Brice, "The Nez Perce Outbreak," Idaho World, September 14, 1871, p. 2.

3. C. A. Sears, "Letter from Mount Idaho," Idaho Tri-weekly Statesman, July 7, 1877, p. 3.

4. Helen Howard, Saga of Chief Joseph, fn. 6, pp. 156-57.

5. Letter from Poe to Alonzo Leland, July 19, 1877, Lewiston Teller, July 28, 1877, p. 1.

6. Brown, Flight of the Nez Perce, p. 113.

7. Helen Howard, Saga, fn. 6, p. 156.

8. W. H. Cone, "Shite Bird Battle," p. 6.

9. Lewiston Teller, July 28, 1877, p. 4.

10. Henry Buck, "The Nez Perce Indian War of 1877" (Montana Historical Society, Helena, Montana).

11. C. P. Stranahan, "Taciturn Chief Joseph Refuses to Discuss War," The Idaho Statesman, June 18, 1933, section 2, p. 4; Bailey, River of No Return, p. 190.

12. "Stories about Indians as told by Chief Peo-Peo Tah-likt [Band of Geese] to Sam Lott (Many Wounds), February 25, 1935" (Typed carbon, Washington State University Archives, Pullman, Washington).

13. Popham, "From the Scene of Hostilities," Lewiston Teller, June 30, 1877, p. 1; Statements of Popham, October 23, 1888, and August 13, 1890, Manuel 3496.

14. Statement of Manuel, May 26, 1888, Manuel 3496.

15. For example, see Bailey, p. 188.

16. Bunker in Winners of the West, p. 8; Statement of George Popham, August 13, 1890, Manuel 3496; Elfers, North Idaho, p. 451; Statement of Catherine Cleary, April 16, 1888, Cleary 2723; Statement of Isabella Robie, November 9, 1889, Robie 10557; Elsensohn, Pioneer Days, 1, p. 528; Statement of Jennie Bunker, July 20, 1898, Bunker 9816, p. 37; Statement of Patrick Brice, November 23, 1897, Anaconda, Montana, Brice 7427.

17. Statement of Arthur Chapman, November 23, 1886, and March 21, 1890, Chapman 1102.

18. Defenbach, Idaho, 3, p. 386; Elsensohn, Pioneer Days, 1, pp. 273-74.

19. "Theodore Swarts," North Idaho, p. 474; Twenty-Seventh Biennial Report of the Secretary of the State of Idaho, p. 73; Faxon, "Survivor of Nez Perce War," Winners of the West 14 (February, 1937), p. 7.

20. Hear Me, pp. 255, 374, 524; A. I. Chapman, "More of the Murderers," Lewiston Teller, February 23, 1878, p. 2; Beale, "I Will Fight No More Forever", p. 216.

21. William J. Ghent, "Joseph," in Dictionary of American Biography (New York, 1943), 10, p. 219; Hear Me, p. 230, fn. 12, p. 241; Yellow Wolf, p. 18, fn. 10, p. 44; Robert H. Ruby, "First Account of Nez Perce War by Man Who Went: Josiah Red Wolf," Inland Empire Magazine, November 17, 1963, pp. 2-3.

22. Muster Rolls of Companies F and H, 1877-1879; Registry of Enlistments, 1875, 1876; McCarthy, "Jim Shay," in "Journal."

23. Letter from E. Beck to Secretary of War, March 15, 1890, Grangeville; letter from McClure to Chief Quartermaster of the Department of the Columbia, November 15, 1890, Fort Walla Walla; and List of Remains of Soldiers and Others Disinterred in Post Cemetery at Fort Lapwai by Second Lieutenant N. F. McClure, c. November 15. 1890, General Correspondence, Military Cemeteries File, RG 92.

24. McCarthy, "White Bird Monument," in "Journal," 123-24; Eleventh Biennial Report of the Board of Trustees of the State Historical Society of Idaho (Boise, 1928), p. 65.

25. Letter from Lt. Col. Medical Corps to Adjutant General USA, August 20, 1910, San Francisco, ACP File of William Russell Parnell.

26. Records of Proceedings of a Board to Retire Disabled Officers, Case of Captain J. G. Trimble, 1st Cavalry, August 6, 1879, Presidio of San Francisco; Obituary of Joel Graham Trimble, Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States, Circular No. 33, Series of 1911, San Francisco, California, ACP File of Joel Graham Trimble.

27. Heitman, 1, p. 785; Letter from Capt. M. A. DeLaney to Adjutant General USA, May 18, 1908, ACP File of David Perry.

28. Registry of Enlistments, 1874; Letter from McCarthy to Secretary of War, March 22, 1880, Walla Walla, Medal of Honor File, Case of Michael McCarthy; Biographical notes on inside cover of McCarthy, "Journal."

29. Kirkwood, Nez Perce Indian War, p. 7; "Idaho County Marks Site of Nez Perce Battleground," The Idaho Statesman, September 4, 1927, section 3, p. 2.