Saga of Chief Joseph

by Helen Addison Howard

  Upon receiving Monteith’s order and being told of the findings of the committee of 1876 in respect to the Wallowa Valley, Joseph would not believe that his case could have been truthfully presented by the interpreters, without having been decided in his favor. So he sent a message through his friend, Young Chief, head of the Umatillas, to Cornoyer, the Umatilla agent, asking for an interview with General Howard. The agent, visiting the general at Portland in March, informed him of Joseph’s request.

  At this time Joseph appears to have favored going on the Umatilla reserve rather than the Nez Perce one at Lapwai. The Indian historian L. V. McWhorter gives as reasons for this preference: the Umatillas shared the same religious views as the Dreamer Nez Perces, in addition to blood ties through intermarriage.

  The following month Howard sent his aide-de-camp, Lieutenant Boyle, who had much experience with Indians, to conduct the negotiations. The lieutenant returned to Umatilla with the agent and there met Alokut, who represented his brother, as Joseph was ill and could not be present. Alokut produced maps of the Wallowa, Grande Ronde, and Imnaha Valleys, to which the Wal-lam-wat-kins now laid claim. He had prepared these maps himself—an unusual accomplishment for an Indian. Dotted marks, Boyle found upon close inspection, represented the open hoof tracks of horses, thus marking the trails of the country. Those figures which represented people and fish were depicted in the Egyptian method of drawing. The lieutenant and Agent Cornoyer attempted to obtain a copy of these unique pictographic efforts, but Alokut refused to part with them.

  Upon Lieutenant Boyle’s return to Walla Walla he telegraphed Howard that Joseph expected to have another interview with him.

  Based upon the statements of a volunteer officer in the Bannock War of 1878, a Captain W. C. Painter, McWhorter described the meeting between Alokut and Boyle as a stormy one. Alokut apparently believed General Howard had promised that Joseph’s people could remove to the Umatilla Reservation, whereupon the lieutenant abruptly stated that the general had ordered them to move at once to Lapwai.28 Alokut resented Boyle’s manner.

  Howard made the trip by steamer up the Columbia River. From the head of navigation at Wallula, he went by train to Fort Walla Walla and arrived on April 18.

  Late the next afternoon Alokut, followed by Young Chief and five other headmen, paid his respects to the general and tendered Joseph’s regrets that he could not be present, as he was ill yet. The Indians arranged a meeting with Howard for the next day. At that time Alokut explained that neither he nor the other delegates could make any promises, and requested another conference with all the disaffected chiefs present. He declared for his brother that the interpreter at Lapwai could not have spoken the truth to the committee, and for that reason Joseph desired a second council. Apparently the chief hoped once more to talk the Indian Bureau out of removing his people to Lapwai.

  Although no hint of the alleged misunderstanding between Alokut and Lieutenant William Boyle appears in Howard’s report to the Secretary of War, he does refer to the Wallowa Nez Perces’ desire to join the Umatillas. In reporting the Walla Walla council the general stated:

  “I explained the requirement of the government; that the Indians would be required to go on the reservation—some reservation. . . . The Indians seemed at first to wish to join the Umatillas, then it appears there was a project (probably originating with white men) to combine the reservation Indians of Umatilla with the non-treaty Nez Perces, and ask for them thus joined the Wallowa and Imnaha country giving up the Umatilla reserve. But I replied that the instructions are definite; that I should send troops very soon to occupy the Wallowa, and proceed to Lapwai as soon as possible in execution of my instructions.

  “Ollicut [Alokut], who manifested a good disposition, was evidently afraid to promise anything, and I was aware that some representative of the Indian Bureau should take the initiative in dealing with these Indians, so that I was glad to have him ask to gather the Indians, all the non-treaties, to meet me at Fort Lapwai during my coming visit.”29

  Howard then agreed to meet Joseph and other nontreaty chiefs at Lapwai twelve days later. He hoped to settle matters at that time with all Nez Perces not living on the reservation. The Indians accordingly dispatched runners to notify Chiefs Looking Glass, White Bird, Hush-hush-cute, and Tuhulhutsut of the coming council. All these were leaders of disaffected bands.

  Looking Glass’s people lived on Clear Creek, a tributary of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River. His band’s village, third in size and numbering about forty warriors, was usually located above the town of Kamiah on the eastern side of the Lapwai Reservation. This chief, son of old Chief Looking Glass who signed the Treaty of 1855, was “almost six feet tall, well proportioned, with features denoting strength and tenacity of purpose,”30 and was nearly forty-five years of age. In the center of his forehead, tied to his scalp lock, hung a round mirror; from this he received his name in English. To the Nez Perces he was known as A-push-wa-hite. Looking Glass had just returned from a buffalo hunt in Montana where his band spent most of the time. Among the whites he was known as a diplomat and a leader for peace.

  White Bird, also known as Joe Hale, whose Nez Perce name was Pen-pen-hi-hi (meaning, literally, “White Pelican”), was the oldest of the nontreaty chiefs. He was a heavyset man of mild countenance, which deceptively masked his shrewd trading ability. Howard describes him as being “a demure-looking Indian, about five feet, eight inches tall. His face assumed the condition of impassibility, or rigid fixedness, while in council; and . . . he kept his immense ceremonial hat on, and placed a large eagle’s wing in front of his eyes and nose.”31 This aging chief’s band, second in size, when not in Montana hunting buffalo, roamed among the steep mountains along the Salmon River which lay to the south of the reservation. Indian testimony disagrees as to White Bird’s stand on war, but some Nez Perces claim he and his fifty braves were willing to fight the whites any time the other nontreaty bands would rally to his support.

  Hush-hush-cute lived in the Asotin country of southeastern Washington on the west bank of the Snake River. A subleader of a small Palouse band, including about sixteen warriors under Chief Hahtalekin, he was a renowned orator. He was about Joseph’s age, close to thirty-six at the time, and his manner of extreme cunning inspired distrust in those whites who dealt with him in councils.

  Tuhulhutsut, already past middle age, was still a powerfully strong man of five feet ten, broad-shouldered, deep-chested and thick of neck. Howard describes him as one of the leading tewats, or medicine men, of the Dreamer faith, but McWhorter’s Indian informants flatly denied this. He was a Dreamer, they affirmed, but not a tewat. Grizzly Bear Ferocious, though, did call him a “tiwat” in describing him to Edward S. Curtis. McWhorter himself, in Yellow Wolf: His Own Story, page 36, note 3, referred to “Toohoolhoolzote” (Tuhulhutsut) as a “Dreamer prophet and medicine man.” Although his band on the Snake River numbered only about 183 people, of whom 30 were fighting men, he did exert great influence on the followers of Smohalla’s religion as his oratory was passionate and vindictive. Like the prophet, this old chief could drop his querulous manner and speak smoothly and convincingly.

  2. Major General O. O. Howard. Taken upon his retirement, November 4, 1894. Photo courtesy of Baker & Taylor Co.

  Joseph and Alokut, leaders of the largest band of nearly five hundred persons, of whom fifty-five were warriors, presented the finest appearance of the invited chiefs. Alokut, the younger of the two, was even taller than his brother, as graceful and supple as a cougar. Carefree and full of youthful enthusiasm, his happy disposition attracted whites and Indians alike. Clearly, he was the idol and leader of the young men.32

  Lieutenant C. E. S. Wood, Howard’s aide-de-camp, thus describes the chief:

  Joseph at this time must have been about thirty-seven or thirty-eight [he was thirty-seven] years old. He is tall, straight and handsome, with a mouth and chin not unlike that of Napoleon I. He was in council, at first probably not so influential as White Bird
and the group of chiefs that sustained him, but from first to last he was preeminently their “war chief.” Such was the testimony of his followers after his surrender, and such seems to be the evidence of the campaign itself.33

  These chiefs, together with Young Chief of the Umatillas who wished to observe the conference, were the different types of Indians who met in council with the dignified and handsome Howard, a full-bearded, broad-shouldered man with a straight military carriage. Sergeant Martin L. Brown, Twenty-first Infantry, one of Howard’s soldiers, described his commanding officer as follows:

  He was a soldierly figure, a little below average height, and he had but one arm, the other being shot off in a cavalry charge during the Civil war. He wore the conventional whiskers of that day. I remember him most for his ever-friendly speech, and his quiet manner. I don’t believe I ever saw or heard of his being in a controversy.

  He took a personal interest in me, though I was just a sergeant, and he used to come down to the basement [at Vancouver Barracks] to chat with me. I was 19 at the time, so he would ask me where my home was, when I enlisted, what I had seen, and so on.

  Yes, Brigadier-General Howard was always as courteous to a corporal or a sergeant as he was to a major or a colonel, and those under him liked and respected him for it. Always kind and thoughtful, he was everything a man and an officer could be.34

  Howard’s deeply religious nature was reflected in his face, and he appeared not unlike the Jewish prophets of the Old Testament. By those who knew him (and the testimony is unanimous) he was said to be honest, kindly, fair-minded, and always willing to believe the best of anyone. His right sleeve hung empty at his side because he had lost his arm at Fair Oaks, and so he became known to the Indians as the “one-armed soldier-chief.”

  9

  The Council at Fort Lapwai—1877

  About fifty of Joseph’s people encamped on May 2 in a secluded spot up the Lapwai Valley not far from the fort, and just above the garrison gardens. That afternoon and evening the Indians prepared their clothes for the meeting by rubbing them with chalk, which gave a gleamy white appearance to their buckskin garments. Their faces and their ponies they painted and streaked with red. Although he came from the greatest distance, Joseph and his band was the first to reach the council ground.

  In the morning, bright with May sunshine, the warriors and their women rode many-colored horses down to the garrison. The men’s hair had been carefully braided and tied with gaudy strings. Wrapped around their bodies were gay blankets of various colors, and their legs and feet were encased in beaded buckskin leggings and moccasins. The women vied with their men by wearing bright shawls or blankets, skirts to the ankle, and hightop moccasins.

  Chanting a weird tune, pitched low and plaintive, or at times high and fierce, this picturesque cavalcade rode completely around Fort Lapwai, and paused for a review by the soldiers on the parade ground. The notes of the chant reechoed among the log buildings, which “broke the refrain into irregular bubblings of sound till the ceremony was completed.”1

  Then the head chiefs dismounted. Led by Joseph, they walked behind Captain Perry’s quarters and filed through the transverse hall to the hospital tent, which had been prepared for the council immediately south of the guardhouse. According to Yellow Serpent, Howard

  placed the head chiefs in the front circle. I sat on one side and Joseph was on my right. On his right were Looking Glass, Tuhulhutsut, Hushush-keut. . . . This council sat in front of one of the buildings at Fort Lapwai.2

  Two of Howard’s aides, Lieutenants Wilkinson and Boyle, sat behind him. All the chiefs shook hands with the military, Agent Monteith, and the interpreters, and then everybody sat down. Young Chief of the Umatillas accompanied Joseph. Eager to behold the council, also, were several wives of the officers. The presence of white women lent a friendly air to the meeting.

  Massed outside the tent (the sides of which were raised) were the treaty Indians. Fearful lest trouble should break out, they stood or crouched around the group assembled in conference and observed proceedings with a wary attitude. They knew the resentful feeling of their nontreaty brethren toward the governmental order requiring them to move onto the reservation. Howard, though, had prepared for any emergency by having the soldiers of the garrison remain in their barracks, and had ordered other troops to close in from various directions.

  Before the discussions began, the venerable Catholic missionary, Father Cataldo, whose mission was in a valley of Craig Mountain, eight miles from Lapwai, opened the meeting with a prayer in the Nez Perce tongue. Perrin Whitman, a nephew of Dr. Marcus Whitman, and James Reuben, Joseph’s nephew, acted as interpreters. The Reverend Henry Spalding was not present.

  The general addressed Joseph, with Whitman interpreting: “I heard from your brother Ollicut [Alokut], twelve days ago, at Walla-Walla, that you wished to see me. I am here to listen to what you have to say.”3

  Joseph, knowing that White Bird and his followers would not arrive until the morrow, asked that the council be delayed until then.

  To this Howard replied, “Mr. Monteith’s instructions and mine are directly to YOUR people; if you decide at once to comply with the wishes of the government, you can have the first pick of vacant land. We will not wait for White Bird; instructions to him are the same; he can take his turn.”4

  Howard then informed the assembled Nez Perces that

  . . . they must know in the outset, that in any event [regardless of how long the council lasted], they were to obey the orders of the Government of the United States. As it was evident that the Indians were more curious to get something from us, and more disposed to parley and waste time than to communicate anything to us, or make any request, I asked the agent, Monteith, if he had not better read his instructions from Washington to the Indians. This he then did.5

  John Monteith was a tall, well-built man of thirty-five. As he read, Perrin Whitman interpreted the message to the chiefs.

  Two old medicine men protested the government’s order to move onto the reservation. They reiterated that they wanted a long talk of several days about their land. One tewat sharply demanded of the interpreters to speak the truth in making the translations.

  When the medicine men had finished speaking, Howard sternly told them in turn to give good advice to the Indians. Then the general addressed Joseph, again offering him first choice of the vacant lands if he would agree to move onto the reservation at once. The chief, though, declared he would wait until White Bird arrived before speaking his mind. With nothing accomplished, the council adjourned until the following day.

  On Friday, joined by White Bird’s band, the Indians again went through the same formalities of display, and for the effect waited some time before coming to the tent. This day Joseph, with his hair shining and carefully braided, “and his face slightly rouged, sat on a low bench.”6 Alpowa Jim, a treaty Nez Perce, opened the second day’s meeting with a brief prayer in his native tongue. The agent then reread his instructions, and Howard recapitulated his orders from Washington.

  Following these preliminaries, Joseph introduced his ally to the general: “This is White Bird. I spoke to you of him; this is the first time he has seen you, and you him. I want him and his Indians to understand what has been said to us.”7

  The red man and the white man shook hands, and then White Bird with his followers squatted on the grass behind Joseph.

  By previous arrangement, no doubt, the Indians put forth Tuhulhutsut as their principal speaker and advocate. He told of the religious beliefs of the Dreamers regarding the ownership of the earth. As he spoke, the words fell from his lips like arrows shot from a warrior’s bow. There was nothing in those beliefs, he asserted, which taught that white men could dictate where each race should live—that was the sole right of the Spirit Chief.

  His words aroused the Indians, who apparently wished to learn if this fiery orator would inspire reverential fear in the white officials, and possibly get some concession from them. The treaty Nez
Perces fully expected serious trouble. They broke out with murmurings of “Aa,” at the chief’s defiant assertions. White Bird, his face partly hidden behind a big eagle feather, symbol of his tewat status, kept silent. Joseph covertly watched the reactions of the military to the speech. If the general and his staff gave any sign of fear, then Joseph and the other chiefs would know whether or not to adopt an attitude of defiance, because, he explained, “an Indian respects a brave man, but he despises a coward. He loves a straight tongue, but he hates a forked tongue.”8 He closely observed to see if their eyes would “tell what the tongue would hide.”9

  Instead of showing fear, Howard retained an aspect of self-possession, although he realized the possibility of the council’s ending in violence. In order to gain time so that the troops, already on the march in Wallowa, could get closer, the general heartily granted Joseph’s request to defer the next meeting. Howard suggested the following Monday as the day on which to resume the conference. This would give the Indians time over the week end “to talk among themselves.” Apparently the arrangement pleased the chiefs, for with a friendly handshake all around, they dissolved the meeting.

  To be ready for any emergency, the general had ordered Captain Trimble’s company from Fort Walla Walla to Lewiston. Captain Stephen G. Whipple’s cavalry he had advised to cross the Wallowa Valley to the confluence of the Grande Ronde and Snake Rivers, where they could be reached easily in case they were wanted. Howard had also directed two more companies to move from Vancouver Barracks and encamp near Wallula to be convenient if needed. The presence of troops in the valley of winding waters would be a warning to Joseph’s people who had remained behind. With the soldiers nearby they would not be so likely to foment trouble. However, the Indians kept the peace in Wallowa.