Big Hole National Battlefield

Visited: May 2016
Nearby town: Dillon, MT

"On our part, the war was in its origin and motive nothing short of a gigantic blunder and a crime."

1877 New York Times editorial

The story of the Nez Perce War is certainly one of the most tragic and unjust events in the history of the United States. Because of that, it is not a history that should be ignored, downplayed, or swept under the rug. Indeed, it must be studied, analyzed and confronted if we are to learn from our mistakes.

With that said, the Nez Perce National Historical Park is a unique NPS unit that covers 38 sites in 4 states (Oregon, Idaho, Washington, and Montana). Although the NPS manages the unit overall, some of the individual sites are maintained by other federal and state agencies, and the National Forest Service maintains the Nez Perce Historical Trail. The Park is headquartered in Spalding, Idaho, a small town outside of Lewiston, in the northern panhandle of the state.

Some of the most visited sites of the Park are:

(1) Bear Paw Battlefield - Montana

(2) Battle of the Clearwater - Idaho

(3) Battle of White Bird Canyon - Idaho

(4) Camas Meadows Battle Sites - Idaho

(5) Joseph Canyon - Oregon/Washington

(6) Old Chief Joseph Gravesite - Oregon

and the site that is featured in today's blog post: (7) Big Hole National Battlefield in southwestern Montana.

For centuries, the Nez Perce Tribe lived in the pristine wilderness of the Pacific Northwest - in present day Idaho, Washington, and Oregon. Most of the population was centered in the beautiful Wallowa River Valley in northeastern Oregon. By the 18th century, both Russia and Great Britain claimed this land and conducted fur trapping and other activity in the region, but no permanent settlements were made in the inland regions where many of the tribes lived. Lewis & Clark explored this area for America on their great expedition to the Pacific Ocean. In 1848, the US and the UK settled disputed claims in the region, and the ancestral homelands of the Nez Perce became part of the United States, in the newly-formed Oregon Territory. Tales of the bountiful resources and plentiful, available land brought many settlers to the region, traveling via the Oregon Trail. Inevitably, there were encounters between white settlers and Indian Tribes. Sometimes peaceful, and sometimes not.

In 1855, the Walla Walla Council was held between the federal government and many tribes in the Pacific Northwest concerning resolutions to conflicts over land and the matter of reservations. The Nez Perce Treaty of 1855 was signed at that council. The 1855 Treaty stipulated that the Nez Perce reservation would largely consist of the Nez Perce ancestral homeland in Oregon, Idaho and Washington, consisting of over 7.5 million acres. In exchange, the Nez Perce would cede nearly 5.5 million acres of their traditional lands to the federal government for a nominal sum, with the caveat that the Nez Perce would be able to hunt, fish, and pasture their horses on the unoccupied areas of their former lands (the 5.5 million acres they were giving to the federal government). Furthermore, under the terms of the treaty, no whites settlers were allowed to live on the reservation without Nez Perce permission.

Well, wouldn't you know it, in 1860 gold was discovered on the reservation, near the present day town of Pierce, Idaho. Almost immediately, white settlers descended on the land to mine for gold without Nez Perce permission, in direct violation of the terms of the 1855 Treaty. The town of Lewiston, Idaho was founded on the reservation as a supply depot for the miners; this settlement was illegal. By the late 1860s, nearly 15,000 white settlers were living on the reservation without permission. And the federal government essentially refused to do anything about it and did not enforce the 1855 Treaty. Ranchers and farmers followed the miners, and the farming of the Camas Prairies disturbed the Nez Perce way of life, and tensions escalated between the Nez Perce and the squatters.

In 1869, a group of Nez Perce (who had largely converted to Christianity) entered into a treaty with the U.S. and signed away nearly 90% of the reservation, agreeing to move to a new, smaller reservation of about 750,000 acres east of Lewiston, in land entirely contained in the recently formed Territory of Idaho. Many Nez Perce considered the treaty invalid, because not all bands of the tribe had signed nor participated in the negotiations. Many Nez Perce refused to move to the newer, smaller reservation and remained in the lands of the 1855 Treaty. These bands became to be known as "non-treaty" Nez Perce. One of these "non-treaty" bands lived in the Wallowa Valley in Oregon, led by Chief Joseph.

After the 1869 Treaty, white settlers continued to pour into the region and conflicts and disputes escalated enormously. Murders of Nez Perce by white settlers would go unpunished and unprosecuted. Some of the tribes responded in kind and attacked settlers. Chief Joseph hoped to solve the conflict peacefully, and visited with federal officials in 1873 to attempt to negotiate a peace wherein the Nez Perce would remain on their land and not need to move to the smaller reservation. These negotiations failed, and the atrocities continued. In May 1877, U.S. General Oliver Otis Howard ordered that all non-treaty Nez Perce must move to the smaller reservation within 30 days or they would be moved by force, a nearly impossible deadline. The head Chief of the Nez Perce, Toohoolhoolzote, was jailed after publicly instructing the Nez Perce not to obey the order. Chief Joseph was very conflicted about what to do. He ultimately decided that armed resistance would be futile, and agreed to report to the reservation at Fort Lapwai, Idaho on June 14, 1877.

As the deadline approached, nearly 600 Nez Perce from Joseph's band and a band led by Chief Looking Glass had gathered at Camas Prairie (near the present day town of Grangeville) to prepare to move onto the reservation. On that fateful "last night" of freedom, a group of Nez Perce Warriors talked to each other about the unjust murders of their relatives at the hands of the white settlers (one had a brother killed the previous year who had been falsely accused of stealing horses) and they decided to take matters into their own hands, and exact vengeance. A group of Nez Perce Warriors raided a settlement along the Salmon River on the night of June 14, killing four white men.  The following night, some Warriors raided more settlements. In total, 18 settlers were killed. Chief Joseph had hoped to still negotiate a peace when reporting to Fort Lapwai, but at this point knew that it would be to no avail on account of the raids.

In response to the raids, Gen. Howard sent 130 men under the command of Captain David Perry to punish the Nez Perce and forcibly move them to the reservation. This unit met about 70 Nez Perce Warriors in White Bird Canyon just south of Grangeville. Six Nez Perce warriors approached the army with a white flag, hoping for a truce. For reasons never totally explained, the army fired on the truce party. The party quickly took cover and fired back. The Nez Perce War had begun. The army suffered a humiliating defeat by the Nez Perce, who were much more experienced at fighting on horseback and were much more familiar with the land. Captain Perry's men were forced to retreat. At the conclusion of the White Bird Battle, nearly 34 U.S. soldiers had been killed, none of the Nez Perce had fallen in the battle, and only 3 were wounded.

Despite the resounding victory, Chief Joseph knew that the U.S. Army's retaliation would be swift and brutal. The Nez Perce would be overwhelmingly out-gunned and out-numbered. Joseph knew there would be no way they would survive a full-scale war. Chief Joseph decided to lead his band on a fighting retreat. They would head east and seek refuge and team up with the Crow Tribe in southeastern Montana. The band totaled approximately 250 Nez Perce Warriors, 500 women and children, along with 2,000 horses. They headed out across Lolo Pass into Montana, doggedly pursued by a large regiment under Gen. Howard, the Nez Perce fought them off and retreated successfully at small skirmishes at Cottonwood, Clearwater, and Fort Fizzle outside of present-day Missoula.

After Fort Fizzle, the retreating band headed south through the Bitterroot Valley. Chief Looking Glass pledged to the white settlers in the valley that they would pass through without violence. They did so, and the Montana settlers, not eager for war with a tribe that had successfully fought off the U.S. Army, even traded and exchanged goods with the tribe as they passed through. Once the band left Idaho Territory, Gen. Howard's men had eased off on their pursuit of the Nez Perce. This let the Nez Perce travel at a more leisurely pace and they decided to rest in the Big Hole Basin, just south of the Bitterroot Valley, to rest and recuperate. They set up 89 tipis in a V-shaped pattern along the North Fork of the Big Hole River. 

Big Hole River

The Nez Perce camped at the foot of this mountain in the Big Hole Basin

Unknown to the Nez Perce however, Colonel John Gibbon had left Fort Shaw (just outside of present-day Great Falls, Montana) with 161 men and a howitzer and was pursuing the Nez Perce through the Bitterroot Valley. His orders: no prisoners and no negotiations. His army was able to recruit some citizen volunteers in the Bitterroot Valley, and his unit ended up reaching a little over 200 men.

On Aug 8, 1877, Col. Gibbon located the Nez Perce encampment at Big Hole. They set up camp, hiding in the trees on the mountain overlooking the camp. In the wee hours of the morning of Aug 9, the army descended on the tipis. They encountered an old Nez Perce man as they were crossing the river, and shot him immediately. They then fired indiscriminately towards the tipis, killing many - including women and children. The Nez Perce, taken completely by surprise, scattered in every direction. Instead of pursuing the fleeing band, Gibbon ordered his men to burn the tipis. This brief pause in the battle, allowed the Nez Perce warriors to rally and fight back. Gibbon's men began to suffer many casualties and retreated back across the river and into the forested mountain were they dug trenches and fortified their camp. The Nez Perce were able to capture the howitzer and dismantle it. The remaining day of the battle consisted of the army and the Nez Perce sniping at each other. The Nez Perce were able to hold off the army with their snipers as they prepared to retreat. Meanwhile, Gibbon had run out of supplies, the only food being their dead horses. Many of the civilian recruits had abandoned the army and slipped away. Gibbon, believing he was seriously outnumbered (he probably wasn't) sent a message to Gen. Howard's men (who were still about 80 miles away) and requested immediate relief. On Aug 10, a couple dozen Nez Perce sharpshooters were able to hole up Gibbon's men (who had no food or water) in their fortifications the entire day, allowing the band to slip away and escape further to the east.

The battle was costly for both sides, Gibbon had lost 31 men and 38 more had been wounded. The Nez Perce lost about 70-90 people, about 30 of which were warriors and the rest women or children. Big Hole ended up being the deadliest battle of the Nez Perce War. When they had left Idaho, Chief Joseph had hoped that maybe the army would give up its pursuit and they could live peacefully in Montana. But at this point, Chief Joseph knew beyond any doubt that such a conclusion would be impossible. His band pressed on to the east, hoping to unite with the Crow Tribe. Their story will continue in my next blog post about Bear Paw Battlefield.

Visiting the battlefield is a sad, but special, experience. The Visitor Center is very good and has all the information on the battle, and you can take two trails. One follows the river to the Indian encampment. As a memorial, the park has set up 89 tipis (just the poles) in the approximate spot of the camp. The other trail leads up the hill overlooking the valley, where the US Army camped during the battle.

overlooking the Big Hole River

overlooking the battlefield, you can see the tipis in the distance

this monument was erected by US army in 1883

Today, the NPS preserve this battlefield and honors all those who lost their life here in this tragic incident. This somber site is a must visit for anyone who wishes to understand more about our history and heritage. More info here: https://www.nps.gov/biho/index.htm