USA > Idaho > The history of Idaho > Part 23
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citizen of Boise, held a commission from the Governor as Colonel of the Militia; and Bernard, a Colonel of the United States Army.
The plan of attack was agreed upon. Col. Bernard had some troops with him who it was said at one time did not stand their ground in a fight. He addressed them in substance as follows: "Men, we are about to engage the enemy in battle; I expect every man to stand his ground and fight. We must and can win the fight, if you all do your duty. I hope no one will fail to do his whole duty, but if there is a man that runs from the battle field, if I live through it, I will have him shot. 'Tis better for you to face the enemy and fight even if you should be shot by them in the line of duty than to be shot for cowardice." This short speech seemed to have the desired effect. A little after daylight Col. Rob- bins made the attack with a charge through the Indian camp. He took them by surprise. They evidently thought they were far ahead of the troops and in a safe place. Very few of them were up; they rallied quickly, however, and seized their arms. They were so surprised and confused that the most of them fired straight up in the air. Colonel Bernard was on hand with his men at the time and place agreed upon, and his men fought well. The In- dians soon recovered from their surprise and concealed themselves behind rocks and kept up a firing all day.
During the charge some very interesting combats took place in very close quarters. Chief Egan was an Indian of large stature and noted for his bravery and expert horsemanship. He had se- cured his favorite horse, and knowing Col. Robbins, made a dash for him. He had a repeating rifle, and when within a few steps of Col. Robbins, would fire at him, then throw himself on the op- posite side of his horse and rise quickly and fire again. He shot through the Colonel's clothes a few times, and one of his bul- lets grazed Robbins' finger, but the Colonel was not idle-he was trying to get at Chief Egan and finally sent a bullet through one of Egan's wrists, which broke it. This brought Egan to the ground. The Colonel then gave him another shot through the right side of the breast, and another scout shot him near the groin. Two Indians then came up and carried Egan away, but he did not die at that time. Another hand-to-hand fight took place be- tween Sergeant Richmond of Captain McGregory's company and an Indian chief called Bear Skin. This was an interesting tussle for a short time, but the Sergeant finally killed his Indian and was not hurt.
The Indians had fixed up some fortifications among the rocks, and got to them as fast as they could. The soldiers took posi- tions where they were not so much exposed to the fire of the In-
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dians, and shots were frequently exchanged all that day. After the heat of the battle was over, Col. Robbins met Col. Bernard and some of his officers and very quietly inquired if they had counted the Indians to ascertain whether there were two thousand as he had reported that morning. They all stated that they had been kept too busy to even try to count them, but thought Rob- dians had underestimated the number as there were more In- dians than any of them had ever seen together at one time. One of the officers remarked that there were more Indians than he had ever seen white people at a race track in the Eastern States.
The troops and scouts camped that night on the fighting ground. They were tired out and so were their horses, as they had been on forced marches for several days. They did not attempt to guard the Indians that night, only put out soldiers to protect their camp and horses. They were not molested during the night, and the In- dians concluded that place was not good enough for them so qui- etly packed up and left. As near as could be ascertained, the In- dians lost about one hundred, nearly all warriors, and a number wounded. The loss to the troops was one scout, Mr. Myers, and four soldiers killed and a few slightly wounded.
Mr. Robie and a few settlers who had gone to Camp Harney for protection were with the troops during this battle. It was at this place Mr. Robie, who was completely exhausted, was taken sick and he with some of his employes came back to his ranch near Boise. He received the best of medical care and attention, but the fearful shock and hard ride had done their work, and he lingered a few days and died. In the death of Mr. Robie, Idaho lost a most enterprising citizen and a noble, good man.
On the morning of the 23rd of June, before the fight began, Colonel Bernard had started a messenger with a dispatch to Gen- eral Howard who was at Malheur notifying him that they had found the Indians, and also stating that he might need help. Gen- eral Howard started for the battle ground immediately upon re- ceipt of this dispatch. He arrived at the Colonel's camp early in the morning on June 24th. Being the ranking officer, General Howard took command.
Colonel Robbins and his scouts were out early on the morning of the 24th looking for the Indians. They soon found the Indian trail, heading in a northwesterly direction through a country set- tled by a few stock raisers and miners. These people had all left their homes and gone to Canyon City for protection. Robbins im- mediately sent a messenger to notify the officers of the direction the Indians had taken. The troops immediately broke camp and started to follow the Indian trail. Their march was necessarily
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slow on account of the rough roads and their heavy loads of sup- plies. General Howard was never accused of moving troops fast at any time, when in pursuit of Indians, and this was no excep- tion.
Colonel Robbins and his men were out early and late scouring the country for the Indians. They found several men who had been killed by the Indians and their bodies usually mutilated. The Indians seemed to be scattered over a wide area of coun- try; they were plundering houses, sometimes burning them, shoot- ing down large numbers of cattle, stealing all the horses and kill- ing every person they found. Their main trail headed in a northwesterly direction toward the John Day River in Grant County, Oregon. They crossed this stream several miles west of Canyon City, and then changed their course to a northeasterly direction toward the Umatilla Indian reservation.
Colonel Robbins and his men crossed the John Day River fol- lowing the Indian trail. Within a few miles they came to a sheep corral into which a number of sheep had been driven, a large fire built and many of the lambs' hind feet had been tied together and the poor animals thrown in the fire to burn to death, and most of the old sheep had been killed and left to rot. A few miles further on, they came to a herd of Merino bucks that the Indians had caught and cut their fore legs off at the knee and then left the poor things to suffer.
Going on a short distance, they saw what they thought must be a man on foot running and several Indians in close pursuit. They started immediately, but before they were near enough to tell whether it was a white man or an Indian, the person fell, the Indians halted, but, seeing the scouts, mounted their horses and hurried off to the timber. The scouts hurried up as quickly as possible, and found the Indians had scalped and mutilated the body of a white man. He was not quite dead, but was unable to speak and expired in a few moments. They buried him and con- tiued in their pursuit of the Indians. This was not the only poor unfortunate Colonel Robbins and his men buried. Whenever they found a man killed by the Indians, they gave the body temporary burial and marked the grave so it could be found and cared for by friends after the Indian trouble was over.
A few miles further on they came to Camas Prairie in Oregon. Here they found a fine, well-improved milk and cheese ranch, but everything ruined about the place. The buildings were left stand- ing, but several thousand pounds of cheese had been taken out and rolled in the dirt. More than a hundred head of hogs had been killed and left on the ground.
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Robbins at last located the Indians up a rocky canyon leading up to the Blue Mountains. He then returned and notified General Howard who was several miles west of Pilot Rock. Colonel Rob- bins succeeded in getting General Howard's consent to attack the Indians the next morning. The plan was for the scouts, who then numbered about forty, to make the attack and for Colonel Ber- nard with his four companies of cavalry to follow up closely on one side of the canyon, while General Howard was to come up later with General Wheaton's several companies of infantry.
On the morning of July 8th, Colonel Robbins surprised the In- dians by charging into their camp. The Indians ran in every direction, but soon concealed themselves in the rocks and clefts that were near. A few were killed before they succeeded in find- ing shelter. Colonel Bernard was promptly on the ground with his troops and he, Colonel Robbins and their men kept pouring shot into the Indians' place of concealment so rapidly that the Indians were forced to make a slow retreat from one cleft of rocks to another, firing back at the troops at every opportunity. For some reason, their shots were not very effective. They suc- ceeded, however, in dismounting quite a number of the scouts, and a few of the soldiers by shooting their horses, but did not kill any men at that time.
Later in the day, General Howard with the infantry came up and congratulated Colonel Robbins on the successful attack he had made. While General Howard and Colonel Robbins were stand- ing talking only a few paces apart, one of the General's aides came up and stood between them. Soon after he took this posi- tion, several shots were fired by the Indians, one of which struck the General's aide in the bowels inflicting such a severe wound that he died that night. Colonel Robbins and scouts, and Colonel Bernard with his cavalry again charged the Indians and drove them to the timber in the Blue Mountains. They killed quite a number of Indians and captured quite an amount of their supplies and camp equipage, and about two hundred head of Indian ponies. The loss to the troops was one man killed and four wounded, and about twenty horses killed or disabled. This fight lasted for sev- eral hours.
The day before a small company of volunteers had gone out from Pendleton to Willow Crek, about thirty miles, and fought a band of nearly two hundred Indians. Five of the men were killed and several wounded.
It appears that these hostile Indians had expected the Umatilla and Yakima Indians to join them when they reached the reserva- tion in Oregon. In this they were disappointed, although persis-
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tent efforts were made by the hostiles to persuade them to join them. They not only refused to join the hostiles but rendered efficient aid to the Government by helping General Howard fight the hostiles.
By July 10th, the Indians seemed to be scattering; some of them were down on the Columbia River; a few had crossed over to the west side; most of them, however, were in the Blue Moun- tains but very much scattered. Reports were to the effect that the Indians would try to make their way up north by following down the Grande Ronde River to where it empties into the Snake River and take up the same route that Chief Joseph had taken the year before. General Howard accordingly distributed his troops at different points where they would be able to strike the hostiles and, at the same time give protection to the small towns and also the stages that carried the U. S. mail. The troops seem to have been located about as follows: Captains Miles, Bendire and Throckmorton on or near the Umatilla reservation; General Whea- ton, Colonel Bernard, and Colonel Forsythe with troops and the scouts on the Blue Mountains after the Indians; Captain Egbert at or near Grande Ronde Valley; Colonel Sanford and his com- mand on Wolf Creek, Powder River Valley.
General Howard with a few troops went to Lewiston by steam- er. After increasing his company there, he went up the Snake to the junction of the Grande Ronde with the Snake River. At this point he landed his troops and went through the country up the Grande Ronde River through the land that had been occupied and claimed by Chief Joseph and his band. This route brought them back into Grande Ronde Valley. They did not find any Indians, but, if the Indians had taken this route, as many sup- posed they would, General Howard would doubtless have stopped them and have given them an interesting engagement.
On July 12th, a roving band of Indians came down to the Cay- use stage station, situated at the foot of the Blue Mountains on the west side, and took all the stage stock, consisting of fourteen good horses; burned the stage barn with hay and grain, also the blacksmith shop, one stage wagon and one dead-ax wagon, all be- longing to the stage company. Fortunately for the stock-tender, he saw the Indians coming while they were still some distance away, and he ran down a gulch to the Umatilla River, hiding from them as well as possible, and then followed down the river through the brush and timber to Pendleton, reaching that place in safety. There was a dwelling house, store, stable and other outbuildings at this station belonging to a man who lived there with his family. These people were all away at the time the Indians made their
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raid, but had left some of their household effects. Everything was burned. Some of the U. S. troops had been camped at this station until the day before this Indian surprise.
On this same day, July 12th, in the afternoon, George Coggan, a prominent business man of Portland and La Grande, and Ed Bunker and Mr. Foster started to go from Meacham station on the Blue Mountains down to Pendleton on horseback. They had gone about eight miles when the Indians fired at them and Mr. Coggan was killed. Mr. Bunker received two severe wounds which I have understood proved fatal. Mr. Foster escaped and rode safely through to Pendleton. The next morning, July 13th, Major Conoyer with thirteen men started up the road to try and find Mr. Bunker, who was so badly wounded that he had been compelled to stop on the road and hide in the brush. Major Conoyer and his men had only gone a short distance when the Indians fired on them, and they had to fall back. Captain Miles soon came up with about one hundred and twenty-five soldiers. He at once engaged the Indians in battle at rather long range. Soon after the battle commenced, more Indians came in at a rapid gait from the mountains to join in the fight. The hostile force kept increasing until they had between three and four hundred war- riors. Captain Miles sent for Captain Throckmorton who came up quickly with some artillery, and as soon as that was put in actions, the Indians began retreating and scattering. This fight lasted from early morning until 6 p. m. About twenty Indians were killed, and the others fled to the mountains.
A few days before this, several of the citizens of Umatilla Coun- ty were murdered at their ranches, their houses plundered and their stock killed or driven off. Among those killed was Mr. Charles Jewell, one of the old and much respected settlers. Mr. Jewell had sheep out about thirty-five miles from Pendleton. Hear- ing of the Indian trouble, he procured five or six guns and started to take them to his herders. Arriving at the house of a man near where his sheep were kept, and seeing the man of the house near by, he alighted from his horse to see and talk with this man. No sooner had he gotten down and started for the house than a vol- ley of shots was fired by Indians from the brush close by. The shots hit Mr. Jewell and he was left for dead. The other white man was killed. The Indians took Mr. Jewell's horse and all of his guns, and left, doubtless fearing other white men were near by. After the Indians were gone, Mr. Jewell crawled to the house, went in and got a pair of blankets and a shingle, or piece of board. On this board he wrote: "Charles Jewell-shot by Indians-is in the brush near by-call me if you see this." He His-16
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crawled to the road, left the board there, and crawled to the brush dragging the blankets with him, and there this poor man lay without water, food, or any assistance, for three days and nights before some parties came along and discovered the board with the writing, when a call was made for him and his feeble answer was heard from the brush. He was taken to Pendleton, where he was properly cared for, but it was too late; he died in a few days.
July 15th, Chief Homily of the Umatillas went up the moun- tains from the reservation, with about ninety of his Indians, to recover some horses that the hostiles had stolen from them. They went to Chief Egan's camp, and got him and about thirty of his warriors out for a conference. After they were quietly seated, Chief Homily and his men, at a given signal, jumped onto Chief Egan and his blood thirsty warriors and killed them all. They took Chief Egan's scalp and returned to the reservation, where General Wheaton, with several of his companies, was camped, bearing Egan's scalp on the end of a long pole with the long hair from the scalp dangling in the air. General Howard and several of his officers, up to this time, had entertained some doubts as to whether the Umatilla Indians were going to remain true to the whites and our Government, or whether they were going in with the hostile Indians to help fight against us. Previous to this, the actions of some of them looked so suspicious that General Howard notified them that, if they made an attempt to join the hostiles, he would not only turn his forces against them but would destroy all the property they had on the reservation. Their action in killing Chief Egan and his warriors seemed to be mainly to sat- isfy the officers and the people that they intended to remain true to them and to our Government. After General Wheaton had listened to the report of the killing of Egan and his warriors by these Umatilla Indians, he ordered Colonel Robbins to take his scouts and a lieutenant and a few soldiers and go to the place where the Indians claimed they had left the bodies of Egan and others, dead. This was about two miles southwest of the Meacham station on the Blue Mountains in a flat, open country with but little timber. Colonel Robbins soon had his men ready and started. Doctor Fitzgerald of the United States Army went with them. On arriving at the place, they had no difficulty in finding the dead Indians just as the Umatilla Indians had reported, thirty in number and Chief Egan among them. The balance of the hos- tiles had apparently left hurriedly. Upon an examination of the body of Chief Egan, it was found that he had been shot just where Colonel Robbins stated that he had shot him when in close quar-
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ters at the battle at Silver Creek, some three weeks before. Colo- nel Robbins had shot him through the wrist, breaking the bones, and also through the right breast, and one of Robbins' scouts had shot him through the right groin. He was taken from the battle ground by some of his young warriors, his wrist was bound up with willow splints, a pillow laid over the wound in the breast, and the arm was laid on the pillow. The arm and pillow were strapped around his body. In this way he had ridden or been carried for about two hundred miles, over a rough country. But from his looks and the condition of his wounds, Dr. Fitzgerald said that he could not possibly have lived but a few days longer, if the Umatilla Indians had not molested him. He lay dead with his arm bound up, as stated above. Colonel Robbins and Dr. Fitzgerald took Chief Egan's head and wounded arm from his body, put them in a sack and took them back to General Wheaton's camp. This satisfied the army officers and others that the Uma- tilla Indians intended to remain true. It also satisfied all con- cerned that Colonel Robbins was entitled to the credit of killing the noted War Chief Egan, or at least of having given him fatal wounds. General Wheaton moved his men and camp up on the mountain near the Meacham station, while Colonel Robbins went to look after Chief Egan and the other dead Indians. Col. For- sythe came to General Wheaton's camp near Meacham and re- ported that the Indians were badly demoralized and scattering in small bands, and leaving much of their supplies and their poorer horses in the mountains. The death of Chief Egan seemed to have flustrated them. Their three main fighting chiefs, Buffalo Horn, Bear Skin and Egan, had been killed.
July 17th, Colonel Sanford struck an Indian camp on Wolf Creek near Powder River Valley, killed seventeen warriors, cap- tured twenty-five squaws and children, and sixty horses. The In- dians scattered in small bands and headed toward the reservations.
July 18th, General Wheaton stationed a few soldiers at Cayuse, Meacham and Pelican stage stations on the stage road over the Blue Mountains. He also furnished an escort of soldiers to go with the United States mail stages from La Grande, over the mountain, to the Indian Agency, both ways.
A company of volunteers was organized at Walla Walla, com- manded by Captain Charles Painter, who took the field at an early date in the war, and performed good service in protecting life and property. There was also a company organized at Lew- iston, Idaho, commanded by the late Captain Ed McConville, which rendered good service in keeping the hostile Indians out of
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that section of the country, keeping the Indians quiet on the Nez Perce Reservation, and allaying the fears of the settlers.
The O. R. & N. Company furnished a steamboat, the Spartan, to carry troops up and down the Columbia River between Umatilla and the John Day River. This steamer and the troops on it per- formed good service in locating the movements of the Indians on either side of the Columbia, and also in capturing and bringing in a few Indians and some horses.
There was also a company of volunteers from Nevada, com- manded by Captain ., which was organized early in the war, that rendered very valuable services in protecting life and property, covering a large territory from Paradise Valley in Nevada to South Mountain in Idaho, including the stage route from Silver City to Winnemucca. This company is said to have killed several of the hostiles.
Early in July, a band of Indians passed through Bitter Root Valley in Montana, killing a few settlers and stealing stock. Lieutenant Wallace, with thirteen soldiers and two citizens, fol- lowed these Indians on to the headwaters of the Clearwater River, overtook them and gave battle for two hours, killing six and wounding two, capturing seventeen bucks and two squaws, and twenty-three head of stock. These Indians were supposed to be a part of Chief White Bird's band of hostile Nez Perces, who es- caped from Chief Joseph's hostiles at the time that Chief Joseph's band was captured at Bear Paw Mountain in Montana by General Miles, in 1877.
After the killing of Chief Egan, the Indians seemed to be greatly demoralized, and seemed to divide up in smaller bands and move towards their respective reservations. Col. Sanford's suc- cessful attack on one party of them on Wolf Creek, near Powder River Valley, on July 17th, seemed to give them a further scare. This, coupled with the fact that they had not only failed to get the Indians on the Umatilla reservation to join them in their war against the whites, but that these Umatilla Indians had turned against them and were assisting the U. S. troops in fighting them, seemed to have a demoralizing effect on the hostile Indians.
The Indians seemed to think that they could go on the war- path, murder and destroy the property of white settlers at their pleasure. So long as they were successful, they continued their depredations; but as soon as they began to lose or were getting the worst of the war they divided up and started for their respective reservations, killing and laying waste to all along their path, and as soon as they reached their reservation, they would be protect- ed by the Government Agents as good Indians, it making no dif-
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ference how many white people they had killed or how much property they had destroyed in their war raids. That had been the usual custom. This was the case with these hostile bands of Indians. About the 18th day of July they concluded that they had been getting the worst of the war so they split up and each tribe engaged in the war pulled out for their respective Indian res- ervations, doing all the damage they could to any small unpro- tected parties or property on their route.
At this time, most of the U. S. troops were scattered in different localities in the Blue Mountains, Grande Ronde and Powder River Valleys protecting the settlements, mail stages, travel, etc., and trying to locate the hostile Indians. But in this mountainous country, by dividing up and taking different routes at night, they managed to make their escape from the troops and travelled on circuitous routes for their reservation homes. The troops soon discovered that the Indians had left that part of the country and they followed in pursuit, but the Indians were too far ahead and the troops never overtook them again.
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