8/14/2019 Metis Assist the Nez Perce
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Metis Assist the Nez Perce
Because of the refusal of several bands of the Nez Perce, to
give up their ancestral lands
they were pursued by elements of the U.S. Army with whom they
fought a series of
battles and sirmishes on a fighting retreat of !,!"# miles. A
final five$day battle was
fought alongside Snae %ree at the base of &ontana's Bears
Paw &ountains only (#miles from the %anadian border. As they
fled north they were assisted by a &etis %amp
on the &il )iver and *ather +enin their priest.
A maority of the surviving Nez Perce represented by %hief -oseph
of the Wallowaband
of Nez Perce, surrendered to Brigadier +enerals liver tis howard
and Nelson &iles.
/hire Bird, of the Lamttaband of Nez Perce, managed to elude the
Army after thebattle and escape with an undetermined number of his
band to Sitting Bull's camp in
%anada. 0he (!1 Nez Perce who surrendered, including women and
children, were taen
prisoner and sent by train to fort 2evenworth,3ansas.
*ather +enin reported4
*ors of the &il )iver, &. 0., 5ec. !6, !1"".
0he fors of the &il )iver were mentioned as being a good
place to spend the present
winter. 0here never was a stationary priest among these hunters,
onl7' when a few yearsago )ev. *ather 2estance of *ort +arry
consented to spend part of his time in winter
among them, or lately when the people would go up to Sun river
to *ort Shaw to get one
of the -esuit fathers for a short visit of three or four
wees.
8No less than !9# families from 5aota, belonging to the St.
%loud diocese, gathered
around me for the winter. 0hey built here a small log chapel
forty feet by twenty$two,with an addition east for my room. 2ie all
other winter camps it will be abandoned in thespring, but the
boards of the chapel floor, made with a pit saw, have already
their
destination. 0hey will be used to build a flatboat, which two
half$breeds will tae down
the &il and &issouri rivers to Bismarc, where they will
land the priest and thecollection. 0hese people are doing all they
can to mae me succeed. :f they do not give
me enough to fill the need, it will be because they are not able
to, and then other
charitable hands east, : trust, will finish the wor. : concede
it is a singular enterprise, butas : stated above, one decided upon
on account of necessity and one which : may
accomplish, although doing the wor of missionary at the same
time.
8As we were ust preparing to enter our winter ;uarters, one very
dar night, our campwas suddenly filled with Nez Perce :ndians.
Among them was /hite Bird, a Nez Perce
chief. Nearly all e
