Visit Battle at Canyon Creek
Nez Perce Trail...
In 1877 a large group of non-treaty Nez Perce Indians passed through the Montana
Region, led by chiefs White Bird, Looking Glass, Tu-huul-huul-hutsiut, Lean
Elk, Husis-kute and Joseph. The Nez Perce had fled their homeland in Eastern
Washington in the spring of 1877, rather than be forced to move onto a
reservation as ordered by the U.S. government.
In their flight from northern Oregon, the band of about 800 people, including
125 warriors, carried by 2,000 horses (mainly Appaloosa), traveled over 1,700
miles. They fled and fought skirmishes first east across Idaho, then south
through Idaho, across Yellowstone Park, and down the Clark’s Fork River.
Pursuing them along the Clark’s Fork trail was Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis. Reaching The Yellowstone River near
present-day Laurel at approximately 10 a.m., September 13, 1877, Sturgis’ command, fatigued from a horrific ride the day before down the Clark’s Fork River, swam their horses across the
Yellowstone.
Sturgis had been attempting to catch up with and capture the “hostiles” since August 12. By now, Sturgis, his men, and especially their horses were
tired. He and his troops had barely missed the Nez Perce in the Clark’s Fork Canyon and then rode over 60 miles in a rain storm trying to catch up
with the Indians. It seemed time to give up.
In the meantime, the Nez Perce had to make a decision. Unable to find sanctuary
with the Crow Indians who had allied with the U.S. Government, escaping to
Canada, out of reach of U.S. jurisdiction, seemed like a good possibility. So
they began packing up their camp along the Yellowstone and prepared to head
north.
The Nez Perce and Sturgis’ command were only a few miles apart. Nez Perce chiefs were just as surprised by
the presence of soldiers as Sturgis was that the Indian village was just ahead.
When a Crow scout rode up to tell him the Nez Perce were downstream, Sturgis
ordered his command to trot. Upon seeing hundreds of soldiers, the Nez Perce
rushed toward the safety of the bluffs of Canyon Creek.
The fight was on!
When he discovered that the Indians were heading for the timbered canyon where
Canyon Creek poured out onto the prairie, Sturgis turned his troops straight
north. His intent was to cut the Nez Perce advancement before they reached the
safety of the heavily timbered canyon.
The troops headed for the high plateau north of where the Laurel airport exists
today. Major Lewis Merrill led the attack toward Canyon Creek. As they reached
the plateau around noon, they drew the first fire of the day from Indian
marksmen. At this point, the cavalrymen dismounted and moved across the
plateau, shooting at the Indians who returned fire from ravines below.
Initially, Merrill thought his troops were on the south side of the canyon of
Canyon Creek. When he reached the north end of the plateau, Merrill discovered
that his forces were at least 3 miles from the south entrance to the canyon,
known today as Horse Cache (or Calamity Jane) Butte.
The only hope was to advance in an attempt to prevent the column of Nez Perce
from reaching the mouth of the canyon and safety. Merrill’s troops continued north on foot. When Sturgis reached the plateau, he realized
that it would be difficult, at best, to stop the Indians from reaching the
canyon. He then turned his attention to the large Nez Perce horse herd and
dispatched Captain Frederick Benteen to attempt to cut off as many animals as
possible. Benteen’s orders were to ride back west and then north toward Horse Cache Butte.
When Benteen reached the base of Horse Cache Butte, the Nez Perce began firing
their rifles and hit some of his cavalrymen as they advanced past the butte.
Merrill’s men finally arrived at the canyon on foot where they met stiff resistance from
the Indians. The Nez Perce had gained the high ground and were effective in
keeping the soldiers pinned down below. Merrill’s command charged into the canyon, but was largely ineffective because the
Indians were so well hidden in the rocks and trees. Eventually, the soldiers
retreated to the mouth of the canyon near where the present-day monument stands
commemorating the battle. There, Sturgis had ordered a hospital to be set up.
The battle, which had broken out close to noon, was over at approximately 5 pm.
The Nez Perce escaped through the timbered coulees of Canyon Creek and traveled
north to camp for the night, somewhere near present-day Molt. The Nez Perce,
though they won the day, lost a significant number of their horses in this
battle.
Nez Perce leaders later acknowledged that, though most of the traveling camp
(and horse herd) had made it to safety, the loss of the horses hurt their
ability to travel as fast as they had earlier. Therefore, Sturgis was unable to
capture the Nez Perce at Canyon Creek, in part because his horses were
completely spent. But, by delaying the Nez Perce and by allowing the Indian
horses to be captured, he definitely slowed the tribe’s advance — something that ultimately resulted in their capture at Bear’s Paw later that year.
Eventually, the Nez Perce band moved to a camp 30 miles south of the Canadian border, where
the command of General Miles, later joined by General Howard, surrounded them.
On October 5, 1877, Chief Joseph gave his moving speech: “Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now
stands, I will fight no more forever.”
A statue of the famous chief stands in the park in downtown Laurel.
A Laurel organization, The Friends of Canyon Creek, has built a wayside
interpretive shelter near the mouth of the Canyon Creek canyon, approximately 7
miles north of Laurel where much of the conflict took place.
Interpretive panels tell the story of the battle.
