1. Dusenberry, "Chief Joseph's Flight," 50; and unclassified envelope 134, 656-57, Camp Manuscript Field Notes, Camp Papers, LBNM.

2. Agent George W. Frost of the Crow Agency explained the augmentation of the number of Crows with Sturgis. During the descent of Clark's Fork, the scouts had picked up a number of mounts abandoned by the Nez Perces and took them to the agency, causing frenzied excitement there and prompting many more covetous warriors to set forth in hopes of securing more Nez Perce ponies. Bozeman Times, September 20, 1877. Private Goldin remembered that the Crows had arrived during the night. "[They] came dashing into camp, shouting and singing, and from that time on until early dawn sleep was an impossibility." Goldin, Bit of the Nez Perce Campaign, 17.

3. Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis report, December 5, 1877, in Secretary of War, Report . . . 1877, 512.

4. Nez Perce casualties in the skirmish with the Crows and Bannocks are difficult to determine. According to McWhorter, Yellow Wolf claimed that the Crows killed but one warrior, Teeweeyownah, and two old men, Fish Trap and Surrounded Gooseall of whom were also listed as having been killed at Canyon Creek. Yellow Wolf reported that he received a slight thigh wound in the fighting with the Crows. For the discrepancy regarding Nez Perce casualties, see McWhorter, Yellow Wolf, 188, 192, 193-94; McWhorter, Hear Me, 467; and McWhorter, "Fight with Sturgis."

5. McWhorter, Yellow Wolf, 187, 194. For the Nez Perces' reaction to seeing the Crows and Bannocks descending on them, see Yellow Wolf, 187-88.

6. See Walter M. Camp to Brigadier General Hugh L. Scott, September 22, 1913 (on which letter Scott responded), folder 23, box 1, Camp Papers, BYU. Yellow Wolf denied that the Crows took any large number of the Nez Perces' horses. McWhorter, Yellow Wolf, 188. Yellow Wolf's personal role in the attempt by the Crows and Bannocks to corral the non-combatants is in McWhorter, Yellow Wolf, 190-93.

7. Goldin, Biography, 316. However, in a letter, Goldin stated that he did not see the action but was told of it later by a mixed-blood Crow. For further reference to the Crow-Nez Perce action, see Goldin to L. V. McWhorter, August 1, 1932, folder 177, McWhorter Papers. See also Goldin to McWhorter, February 27, 1929, Goldin to McWhorter, March 20, 1929, Goldin to McWhorter, September 10, 1929, Goldin to McWhorter, August 13, 1933, Goldin to McWhorter, December 4, 1934, ibid.; and Goldin, Bit of the Nez Perce Campaign, 17-18. On returning to their agency, the Crows reported that Sturgis had sent them home because the troops were not going to fight the Nez Perces any more. Captain Daniel W. Benham to Sheridan, September 22, 1877, quoted in Cheyenne Daily Leader, September 23, 1877. Crow accounts of what is probably this encounter are in Dixon, Vanishing Race, 148-49 (account of Goes Ahead); and Medicine Crow, From the Heart of Crow Country, 47-48 (account of Medicine Crow).

8. Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis report, December 5, 1877, in Secretary of War, Report . . . 1877, 512.

9. Brigadier General Edward S. Godfrey, who was at the Battle of the Bear's Paw as a captain in the Seventh Cavalry, recalled that the disease that afflicted Sturgis's horses also was found among the horses of the surrendered Nez Perces. If their flesh was injured "in any way it would fester up badly." Godfrey, Interview.

10. Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis report, December 5, 1877, in Secretary of War, Report . . . 1877, 512.

11. Quoted in Howard, "Report," 627.

12. Sturgis's order is from New York Herald, September 29, 1877. The critical comment is from Mulford, Fighting Indians!, 116.

13. Redington, "Scouting in Montana," 61. Information about Sturgis's movement to the Musselshell is in Fisher, "Journal of S. G. Fisher," 281; Hare, "Report of Lieut. L. R. Hare," 1679; Assistant Surgeon Holmes O. Paulding to Medical Director, Department of Dakota, September 22, 1877, entry 624, box 1, Office of the Adjutant General; Regimental Returns . . . Seventh Cavalry, September 1877, roll 72; Mulford, Fighting Indians!, 116; Boise, Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, October 2, 1877; Cheyenne Daily Leader, September 23, 1877; Record of Engagements, 72; Ernest A. Garlington, "The Seventh Regiment of Cavalry," in Rodenbough and Haskin, Army of the United States, 261; and Goldin, "Seventh Cavalry at Cañon Creek," 220-21.

14. Howard, "Report," 627-28; Connolly, Diary, September 16-22, 1877; Mason to wife, September 15, 18, 1877, in Davison, "A Century Ago," 16; Jocelyn, Mostly Alkali, 256-57; Portland Daily Standard, September 23, 1877; and Forrest Young account in "Forrest Young," Billings Gazette, undated clipping (ca. 1945), IndiansWars1877, vertical files, Parmly Billings Library, Billings, Mont.

15. See Howard, "Report," 628; and Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis report, December 5, 1877, in Secretary of War, Report . . . 1877, 512. On September 20, Howard sent a message to Miles describing his current movements and noted: "We have stopped forced marching to get enough life into our fagged animals to make another vigorous push, intending to move forward, via Judith Gap, tomorrow. We shall not hasten the pursuit over much in order to give you time to get into position." Howard to Miles, September 20, 1877, entry 107, box 3, part 3, 1877, U.S. Army Continental Commands.

16. Letter of September 23, 1877, quoted in Jocelyn, Mostly Alkali, 257.

17. Redington, "Scouting in Montana," 62. Agent Frost referenced the presence of the River Crows in front of the troops in a dispatch to Captain Benham at Fort Ellis on September 14. Bozeman Times, September 20, 1877. "Dumb Bull" is perhaps "The Dumb" (or "Deaf Bull"?) who was among the River Crow headmen who assented to the agreement of 1873 redefining their reservation. See Commissioner of Indian Affairs, Report . . . 1873, 122.

18. The First cavalrymen arrived at Fort Ellis on October 3, left that post on the thirteenth, passed through Virginia City on the nineteenth, passing down the stage road to reach the railroad near Corrine, Utah Territory, on November 3. Company B arrived at Fort Klamath, Oregon, on November 19, 1877. Connolly, Diary, dates specified. Correspondent Frank J. Parker, among those departing with Sanford's troops, wrote: "We all left the main command with regret. So far as I can see no one had any fault to find, except a few chronic growlers. . . . In almost every instance I have found that the growlers belong to that class whose chief merit consists in always being among the first at the 'grub pile' and whose terrific onslaughts on the bean pot more than offsets their tardy assistance, begrudgingly given when work or service of any kind was required of them. In fact, they are invincible in peace and decidedly invisible in war." Boise, Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, October 16, 1877. The companies were assigned as follows: B (Jackson), Fort Klamath, Oregon; C (Wagner), Camp McDermitt, Nevada; I (Carr), Camp Halleck, California; K (Bendire), Camp Harney, Oregon. Orders No. 2, Headquarters, First Cavalry Battalion, Fort Ellis, Montana, October 4, 1877, entry E-633, U.S. Regular Army Mobile Units; "Orders . . . Major Sanford's Battalion," vol. 1.

19. Mason to wife, October 2, 1877, in Davison, "A Century Ago," 18. This description of the movements of Howard and Sturgis to the Missouri is based on data cited above and in Howard, "Report," 628-29; Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis report, December 5, 1877, in Secretary of War, Report . . . 1877, 512; Hare, "Report of Lieut. L. R. Hare," 1679-80; Regimental Returns . . . Seventh Cavalry, September 1877, roll 72; Boise, Idaho Tri-Weekly Statesman, October 9, 1877; and New York Herald, October 4, 1877.

20. See Stevens, "Missouri River 1877." The location of the depot above the mouth of Cow Creek has been verified through documentary and photographic research and through on-site investigation. See LeRoy Anderson, "Nez Perce Trail," 1.

21. The Nez Perces probably approached the Missouri through Woodhawk Canyon. See LeRoy Anderson, "Nez Perce Trail," passim.

22. The other soldiers present were Sergeant Briggs, Corporal Cookly, and Privates Clark, Denver, Ford, Krefer, Malvihill, Reap, Rice, Watson, and Williams. The other civilians were George Trautman, E. W. Buckwalter, and Hugh Huggins. Fort Benton Record, October 5, 1877; and Clendenin to Second Lieutenant Hobart K. Bailey, September 24, 1877, entry 107, box 3, part 3, Letters and Telegrams Received by District of the Yellowstone Headquarters, September 1877-April 1878, U.S. Army Continental Commands.

23. Reed's Fort was owned by Alonzo S. Reed. Miller and Cohen, Military and Trading Posts of Montana, 73; Fort Benton Record, September 21, 1877; and Redington, "Scouting in Montana," 62.

24. This route of crossing the river, explicitly stated by George Clendenin in his letter of the following day ("The Nez Perces . . . crossed above, below & directly opposite the landing at 2 p.m.") Clendenin to Bailey, September 24, 1877 (entry 107, box 3, part 3, Letters and Telegrams Received by District of the Yellowstone Headquarters, September 1877-April 1878, U.S. Army Continental Commands), conforms well with the immediate topography of the area as well as the known location of the Cow Island ford. Anderson, "Nez Perce Trail," 1.

25. Molchert, Letter. Michael Foley's own account of the proceedings, originally rendered early in the twentieth century, appeared in Great Falls Rocky Mountain Husbandman, January 8, 1942. It is substantially different from Molchert's, notably in recounting Foley's role in the discussion that preceded the assault and Molchert's virtual non-participation in it. In his account, Foley described a lengthy conversation between himself and leaders Joseph and Looking Glass that resulted in his permitting the people to take whatever provisions they wanted. "I went with them down to the freight pile and the squaws took several sacks of sugar, some hams, hardtack and a lot of other truck. They carried it about a half mile up the river, to a little benchland, where the whole lousy outfit had a feast and pow-wow." Regarding the defenders in the ensuing fight, Foley maintained that "I took command of that little party." In 1888, Foley filed a claim for lost personal possessions amounting to $598 in the destruction at Cow Island. Michael Foley claim, no. 4466, entry 700, Claims for Indian Depredations, U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs.

26. Molchert, Letter. The number of charges by the warriors against the Cow Island entrenchments varies according to accounts. Major Guido Ilges wrote on September 24 that the warriors charged seven times. Ilges to Gibbon, in New York Herald, September 29, 1877.

27. Buckwalter received wounds in the hand and side, while Trautman was shot in the right shoulder. Fort Benton Record, October 5, 1877. However, Molchert accounted for the death of a private who was riding a horse down from Dauphin Rapids with which to tow a boat laden with provisions back up to the project. Wrote Molchert: "Before this fighting commenced we heard a shot and I told the boys, I bet that is Private Pearce . . . , and sure enough we [later] found his body and buried [him] right there at Cow Island." Molchert, Letter. This individual, in fact, was probably the same man mentioned in Second Lieutenant Edward E. Hardin's diary entry for September 28: "Found Pvt. Byron Martin Co. B 7th Infantry and buried him near the road on the right-hand side about 300 yds from the Bull creek crossing and about 20 yds from the road." Hardin, Diary.

28. Quoted in Fort Benton Record, October 5, 1877.

29. Fort Benton Record, October 5, 1877. Clendenin reported that the Nez Perces "took & destroyed 200 sks Sugar, a large pile of tobacco, 150 sacks Bacon, & everything I had (except the clothes I wore), books, papers, trunksa thorough clean-up." Clendenin to Bailey, September 24, 1877, entry 107, box 3, part 3, Letters and Telegrams Received by District of the Yellowstone Headquarters, September 1877-April 1878, U.S. Army Continental Commands.

30. In addition to the above-cited sources, this description of the Cow Island affair is compiled based on data in Terry, "Report," 516-17; Ilges to Gibbon, September 24, 1877, in New York Herald, September 29, 1877; Sheridan to Adjutant General, September 28, 1877 (enclosing Terry to Sheridan, September 27, 1877), item 6048, roll 338, Nez Perce War Papers; Record of Engagements, 73; James, "Sergeant Molchert's Perils," 63-65; and Mueller, "Prelude to Surrender." Primary Nez Perce sources are in McWhorter, Yellow Wolf, 198-99; and McWhorter, Hear Me, 469-72. See Yellow Bull account in Curtis, North American Indian, 8:168; and Josephy, Nez Perce Indians, 612-14.

31. Years later, Molchert remembered that he had been complimented by Ilges for his defense of Cow Island. "The Major looked over the whole thing and then sent for me and said to me, 'Sergt., you have done very well to save yourself and men, it was impossible for you to save the freight.'" Molchert, Letter.

32. Fort Benton Record, October 5, 1877.

33. For Ilges's background, see Heitman, Historical Register and Dictionary, 1:562; and Henry, Military Record of Civilian Appointments, 347-48.

34. Ilges to Assistant Adjutant General, Department of Dakota, October 21, 1877, contained in Terry, "Report," 557.

35. Ibid.

36. It is unclear why Ilges waited until September 27 to send couriers to Miles respecting the location of the Nez Perces. In a letter to the editor of the Army and Navy Register, September 1, 1883, Ilges stated that he sent the two volunteers to Miles on the night of the twenty-fifth, paying them three hundred dollars to make the journey down the Missouri. But the dispatch was, in fact, dated the twenty-seventh. Entry 107, box 3, part 3, 1877, U.S. Army Continental Commands. A piece in the Helena Weekly Independent, October 11, 1877, stated that Ilges's couriers left for Miles's command on the morning of September 28.

37. See Stevens, "Missouri River 1877," which indicates a "Blockhouse" on the bank approximately four hundred feet above the area designated as "Landings."

38. In addition to the sources cited above, this account of Ilges's fight in Cow Creek Canyon and the burning of the wagon train is based on material drawn from the following: Ilges to Assistant Adjutant General, Department of Dakota, October 21, 1877, contained in Terry, "Report," 557; Ilges to Assistant Adjutant General, Department of Dakota, May 18, 1878 (enclosing Jonathan J. Donnelly to Ilges, May 10, 1878), roll 401, Nez Perce War Claims; Clendenin to Bailey, September 24, 1877, entry 107, box 3, part 3, Letters and Telegrams Received by District of the Yellowstone Headquarters, September 1877-April 1878, U.S. Army Continental Commands; Hardin, Diary, September 21-28, 1877; Terry, "Report," 516-17; Army and Navy Journal, October 6, 1877; Fort Benton Record, September 28, October 5, 1877; Record of Engagements, 73; Samples, Letter, describing the battle of Cow Creek Canyon; Michael Foley's account of Cow Island in Great Falls Rocky Mountain Husbandman, January 8, 1942; Al H. Wilkins account, unidentified newspaper, ca. 1927 clipping, IndiansWars1877, vertical files, Parmly Billings Library, Billings, Mont.; Chappell, "Early Life"; and McWhorter, Yellow Wolf, 202. Ever after, Ilges believed that his command was ignored in the parceling out of praise following the Nez Perce campaign. "Although these services rendered by my command have for some unaccountable reason never been publicly recognized, either officially or otherwise, I hold in my possession a private note from General Miles of subsequent date, in which he acknowledges the receipt of my information and service rendered, of which he made good use." Army and Navy Register, September 1, 1883. The howitzer that accompanied Ilges for part of his movement is in the Museum of the Upper Missouri at Fort Benton.

39. Fort Benton Record, October 5, 1877.

40. The dispute between Looking Glass and Poker Joe was recounted by Many Wounds in McWhorter, Hear Me, 473-74, but see also McWhorter, Yellow Wolf, 203, for McWhorter's commentary. The route north from Cow Island is authoritatively estimated in LeRoy Anderson, "Nez Perce Trail," 3. That the tribesmen were perfectly aware that they were not yet in Canada is specified in McWhorter, Hear Me, 473 and 473 n. 19; and McWhorter, Yellow Wolf, 202.