第 27 节
作者:恐龙王      更新:2021-02-21 14:14      字数:9310
  with orders to head Joseph off; which he undertook to do at the Montana
  end   of the   Lolo Trail。      The   wily  commander   had   no knowledge   of   this
  move; but he was not to be surprised。            He was too brainy for his pursuers;
  whom he constantly outwitted; and only gave battle when he was ready。
  There   at   the   Big   Hole   Pass   he   met   Colonel   Gibbons'   fresh   troops   and
  pressed them close。         He sent a party under his brother Ollicut to harass
  Gibbons' rear and rout the pack mules; thus throwing him on the defensive
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  and   causing   him   to   send   for   help;   while   Joseph   continued   his   masterly
  retreat   toward   the   Yellowstone   Park;   then   a   wilderness。       However;   this
  was but little   advantage to him;  since he must necessarily leave a   broad
  trail; and the army was augmenting its columns day by day with celebrated
  scouts; both   white   and   Indian。       The   two   commands   came   together;   and
  although   General   Howard   says   their   horses   were   by  this   time   worn   out;
  and   by   inference   the   men   as   well;   they   persisted   on   the   trail   of   a   party
  encumbered by women and children; the old; sick; and wounded。
  It was decided to send a detachment of cavalry under Bacon; to Tash
  Pass; the gateway of the National Park; which Joseph would have to pass;
  with   orders   to   detain   him  there   until   the   rest   could   come   up   with   them。
  Here is what General Howard says of the affair。                〃Bacon got into position
  soon enough but he did not have the heart to fight the Indians on account
  of   their   number。〃      Meanwhile        another    incident    had   occurred。     Right
  under     the   eyes   of  the   chosen     scouts   and    vigilant   sentinels;    Joseph's
  warriors fired upon the army camp at night and ran off their mules。                       He
  went straight on toward the park; where Lieutenant Bacon let him get by
  and pass through the narrow gateway without firing a shot。
  Here again it was demonstrated that General Howard could not depend
  upon the volunteers; many of whom had joined him in the chase; and were
  going to show the soldiers how to fight   Indians。                In this night attack   at
  Camas Meadow; they were demoralized; and while crossing the river next
  day many lost their guns in the water; whereupon all packed up and went
  home; leaving the army to be guided by the Indian scouts。
  However;       this  succession      of  defeats    did   not   discourage      General
  Howard; who kept on with as many of his men as were able to carry a gun;
  meanwhile       sending     dispatches    to  all  the   frontier   posts   with   orders   to
  intercept   Joseph      if   possible。  Sturgis   tried   to   stop   him   as   the  Indians
  entered the Park;  but they did not meet until  he was about   to come   out;
  when   there     was   another     fight;   with  Joseph   again    victorious。     General
  Howard came upon the battle field soon afterward and saw that the Indians
  were   off   again;   and   from  here   he sent   fresh   messages   to   General   Miles;
  asking for reinforcements。
  Joseph   had     now   turned     northeastward      toward   the    Upper    Missouri。
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  He told me that when he got into that part of the country he knew he was
  very near the Canadian line and could not be far from Sitting Bull; with
  whom   he      desired   to  form   an   alliance。    He    also   believed   that   he  had
  cleared all the forts。      Therefore he went more slowly and tried to give his
  people some rest。        Some of their best men had been killed or wounded in
  battle;   and   the   wounded   were   a   great   burden   to   him;   nevertheless   they
  were   carried   and   tended   patiently  all during   this   wonderful   flight。      Not
  one was ever left behind。
  It is the general belief that Indians are cruel and revengeful; and surely
  these people had reason to hate the race who had driven them from their
  homes   if   any   people   ever   had。     Yet   it   is   a   fact   that   when   Joseph   met
  visitors and travelers in the Park; some of whom were women; he allowed
  them to pass unharmed; and in at least one instance let them have horses。
  He told me that he gave strict orders to his men not to kill any women or
  children。     He     wished    to  meet    his  adversaries    according     to  their   own
  standards of warfare; but he afterward learned that in spite of professions
  of humanity;  white   soldiers   have not seldom  been   known   to   kill   women
  and children indiscriminately。
  Another     remarkable      thing   about    this  noted   retreat   is  that  Joseph's
  people stood behind him to a man; and even the women and little boys did
  each his part。      The latter were used as scouts in the immediate vicinity of
  the camp。
  The Bittersweet valley; which they had now entered; was full of game;
  and    the   Indians   hunted    for  food;   while    resting   their  worn…out     ponies。
  One morning they had a council to which Joseph rode over bareback; as
  they   had    camped     in  two   divisions    a  little  apart。   His    fifteen…year…old
  daughter went with him。           They discussed sending runners to Sitting Bull
  to ascertain his exact whereabouts and whether it would be agreeable to
  him   to   join   forces   with   the   Nez   Perces。  In   the   midst   of   the   council;   a
  force   of   United   States   cavalry   charged   down   the   hill   between   the   two
  camps。      This   once   Joseph   was   surprised。      He   had   seen no   trace   of   the
  soldiers and had somewhat relaxed his vigilance。
  He told his little daughter to stay where she was; and himself cut right
  through the cavalry and rode up to his own teepee; where his wife met him
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  at   the   door   with   his   rifle;   crying:   〃Here   is   your   gun;   husband!〃 The
  warriors quickly gathered and pressed the soldiers so hard that they had to
  withdraw。      Meanwhile one set of the people fled while Joseph's own band
  entrenched themselves in a very favorable position from which they could
  not easily be dislodged。
  General Miles had received and acted on General Howard's message;
  and he now sent one of his officers with some Indian scouts into Joseph's
  camp to negotiate with the chief。          Meantime Howard and Sturgis came up
  with the encampment; and Howard had with him two friendly Nez Perce
  scouts   who   were   directed   to   talk   to   Joseph   in   his   own   language。   He
  decided that there was nothing to do but surrender。
  He   had   believed   that   his   escape   was   all   but   secure:   then   at   the   last
  moment   he   was   surprised   and   caught   at   a   disadvantage。     His army  was
  shattered; he had lost most of the leaders in these various fights; his people;
  including      children;   women;      and   the   wounded;      had   traveled    thirteen
  hundred miles in about fifty days; and he himself a young man who had
  never before   taken   any  important responsibility!           Even   now  he   was   not
  actually conquered。        He was well entrenched; his people were willing to
  die fighting; but the army of the United States offered peace and he agreed;
  as he said; out of pity for his suffering people。           Some of his warriors still
  refused to surrender and slipped out of the camp at night and through the
  lines。    Joseph had; as he told me; between three and four hundred fighting
  men   in   the   beginning;   which   means   over   one   thousand   persons;   and   of
  these several hundred surrendered with him。
  His own story of the conditions he made was prepared by himself with
  my help in 1897; when he came to Washington to present his grievances。
  I sat up with him nearly all of one night; and I may add here that we took
  the   document   to   General   Miles   who   was   then   stationed   in   Washington;
  before presenting it to the Department。           The General said that every word
  of it was true。
  In the first place; his people were to be kept at Fort Keogh; Montana;
  over the winter and then returned to their reservation。              Instead they were
  taken to Fort Leavenworth; Kansas; and placed between a lagoon and the
  Missouri   River;   where   the   sanitary   conditions   made   havoc   with   them。