Marias Massacre
Encyclopedia
The Marias Massacre was a massacre
of Piegan Blackfeet Indians by the United States Army
which took place in Montana
during the late nineteenth century Indian Wars
.
, Blood
, and Piegan tribes) and whites had been largely hostile for years. Amid this tension, the event which touched off the massacre involved a young Piegan Blackfoot who in 1867 stole some horses from Malcolm Clarke, a white trader, as payment for his own horses, whose loss he blamed on Clarke. Clarke and his son tracked Owl Child down and beat him in front of a group of Blackfeet. In response, on August 17, 1869, Owl Child and a group of other Piegan warriors shot and killed Clarke, and seriously wounded his son. Malcolm Clarke raped a Blackfoot woman, the relative of his wife who was also a Blackfoot woman. Clarke's rape victim was Owl Child's wife. The raped woman gave birth to a child as a result of the rape.
The killing of Clarke inflamed European-Americans, and there were widespread calls for revenge. The United States Army
demanded of the Blackfoot Confederacy that Owl Child be killed and his body delivered within two weeks; Owl Child, meanwhile, had fled and joined the band of Mountain Chief, the head chief of the Piegans. When the two week deadline had passed, General Philip Sheridan
sent out a squadron of cavalry
(the Second US Regiment), led by Major Eugene Baker, to track down and punish the offending party. He ordered:
Sheridan's plan was a dawn attack on a village in heavy snow, when most of the Indians would be sleeping or huddling inside to keep warm (a strategy he had employed before, when George Custer
attacked Black Kettle
's band of Cheyenne
s in the Battle of Washita River
).
. They attacked the site at Willow Rounds, but Mountain Chief had been warned and left the area, so Baker's men instead ended up attacking the camp of Chief Heavy Runner, who had enjoyed friendly relations with the white men. Although Baker's scouts had reportedly warned him that he was about to attack the wrong camp, he proceeded anyway against the protests of those scouts. As the men of the camp were mostly out hunting, the raid was a massacre of mostly women and children. A hasty count by Baker's men showed 173 dead (mostly women and children) with 140 women and children captured, while only one cavalryman died, after falling off his horse and breaking his leg.
A Blackfoot scout counted 217 dead corpses after the massacre; the number 173 given by the army was counted by drunken army personnel.
Heavy Runner himself was killed as he left his lodge with an American flag given to him as a promise for his camp's safety. Winter lodges were falling into flames and burning small children and the oldest ones who were unable to even begin escaping the pre-dawn ambush of bullets. Many survivors hid in the freezing waters of the Marias River. The prisoners were chased onto the prairie and left there. Mountain Chief's band escaped to Canada
. Descendants of the victims retell the event through oral histories. Every Native American man who was massacred was thrown into a fire. One of the men was cut in half with a bayonet.
, did not have the numbers or support this late in the Indian Wars to respond.
Massacre
A massacre is an event with a heavy death toll.Massacre may also refer to:-Entertainment:*Massacre , a DC Comics villain*Massacre , a 1932 drama film starring Richard Barthelmess*Massacre, a 1956 Western starring Dane Clark...
of Piegan Blackfeet Indians by the United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
which took place in Montana
Montana
Montana is a state in the Western United States. The western third of Montana contains numerous mountain ranges. Smaller, "island ranges" are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains. This geographical fact is reflected in the state's name,...
during the late nineteenth century Indian Wars
Indian Wars
American Indian Wars is the name used in the United States to describe a series of conflicts between American settlers or the federal government and the native peoples of North America before and after the American Revolutionary War. The wars resulted from the arrival of European colonizers who...
.
Background
The Marias Massacre occurred in the context of massive European-American westward expansion. Relations between the Blackfoot Confederacy (comprising the BlackfootBlackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
, Blood
Kainai Nation
The Kainai Nation is a First Nation in southern Alberta, Canada with a population of 7,437 members in 2005, and had a population of 9,035 members as of 9 February 2008...
, and Piegan tribes) and whites had been largely hostile for years. Amid this tension, the event which touched off the massacre involved a young Piegan Blackfoot who in 1867 stole some horses from Malcolm Clarke, a white trader, as payment for his own horses, whose loss he blamed on Clarke. Clarke and his son tracked Owl Child down and beat him in front of a group of Blackfeet. In response, on August 17, 1869, Owl Child and a group of other Piegan warriors shot and killed Clarke, and seriously wounded his son. Malcolm Clarke raped a Blackfoot woman, the relative of his wife who was also a Blackfoot woman. Clarke's rape victim was Owl Child's wife. The raped woman gave birth to a child as a result of the rape.
The killing of Clarke inflamed European-Americans, and there were widespread calls for revenge. The United States Army
United States Army
The United States Army is the main branch of the United States Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military, and is one of seven U.S. uniformed services...
demanded of the Blackfoot Confederacy that Owl Child be killed and his body delivered within two weeks; Owl Child, meanwhile, had fled and joined the band of Mountain Chief, the head chief of the Piegans. When the two week deadline had passed, General Philip Sheridan
Philip Sheridan
Philip Henry Sheridan was a career United States Army officer and a Union general in the American Civil War. His career was noted for his rapid rise to major general and his close association with Lt. Gen. Ulysses S...
sent out a squadron of cavalry
Cavalry
Cavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
(the Second US Regiment), led by Major Eugene Baker, to track down and punish the offending party. He ordered:
If the lives and property of the citizens of Montana can best be protected by striking Mountain Chief's band, I want them struck. Tell Baker to strike them hard.
Sheridan's plan was a dawn attack on a village in heavy snow, when most of the Indians would be sleeping or huddling inside to keep warm (a strategy he had employed before, when George Custer
George Armstrong Custer
George Armstrong Custer was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the Indian Wars. Raised in Michigan and Ohio, Custer was admitted to West Point in 1858, where he graduated last in his class...
attacked Black Kettle
Black Kettle
Chief Black Kettle was a leader of the Southern Cheyenne after 1854, who led efforts to resist American settlement from Kansas and Colorado territories. He was a peacemaker who accepted treaties to protect his people. He survived the Third Colorado Cavalry's Sand Creek Massacre on the Cheyenne...
's band of Cheyenne
Cheyenne
Cheyenne are a Native American people of the Great Plains, who are of the Algonquian language family. The Cheyenne Nation is composed of two united tribes, the Só'taeo'o and the Tsétsêhéstâhese .The Cheyenne are thought to have branched off other tribes of Algonquian stock inhabiting lands...
s in the Battle of Washita River
Battle of Washita River
The Battle of Washita River occurred on November 27, 1868 when Lt. Col. George Armstrong Custer’s 7th U.S...
).
The massacre
On January 23, 1870, Baker's party received a scouting report that the group of Piegans, led by Mountain Chief, was camped along the Marias RiverMarias River
The Marias River is a tributary of the Missouri River, approximately 210 mi long, in the U.S. state of Montana. It is formed in the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Glacier County, in northwestern Montana, by the confluence of the Cut Bank Creek and the Two Medicine River...
. They attacked the site at Willow Rounds, but Mountain Chief had been warned and left the area, so Baker's men instead ended up attacking the camp of Chief Heavy Runner, who had enjoyed friendly relations with the white men. Although Baker's scouts had reportedly warned him that he was about to attack the wrong camp, he proceeded anyway against the protests of those scouts. As the men of the camp were mostly out hunting, the raid was a massacre of mostly women and children. A hasty count by Baker's men showed 173 dead (mostly women and children) with 140 women and children captured, while only one cavalryman died, after falling off his horse and breaking his leg.
A Blackfoot scout counted 217 dead corpses after the massacre; the number 173 given by the army was counted by drunken army personnel.
Heavy Runner himself was killed as he left his lodge with an American flag given to him as a promise for his camp's safety. Winter lodges were falling into flames and burning small children and the oldest ones who were unable to even begin escaping the pre-dawn ambush of bullets. Many survivors hid in the freezing waters of the Marias River. The prisoners were chased onto the prairie and left there. Mountain Chief's band escaped to Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. Descendants of the victims retell the event through oral histories. Every Native American man who was massacred was thrown into a fire. One of the men was cut in half with a bayonet.
Reactions
Many blamed (and still blame) Major Eugene M. Baker, a known alcoholic, for the massacre and failure to capture Mountain Chief's men, and, of course, for the massacre that he failed to report on paper. However, in the subsequent controversy, General Sheridan expressed his confidence in Baker's leadership, and managed to prevent an official investigation into the incident. Conflict between the settlers and the Blackfeet declined after this incident. The Blackfeet Nation, already badly weakened by smallpoxSmallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease unique to humans, caused by either of two virus variants, Variola major and Variola minor. The disease is also known by the Latin names Variola or Variola vera, which is a derivative of the Latin varius, meaning "spotted", or varus, meaning "pimple"...
, did not have the numbers or support this late in the Indian Wars to respond.
See also
- Indian massacresIndian massacresIn the history of the European colonization of North America, the term "Indian massacre" was often used to describe either mass killings of Europeans by indigenous people of the North American continent or mass killings of indigenous people by the Europeans and by Americans of European origin.-...
- Fools CrowFools CrowFools Crow is a novel written by author James Welch. Set in Montana shortly after the Civil War, this novel tells of Fools Crow, a young Blackfoot Indian on the verge of manhood, and his tribe, known as the Lone Eaters. The invasion of white society threatens to change their traditional way of...
, a novel written by James Welch, which culminates with the Massacre on the Marias - Fair Land, Fair Land, a novel written by A. B. Guthrie, Jr., which also culminates with the Massacre on the Marias