Swan Valley Massacre of 1908
Encyclopedia
The Swan Valley Massacre was an incident that occurred in 1908 in which hunting party of four Pend d'Oreilles Indians were killed by a state game warden and his deputy in the Swan Valley
in Northwestern Montana
. This confrontation was due in part to the state of Montana not honoring off reservation hunting permits and the miscommunication between the Pend d'Oreilles and the game warden regarding their right to hunt outside reservation boundaries.
. The Salish were known to war with the Blackfeet
and Shoshone
. With the rise of the fur trade many Salish and Pend d’Oreilles became involved as trappers and traders. The Salish were visited by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805 in which they traded gifts of goods and horses.
The Jesuits, Catholic missionaries, came to live among the Salish in the Bitterroot Valley
in the early 19th century and built a church. During the Steven’s Treaty era, Washington Territory
Governor Isaac Stevens
called the Salish, Pend d’Oreilles, and Ksanka Band of Kootenai together in 1855 to negotiate the Hellgate Treaty with the U.S. Government establishing a reservation and a peaceful confederation of these tribes.
Altercation=
According to the 1855 treaty the confederated tribes retained the right to hunt, gather, and fish in their aboriginal territory, some of which existed outside of the reservation boundaries. This practice came into contact with the state law when Montana acquired statehood in 1889 and established its own hunting and fishing regulations which were to be enforced by game wardens. Only the federal government would have management jurisdiction within reservation borders but when the contours of “Indian Country” were pressed the state felt it was their territory of authority.
In September 1908 a party of 8 Pend d’Oreilles entered the ancient hunting grounds of the Swan Valley on the eastern side of the Mission Mountain range
. The party members included Atwen Scwi, his wife, son, and daughter, Little Camille Paul and his wife who was pregnant, two elders; Mary and her husband Martin Yellow Mountain.
Before leaving, though it was unnecessary to do so according to the Hellgate Treaty, purchased state hunting permits to avoid trouble (Yellow Mountain even acquired permission for the expedition from the agent in Arlee).
In October, after several weeks of camping Charles Peyton, a local game warden
, along with a few deputized residents of the valley entered the encampment three times investigating the intentions of the hunting party. When he demanded licenses from them he began harassing their band. After leaving Peyton returned the next day with guns drawn, he demanded that they be gone by the time he returned the next morning. To avoid any potential confrontation the band decided that they should move so they began to pack up the camp.
Escalation=
The next day, before they could pack and mount their horses to leave (they had been delayed by two of their horses wandering through an open gate and having to retrieve them) Peyton arrived along with his deputy firing his gun. Partly due to the miscommunication between the two parties Peyton felt it was necessary to begin firing.
He shot the two leaders of the party Camille Paul and Atwen both of whom were unable to reach their firearms. When Yellow Mountain tried to reach his weapon Peyton shot him as well. As the women fled towards the edge of the clearing Peyton chased them, but Atwen’s son Peh-lah-so-weh found a gun and, from behind cover of a horse, fired at Peyton hitting him in the stomach. The warden’s deputy Herman Rudolph shot Peh-lah-so-weh at the same time that he had connected with Peyton, killing him almost instantly.
As the wives tended to the dead and dying members of the party Peyton began to recover and get back up. Camille’s wife, Clarice, believing that if she did not act Peyton would try to kill the rest of them, pulled her husbands rifle from under his body and fired on Peyton twice, leaving him dead.
Though she was six months pregnant Clarice rode her horse until she made it to another Pend d’Oreilles camp to seek help. When she arrived, the band of Many Names (Louie Mollman) took her in and tended to her. When Many Names’ party returned the next day to recover the bodies, they encountered a non-Indian posse, but fortunately due to the Pend d’Oreilles leadership Many Names’ warriors were restrained.
Aftermath=
Though Peyton’s deputy was scheduled for a county coroner’s appearance he left the area and was never prosecuted. The bodies were reburied a few years later from near the site of the massacre to the St. Ignatius Catholic cemetery
.
Clarice gave birth to her son John Peter Paul who told this story of his mother and their band. Hunting parties outside the reservation decreased due to fear that clashes similar to Swan Creek might occur.
Swan Valley
Swan Valley may refer to:In Australia:* Swan Valley , a region* Swan Valley Nyungah CommunityIn Canada:* Swan River Valley, a valley between the Duck and Porcupine Mountains in Manitoba...
in Northwestern 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,...
. This confrontation was due in part to the state of Montana not honoring off reservation hunting permits and the miscommunication between the Pend d'Oreilles and the game warden regarding their right to hunt outside reservation boundaries.
Background
The Bitterroot Salish (Flathead) and Pend d’Oreilles (Kalispel) Tribes of the Northern Rocky Mountain (Plateau) region of the Western United States had occupied, and hunted and gathered in the area around Flathead LakeFlathead Lake
Flathead Lake is the largest natural freshwater lake in the western part of the contiguous United States. With a surface area of between and , it is slightly larger than Lake Tahoe. The lake is a remnant of the ancient inland sea, Lake Missoula of the era of the last interglacial. Flathead Lake...
. The Salish were known to war with the Blackfeet
Blackfeet
The Piegan Blackfeet are a tribe of Native Americans of the Algonquian language family based in Montana, having lived in this area since around 6,500 BC. Many members of the tribe live as part of the Blackfeet Nation in northwestern Montana, with population centered in Browning...
and Shoshone
Shoshone
The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe in the United States with three large divisions: the Northern, the Western and the Eastern....
. With the rise of the fur trade many Salish and Pend d’Oreilles became involved as trappers and traders. The Salish were visited by the Lewis and Clark expedition in 1805 in which they traded gifts of goods and horses.
The Jesuits, Catholic missionaries, came to live among the Salish in the Bitterroot Valley
Bitterroot Valley
The Bitterroot Valley is located in southwestern Montana in the northwestern United States. It extends over 100 miles from remote Horse Creek Pass north to a point near the city of Missoula...
in the early 19th century and built a church. During the Steven’s Treaty era, Washington Territory
Washington Territory
The Territory of Washington was an organized incorporated territory of the United States that existed from February 8, 1853, until November 11, 1889, when the final extent of the territory was admitted to the Union as the State of Washington....
Governor Isaac Stevens
Isaac Stevens
Isaac Ingalls Stevens was the first governor of Washington Territory, a United States Congressman, and a brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War until his death at the Battle of Chantilly...
called the Salish, Pend d’Oreilles, and Ksanka Band of Kootenai together in 1855 to negotiate the Hellgate Treaty with the U.S. Government establishing a reservation and a peaceful confederation of these tribes.
Altercation=
According to the 1855 treaty the confederated tribes retained the right to hunt, gather, and fish in their aboriginal territory, some of which existed outside of the reservation boundaries. This practice came into contact with the state law when Montana acquired statehood in 1889 and established its own hunting and fishing regulations which were to be enforced by game wardens. Only the federal government would have management jurisdiction within reservation borders but when the contours of “Indian Country” were pressed the state felt it was their territory of authority.
In September 1908 a party of 8 Pend d’Oreilles entered the ancient hunting grounds of the Swan Valley on the eastern side of the Mission Mountain range
Mission Mountains
The Mission Mountains or Mission Range are a range of the Rocky Mountains located in northwestern Montana in the United States. They lie chiefly in Lake County and Missoula County and are south and east of Flathead Lake and west of the Swan Range...
. The party members included Atwen Scwi, his wife, son, and daughter, Little Camille Paul and his wife who was pregnant, two elders; Mary and her husband Martin Yellow Mountain.
Before leaving, though it was unnecessary to do so according to the Hellgate Treaty, purchased state hunting permits to avoid trouble (Yellow Mountain even acquired permission for the expedition from the agent in Arlee).
In October, after several weeks of camping Charles Peyton, a local game warden
Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks
The Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks is a government agency in the executive branch state of Montana in the United States with responsibility for protecting sustainable fish, wildlife, and state-owned park resources in Montana for the purpose of providing recreational activities...
, along with a few deputized residents of the valley entered the encampment three times investigating the intentions of the hunting party. When he demanded licenses from them he began harassing their band. After leaving Peyton returned the next day with guns drawn, he demanded that they be gone by the time he returned the next morning. To avoid any potential confrontation the band decided that they should move so they began to pack up the camp.
Escalation=
The next day, before they could pack and mount their horses to leave (they had been delayed by two of their horses wandering through an open gate and having to retrieve them) Peyton arrived along with his deputy firing his gun. Partly due to the miscommunication between the two parties Peyton felt it was necessary to begin firing.
He shot the two leaders of the party Camille Paul and Atwen both of whom were unable to reach their firearms. When Yellow Mountain tried to reach his weapon Peyton shot him as well. As the women fled towards the edge of the clearing Peyton chased them, but Atwen’s son Peh-lah-so-weh found a gun and, from behind cover of a horse, fired at Peyton hitting him in the stomach. The warden’s deputy Herman Rudolph shot Peh-lah-so-weh at the same time that he had connected with Peyton, killing him almost instantly.
As the wives tended to the dead and dying members of the party Peyton began to recover and get back up. Camille’s wife, Clarice, believing that if she did not act Peyton would try to kill the rest of them, pulled her husbands rifle from under his body and fired on Peyton twice, leaving him dead.
Though she was six months pregnant Clarice rode her horse until she made it to another Pend d’Oreilles camp to seek help. When she arrived, the band of Many Names (Louie Mollman) took her in and tended to her. When Many Names’ party returned the next day to recover the bodies, they encountered a non-Indian posse, but fortunately due to the Pend d’Oreilles leadership Many Names’ warriors were restrained.
Aftermath=
Though Peyton’s deputy was scheduled for a county coroner’s appearance he left the area and was never prosecuted. The bodies were reburied a few years later from near the site of the massacre to the St. Ignatius Catholic cemetery
St. Ignatius Mission
The St. Ignatius Mission is a landmark Roman Catholic mission founded at its present location, St. Ignatius, Montana, in 1854 by Father Pierre-Jean De Smet and Father Adrian Hoecken. The current mission church was built between 1891 and 1893, and listed on the U.S. National Register of Historic...
.
Clarice gave birth to her son John Peter Paul who told this story of his mother and their band. Hunting parties outside the reservation decreased due to fear that clashes similar to Swan Creek might occur.
External links
- http://www.dailyinterlake.com/news/local_montana/article_e6359184-0e4c-5e9a-9de5-444559b17d48.html'We will never forget'-Daily Inter Lake