Show famous fa ous fighter ahter and fr friend u bend of the andl 0 a FV i 0 67 4 A 1 1 h th e chos acie manuelito filhe navajo na vajo 7 I 1 VV oena 0 howard chief jos ne z PL ace by ELMO SCOTT WATSON NE L hundred years ago there was born in new england a boy oy who was destined to acome one of the most famous indian fighters in american history and paradoxical as it may seem beem this lighter fighter of indians also became known as one of the best friends the indian ever had bad the date of his bis birth was november 8 1830 the place was on a farm near leeds maine and his name was oliver otis howard it would seem beem that from the beginning destiny ruled that his bis career should be closely linked with the fate of the red men not just those of one tribe but of many tribes As a boy he heard beard from the lips of his grandfather stirring tales of indian warfare during the revolution when he be went to west point as a cadet at the united states military academy he be came in contact with many army officers who had served on the frontier against the wild tribes beyond the mississippi among them alaj george H thomas who iho had bad received three brevet commissions tor for gallant conduct in indian fights and who as general thomas was to be hailed balled as the rock of chickamauga in the civil war howard himself rose to the position of major general of volunteers in the civil war and repeatedly distinguished himself during those tour four years ile he left his right arm on the bloody field of fair oaks during a gallant charge at the head of the first new york infantry and won for himself the medal of honor he received the thanks of congress for his skill and heroic valor at gettysburg and for his bis gallant and meritorious services in the battle of ezra church and during the campaign against atlanta ga he be was brevet ted major general in the regular army ills his contact with the red men began almost immediately after he was graduated from west point in 1854 in december deceit Dec enber ber 1856 he was ordered to report to gen W S harney a distan jrolf had indian fighter in florida where a remnant of 0 the Semi seminoles noles who had refused to go west with the main portion of the tribe after the close of the second seminole war were continuing their raids on oa white settlements under their leader chief billy bowlegs howard was placed in command of an expedition to round up these and although it failed of its immediate object it resulted eventually in the surrender of billy bowlegs and perma event cent leae in the everglades for the first time in many years howard was next detailed to duty at west point and was there when the civil war began at the close of the war he was made commissioner of t the bureau of freedmen and refugees and served in that capacity until 1874 then with ith the inauguration of president grants indian peace policy howard was detailed as a special commissioner to arizona and new mexico and especially to make peace with the chiricahua apaches under chief cochise whose reign of terror in the southwest was holding back the settlement of that region after holding councils with the the planes the Marl Mar leopas copa the the Mo mojares Javes the contos tontos and the white mountain apaches and settling the troubles between them and the whites howard next went among the Nava joes tor for the same purpose lie he accomplished this by establishing a force of indian police and inducing their great war chief Manu manuelito clito to be the head bead of the form force but his hi main objective was still shena of him bim that of bringing co chist the apache in off on the warpath karpath war path after several unsuccessful atte attempts tte moti t jie W W A falo rn N e billy bowlegs the theSe to get the chief to come in for a conference howard accompanied by a noted frontiersman named tom jeffords took his life in his hands and Cochi ses stronghold there be persuaded the apache leader to make ft a good peace which cochise kept as long as he be lived howards next assignment was in the pacific northwest where bere he was one of the chief actors in the nez perce war it was during this short war that chief joseph of that tribe made his epic dash for freedom toward canada which has come down as one of the greatest military exploits in american history no jess brilliant than josephs retreat was howards pursuit of the fleeing indians a pursuit carried on through some of the alie most difficult country on the north american continent cut but when the nez kez perce pearce leader was at last brought to bay in the bear paw mountains in montana by gen nelson A miles and forced to surrender howard who vibo at last had bad caught up with the fugitives displayed a rare magnanimity nani Dani mity at the surrender of chief joseph the indian leader extended his bid rifle to howard hoard in token of surrender but howard waived it over to miles thus declining in favor of his brother officer the honor which abich he be bad so richly deserved after his trying and difficult campaign no sooner was the nez perce pearce war over however bo vever than howard was again in the field against the flutes and bannocks Ban nocks in the campaign of 1878 which was wag nearly as arduous a as was that of 1877 this war resulted in the death of two important chiefs egan slid and buffalo norn horn and howard was again tile the victor in another conflict with ith savages ills bla next service was a series of councils with the colville indians the Sp aries the Oka and the coeur calenes dA lenes whose hose high regard he won by hl his efforts to right the wrongs which they had bad suffered at the hands of the whites the attitude of chief lot of the Bp Sp toward howard was typical of the indians of that region when he be learned that the general had been ordered east he protested against again 0 t it you must not go you cannot go I 1 entreated the indian chief with tears in his eyes you are the indians friend if you stay everything will go on right but it if you go the white men around me will get my land and there will be trouble you must not go 90 no doubt many another indian leader would have concurred in chief lots lota worda for until general howards retirement from the army in 1895 and death in 1900 1909 he was looked upon by most of the red men with whom he had bad had any contact as one white man whom they could trust in hla his wide wida experience with the indians and their confidence in him lie has provably ably only tavo rinnis gen george V nd len 11 1 eh ah L scott but bill it ok or scott knew personally so many noted red men as did howard to read his two books my life and experiences per perien lences ces among our hostile indians indiana and famous indian chiefs I 1 have known to Is to call the roll of most of the indian notables over a period of more than forty years in addition to those already mentioned in this article the list would include washakie Wash akle the great chief of the shoshones Sho Geron and natchez of the chirl calwas cahuas red cloud spotted tall crow dog and short bull of the sioux pasqual of the antonio and antonito Anto of the plains pimas santos and of the Arav ipas pedro and one eyed ml guel of the apaches white bird and looking glass of the nez perces moses hoses of the surah sarah winnemucca daughter of the great chief winnemucca of the mutes egan and oates of the Uma tillas homill of the walla wallas and cut mouth john a umatilla who served as his scout during the bannock and pluto plute nar or in 1878 and iab the forces under howard during the Shee peater campaign a short time later among ills his most interesting reminiscences are those of geronimo Geron the notorious apache leader geronimo geronemo Geron was one of the indian captains captain who was with cochise when he be decided that the great spirit wanted the indians to make peace with the white men and eat bread with them writes howard in his famous indian chiefs 1 I have known knon at that time most of the indians were very happy to have peace and geronimo seemed quite as a pleased as the others though I 1 believe he was not yet quite sure that it wa was a t time I 1 me for peace to come at any rate the great cochise said it was so geronimo Geron was ready to ride with us to meet the soldiers and as I 1 was willing lie sprang up over my horses tall and by a second spring came forward threw his arms around me and so rode many miles on my horse during that ride mile we became friends and I 1 think geronemo Geron lino trusted me although he trembled very much when we came in sight of the soldiers neur near camp bowle bowie in 1809 1 I went to mount verlon barracks alabama where geronemo Geron and his warriors were held as prisoners of war and the first man I 1 saw there as I 1 got out of the train was geronimo Geron he had a bundle of canes of different sorts of wood which he hod had peeled and painted and wits was selling gelling them one by one when lie he caught sight of me he passed his canes to another indian and ran to meet me I 1 could not understand tal his 9 apache but he embraced me twice and called his bis mexican name geronimo Gero ninio 1 geronimo Geron many times so that I 1 should be sure to know who lie he was then he get nn an interpreter and came to talk with me 1 I am a school superintendent no IM lie said we have fine lady t all the children go t iho I 1 inake them I 1 want ahw to ho |