Introduction!

Introduction:

Welcome to Bighorn, Big Hole, Bearpaws and Beyond (A Few High Points in Montana History)

Greetings, friends! And welcome to BBBB, my new blog site dedicated to background and high points on a few defining aspects of Montana – and America’s — history. As we celebrate our nation’s 250^th anniversary as a free nation, my site will also look at events reaching their 150^th anniversaries — events that occurred first in 1876 and then in 1877 – here in what is now my home state of Montana.

As we reach the sesquicentennials (150^th anniversaries) of those events, I will discuss some of their causes, effects, background and trivia. I’ll post about a variety of aspects, questions they raise, and interpretations or opinions that might interest students and lovers of history.

The Montana events approaching their 150^th anniversaries are, most notably, the Battle of the Little Bighorn (June 25, 1876) and what is often called the Flight of the Nez Perce (May –October, 1877.) The first is well known and heavily written about, read about, relived, re-examined and debated. The second, though arguably far more tragic is somewhat lesser known. It transcends the boundaries of Montana Territory, but its battles in Montana include the Big Hole and the Bear’s Paw, or Bearpaw, Battles.

I’ll detour briefly here onto the Nez Perce plight before focusing on this year’s anniversaries. From my own limited perspective I would characterize the Flight, or Plight, of the Nez Perce as being much like the Cherokees’ Trail of Tears. Its tales are heart-rending, but they are Montana history nonetheless. I will discuss parts of them in more detail. For now I will simply sum up the Nez Perce journey in what was then Montana Territory as Bitterroot, Big Hole, Bear’s Paw and Between. The topic, like most history, has many facets.

Regarding the Battle of the Little Bighorn, it too is the topic of much writing and discussion. Years ago while doing research in the library at the University of Montana, I overheard a research librarian speaking to another researcher. He said Little Bighorn is nearly the most written-about battle in American history, second only to the Civil War battle of Gettysburg. I won’t try to add to the volumes already written. Here, I will simply touch on timely topics and sometimes on the trivia that shed more light on that battle – and on the campaign and events that led up to it.

While many folks’ knowledge or interest tend to begin and end at the Little Bighorn, it is wise to remind readers that the campaign hardly ended there. As has often been said, the Little Bighorn’s victors won what to them was a great battle there, but they in turn lost a war. That war did not begin at the Little Bighorn, but that battle could be seen as the beginning of the end. It fueled the fervor and the flame of an ongoing campaign.

As we pass the Little Bighorn’s 150^th birthday, I’ll touch on parts of the subsequent campaign. Some of its players, both Indian and white, also played significant roles in the Nez Perce “Trail of Tears.” I’ll try to touch objectively on their roles in post-Little Bighorn battles and events.

None of these battles mentioned above was a stand-alone fight or event. Each one filled only a smaller role in a much larger string of events. Each one played a small part in a larger campaign and a much bigger conflict. Each one’s backstory stretches back decades in its background. I’ll try to give at least general background and to fill in gaps in those battles’ histories.

As for the writer, this is not about me. I’m only the messenger, a part-time writer and amateur historian with a passion for much of Montana and America’s history. My published writing has appeared mainly in outdoor publications, both national and regional, and I have a few books in circulation. Born and raised in central Montana, I have been blessed to live in a region rich in history and central to most of what I will write about in my posts.

For most of a decade I earned a living as a mule packer and guide, and when not doing that I have found many other ways to get out into the places I write about. Unfettered chunks of country call to me and draw me like a magnet. I will always want to see what might be over the next ridge. A lifelong lover of history, I’ve been steeped in local, regional and national history from as early as I can remember. I savor it in any way I can, and I will try my best to pass parts of it on in ways palatable to most readers.

On that note (my final one, I’m sure you are hoping), I’ll briefly describe my intended format. I’ll post in one category on events most related to the Little Bighorn. Another category will deal with the Nez Perce, their history and their plight. A separate category might be a catch-all labelled “This Date in History,” where I’ll write about events, especially as they reach their  milestone 150^th anniversary, that coincide with given calendar dates. Finally, as some of my books are, and will be, geared toward younger readers, I will have a “Younger Readers” category mirroring many of my regular posts.

Now that I’ve rattled on and introduced you to this site, I hope that you’ll return and enjoy it over the coming years. I hope you will find it entertaining as well as educational. With that in mind, please come back often and enjoy what you find here. I hope our trails will cross here often.

See you down that trail,

Dan Cherry

A note on terminology: numerous different terms have been used and have morphed over the years in referring various native tribesmen that inhabited North America when the first European explorers arrived. The most common since that time has been the term “Indian.” It is generally known and accepted that European explorers initially set out in search of a better shipping route to India. They wanted to expedite trade with that region. When various explorers hit the coasts of what is now North America, they hoped they had indeed reached India. While those hopes were disappointed, they used the term “Indian” to refer to any of the darker-skinned people they encountered here.

It is widely known and accepted that the term “Indian” is not accurate in its origins and common usage. However, that term has been the most commonly used over at least three centuries. Other terms had been tried, and the term “Native American” has become more common in contemporary usage. That term comes with its own set of challenges, though. It is cumbersome at best, and its accuracy is certainly subject to question. Without recorded history, no one can really know who was truly native, or just which peoples were really First Peoples, second, third, etc.

I also have a hunch that, given to tendencies of current academia and social engineering, most or all of the currently favored terms have probably originated with white folk. I have no desire to offend descendants and members of the various tribes referred to in my posts. However, given its common usage and the fact that it was widely used during the time frames to which this site is dedicated, I will stick with using the generic term “Indian,” however inaccurate.

Anyone who takes exception, I would refer to such works as “Black Elk Speaks,” in which its audio narrator, a member of the Lakota nation, also defers to the common usage of the word “Indian.” Feel free to comment if you have greater insight.