Bear Paw Mountains

Cow Island Landing

The Nez Perce forded the Missouri River in the vicinity of Cow Island Landing on September 23. This spot served as a drop-off point for steamboats headed to Fort Benton, which functioned as the regional hub for river traffic on the Missouri; late in the season, when water levels fell too low for boats to reach Fort Benton itself, cargo was simply left at the landing instead. Guarding this cache was a modest detail, roughly a dozen troops led by a sergeant, whose job was to hold the goods until wagons could haul them onward.

When the Nez Perce drew near, the vastly outnumbered troops and a pair of civilians pulled back into their encampment, which was ringed by a low dirt berm meant to keep out rainwater. The main Nez Perce group crossed the river well away from this camp and pushed two miles up Cow Creek before settling in for the night. A handful of Nez Perce approached the soldiers' position peacefully, requesting a portion of the stored provisions. Given nothing more than some bacon and hardtack for their trouble, they bided their time until nightfall, then opened fire from the bluffs above and kept the garrison pinned down. With the soldiers unable to respond, the Nez Perce plundered the supply cache some distance off and burned what remained. Scattered shooting during this episode left two civilians injured.

The following morning the Nez Perce continued their march up Cow Creek, by then a mere ninety miles (140 km) from the international boundary with Canada. Meanwhile the besieged soldiers managed to get word downriver to Colonel Miles about where the Nez Perce were headed. Not long afterward, the Nez Perce came upon another wagon train loaded with supplies and subjected it to the same treatment, looting and torching it. When Major Guido Igles led fifty soldiers and civilian volunteers in pursuit, the Nez Perce managed to fend them off. All told, the fighting near Cow Creek cost five men their lives and resulted in the destruction or theft of at least eighty-five tons of army supplies. Yet this windfall came at a cost: the raid had eaten up a full day of travel time, and some historians believe that lost day may have proven crucial in allowing federal troops to close the gap.

Crisis in leadership

During their grueling flight, the Nez Perce never settled on a single command structure. Looking Glass emerged as the chief architect of military strategy, whereas Chief Joseph appears to have concentrated on running the day-to-day affairs of the camp. Meanwhile, a French and Nez Perce mixed-blood man who spoke English, known variously as Poker Joe or Lean Elk, had risen to prominence guiding and interpreting for the group along the way. Of all the leaders, Poker Joe likely grasped most clearly just how relentless the Army intended to be in hunting down and crushing the Nez Perce.

Once Howard's troops fell well behind following the clash at Canyon Creek, Looking Glass pushed for easing the pace, hoping to give the exhausted travelers and their worn-out horses a chance to recover. Poker Joe pressed for the opposite approach. This clash of opinions finally erupted into open conflict at a council held on September 24. Ultimately Poker Joe backed down, supposedly telling Looking Glass that he could take charge, adding that he himself was only trying to get everyone safely across the border before soldiers caught up, and warning that command under Looking Glass would likely end in the group being captured or killed. Having carried the argument, Looking Glass took over direction of the march. Over the following four days the band crept toward Canada at a cautious pace, watching the southern horizon warily for signs of Howard's men, never suspecting that Miles was closing in fast from the southeast.