Battle of Kelley Creek

Last updated
Battle of Kelley Creek
Part of the American Indian Wars
JP Donnelly posse Battle of Kelley Creek.jpg
The posse of J.P. Donnelley.
DateFebruary 25, 1911
Location 41°15′54″N117°05′42″W / 41.2649003°N 117.0951145°W / 41.2649003; -117.0951145 [1]
Result United States victory
Belligerents
Flag of the United States (1908-1912).svg  United States Daggett's Shoshone band
Commanders and leaders
Flag of Nevada.svg J. P. Donnelley Mike Daggett
Casualties and losses
1 killed 8 killed, including 2 children
4* surviving children captured and arrested
  • 3 of the captured children died within the three following years due to illness
USA Nevada location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location of Kelley Creek, Nevada
Usa edcp location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Battle of Kelley Creek (the United States)
Signature of J. P. Donnelley. Leader of the posse involved in the Battle of Kelley Creek. The signature is taken from a registered mail signing book from Carson City, NV - 1812 - 1813. In the private collection of H. Blair Howell. J P Donnelley.jpg
Signature of J. P. Donnelley. Leader of the posse involved in the Battle of Kelley Creek. The signature is taken from a registered mail signing book from Carson City, NV - 1812 - 1813. In the private collection of H. Blair Howell.

The Battle of Kelley Creek, also known as the Last Massacre, is often considered to be one of the last known massacres carried out between Native Americans and forces of the United States, and was a closing event to occur near the end of the American Indian warfare era. [2] In January 1911 a small band of Shoshones [3] were accused of rustling cattle and then killing four stockmen who went to investigate the dead cattle. A posse of policemen and citizens was sent to track the band, who were found encamped near Winnemucca, Nevada, in a region known as Kelley Creek. A largely one-sided battle ensued on February 25 that ended with the direct deaths of nine people, eight Daggetts and one posse member. At the time the affair was briefly characterized as a Native American revolt, though it is now mostly regarded as a family's attempted escape from law enforcement. [4]

Contents

Background

Mike Daggett, or Shoshone Mike (only after his death), [5] was the chief of the small band and in the spring of 1910, he led his group of eleven off the Fort Hall Reservation at Rock Creek, Idaho. All but two men of the group were members of Mike's family, which included three women and four or five children. They first headed south into northern Nevada where a son of Shoshone Mike called Dugan [6] was mortally wounded by white cattle rustlers and in revenge the band killed Frank Dopp [7] in May 1910 [8] [9] and buried him; [9] his remains were found 2 months later. [10]

The Daggett band realized that they had little chance of justice in the hands of the Whites so they traveled west to Oroville, California, before heading back into Nevada to spend the winter at Little High Rock Canyon in northern Washoe County. In January 1911 the Daggett band was running low on food, so they abducted and butchered some cattle belonging to a local rancher. A Basque sheepherder named Bert Indiano witnessed the event but was driven away by the Indians; [7] he alerted the people of Surprise Valley, California, who sent a posse of three men to investigate the incident and protect the ranch. The three men, Harry Cambron and two prominent Basque sheepmen, [11] Peter Erramouspe and John Laxague, were to go to the ranch and join up with the sheepherder so the four could investigate the scene. A day or two prior to the arrival of the four stockmen, the Indians had robbed several articles from a camp of an unnamed Chinese man whom they then met and killed when the man said he was going to kill them; the body was then buried. [7] Upon arrival the posse of four men instead ran into Mike Daggett and two of his sons, who were reported to be waiting for them. [12] [13]

Last Massacre

The Daggetts had apparently realized the stockmen would be coming to find them, so when the posse entered the canyon on January 19, the natives opened fire with rifles and pistols, killing all four of them (Harry Cambron and the three Basque sheepmen Bert Indiano, Peter Erramouspe and John Laxague). On February 8, a search party from Eagleville, California found the bodies in a creekbed. The bodies were mutilated, partially undressed and had numerous gunshot wounds. [14] When word of the killings reached the surrounding settlements many who felt at risk temporarily evacuated the area, and the men who stayed behind remained armed and alert at all times. Initially it was thought that a gang of outlaws from Oregon or a band of Modocs were responsible. The Nevada and California State Police organized a posse under the command of Captain J.P. Donnelley to find the suspects, who had decided to flee towards the Duck Valley Indian Reservation. Other posses were also organized (though only Donnelley's would ever make contact with the Daggetts), and a large cash bounty was promised to anyone who managed to arrest or kill the fugitives. [15] [16]

Battle

Donnelley's posse included at least five policemen, a few armed civilians, and the "county coroner and physician". After stopping in Little High Rock Canyon on February 13, they continued despite extreme cold and winter weather. Over 200 miles further and on February 25, the posse found Daggett and his family hiding in an area known as Kelley Creek, northeast of Winnemucca. It is unclear which side shot first, but a battle erupted that lasted for around three hours. [17] The women reportedly fought equally alongside the men. Father and chief Mike Daggett was one of the first casualties during the battle, but his death only made the members of his family desperately fight back harder; even as they were inevitably forced back. At some point during the conflict the remaining Daggetts had run out of ammunition for their guns and were forced to resort to bows, spears and tomahawks. By the end of the battle only four of the original twelve Daggett family members were still alive: a sixteen-year-old girl and three young children, who were taken into police custody. One member of Donnelley's posse, Deputy Ed Hogle of Eagleville, was killed during the fight. [18] Two other young Daggett children were also reported to have been shot inadvertently. [15] [19] After the battle was over, the posse found evidence linking the killings in Little High Rock Canyon to the natives. Other than Mike's war bonnet, the posse found guns and a watch that had belonged to Harry Cambron, identified by brother Ben Cambron. [14]

The bodies of the natives were taken by wagon to Golconda, Nevada, and buried in a mass grave made from the crater of a dynamite explosion. A tall pole was placed at the site as a grave marker. Years later when the land was donated to the Museum of National History the site was excavated and partial remains found.[ citation needed ] Eventually, the remains were donated by a local rancher to the Smithsonian Institution. In 1994 the remains were repatriated to the Fort Hall Idaho Shoshone-Bannock Tribe. [20]

In 1911, the remains of Ed Hogle were returned to Eagleville, where he was buried. Sheriff Charles Ferrell, who was in command of the investigation (but not present at the battle) arrived back in Reno on March 2 with the four surviving captives, and they claimed that while the man had indeed been Shoshone Mike, their mother was Bannock. [21] The four were informally adopted by Reno's civilian population until in May 1911 they were enrolled in the Stewart Indian School near Carson City, Nevada. By 1913, three of the children had died of natural causes, and only one of the survivors, Mary Jo Estep was left alive; she died in 1992. The reward offered to anyone who could catch or kill the Daggett party was initially denied to the posse by Governor Tasker Oddie, due to the fact that there were state policemen involved, but the case was later settled in favor of the posse by the Supreme Court of Nevada in 1915. [15] [16] [22]

A marker was placed near the battle site. The Twin Creeks gold mine is located just to the east of the marker. The 1996 environmental impact statement for the mine mentions a reconfiguration of an overburden and interburden site so as to avoid the location of the marker. [23]

Reported picture of body of Mike Daggett with three bodies of his band February 26, 1911 Shoshone Mike's band after Death, February 26, 1911.jpg
Reported picture of body of Mike Daggett with three bodies of his band February 26, 1911

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washoe County, Nevada</span> County in Nevada, United States

Washoe County is a county in the U.S. state of Nevada. As of the 2020 census, the population was 486,492, making it Nevada's second-most populous county. Its county seat is Reno. Washoe County is included in the Reno, NV Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Owyhee, Nevada</span> Census-designated place in Nevada, United States

Owyhee is a census-designated place (CDP) in Elko County, Nevada, United States, along the banks of the Owyhee River. The population was 953 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Elko Micropolitan Statistical Area. It is the primary town of the federally recognized Shoshone-Paiute tribe's Duck Valley Indian Reservation, which covers portions of northern Nevada and southern Idaho, and the majority of its population are Native American.

The Shoshone or Shoshoni are a Native American tribe with four large cultural/linguistic divisions:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Goshute</span> Tribe of Western Shoshone Native Americans

The Goshutes are a tribe of Western Shoshone Native Americans. There are two federally recognized Goshute tribes today:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin</span> Cultural classification of Native Americans

The Indigenous peoples of the Great Basin are Native Americans of the northern Great Basin, Snake River Plain, and upper Colorado River basin. The "Great Basin" is a cultural classification of indigenous peoples of the Americas and a cultural region located between the Rocky Mountains and the Sierra Nevada, in what is now Nevada, and parts of Oregon, California, Idaho, Wyoming, and Utah. The Great Basin region at the time of European contact was ~400,000 sq mi (1,000,000 km2). There is very little precipitation in the Great Basin area which affects the lifestyles and cultures of the inhabitants.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fort Hall Indian Reservation</span> Indian reservation in United States, Shoshone-Bannock

The Fort Hall Reservation is a Native American reservation of the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock Tribes in the U.S. state of Idaho. This is one of five federally recognized tribes in the state. The reservation is located in southeastern Idaho on the Snake River Plain about 20 miles (32 km) north and west of Pocatello. It comprises 814.874 sq mi (2,110.51 km2) of land area in four counties: Bingham, Power, Bannock, and Caribou. To the east is the 60-mile-long (97 km) Portneuf Range; both Mount Putnam and South Putnam Mountain are located on the Fort Hall Reservation.

The Bannock War of 1878 was an armed conflict between the U.S. military and Bannock and Paiute warriors in Idaho and northeastern Oregon from June to August 1878. The Bannock totaled about 600 to 800 in 1870 because of other Shoshone peoples being included with Bannock numbers. they were led by Chief Buffalo Horn, who was killed in action on June 8, 1878. After his death, Chief Egan led the Bannocks. He and some of his warriors were killed in July by a Umatilla party that entered his camp in subterfuge.

The Snake War (1864–1868) was an irregular war fought by the United States of America against the "Snake Indians," the settlers' term for Northern Paiute, Bannock and Western Shoshone bands who lived along the Snake River. Fighting took place in the states of Oregon, Nevada, and California, and in Idaho Territory. Total casualties from both sides of the conflict numbered 1,762 dead, wounded, or captured.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bannock people</span> Indigenous people of North America

The Bannock tribe were originally Northern Paiute but are more culturally affiliated with the Northern Shoshone. They are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. Their traditional lands include northern Nevada, southeastern Oregon, southern Idaho, and western Wyoming. Today they are enrolled in the federally recognized Shoshone-Bannock Tribes of the Fort Hall Reservation of Idaho, located on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Western Shoshone</span> Grouping of Shoshone tribes in the Great Basin

Western Shoshone comprise several Shoshone tribes that are indigenous to the Great Basin and have lands identified in the Treaty of Ruby Valley 1863. They resided in Idaho, Nevada, California, and Utah. The tribes are very closely related culturally to the Paiute, Goshute, Bannock, Ute, and Timbisha tribes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paiute War</span> 1860 armed conflict between Native Americans and settlers

The Paiute War, also known as the Pyramid Lake War, Washoe Indian War and the Pah Ute War, was an armed conflict between Northern Paiutes allied with the Shoshone and the Bannock against settlers from the United States, supported by military forces. It took place in May 1860 in the vicinity of Pyramid Lake in the Utah Territory, now in the northwest corner of present-day Nevada. The war was preceded by a series of increasingly violent incidents, culminating in two pitched battles in which 79 Whites and 25 Indigenous people were killed. Smaller raids and skirmishes continued until a cease-fire was agreed to in August 1860; there was no treaty.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Duck Valley Indian Reservation</span> Indian reservation in United States, Shoshone-Paiute

The Duck Valley Indian Reservation was established in the 19th century for the federally recognized Shoshone-Paiute Tribe. It is isolated in the high desert of the western United States, and lies on the state line, the 42nd parallel, between Idaho and Nevada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little High Rock Canyon Wilderness</span> United States Wilderness Area

The Little High Rock Canyon Wilderness is a US Wilderness Area in Nevada under the Bureau of Land Management. It is located south of the High Rock Canyon Wilderness and west of the High Rock Lake Wilderness.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Idaho Territory in the American Civil War</span>

The history of Idaho in the American Civil War is atypical, as the territory was far from the battlefields.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern Shoshone</span> Native American tribe in Wyoming

Eastern Shoshone are Shoshone who primarily live in Wyoming and in the northeast corner of the Great Basin where Utah, Idaho and Wyoming meet and are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People. They lived in the Rocky Mountains during the 1805 Lewis and Clark Expedition and adopted Plains horse culture in contrast to Western Shoshone that maintained a Great Basin culture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mike Daggett</span> Shoshone warrior

Mike Daggett, original Shoshoni name Ondongarte, was a Shoshone man who is best known for his involvement in the Battle of Kelley Creek, during which he was killed with several members of his family. Daggett was also known by many other names, including "Shoshone Mike", "Indian Mike," "Rock Creek Mike," and "Salmon River Mike."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bannock War of 1895</span>

The Bannock War of 1895, or the Bannock Uprising, refers to a minor conflict centered in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, in the United States. During the early 1890s, Wyoming passed a state law prohibiting the killing of elk for their teeth, which led to the arrests of several Bannock hunters in 1895. The arrests and the death of one Bannock created wildly exaggerated rumors that the natives would revolt; at one point, the Eastern press reported that the Bannocks had massacred a large group of settlers in Jackson Hole. In response, the United States Army launched an expedition into the area- when troops arrived, it was found that the situation was peaceful and that the fears of uprising were unjustified.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern Shoshone</span> Indigenous people of North America

Northern Shoshone are Shoshone of the Snake River Plain of southern Idaho and the northeast of the Great Basin where Idaho, Wyoming and Utah meet. They are culturally affiliated with the Bannock people and are in the Great Basin classification of Indigenous People.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Jo Estep</span> Shoshone child survivor of "the last massacre" of Native Americans in the US

Mary Josephine Estep was a Shoshone child survivor of the Battle of Kelley Creek, "the last massacre" of Native Americans in the United States, in 1911.

The Almo, Idaho, Indian massacre is an attack that is alleged to have occurred in 1861 when a band of Native Americans attacked a wagon train of 300 overland migrants in the Washington Territory, what is now southern Idaho. But unlike other massacres involving Native Americans in the 19th century, there is not enough substantial evidence to conclude that a massacre of this magnitude actually occurred near Almo in 1861. A monument in the small town of Almo was erected in 1938 by the Sons and Daughters of Idaho Pioneers. The monument stands in the memory of the travelers who were supposedly murdered in the massacre. The endurance of the myth and the monument that is built to remember the "massacre" engenders negative feelings among Native Americans, a group that has historically experienced persecution at the hands of white settlers. The monument itself displays 19th and 20th century attitudes towards Native Americans, and Native Americans believe that this monument needs to be removed, as it falsely represents Native peoples and cultures and contributes to the misinformation prevalent about Native Americans.

References

  1. "Kelly Creek (historical), alternate name: Kelley Creek". Geographic Names Information System . United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior.
  2. Mullen Jr., Frank X. (February 19, 2011). "Shoshone Mike: New theories emerge 100 years after 'last massacre' (part 1)". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  3. Bergon, Frank (December 1, 1987). "Shaping the Past: The search for Shoshone Mike". Vassar Quarterly. LXXXIV (1): 16–19. Retrieved April 27, 2021.
  4. Dorr, Susanna. "Last Indian Uprising?". www.gbcnv.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  5. Mullen Jr., Frank X. (February 19, 2011). "Shoshone Mike: New theories emerge 100 years after 'last massacre' (part 2)". Reno Gazette-Journal. Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  6. "Snake Tells Story of Crimes". Weekly Independent. Elko. March 17, 1911. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 "Indian Captive Tells of Tragedy". The Silver State. Winnnemucca. April 27, 1911. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  8. "Posse Exterminates Indian Band". Eureka Sentinel. March 4, 1911. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Mystery Still Surrounds the Disappearance of Indians and a White Boy in Cassia County". The Idaho Republican. January 20, 1911. p. 6. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  10. "Rock Creek News". The Twin Falls Times. July 21, 1910. p. 3. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  11. Perry, Frank Vernon (Winter 1972). "The Last Indian Uprising In The United States" (PDF). Nevada State Historical Society Quarterly. Retrieved March 16, 2022.
  12. "Early Native Americans". nevada-history.org. Archived from the original on 2011-07-27. Retrieved 2011-08-14.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  13. "Indian Wars". www.webpages.uidaho.edu. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  14. 1 2 "8 Indians Killed". The Daily Appeal. Carson City. February 27, 1911. p. 1. Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  15. 1 2 3 Washoe County Sheriff's Office: Dedicated Service in Partnership with Our Community. Turner Publishing. 2004. pp. 19–20. ISBN   9781563119545 . Retrieved April 22, 2020.
  16. 1 2 "Stories Of The Old West". nevada-history.org. Archived from the original on December 6, 2010. Retrieved August 14, 2011.
  17. "The Legend of Shoshone Mike". KLAS-TV. 2002-07-23. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved 2018-05-30.
  18. "ODMP memorial Hogle" . Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  19. Adams, Frank (Spring 2011). "Battle at Kelley Creek -Nevada State Police— 1911" (PDF). The Silver Star: Newsletter of the Silver State National Peace Officers Museum. Vol. 3, no. 2. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-03-30. Retrieved 2011-08-14.
  20. "Repatriation Office Case Report Summaries, Great Basin Region" (PDF). Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History. 2020.
  21. "Former Scout Talks with Captured Squaw". Sacramento Bee . March 6, 1911. p. 7. Retrieved July 21, 2022.
  22. Smith v. State( Nev. July 1915), Text .
  23. Twin Creeks Mine: final environmental impact statement (Report). Vol. 1. Bureau of Land Management. 1996. pp. 2–51. Retrieved February 21, 2022.
  24. See for a slightly different version of this picture

Further reading