On This Date in Minnesota History: April 29

April 29, 1904 – Chief Joseph, hereditary chief of the Nez Perce Indians, who once gave Uncle Sam a great deal of trouble, sat buried beneath a big sombrero at the St. Paul Union Depot today and gave no sign that he had, in his younger days, given Gen. Miles a reputation by his capture in the wilds of Montana.

Chief Joseph in his younger days (1877)¹

“Chief Joseph and his band” rivaled in warlike deeds and cruel treatment of their captives any “red-skinned devil” who ever came out of a yellow-back terror, and when he was taken East a captive with several hundred of his followers in charge of United States troops, the mention of his name caused chills up and down the backs of St. Paul youths.

Joseph is now living quietly on the Yakima Reservation, some 30 miles south of Spokane, Wash., and he and 12 others of the tribe were in St. Paul today on their way to St. Louis to become part of an exhibit for a month at the World’s Fair. They were accompanied by Tom Eagle Blanket, an unusually wise Indian, being interpreter and envoy for the party.

A tiny little boy, with big wondering eyes and a very dirty face, was held tightly by his mother, a comely young Indian woman, and the boy’s father pulled silently at a big pipe. While Chief Joseph was no longer in beads and feathers, but wore instead a conventional suit of jeans. Several of his companions wore gay-colored blankets with beads and ornaments, giving every indication of having just come from the reservation.

Chief Joseph with Captain Pratt and his old nemesis General Howard²

The party, which arrived in St. Paul from Washington via the Northern Pacific Railroad, left this evening for St. Louis over the Rock Island Railroad.

Map of the Great Northern Railroad Routes³

 Map of the Rock Island Railroad Routes⁴

 Chief Joseph died September 21, 1904, on the Colville Indian Reservation, WA

The Saint Paul Globe; “Chief Joseph Here. Indian Who Gave Uncle Sam Trouble Stops Over in City.”; April 30, 1904; p. 2.

¹https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chief_Joseph

²http://amertribes.proboards.com/thread/858/chief-joseph-photos

³https://www.gnrhs.org/gn_history.htm

⁴http://www.queenstyle.nl/rock-island-railroad-route-map.html

               __________________________________________________________

If you are interested in finding out more about your family history in Minnesota, I specialize in researching  genealogical and historical records in Minn. and western Wis., including: census records,  birth records,  death certificates, obits, grave site photos, ship passenger lists, marriage records and declarations of intent/naturalization records.  I will visit locations to research local history and county records, as well as take photos. Quick turnaround on MNHS records. Both short searches and family history reports available.

                                                        

Discover your roots, and watch the branches of your family tree begin to grow.

Website:  TheMemoryQuilt.com > click on Family History

Contact me at: pjefamilyresearch@gmail.com