Thunder Rolling in the Mountains  Language Arts Unit Chapter 12 & 13 (Pages 63 - 75)

Lesson 9: Battle At Camas Meadows By Karen Peterson, Hellgate Elementary

Summary

This lesson is about the raid on General Howard’s supplies which caused the next Battle of Camas Meadows in the Nez Perce War of 1877. Students will review the entire flight of the Nimi’ipuu and  four bands, the different leaders, their tactics and produce ideas of what the tribe should do at this point. Military tactics are reviewed and discussed as well. Students will read quotes of the battle and determine the sequence of the events that produced the quotes. Students will reflect on their experiences with new people not like themselves like their Bafa experiences. 

Lesson Objectives and Montana Core Curriculum Standards for English Language Arts

Reading Standards Foundational Skills

Phonics and Word Recognition

This lesson addresses the following objectives. 

Students will: 3.  Know and apply grade-level phonics and word analysis skills in decoding words.a. Use combined knowledge of all letter-sound correspondences, syllabication patterns, and morphology (e.g., roots and affixes) to read accurately unfamiliar multisyllabic words in context and out of context.(Standard 3)

FluencyThis lesson addresses the following unit objectives.  

S tudents will:  4.  Read with sufficient accuracy and fluency to support comprehension.a. Read on-level text with purpose and understanding.b. Read on-level prose and poetry orally with accuracy, appropriate rate, and expression on successive readings.c. Use context to confirm or self-correct word recognition and understanding, rereading as necessary.

Reading Standards for Informational Text

Key Ideas and Details

T his lesson addresses the following unit objectives.  

Students will:  1.  Quote accurately from a text when explaining what the text says explicitly and when drawing inferences from the text.

Language Standards

Conventions of Standard English

This lesson addresses the following unit objectives.  

Students will: 1.  Demonstrate command of the conventions of standard English grammar and usage when writing or speaking

Knowledge of LanguageT

his lesson addresses the following unit objectives.  

Students will: 3.  Use knowledge of language and its conventions when writing, speaking, reading, or listening.

Resources/Materials/Teacher Preparation:  Thunder Rolling in the Mountain,  Battle of Camas Meadows Video, Footage Smartboard Battle of Camas Meadows, Quotes of Battle of Camas Meadows

Background Information Thunder Rolling in the Mountain;  Chapter  12 - Lean Elk was the leader and leading the group with great speed. In the morning they ride until the sun if halfway up the sky then they take a break, eat, rest horses, and saddle up and continue until dark. Lean Elk had positioned the warriors in front and rear of the people as guards. More of the wounded people died and some were left behind not to slow the group down. It was apparent that any white people were the Nimi’ipuu’s enemy. Some white people who had sold them goods in the Bitterroot were now with the soldiers killing the Nimi’ipuu women and children while they sleep. The warriors that were scouting raided several ranches for horses and ended up killing three men. The morning scouts discovered that the one armed general, General Howard, was at their last night’s camp. The chiefs decided to send the warriors to raid General Howard’s horses and supplies to slow his quick pursuit. The day was spent resting at Camas Meadows while the chiefs planned the raids. At nightfall the warriors went out in three bands with Ollokot, Looking Glass and Too-hul-hul-sote. Sound of Running Feet could not resist the temptation to follow. She followed and watched the raid. During the raid one warrior fired a shot which created the bugler to sound the battle song and rifles were returning fire. One warrior set the wagon of supplies on fire. Sound of Running Feet was discovered by Too-hul-hul-sote who was very disappointed in her behavior. He tied her horse to his and kept her with him until they returned to camp. The raid provided the Nimi’ipuu people with many mules and a few horses were ahead of Genral Howard, but it left General Howard with a pile of ashes

Birch Creek Massacre  Lean Elk (Poker Joe)  was in charge of the the war plan and was a hard core leader.  The people woke up earlier to march for 4 hours, then rested and continued to travel another 8 hours. # He sends the women & families ahead of the entire fighting force as they head into Bannock City. Lean Elk also uses a circuitous route, which is having a circular or winding course, as to offset General Howard who is about one day behind the Nimi’ipuu Tribe. Lean Elk positioned scouts in front and in behind the main group. As the scouts travel through Horse Prairie they attack and kill ranchers and steal their horses. Howard thought this mearnt  they will travel back to Idaho, so he solicits support from Captain Miller.  The Nimi’ipuu people travel slow and many are saddended from their recent  losses. # The Lemhi area sees the Nimi’ipuu Band  as a threat and put defense plans into place. The scouts move ahead to Birch Creek where they encountered a caravan of wagon freight. The Nimi’ipuu scouts demand their weapons. Barrels of whiskey are discovered and the Nimi’ipuu drink to their hearts content thus impairing their temperaments. The freight wagon refused to turn over their weapons and as a result were killed and the wagons burned.  Forty animals were taken and five men were killed and not with the permission of the Chiefs, who were disgusted in such undisciplined means of scouting. Chief Tendoy with the Lemhi band of Shoshonis turned against the Nimi’ipuu Tribe and joined forces with the U.S. Cavalry. The Nimi’ipuu Tribe continues south to Kamisnim Tukin “Camas Meadows. General Howard was now gaining forces from Fort Ellis- Bozeman, Virginia City and other Bannack Indians and the more Shoshonis with Chief Wasakie to help find the Nimi’ipuu Band. Captain Randolph Norwood who was coming from the East joined General Howards troops with 59 new men. Stanford who was at Pleasant Valley also joined the troops , but were in great need of rest. Bannock Scouts working for Howard discovered the Nimi’ipuu and the Five Bands just 18 miles East of their position. It was not hard to follow the Nimi’ipuu and other bands trail as the natural vegetation was obliterated by the tramping of the several hundred ponies and draggings of travois poles. The trail also included many graves and number of conical piles of pony droppings build from the children scorning the troops. The bands were travelling toward Wind River into Wyoming .

Battle of Camas Meadows  (Chapter 12)                                            (August 20) The eastern valley plain was a mix of desert and intermittent wetland . On the Montana side there were forms of basalt - lava outcroppings left from the volcanic activity one-half million years earlier. Camas Meadows named after the bluish flower that grows in the  low and lush grassy green scattered throughout the basalt fields. Camas meadows is watered by a network of streams which include Camas Creek and Spring Creek. The present day location of , Kilgore Idaho, is close to where the two creek runs parallel to each other.General Howard used the area to rest the men of three companies and wait for Norwood and his troops. Howard carefully set up camp to outsmart the enemy.  The Howard's  head quarters would be on an elevated ground that overlooks the meadows towards the west and the lava-beds towards the north east. The other cavalry would be lower with the horses and the volunteer below the horses, The horses and mules were caged, tied to picket ropes with legs tied together, all behind wagons for protection. Twenty- one pickets were set up around camp. The soldiers felt secure and slept well that evening as the rain fell.  On August 19th,  Black Hair  and Grizzly Bear Youth had a vision experience in a dream which causes Ollokot to take the lead on a new war plan.# Looking Glass orchestrates a plan to raid General Howard’s troops of their horses leaving them on foot and unable to efficiently fight with stampeding horses. He did not emphasize fighting, but more taking of their horses.  # At 3:30 am on August 20, the Nimi’ipuu warriors of about 100 without Chief Joseph snuck up to the General’s camp to take the horses and kill the General. Yellow Wolf cut the horses free which ended up being mostly mules. With the commotion of mules being let loose a couple of shots were fired by the pickets and alarmed the slumbering troops and opened the command for the warriors. Soldiers were running to General Howard’s tent and to the creeks for cover. Soldiers withheld their firing as the citizens camp was nearby. The warriors goading on the stampeding horses and mules were trying to drive the animals to their camp only managed to take 150 mules. The shots fired for several hours. At daylight Major Sanford was organized to pursue the raiders and recover the stock. The Nimi’ipuu were then travelling north with the mules stampeding in the same direction. General Howard ordered three companies headed by Norwood, Carr and Jackson to follow. Stanford’s cavalry reached the end of the herd and they managed to recover a few. This type of pressure for the raiding party caused them to divert their tactics and direction. The Nimi’ipuu warriors formed a think skirmish line across the meadows. A natural landscape, a lava escarpment at least ten feet high became a barrier to Stanford’s company. Twenty five mules and horses were recovered. Jackson’s troops were getting flanked by the warriors and Private Bernard Brooks, Jackson’s trumpeter died to a bullet wound to the heart. Jackson dismounted among the skirmish and recovered Brook’s body. Within 20 minutes Carr and Jackson withdrew the position and returned to the horse holders. Norwood did NOT obey orders to withdraw otherwise he would have lost his whole company so ihe took a position on elevated ground to cover the rear. The trumpeter blew the “recall” alerting the soldiers of their position. It became a race to the thicket for the soldiers. It was the close position, that allowed the warriors to draw near with deadly fire. Volunteer soldiers came and relieved Norwood and he returned back to camp. By 9:30 seven hours later the fighting was over. Howard was reluctant to send any more soldiers to retrieve the livestock, but he continued with the Bannock scouts watching the movement of the bands of tribes. Howard moved northeast along the Henry’s Fork or the north fork of the Snake River entering into Targhee Pass where he rested him men and sent numerous telegrams to watch for the Nimi’ipuu and other bands as they were travelling in buffalo country. To Sherman Howard’s superior he wrote in the telegram that: “ His command is so much worn by over fatique and jaded animals that I cannot push it much farther. Sherman responded: “ If you are tired, give the command to some young officer.!”Howard responded to what he felt was a reprimand: “You misunderstood me. I never flag. It was the command including the most energetic young officers , that were worn out and weary by a most extraordinary march. You need not fear for the campaign. Neither you nor General McDowell can doubt my pluck and energy...... We move in the morning and will continue to the end. The  Nimi’ipuu  proved a  victory  as no Nimi’ipuu was badly hurt only one or two grazed by bullet. Bugler Bernard Brooks was killed and about five soldiers suffered wounds including Lt. Benson and 100 head of mules and volunteer horses were taken. 

Thunder Rolling in the Mountain ;  Chapter 13 - The next day ws for rest and General Howard had no way of following so close without any mules or horses. Sound of Running Feet had to appear in front of Lean Elk who scolded her for trying to be a warrior. He also believed it was her that shot the rifle that costed the raid the horses. Sound of Running Feet explained she hadn’t made the shot because she had no weapon. Lean Elk continued and said Nimi’ipuu women do not fight and it is not becoming of a future wife of a Red Coat. Sound of Running Feet nodded and said nothing. The next morning the five bands left the meadows in a steady rain to The Land of the Spirit Fountains. Autumn has moved in as the signs from nature were evident with chokecherries dry and bitter on stems, ice crusting the river. The Land of the Spirit Fountains was a wondrous place with the pools of churning mud and it fountains that sprayed in the heavens. During lunch the Nimi’ipuu scouts came riding in with white settlers; two women and a man. The women seemed frightened and Chief Joseph reassured them not to be frightened of especially since Nimi’ipuu do not kill women or children. The chiefs met in council and decided to let the settlers go if they promised with the condition of not to spy on them. Soon the scouts discovered the settlers were spying and three men ran away when Swan Necklace fired shots, two men were shot and the two women and the brother were taken as prisoners. Sound of Running Feet's duty as the Chief’s daughter cooked a dinner and feed her prisoners who were strangers to her. The chapter ends with the young settler begans to cry and the older girl comforted her. This makes Sound of Running Feet realized the settles act a lot like Nimi’ipuu women comforting those who are sad or hurt. Procedure1. Review The Battles of Big Hole sequence of events from students illustrations and review the conclusions.2. Discuss possible war tactics at this point. What should the Nimi’ipuu do? Students partner read Chapters 12 & 13 (Pages 63 -75) and mark their battle maps 3. Students listen and watch the landscapes in the video and compare whether they match the descriptions in the book4. Students enact the Battle of Camas Meadows and write details on map5. Teacher Review all Battle and miles travelled with victories and defeats 6. Students write a reaction to the battle from their character’s point of view on Chapters 12 & 13 Google Document7. Students reflect on personal experiences of meeting new people with different cultures.

Formative Assessment  student's illustration put in proper sequence of events

Summative Assessment  battle notes and map markings, reflections from personal experiences