Proclamation of war on the Blackfeet by Governor Thomas Meagher

PROCLAMATIONCALL FORVOLUNTEERS!Expedition to Fort Benton!The Indians on the WarPath.Whereas, it has been representedto me, by reliable persons, one of them Acting-Indian Agent for the Black-Feet nation, that the Piegans and Bloods, tribes of that nation, have recently been, and are still, committing grevious depredations, in the neighborhood of Fort Benton, on the property of white settlers residentat that place- And whereas, it has been alleged, on the same authority, that murdershave been perpetrated in the vicinity of that place, as also in other localities,by the said Piegans and Bloods, and facts as well as fair and lawful inferences sustain these allegations-And whereas, it appears that the people living in and about Fort Bentonare in grave apprehension of their property and lives, and that they are barely strong enough in numbers to defend themselves from anticipated attacks from these enemies of our Government and civilization-And whereas, no military force being as yet dispatched to this Territory by the National Governmentto protect the people to whom the Territory owes its existence and great Promise- Therefore, I Thomas Francis Meagher,Acting-Governor of the Territory of Montana, do hereby call for at least 500 Volunteers to meet me and form an expedition at Helena, which shall march against these marauders and murderers, so that the guilty parties shall be demanded of the Tribes, and put to death. Of the Piegans there are now 500 young warriors, bold and desperate, under the leadership of Little Dog’s Son, upon the war-path, and the number of Volunteers asked for, if required to ensure the success of the expedition in the speediest and most decisive manner. There being no Appropriations outstanding to meet the expenses of this expedition, and no Legislatureat present in session to vote supplies, it is respectfully but most earnestlysuggested that the merchants of Virginia City and Helena, advance such Stores as may be needed, and for the proper estimates of which a Quartermasterand Commissary of Subsistence will be commissioned who will give receipts for the same. The names of these and other officers, as well as the name of the officer commanding the expedition, will appear in a subsequent proclamation from Helena. The expedition must be mountedto a man. Every Volunteer should, therefore, mount himself, or get his friends to mount him, and bring his arms, ammunition, and blankets with him to the general rendezvous and Head-Quarters of the expedition, which from this date will be established at Helena, that being, by one hundred and thirty miles, a nearer point to the scene of the proposed action than Virginia City. I have in my possession thirty-nine Serviceable Springfield muskets eight thousand rounds of ball-cart-ridge, bayonets, cartridge-boxes, and other accoutrements. This is all I have it in my power to contribute personally to the expedition. But I consider it the duty of all those who live in the more secure settlements of the Territory-all those who can freely do so –to go to the rescue or protection of those who are at its outposts, and exposed to such risks and perils as inevitably attend life in the neighborhood of the Indians. The conduct of the Bloods and Piegans all through the negotiation of the Fort Benton treaty, the distribution of the annuities and from that out up to the present date,has been that of the most ill-conditioned vagabonds. It is true this treaty remains to be ratified by the Senate and President of the United States, and it cannot be properly said that these predatory and murderous Indians have violated its stipulations until it be so ratified. But they have violated the property and lives of our people, and their rascalities and crimes will be checked alone by the infliction of the heaviest retribution. We owe it to our noble Territory to inflict the retribution as soon as possible, otherwise its development and progress, its occupation in full by an enterprising and intrepid people, and in lawful reduction to their dominion will be signalized by the frequent assassination of our pioneers, the invasion of their homesteads, and the destruction of their property.By order, THOS. FRANCIS MEAGHERActing Governor, Montana Terr.(illegible) Hopkins, Private Sec’ryNote from Bob Juneau: This proclamation is the general attitude of the border-whites at Fort Benton and the Territory of Montana, who used any pretext at all to kill Indians, not only for bounties for scalps, but to cause the removal of the Blackfeet further into the interior and make more land for the whites. General Meagher’s War upon the Blackfeet is generally derided by the agent and the army, but it was ultimately to lead to the Baker massacre of Heavy Runner’s band. The Montana border-whites were also pointed to by President Grant as the biggest obstacle to the peace between the Blackfeet and the settlers, and their constant cries for killing the Blackfeet Indians finally bore fruit in the massacre, and the removal of the Blackfeet Agency from Fort Benton to Choteau, and finally to the reservation boundaries drawn in the 1896 Agreement. The Montana border-whites were not finished with the Blackfeet Indians as they followed the Indians onto the reservation and conspired with the BIA to defraud hundreds of Blackfeet Indians of their allotments in the BIA forced patent conspiracies. We are still fighting to get our stolen lands returned and the whites thrown off the reservation. I see the Blackfeet Chief on television singing for the governor at his banquet instead of helping us to fight for our stolen lands. He is a white-oriented Indian brainwashed to think the white man is superior to the Indians, but my attitude is that the white man is the biggest thief and murderer of Indians known to the world. President Grant appointed the Board of Indian Commissioners in 1870 to investigate the white man’s claims of Indian depredations and they came to the conclusion that the border-white man is the murderer and robber of the Indians, and all the Indians did was to get revenge for the murders of their people: Blackfeet old people, little kids, girls and women.