The plan was to squeeze the Nez Perce between Sturgis's troops in front and Howard's behind.

Colonel Sturgis

While our scouting outfit was on the headwaters of the Clark's Fork, Yellowstone River affluent, we saw a solitary white man some distance away The discovery was mutual, and we watched each other rather suspiciously from high points, but soon got together. The stranger proved to be Roque, a French Canadian, scouting for Colonel Sturgis, 7th US. Cavalry. He was several miles from his command ... and we were about six miles ahead of General Howard's army When we told Roque about where the main hostile trail went ... he dashed back to tell Sturgis, and one of our scouts started back to carry the news of our discovery of the Seventh Cavalry whereabouts.

John W. Redington
scout

Just before leaving the [Crow] Agency, Col. Sturgis had employed a couple of prospectors who claimed to be thoroughly familiar with the country, to make a scout over in the approaches to the Canyon, with orders to report at a certain point on a certain day...

We reached the camp at which our scouts were to report and went into camp in the timber at the base of a towering mountain, said to be about five miles from the exit of the canyon, and there settled down to await a report from our scouts....

Pvt. Theodore Goldin

After waiting for a week-not long enough, as it turned out-Colonel Sturgis headed south to the Stinking Water (Shoshone) River, paralleling the route Wyoming 120 takes today. The terrain along this stretch of highway has some relatively smooth spots, but south, between the Sunlight Basin Road and Cody, the country is quite broken and rough. In his report, Sturgis complained that the scouts had not sufficiently advised him concerning the roughness of the terrain which his troops struggled through. His scouts hadn't given him accurate intelligence in other areas either.


Timeline

Credits

The Nez Perce Flight to Canada - An Introduction

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