Fort Benton: The Howitzer and the Mule
The Blackfoot Peace Treaty
In 1855 The Blackfeet signed their first treaty known as The Blackfoot Peace Treaty a.k.a. Lame Bull Treaty. It created the Great Blackfeet Reservation, which included approximately 27,500 square miles of Blackfeet tribal lands in what would become Montana. The treaty stipulated that the U.S. government would pay the tribe $20,000 annually in goods and allocate $15,000 each year for education and conversion to Christianity. The Native Americans guaranteed safe passage for settlers on the Oregon Trail and allowed roads and forts to be built in their territories, in exchange for promises of an annuity in the amount of fifty thousand dollars for fifty years. The treaty also sought to "make an effective and lasting peace" among the eight tribes, who were often at odds with each other. Any violation by the Indians would mean a deduction in that treaty annuity. Fort Benton was assigned as the Indian Agency for the Blackfoot. The agency would handout annuities to the tribes of the Blackfoot Confederacy. They also were there to preserve peace between the Indians and non-Indians in the region.
Meeting in the council were various Blackfoot tribes Piegan, Blood, the Flathead, Nez Perce, Gros Ventre, Kootenai, Pend d’Oreille, Cree, and Shoshone. The Blackfoot were concerned about hunting rights, and worried being limited to the reservation would affect their traditional hunting grounds. The other tribes also did not want to see the Blackfoot granted unshared hunting rights to contested areas. Ultimately the western Indians were given the right to hunt from the Mussleshell River to the Yellowstone River.
American Settlers Move into Indian Territory
In spite of this treaty, by 1865 American settlers were increasingly moving into the area in search of ranch land and mineral resources for mining. This resulted in conflicts between the Blackfoot and the settlers. These new settlers had the perception that they were somehow entitled to the Indian land. During this period the buffalo, a main food source for the Blackfoot, was also hunted nearly to extinction. The Blackfoot and the Gros Ventre met with the United States, who tried to convince the Indians to move their southern boundary to allow these American settlers to move in. This is when many U.S. and Indian dignitaries gathered at Fort Benton for a Treaty Council.
The Painting - The Mule & The Cannon
Here is where we get into the scene of the painting by Andy Thomas, "A Hot Time in Fort Benton". While everyone was assembling just outside the Fort, someone thought the chiefs should be shown American military might. There was a freight train passing through, which contained a mule that was carrying a cannon barrel -- or mountain howitzer -- strapped to its back. Some non-Indian, decided it was a smart idea to try impressing the Indians with their might and intellectual superiority by lighting said cannon, still attached to the mule.
The muzzle of the cannon pointed toward the mule’s tail, which was directed towards the fort. The cannon filled with powder and grape shot. A fuse was inserted and lit. The non-Indians panicked and fled, running for cover, with some diving into the nearby river. The Indians stayed put watching all the excitement wondering what was happening. The fort was now littered with grape shot, while a buffalo mural over the main gate was showered with the explosives. While no humans were hurt during this event, the poor mule was never to be seen again. The River Press reported, “As his head turned, so his body turned and the howitzer began to take in other points of the compass. The mule became more excited as his curiosity became more and more intense. In a few seconds he either had his four feet in a bunch, making more revolutions a minute than the bystanders dared count and with the howitzer threatening destruction to everybody within a radius of a quarter mile, or he suddenly tried standing on his head with his heels and howitzer at a remarkable angle in the air.”
In the end, this event caused the Americans to promise the chiefs that they would be paid an additional annual sum for signing the treaty. Little Dog, the head chief of the Piegan Blackfoot, said after signing the treaty, "We are pleased with what we have heard today. ... The land here belongs to us, we were raised upon it; we are glad to give a portion to the United States, for we get something for it.” The Americans assumed, as with all Indian treaties, that their word was approved and finalized. What they didn't realize is that in order for the treaty to be binding, it needed to go to the Senate. There were Blackfoot and Blood war parties that killed miners who trespassed in Indian territory, so the Commissioner of Indian Affairs refused to recommend ratification to the Senate. Ultimately that caused the Senate to refuse approval of the treaty. The Blackfoot determined -- the government lied to them, yet again.