To the right is a photograph taken of Chief Joseph and Col . John Gibbon when they met again on the Big Hole Battlefield site in 1889 .
to search for the much larger force of General Howard requesting immediate relief . The next day , August 10 , 20 or 30 Nez Perce sharpshooters kept the soldiers holed up in their fortifications all day . The Nez Perce warriors left that night , leaving Gibbon and his soldiers alone but immobile on the battlefield . General Howard and an advance party of 29 cavalrymen and 17 Bannock scouts , found Gibbon the next morning after a 71-mile ride in a day and a night . The battle was costly for both sides . Gibbon ’ s force was unfit to pursue the Nez Perce . Gibbon suffered 29 dead ( 23 soldiers and six civilian volunteers ) and 40 wounded ( 36 soldiers and four civilians ) of whom two later died . His casualties amounted to more than 30 percent of his force . No precise estimate of Nez Perce casualties exists although their total dead probably amounted to between 70 and 90 , of whom less than 33 were warriors . Yellow Wolf claimed that only 12 “ real fighters , but our best ” died in the battle . Chief Joseph and his brother Ollokot ’ s wives were wounded .
Howard ’ s forces , newly arrived on the battlefield , took up the pursuit and followed Joseph toward Yellowstone National Park .
The Nez Perce would again clash with the army on August 20 at the Battle of Camas Meadows . ( Information garnered from Wikipedia . com )
Above a photograph of modern day camping vintage style during the annual Homesteaders Days in Hot Springs , Montana summer of 2013 .
The West Old & New Page 7
Photograph by S . F . Roberts