Tensions Rise on the Puyallup Reservation
While U.S. regulars and the Puyallup people clashed on the ground, a high-stakes legal battle was simultaneously waged in the courts over land rights.
The story, cleaned up
A cleaned-up reading of the newspaper page: spelling and layout repaired, one story lifted off a crowded page. It follows the original closely but it is not a transcription. The original page is below; read it if a detail matters.
The pall of battle has settled down over the Puyallup Indian reservation. The United States regulars in the first day's fighting were no match for the combined forces arrayed against them. While the Indians and their squaws, assisted by the workmen employed by Col. Ross, were holding the fort on the field of battle, the colonel was executing a flank movement in court. Even the august name of President Cleveland failed to inspire fear in the breasts of the Indian warriors, and they stood up lustily for what they considered their property rights. Great credit is due to Peter Stanup, who acted as generalissimo of the Indian forces, for the moderation and firmness displayed in controlling his men. But for his discretion and tact, there is little doubt that Shot-in-the-Mouth Charley, a veteran of the war of 1856, Louis Napoleon, who bears a great name and bears it worthily, and John Cook, who issued a manifesto as a citizen of the sovereign state of Washington, would have used violent measures to hurl back the invading forces from their domain.
“They stood up lustily for what they considered their property rights.”
This event highlights the long history of land disputes involving the Puyallup Tribe, whose reservation has been subject to continuous pressure from urban development and encroachment. It reflects the broader struggle of Indigenous nations asserting sovereignty against federal and local entities.
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