On January 23, 1870, soldiers commanded by Colonel Eugene Baker killed 173 Blackfeet Indians in a surprise attack on Heavy Runner’s camp near here on the Marias River. The strike was in retaliation for the killing of Malcolm Clarke at his ranch near Helena in 1869. A man of peace, Heavy Runner had no quarrel with the US Army. His people did not participate in Clarke’s killing nor were they hiding the perpetrators of the crime. Waving his good conduct papers and medals, Heavy Runner was the first casualty of the Baker Massacre that cold January morning. With most of the men away hunting in the Sweet Grass Hills, the soldiers fired into the lodges where women, children, and elderly slept. The soldiers took more than 100 prisoners, but once they realized many were infected by smallpox, released them with no food, clothing or shelter in subzero weather. Many refugees froze or starved to death seeking shelter in nearby camps or at Fort Benton. Ironically, the soldiers were in pursuit of a band led by Mountain Chief, who was camped several miles downstream at the time of the attack. The Baker Massacre profoundly impacted the Blackfeet people and is very much alive in tribal memory.
Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.