The Swan Massacre of 1908

On October 18, 1908, the upper Swan Valley was the site of a tragic encounter between a Montana game warden and a Pend d'Oreille hunting party from the Flathead Indian Reservation. In September, like countless ancestors before them, the people crossed the Mission Mountains to gather their winter meat. Led by Antoine S-tseh-wee, the group included his wife Mary Tah-pahl, son Pelassoweh, and daughter Little Mary; Camille Paul and wife, Clarice, who was six months pregnant; and elders Martin Yellow Mountain and his wife Sahp-shin-mah. The 1855 Hellgate Treaty guaranteed the tribe’s right to hunt in aboriginal territories, but to avoid trouble, the hunters purchased state licenses. Yellow Mountain secured written permission from the Agency Superintendent to accompany the group on the off-reservation hunt. Yet the warden, Charles Peyton, harassed those that remained in camp three times on the days of October 16th and 17th. Early on the morning of October 18th 1908, Peyton and a deputized civilian, Herman Rudolph, charged into camp just as the group was packed and ready to leave. After a brief exchange of words, Peyton fatally shot Camille, Antoine, and Yellow Mountain. Pelassoweh returned fire wounding Peyton. Herman Rudolf then shot and killed Pelassoweh. Clarice, wife of Camille, in self-defense shot and killed Peyton. In the wake of the Swan massacre, despite concerns they could be victimized again, tribal people still continued to conduct traditional hunts. In time, the courts affirmed treaty hunting rights, and today, the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes and Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks continue to build a relationship of mutual understanding and respect.