From the recording Qualchan
In August of 1858, Colonel George Wright was directed by Brigadier General Clark to lead a campaign that was supposed to punish and bring into submission the Indians that were involved in the attack on Colonel Steptoe’s detachment. Wright departed from Fort Walla Walla with 570 troops and 30 friendly Nez Perce warriors under the command of Lt. John Mullan, plus 100 packers with supplies for three months. Wright’s troops were issued new long range rifles. On the first day of September, Col. Wright defeated a band of Coeur d’Alene, Spokane and Palouse Indians at the Battle of Four Lakes. A second defeat came on September 5th at the Battle of Spokane Plains. Four days later Wright’s forces captured and slaughtered over 800 horses belonging to the Palouse Tribe near the banks of the Spokane River. From there he went to the Cataldo Mission, where he dictated the terms of surrender to the Coeur d’Alene Tribe.