The Fighting Retreat of the Nez Perces

Chief Joseph, the symbol of the heroic fight of the Nez Perce against the overwhelming forces of the United States Army, was the leader of the Indian tribe of "Pierced Noses" who aided Lewis and Clark in their expedition in 1805.  Having never killed a white man, the tribe was invaded by the white man when they pushed into their homelands in the 1850s.

The Nez Perce territory was in Oregon and Idaho country and the tribe agreed to cede part of the land and move onto a reservation rather than go to war with the white man.  Over the years gold miners and settlers pressured the government, and in 1877 officials finally ordered the tribe to a new reservation in Idaho Territory.  Chief Joseph reluctantly agreed. 

In June of that year, a young Indian whose father had been killed by whites led a series of raids that took the lives of at least 18 white settlers.  The Nez Perce went into hiding in White Bird Canyon, fearing retaliation.  After beating back an army detachment, Chief Joseph decided to lead his band of 150 warriors and 550 woman, children and the elderly across Bitterroot Mountains and northward to a haven in Canada.

As troops under General Oliver Howard took the field against Chief Joseph, the public remembered the massacre at Little Big Horn and called for revenge.  The 1700 mile retreat of the Nez Perce, in which they fought the Army to a standstill, won wide admiration, however, they were trapped by Col. Nelson Miles and his troops just 40 miles from Canada. 

Chief Joseph surrendered after being promised that his people would be sent back to Idaho.  Instead, the government shipped them to Indian Territory, where many died.  Howard and Miles protested to their credit and finally the survivors were sent to a reservation in Washington Territory.

Standing over the fallen, Chief Joseph reportedly told Col. Miles, "I am tired, my heart is sick.  From where the sun now shines, I will fight no more forever."

Next time...The White Man's Road
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Today in Pioneer History: "On February 12, 1809, Abraham Lincoln is born in Hodgenville, Kentucky. Lincoln, one of America’s most admired presidents, grew up a member of a poor family in Kentucky and Indiana. He attended school for only one year, but thereafter read on his own in a continual effort to improve his mind. As an adult, he lived in Illinois and performed a variety of jobs including stints as a postmaster, surveyor and shopkeeper, before entering politics.