2015-07-24 Day 26: Chief Joseph, New Meadow to Brownlee Dam
Post date: Jul 25, 2015 1:16:53 AM
Stopped this morning to get something cold to drink in Mesa, Idaho and saw a picture on the wall of Chief Joseph. Because I had seen his picture several times and at least one statue, I asked the lady behind the counter if he was generally thought of favorably in the area. She said in general "yes" people do think of him in a favorable light but most people don't know his story. I do know a bit about him but asked her to tell me the story. What she said are things I have read and seen on signs and on our ride map.
Here is his story; it's one that spans across the states of Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Jon and I have traveled through nearly every one of the locations mentioned in this story during the last week.
The year was 1877 and like nearly all the Indian tribes in the American West the pressure of settlers moving into the Wallowa Valley in Oregon was creating some conflicts although at this point not deadly ones. Chief Joseph lead the Nez Perce that lived in the valley and had kept things peaceful even while the great Indians Wars had raged across the plains states for more than 10 years. In 1877 the leaders of several bands of Nez Perce agreed to relocate to a reservation north of Lewiston, ID. During the relocation the bands came together at present day Grangeville. That's when things got ugly. Some of the younger Nez Perce warriors who disagreed with their older leadership went out and killed 17 settlers. That, of course, brought the U.S. Calvary. Chief Joseph attempted to stop the war he could see coming by sending a truce team but too many guns and too much distrust resulted in a major battle at the bottom of White Bird Hill. In that battle the U.S. Calvary was routed. 35 Calvary were killed - no Nez Perce.
Chief Joseph knew it was time to run. Run he did - right up the Lolo trail. His tribe knew the route. They used it every year to get to buffalo country in Montana. That is the same trail that Lewis and Clark used 72 years earlier to cross the Idaho mountains. It was still virtually unused by white settlers as it was not suitable for wagons but it was well known by the Indians. Still, the Calvary caught up to the Nez Perce in the mountains but again sustained heavy losses. The pursuit was becoming an embarrassment for the U.S. Calvary. The newspapers across America were having a field day.
So the Calvary constructed a fort on the east side of the Lolo trail in Montana but the Nez Perce slipped around that then traveled Montana's Bitterroot Valley into the Big Hole valley. It was there that the Calvary caught up with the Nez Perce in terrain that was more favorable for the Calvary. 90 Nez Perce and 30 Calvary were killed there. The Nez Perce proved to be skillful fighters with superior horses. The Nez Perce battles continued for two more months across Montana as the tribe attempted to escape into Canada. Chief Joseph and his band surrendered while other groups of Nez Perce actually made it into Canada.
On a completely different track, some of our friends and relatives have asked if one of us was the "pooping biker" that caused the 73 acre Idaho wild fire by burning his toilet paper. To these accusations, Jon and I will make no public statement. We will never confirm or deny any involvement in this recent popular news story. In fact, we deny that this incident ever happened. Hope this clears things up.
We are camping tonight at the bottom of Hell's Canyon right on the Snake River about a half a mile below Brownlee Dam. We literally will ride across a bridge in the morning and be in Oregon. Yay Hoo!