The rest of the story

"Hear me, my chiefs: My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Chief Joseph, just 40 miles from the Canadian border, spoke those now-famous words 130 years ago today (Oct. 5).

And while I remember the quote, I found I had completely forgotten the whole story. Maybe I never learned it in my history classes. Maybe I was asleep in my history classes.

Either way, the story of Chief Joseph is one of deceit, heartbreak and death. So, like Paul Harvey always says: here's the rest of the story.

Chief Joseph, whose Indian name was Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt - meaning Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain, was born in northeastern Oregon in 1840. His father had taken the name Joseph after being baptized by a Christian missionary named Henry Spalding in 1838. His son became known as Joseph the Younger.

But Joseph the Elder, while he was alive, was the leader of the small Nez Perce tribe. He was overtly friendly with the white settlers, and one of the first of his tribe to convert. The Chief helped Washington's territorial governor set up a Nez Perce reservation in 1855 that stretched from Oregon to Idaho.

Unfortunately, and in what became a tragic tradition of the United States government, nearly six million acres (nearly six times the size of Glacer National Park) of the reservation was taken back after a gold rush in 1863 brought thousands of white settlers to Nez Perce territory.

Suddenly, the trusting tribe found themselves on one-tenth of its promised land. Joseph the Elder then denounced the U.S., destroyed his American Flag and his Bible, and refused to move. He also refused to sign any more meaningless treaties.

When Joseph the Elder died in 1871, his son was elected to succeed him. The situation for a new leader could hardly have been any worse. His efforts to resist moving to the small reservation in Idaho seemed to pay off, as a federal order in 1873 called for the removal of white settlers from the Wallowa Valley.

But again, the government reversed its previous promise - this time with force. In 1877, General Oliver Otis Howard threatened to attack the Nez Perce if the tribe continued to hold out. Chief Joseph believed a fight would prove futile, and he led his people toward Idaho.

About 20 Nez Perce warriors, however, weren't so inclined to move peacefully. They staged a raid on a white settlement along the way and killed several of the white residents. The United States Army immediately pursued Chief Joseph and his people.

Historians have called the retreat by the Nez Perce one of the most brilliant in history. General William Tecumseh Sherman said of the 1,400-mile march: "The Indians throughout displayed a courage and skill that elicited universal praise. They fought with almost scientific skill, using advance and rear guards, skirmish lines and field fortifications."

In more than three months, the small band of about 700 Nez Perce - fewer than 200 were warriors - fought 2,000 U. S. soldiers in four major battles and numerous skirmishes - and often won.

The media at the time began to call Chief Joseph "the Red Napoleon," although it was actually his brother, Olikut, who led the warriors. Joseph never was one for fighting. His penchant for peace earned the respect of even the white settlers. Instead of raiding for supplies, Chief Joseph paid or traded for supplies along the way.

After crossing into Montana, and passing south of Missoula, the Nez Perce crossed back into Idaho, then Yellowstone National Park and just west of Billings. From there, the tribe traveled due north toward Canada.

But on Oct. 5, 1877, at the Bear's Paw Battleground (see map), the U. S. Army had the Nez Perce surrounded. Most of the leadership had been killed, including Joseph's warrior brother. Many of his people were starving or freezing to death. Here is where he made his stirring speech and declaration to fight no more, forever.

The rest of Chief Joseph's life was filled with disappointment. He and his people were forced onto a reservation in Oklahoma, where many died of epidemic diseases. When the goverment did allow him back to the Northwest, it was to a non-Nez Perce reservation.

He spoke for years about the injustice of the policies toward his people and held out hope that change would come.

He died in 1904, still in exile from his homeland.