The Bozeman courier. (Bozeman, Mont.) 1919-1954, 1927-05-13

coded to the United States government
was the home Of his childhood and his
people from time immemorial. At a great
council of the disSenters Joseph made a
speech in the course of which he said:
"a man who would not love the LAM
Of his father and his mother is worse
than a beast. Our brothers have betrayed
us. The men who spoke for the Great
White Father Of h palefaces should
have known that they were doing some
thing which was not right. The white
people have much power, but we must
fight them if they attempt to take our
homes away from U.S."
This cry Of Joseph, the red patriot,
went up n down the land Of the Nez
PerceS. Many Of the chiefs and head
men who had assented to this treaty left
the country of the nation, so bitter was
the feeling against them.
Death of Chief Joseph
This controversy continued over a
number Of years. In 1872 Old Joseph
died and on his deathbed, he called his
son, Young Joseph, to his side, and said:
MY son my body is returning to
Mother Earth, and my spirit is going very
soon to see the Great Spirit Chief. When
I am gone, think of you country. You
are the chief of these people. They look
to you to guide them. Always remember
that your father never sold his country.
You must stop your ears whenever you
are asked to sign a treaty selling your
| nome. a lew Years more anu IIG WIllJC
men will be all aroun you They have
their eyes on this land. My son., never
forget my dying words. This country
holds your fathers body. Never sell the
bones of you father n mother"
The government, unable to induce the
Indians to leave, further complicated
matters by giving the "Non-Treaty Nez
Perces," as Chief Joseph 1T. and his fol-
lowers were called, permission to remain
in Wallowa valley.
Another Broken Promise
In 1878, a commission decided that the
non-treaty Nez Perces were without their
rights. and that they must leave the
country in which they had always lived.
Along about his time, encouraged by
the attitude Of the government, settlers
began to locate in WalloWa valley. Joseph
went to them and explained his position.
He told them that the treaty by which
the land had been coded to the United
States had been ~repudiated by the Nez
Perez nation. He warned them that there
would be war if they remained. Instead
of needing this warning, they encouraged
other settlers to come.
Grant was then president of the United
States. His training had been militant.
He answered the Indians by ~proclaiming
the Wallowa valley a part of the public
domain of the United States, and open
to settlement.
Naturally enough, this proclamation
brought more settlers. Joseph now real
lied that he must make his fight for his
people, or submit to what he n they
considered a rank injustice. He issued an
ultimatum that if the white settlers did
not leave at once he and his followers
would go on the war path.
Settlers Arrive in Valley
The settlers. feeling themselves secure
in the attitude OF President Grant, re-
manned. The Indians began to commit
petty d-epredations. Settlers in unpro-
tected places began to feel the hand Of
the indian. The settlers, alarmed, asked
J for military protection. The government
sent a troop of cavalry into the valley.
This, the Indians considered an act of
war.
The non-treaty Nez Perces were mem
bers Of a religious order known to the
!; government as The DreamerS." The doc
trine of the Dreamers was hat the Great
Spirit had made the earth complete, and
that it was sinful to disturb it by Guilt
walton. The Dreamers, it is said, were
/ also opposed to churches n schools as
disturbing the natural conditions OF
things. They also believed that a leader
would come who would show them how
: to resist the entertainments Of the whites
l which had long ago begun to alarm the
, Indians. This leader was to be endowed
with divine power, and would bring the
spirits Of all the dead Nez Perces back
= to life, to help the nation fight for theil
rights, if necessary.
I; Observation-Disclosures
: The head or this religious order was {
{ fierce old medicine man named Too-hul.
hul-sote. He had come into power since
the trouble had arisen between the Me-
= Perces and the government. AS higI
priest Of the order, he was the implacablI
foe Of the whites. Their aScendanc!
1 meant, of course, that his cult would &
S to pieces, M he was always for war
A Most Of the Nez PerceS believed in hin
S and his doctrines were held sacred. HI
: had almost as much power as did Chic
Joseph.
q General O.. o. Howard was sent out II
2 try and placate Joseph. He took the posi-
. ton that the Wallowa valley was a legiti
mate possession of the United States
{ that the army would protect the settler
and force Joseph n his followers to g
y to the reservation allotted to them. The
came the order that the non-treaty Ne
y Perces must vacate the valley within on
y year. Joseph finally became convince
L. that the only thing for the Indians to d
! was to submit to the whites. He arrive
at this conclusion very reluctantly, be
Le cause he loved the fair land in which hi
people had always lived, and because hi
father and his mother were buried the
He set about to arrange for the removs
a Of the tribe.
rs Settlers Aggressive
Of The white settlers began aggression
lie Three Of Joseph's Indians were killed
n. The murderers were tried in white our
ly and given their liberty. The relatives