Chief Joseph
Cover Photograph of Summer Pond by S. F. Roberts
The West Old & New Published by Susan Faye Roberts P. O. Box 10 Hot Springs, Montana 59845( 406) 741-5210
The West Old & New online magazine Find it now on Issuu. com
V o l u m e I I I s s u e V I I I
The Battle of the Big Hole was fought in Montana, August 9 – 10, 1877, between the U. S. Army and the Nez Perce tribe during the Nez Perce War. Both sides suffered heavy casualties. The Nez Perce withdrew in good order from the battlefield and continued their long fighting retreat that would result in their attempt to get to Canada and asylum. The battlefield is preserved in the Big Hole National Battlefield Unit of the Nez Perce National Historical Park. 6
To the right is a map of Battle of the Big Hole
Chief Joseph
Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt, Nez Perce for " Thunder Rolling Down the Mountain, or alternatively " Thunder traveling to higher areas," became known to the world as Chief Joseph.
He succeeded his father Tuekakas( Chief Joseph the Elder) as the leader of the Wal-lam-wat-kain( Wallowa) band of Nez Perce, a tribe indigenous to the Wallowa
Valley in northeastern Oregon.
He was the chief of the band during their forced removal from their ancestral lands. Joseph ' s band resisted removal allying themselves with the Palouse tribe before taking flight to political asylum with Sioux chief Sitting Bull in Canada.
The Nez Perce were pursued by the U. S. Army in an epic 1,170- mile retreat in 1877 which became known as the Nez Perce War. Coverage of the war in United States newspapers led to widespread recognition of Joseph and the Nez Perce, as humanitarians and peacemakers. 8
Cover Photograph of Summer Pond by S. F. Roberts
The West Old & New Published by Susan Faye Roberts P. O. Box 10 Hot Springs, Montana 59845( 406) 741-5210
Email thewestoldandnew @ gmail. com
The West Old & New online magazine Find it now on Issuu. com