Portland State University PDXScholar History Faculty Publications and Presentations History 1-1-1990 Where did the Nez Perces go in Yellowstone in 1877? William L. Lang Portland State University Follow this and additional works at: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/hist_fac Part of the United States History Commons Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Citation Details Lang, W. L. (1990). Where did the Nez Perces go in Yellowstone in 1877?. Montana: The Magazine Of Western History, 40(1), 14-29. This Article is brought to you for free and open access. It has been accepted for inclusion in History Faculty Publications and Presentations by an authorized administrator of PDXScholar. Please contact us if we can make this document more accessible:
[email protected]. Where Did the Nez Perces by William L. Lang On October 5, 1877, at the end of one of the trulyheroic episodes in the Indian Wars in the Northwest, Chief Joseph of the Nez Percessurrendered to General Nelson A. Miles on a snow-dustedbattlefield along Snake Creek near present- day Havre, Montana. The Indians gave up just forty-some miles short of their destination-the international border with Canada,where they hoped to find a sanctuary.They had been pursued for nearly three months and over thirteen hundredmiles fromtheir reservationin central Idaho,testing the military'sskill and their own stamina. In his surrender message,Joseph describedhis people's condition as destitute and his warriorsas tired of the struggle."I will fight no more forever"-purportedly Joseph's words-became an anthem and was symbolic of the Nez Perces' struggleand failure to .