The Nez Percé were not highly centralized in tribal organization. There were several factions, but in the third quarter of the 19th century, Tu-eka-kas, or Old Joseph, as the Reverend Henry H. Spaulding called him, was a ranking chief. The Nez Percé befriended the Lewis and Clark party by taking care of their horses. Thenceforth their policy was one of cooperation and friendship with the white man, combined with a stern insistence upon their rights. Joseph hoped for biracial adjustment. To this end he always befriended the government, but it was understood that his domain should never be invaded.
Federal Indian treaties made after 1855 brought white settlers ever closer to the Nez Percé domain. Certain unprincipled Oregon people looked greedily upon the choice lands of Wallowa. As the pressure increased there was neither political will nor honor to curb the aggressors. Hence, the noble Nez Percé, like all red men before them, were thrown on the defensive.
Old Joseph sensed the impending issue, and before his death in 1871 he exacted a promise from his son, Young Joseph, that he would never give up Wallowa.[186] Years of increasing pressure brought a full vindication of Old Joseph’s fears and a realization of responsibility to his son.
By 1876 the federal government was yielding to local demands for Nez Percé evacuation, and a commission brought in the usual report. The non-treaty Indians had no standing and should be made to conform. They should be required to join the other tribes on the Lapwai Reservation.
General O. O. Howard was directed to enforce the decree. The Nez Percé were greatly distressed. Several conferences were held. Young Joseph resisted manfully. By this time he was in his thirty-seventh year. Fully mature, he stood six feet tall, and his rugged body disclosed tremendous energy and sinew. His mind was keen, but his spirit was disciplined. He was ready for his work.
The military authority gave Chief Joseph thirty days to get his people on the reservation; June 14, 1877 was the deadline.[187] In vain Joseph pleaded for an extension of time until fall. Orders had been given by the military. Joseph also gave orders. His people gathered in their stock and prepared for the migration; it was better for deer to be penned up than to fight the grizzly. There were many soldiers at Howard’s back; the odds were too great. They must surely obey or perish.
Other Nez Percé leaders were not so wise. Chiefs Tu-hul-hul-sote and White Bird wanted to fight. They were chiefs in their own right and had large followings. Still, Joseph was willing to sacrifice honor and prestige by resisting war.[188] He valued his people’s blood above his own pride. While the great man humbly revealed his integrity, trouble brewed in darker minds.
Courtesy of Haynes, Inc.
Chief Joseph, war chief of the Nez Percé.
An old man in White Bird’s band was taunting young Wal-ait-its, whose father, Eagle Blanket, had been slain by a white settler in 1876. “You are brave! Why don’t you go and show it by killing the man who killed your father?” The goad fired him to a fever of revenge. He and two companions sprang upon their horses. When they returned to the council, four white men had answered the last call. Wal-ait-its shouted, “Why do you sit here like women? The war has begun already.” Tu-hul-hul-sote had organized a war party. Joseph still hoped for a peaceful settlement. It could not be. The war fever spread, and Indian blood was on fire. He must either lead or step aside. He chose to defend his people and their cause.[189]