In Pursuit of the Nez Perces: The Nez Perce War of 1877. This item is unavailable.In Pursuit of the Nez Perces: The Nez Perce War of 1877

This book brings together three unique perspectives on the Nez Perce War of 1877. Through the words of General O.O. Howard you'll observe the 1300-mile long panorama of the Nez Perce War from the viewpoint of the commander of the pursuing U.S. Troops. In the 1878 news articles of Montana reporter Duncan McDonald, you'll hear the voices of those Nez Perces who fled during the last hours of the war to the safety of Canada and who for years afterwards sadly, bitterly, defined the war as a friendship forgotten, a trust betrayed. Finally, through the voice of the famed Chief Joseph, you'll witness the personal and cultural pride, strengths and sufferings of the pursued. Never before have these three contradictory testimonials to the much-debated military campaign of the Nez Perce War been brought together, side-by-side, for your enjoyment, judgement, and enlightenment.

General Otis O. Howard was in 1877 the U.S. Army Commander of the Department of the Columbia. As such he was the commanding officer of the U.S. troops that pursued the non-treaty Nez Perces for the entire 1300-mile route of their flight through Idaho and Montana. His account of the events leading up to the Nez Perce War and of the campaign itself was originally published in 1881 under the title Nez Perce Joseph: An Account of His Ancestors, His Lands, His Confederates, His Enemies, His Murders, His War, His Pursuit and Capture.

Duncan McDonald was the son of Hudson Bay Fur Company manager Angus McDonald and Angus' Nez Perce wife. The younger McDonald was fluent in both English and Nez Perce and was known personally by many of the approximately two hundred ninety Nez Perces who fled to Canada after the final battle of the 1877 war. His perspectives on the war were gained from his interviews with this group and were published in 1878 in a series of articles in The New North-West, a Deer Lodge Montana newspaper.

Chief Joseph was the chief of the Wallowa band of Nez Perces and led those who surrendered at the Battle of the Bear Paw and were sent into exile in Kansas and Oklahoma. His thoughts on the war were provided in an extensive interview with The North American Review published in 1879.