The Nez Perce War is one of the most catastrophic Native American wars in Oregon’s history. Through the 1860s and 1870s, settlers in the Wallowa Valley of Oregon killed 30 Nez Perce Native Americans. Few settlers ever stood trial for these crimes, and those who did were acquitted. The most famous case, the one that set off the chain of events that caused the war, began on a quiet summer day when a settler by the name of Alexander B. Findley noticed some of his horses were missing. Findley immediately searched the range on which his horses grazed. After several days, he stumbled across a Nez Perce camp in the foothills, and suspected that his horses had been stolen. Although Findley had no proof, he knew Nez Perce rode horses, and hatred of …show more content…
The two men did but McNall was acquitted, ruling that he acted in self defense and Findley was released on bail. This led to more anger, and a near battle. In fear of Nez Perce retaliation, the army pressured the Nez Perce to move to a reservation, they refused. By May fourth, General Howard of the U.S. Army proclaimed that reasonable time was up. He told the Nez Perce that if they did not arrive at the reservation in 30 days he would use force to get them to the reservation. The Nez Perce consented, but violence followed anyway. On June 13th, just two days before the tribe was due at the reservation a warrior named Wahlitits and two companions decided to avenge Wahlitits’s father, who was killed by a white man named Larry Ott two years previously. When they searched and could not find Ott, they went to the house of a man known to be cruel to Indians and shot him. They then killed four settlers and wounded another. Other Nez Perce warriors soon followed their actions. War flared up as the U.S. Army pursued the Nez Perce on a four month chase. 125 people were killed, and 146 were left wounded. The Nez Perce fought hard, but were no match for the U.S. Army, having smaller numbers and inferior firepower, and as a result, on October 5, 1877, Chief Joseph rode into the camp of U.S. Army Colonel Nelson Miles, surrendered his rifle, and delivered one of the saddest speeches in American History. “Our chiefs are all dead,” he told