Northeast Route 2001

            125 years ago one of the strongest Indian tribes lost their freedom in a fiercely fought Battle of the Big Hole.  One morning in 1877 the Nez Perce fought back against a surprise attack sprung upon them in only a few seconds.  It all started when one of the elderly Indian men went to check on the horses.  A group of volunteers fighting for the army had snuck up by the horses.  As the old man neared, the volunteers being inexperienced were startled and shot him.  This was the start of the Battle of the Little Big Hole.

            This battle lasted only an hour, yet that was all it took for the army to devastate what little the Nez Perce had left.  In this battle a total of 121 men died.  Out of them, 90 of them were Nez Perce, including many women, children and old people, and 31 were part of the U.S. army.

            General Howard, who had also fought in Gettysburg, was in charge at this battle.  Yet even though he had seen the dead and heard their pleas, the shrieking cry that came from the Nez Pierce seeing their people dead was a thing he said he would never forget. 

Check our link to the Big Hole Battlefield Site