Hidden in the shadow cast by the great western expeditions of Lewis and Clark and the westward moving pioneers lies another journey, every bit as poignant, every bit as dramatic, and every bit as essential to an understanding of who we are as a nation––the 1800–mile journey of Chief Joseph and eight hundred Nez Perce men, women, and children from their homelands in what is now eastern Oregon through the most difficult, mountainous country in western America to the high, wintry plains of Montana. There, only forty miles from the Canadian border and freedom, Chief Joseph, convinced that the wounded and elders could go no farther, walked across the snowy battlefield, handed his rifle to the U.S. military commander who had been pursuing them, and spoke his now–famous words, "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever." The story has been told many times, but it has never before been told in its entirety or with such narrative richness. Drawing on four years of research, interviews, and 20,000 miles of travel, Nerburn takes us beyond the surrender to the captives' unlikely welcome in Bismarck, North Dakota, their tragic eight–year exile in Indian Territory, and their ultimate return to the Northwest.
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