I Will Fight No More Forever

Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt
Chief Joseph

by Jacquie Rogers

Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt (Chief Joseph) of the Nez Perce:

I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking Glass is dead. Toohulhulsote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led the young men is dead. It is cold and we have no blankets. The little children are freezing to death. My people, some of them, have run away to the hills and have no blankets, no food. No one knows where they are--perhaps freezing to death. I want to have time to look for my children and see how many I can find. Maybe I shall find them among the dead. Hear me, my chiefs. I am tired. My heart is sick and sad. From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever.
The Nez Perce was a peaceful tribe willing to co-exist with the white settlers in present day Idaho, Montana, Washington, and Oregon. The Walla-Walla Treaty of 1855 ceded 6.4 million acres of Nez Perce land to the United States, leaving 7.5 million acres that was promised to be off limits to all non-Indians.

But then gold was discovered in 1860 and the white settlers moved in, so in 1863 the United States imposed the Lapwai Treaty, dubbed the "Thieves Treaty" by the Indians, that took 6 million acres of the remaining reservation land. Needless to say, many of the Nez Perce weren't thrilled about being kicked off their ancestral homes.

The Nez Perce were divided into two factions: the Christian group, which sided with the whites; and the Dreamer group, also called the non-treaty Indians, who refused to acknowledge the new reservation boundaries. Chief Joseph and Chief White Bird were Dreamers and members of the Wallowa Band of the Nez Perce. White Bird was the war chief and Joseph was the administrative chief.

Growing unease erupted into violence in 1877. The Battle of White Bird Canyon was a decisive victory for the Nez Perce, second only to the Sioux victory at the Battle of Little Big Horn. The army lost 34 men; the Nez Perce lost none. But the Battle of White Bird Canyon spelled the beginning of a four-month 1,500-mile escape by women, children, and grandparents, pursued by the US Army, and led by Chiefs White Bird and Joseph.

Finally, with the children and women both lost and dying, Joseph surrendered to General Nelson Miles. Chief White Bird refused, and took a small band to Canada, where they settled in Saskatchewan with Sitting Bull's people, never to return home again.

But those who stayed with Chief Joseph didn't get to return home, as he was given to understand before delivering his famous surrender speech.  The people were first taken to Kansas and then to the Indian Territory (Oklahoma) where nearly half died of disease and malnutrition.  When the survivors were finally allowed back in the Pacific Northwest, they were placed in reservations still far from home.

From PBS:

In his last years, Joseph spoke eloquently against the injustice of United States policy toward his people and held out the hope that America's promise of freedom and equality might one day be fulfilled for Native Americans as well. An indomitable voice of conscience for the West, he died in 1904, still in exile from his homeland, according to his doctor "of a broken heart."

Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt was never a war chief, but he will always life on as one of the bravest and wisest men of his time.

Please visit Meridian Bridge's My Personal West section,

where Jacquie Rogers shares a little piece of her personal West.

Be sure to comment on Romancing The West's Monday article: Anna Small─Tame the Wild Wind for a chance to win a free copy of her book.  Also, check out her website (listed in the article) and enter to win a $10 Amazon gift certificate.

 

 

Paty Jager: How I found my Hero for Christmas Redemption

Jacquie, Thank you for allowing me to visit with you again on Romancing the West.

When I was approached to write a Christmas story to add to a historical western anthology, I’d just been reading Oregon Outlaws by Gary and Gloria Meier. A story in the book caught my attention, first because it happened in the county where I grew up and second it seemed like the perfect type of miracle story that went with the holiday.

Dave Tucker was a young man who grew up in Wallowa Valley and made friends with the wrong people. They talked him into helping them rob the First Bank of Joseph. During the get-a-way several, including Tucker (who lost a thumb and finger) were wounded and captured. Only one man with a money bag got away and was never caught.

Tucker pleaded guilty to bank robbery and was sentenced to seven years in the Oregon State Penitentiary in Salem. He served over four years of his sentence working in the prison shops and mail office. Being a model prisoner he was released and returned to Wallowa Valley to face his family and friends and rebuild his life.

Twenty-seven years after his release from prison, Dave Tucker became the vice-president of the very bank he’d robbed.

This story intrigued me, so I set up a similar situation in my novella, Christmas Redemption. My hero, Van Donovan, was younger, fifteen and rebelling from a strict father. His job was the lookout for the robbery. Only one man was killed, a bystander, and the outlaws got away with the money leaving Van to go to prison. Which is another plot line in the story. ;)

Van doesn’t return and become the bank president, but he does return with a trade, boot making (which I’ll tell you about on Research Thursday here at Romancing the West), and to make amends with his family.



Paty Jager, Author



Only upon his return, Van learns the fate of the wife and daughter of the innocent man killed during the robbery. His guilty conscience pushes him to help the daughter, and he discovers the strong-willed young woman squatting in the building he purchased for his boot making shop is one and the same.

While Van is hardened from his belief his family never contacted him while he was in prison because they were disappointed him, he has a benevolent side that reaches out to anyone in need. And a toughness he learned from his father as well as defending himself in the prison.

This story started out to be in an anthology that became too big to be included, and I have it available now until January 1st in ebook through Smashwords for free.

The blurb for Christmas Redemption:

Van Donovan returns to Pleasant Valley, Oregon where twelve years earlier as a boy of fifteen he left in handcuffs after standing guard for a bank robbery. He's learned a trade and excelled at it and is ready to prove to his father and the town he can amount to something.

Upon his return he learns the fate of the daughter of an innocent man who died in the robbery crossfire. To make amends he takes her out of the saloon and gives her a job, not realizing she'd been squatting in the very building he'd purchased for his business.

Can two battered hearts find solace or will the past continue to haunt their lives?

Excerpt

Van worked hard to wash away the images of the men handling Tessa like she was a whore. He'd witnessed the fear and humiliation in her large green eyes. Now fear widened those same eyes. Only this fear was almost frantic.

"What's wrong?" He stepped closer.

"I-I…" She glanced at the building in front of them and then at her feet.

The calico cat slinked around the corner of the building, set its yellow eyes on Tessa, and trotted over, lacing back and forth around her ankles.

"You and the cat seem to be friends." The minute he spit the words out it dawned on him- Tessa was his squatter.

She bent, scooped the cat into her arms, and buried her face in the animal's thick fur. Van's heart squeezed.

"I have a feeling it's your pallet in my storeroom." He motioned to the cat when her face and wide eyes appeared over its back. "The cat and I met before. In the back room."

She sucked in air then coughed. The cat launched out of her arms. Tears streamed down her rosy cheeks.

Van slipped an arm around her and maneuvered her into the building, away from the prying eyes peering through the saloon doors and from the street around them. Inside, he closed the door and moved to add wood to the potbelly stove he'd started before heading to the saloon.

She stood just inside the door, huddled in his coat, the whole time he added two sticks of wood and placed a chair beside the stove.

"Sit and get warm." He maneuvered her to the chair and she sat.

"W-why are you doing this?" she asked, gazing up at him, searching his face. He could stare into her spring green eyes—round and wondering like an innocent child—all day.

"You didn’t look like you wanted those men pawing you, and I need help setting up and running my shop." And I can't let your life be awful because of me.

"Who are you? Why are you here? In Pleasant Valley?"

Van swallowed the wad of shame strangling his throat and studied the stove. She deserved the truth but would she understand his part in her father's death? He wouldn't know until he told her. He looked her square in the eyes.

"I lived in Pleasant Valley some years back and after learning a trade decided to return and reconnect with family." There until she heard his name that should suffice.

"Who's your family? I've been around here my whole life I probably know them." Tessa pulled his coat tighter around her shoulders.

The action reminded him of the men at the saloon and her scant clothing. "Why don’t you go back and change into your clothes. I'll get a pot of coffee going. Then we'll sit down and discuss what I see as your job." He turned his back to her and dug in the box he'd placed by the stove. The old battered pot he used for shop coffee was in it somewhere.

The cat's purring and the soft skim of her shoes across the wood floor faded. He ran a hand over the back of his neck. The muscles started knotting when she'd asked about his family. Damn! Sooner or later he'd have to tell her, but it would be best if he could keep it quiet until she fully trusted him and learned to see he wasn't the same boy who raised havoc on the town just to get his father riled.

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Paty Jager: Spirit of the Lake

This Week's Author: Paty Jager 

Featured Title: Spirit of the Lake by Paty Jager
Buy links: Amazon, Wild Rose Press

Read Paty's bio here.

RTW: In 100 words or fewer, tell us about your book.

Two generations after his brother became mortal, Wewukiye, the lake spirit, prevents a Nimiipuu maiden from drowning and becomes caught up in her sorrow and her heart. Her tribe ignores Dove's shameful accusations—a White man took her body, leaving her pregnant, and he plans to take their land.Wewukiye vows to care for her until she gives birth, to help her prove the White man is deceitful and restore her place in her tribe.

As they travel on their quest for justice, Dove reveals spiritual abilities yet unknown in her people, ensnaring Wewukiye’s respect and awe. But can love between a mortal and a spirit grow without consequences?

Contest Announcement!

One person who answers the question at the end of this blog will receive their choice of a pdf of either Spirit of the Mountain or Spirit of the Lake.

RTW: You write about the Nez Perce in Sprit of the Lake. What interested you in the culture and customs? Did growing up in Oregon influence your fascination with cultures and love?

PJ: I grew up in Wallowa County, Oregon, the area where the Lake Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) summered. Even though I never saw them in the county I felt their presence and felt empathy for what they went through. Nez Perce stories like the one about the antlered monster who lived in Wallowa Lake, ignited my imagination. I made Wewukiye an antlered spirit who lived in the lake.

RTW: If Scotty beamed you to Wewukiye’s lake, what survival skills would be the most valuable to you?

PJ: I guess fishing so I could eat and knowing when the icy water could give me hypothermia.

RTW: Misinformation about native cultures abound. Are there any common to western historical romances that annoy you?

PJ: Sometimes the dialogue doesn't ring true. I tried to keep my dialogue in the tone and cadence that I read in the legends and in books that had accounts told by a Nez Perce. As for misinformation…I can't think of anything off the top of my head at the moment.

RTW: Why is Wewukiye perfect for Dove?

Wewukiye is perfect for Dove because he believes in her and her truths. He also has the patience and compassion to help her through the ordeal of having been violated and carrying a child from that attack.

RTW: Introduce your excerpt, please.

Wewukiye has talked Dove into keeping the child within her alive. It's her proof the Whiteman the elders favor is not what they think. Since he's a spirit he can't show himself to the band of Nez Perce where she's living. Every day she meets him in a meadow where he chants and helps her keep the food she eats in her stomach to make her strong. This except is when he walks her back to the village.

Excerpt of Spirit of the Lake by Paty Jager:

Wewukiye tugged her hand, drawing her closer. His warm breath puffed against her ear.

"You need only think of me and you will have strength."

His soft silky voice floated through her body like a hot drink.

Dove swallowed the lump in her throat and asked, "When will I see you again?" The thought of sleeping on the hard ground next to the fire in Crazy One's dwelling didn't sound near as inviting as using his lap to rest her head.

The days and nights grew colder; to be wrapped in his arms would warm her through and through.

"You will find me at the meadow every day when the sun is directly overhead." He brushed his lips against her ear.

She closed her eyes, relishing the silky feel of his lips and the heat of his touch.

"Think of me," whispered through her head.

Dove opened her eyes. She stood alone. Her palm still warm from their clasped hands, her ear ringing with his whisper.

RTW: Thanks for the sneak peek!  What other books do you have for us?

PJ: There is Spirit of the Mountain, the first book in this trilogy.

I have four books in the Halsey Brother series about five brothers who find their mates in feisty women of unusual occupations--Marshal in Petticoats, Outlaw in Petticoats, Miner in Petticoats, and Doctor in Petticoats. I 'm writing the fifth one now- Logger in Petticoats.

And I have two contemporary Westerns available--Perfectly Good Nanny, which won an award, and Bridled Heart.

RTW: Wow, you're a busy lady!  Anything else you’d like to add?

PJ: You can read the first chapter of each book at my website and find links to purchase them. And every Monday on my blog I'm posting an excerpt to a Christmas book that will be out in November.

Contest Details!

To win a pdf copy of either Spirit of the Mountain or Spirit of the Lake you have to go to my blog and find out the name of the Christmas book and post it in the comment section here at RTW. I'll draw a name from the people who put the right answer.

Thank you, Paty, for visiting us at Romancing The West this week!