Chief Joseph & the Flight of the Nez Perce by Kent Nerburn Read Free Book Online Page B

them by announcing that he had to return to the settlements of the whites to gather more goods and people. The Reverend Parker, however, agreed to travel back with the Nez Perce to their homeland.
    The Nez Perce did all within their power to show Parker the highest respect during the journey. The women brought him fresh strawberries and placed fragrant leaves on the ground beneath his bedding, and the chiefs let him ride in the place of honor at the front of the travelers so he and his horse would always be walking on fresh ground.
    Parker rewarded the Nez Perce kindness by giving instruction in spirit law during the travels, teaching each of the various chiefs one of the ten commandments so he could memorize it and pass it on. With the assistance of Indians who knew a few words of English, he also gave sermons to the people in long lodges that the Nez Perce constructed for the purpose, placing their finest animal skins on the ground for the Reverend and waiting patiently on their knees for his teaching to begin.
    Parker intended to stay with the Nez Perce and continue his ministry. Unfortunately, he developed severe headaches and chest pains during the journey, and after a short stay, was forced to leave. But before he departed he promised that Dr. Whitman and other spirit law teachers would soon follow to continue instructing the people in the Soyapo Book of Heaven and the secrets it contained.
    The following summer, in 1836, the Nez Perce traveled back to the rendezvous in the hope that they might meet Dr. Whitman there. It was a source of great joy when they first heard the creaking of wagon wheels and saw the carts emerging in the distance carrying men with huge beards and shirts as white as fresh mountain snow. But the joy turned to amazement when they saw these carts also carried two Soyapo women.
    The Indians had never seen white women before. They seemed as slight as twigs, and their skin was as pale as morning sunlight. They looked unfit for any work and likely to break at the slightest touch of a man’s hand.
    The Nez Perce women ran and kissed the white women, as the mountain men had instructed them to do. At first they had to contend with these mountain men for the women’s attention, but they soon discovered that their real struggle lay with the women of the other tribes. All tribes wanted the prestige of having the spirit law teachers settle among them, and the women of the Cayuse and Nez Perce almost came to blows in their efforts to gain the favors and attention of these two pale-skinned Soyapo.
    The Indians soon learned that, despite their frail appearance, these Soyapo women had strong hearts. One, the wife of Dr. Whitman, had long, flowing hair the color of red sunlight and was, to the Indians, beautiful beyond measure. The other, the wife of a hard-eyed man named Reverend Spalding, had a rough voice and hair the color of mud. But she showed deep concern for the Indian wives, even trying from the first day to learn some of their language. The Indians soon opened their hearts to both women.
    When the rendezvous was over, the Spaldings and Whitmans and the others in their party set off with the Cayuse and Nez Perce across the plains and mountains back to the Plateau country. It was slow traveling because the ministers insisted on bringing wagons on the small trails, since they did not think it fitting for women to ride on the backs of horses. The Indians found this strange, but they did not wish to question Soyapo ways. So they continued to cut brush and remove rocks so the trail would be wide enough to allow passage of the women’s horse-drawn carts.
    All through the journey the Nez Perce and Cayuse women continued their bickering about where the missionaries should settle. All knew that any tribe and band that gained their presence would increase greatly in prestige. Eventually, at journey’s end, Dr. Whitman announced that he and his wife would settle among the Cayuse instead of the Nez