66 



NEZ p?:rces 



[B. a. £. 



The Nez Perces, ur Sahaptiu of later 

 writers, the ChopunniHh (c(irrui>ted from 

 Tsiitpeli) of Lewis and Clark, their dis- 

 coverers, were found in 1805 occupying a 

 large area in what is now w. Idaho, n. e. 

 Oregon, and s. e. Washington, on lower 

 Snake r. and its tributaries. They roamed 

 between the Blue mts. in Oregon and the 

 Bitter Root nits, in Idaho, and according 



to J.,ewis and Clark sometimes crossed 

 the range to the headwaters of the Mis- 

 souri. By certain writers they have 

 been classed under two geographic divi- 

 sions, Uiiper Nez Perces and Lower Nez 

 Perces. The latter were found by Bonne- 

 ville in 1834 to the n. and w. of the 

 Blue. mts. on several of the branches of 

 Snake r., where they were neighbors of 

 the Cayuse and VVallawalla. The Upper 



Nez Perces held the Salmon r. country in 

 Idaho in 1834, and proljably also at the 

 same time the Grande Ronde valley in e. 

 Oregon, but by treaty of 1855 they cedid 

 a large part of this territory to the United 

 States. 



The reservation in wdiich they were 

 confined at that time included the Wal- 

 lowa valley in Oregon, as well as a large 

 district in Idaho. With the discovery of 

 gold and the consequent influx of miners 

 and settlers the Oregon districts were in 

 demand, and a new treaty was made by 

 which the tribe was contined to the reser- 

 vation at Lapwai, Idaho. The occupants 

 I if Wallowa valley refused to recognize 

 the treaty, and finally, under their chief, 

 Joseph (q. V. ), took active measures of re- 

 sistance, and the Nez Perce war of 1877 

 resulted. Several severe defeats were in- 

 flicted on the United States troops who 

 were sent against the Indians, and finally, 

 when forced to give way, Joseph con- 

 ducted a masterly retreat across the Bit- 

 ter Root mts. and into Montana in an 

 attempt to reach Canadian territory, but 

 lu" and his band were surrounded and 

 captured when within a few miles of the 

 l)()undary. Joseph and his followers to 

 the number of 450 were removed to In- 

 dian Ter., where their loss from disease 

 was so great that in 1885 they were sent 

 to the Colville res. in n. Washington, 

 where a remnant still resides. 



Under the collective name Chopuimish, 

 Lewis and Clark estimated the population 

 to be 7,850. Deducting from this total 

 1 ,600 for the Pelloatpallah (Paloos) band, 

 now treated as distinct from the Nez 

 Perces, and 250 f< )r the Yeletj )0 ( AVailetpu, 

 i. e., Cayuse), now supposed to belong to a 

 distinct stock, the total of the Nez Perces in 

 1805 acc-ording to those authors was about 

 (5,000. Wilkes estimated the Chopunnish 

 at al)out 3,000 in 1849, and Gibbs gave 

 them a population of more than 1,700 in 

 1853. In 1885 they were estimated otti- 

 cially at 1,437. There are now (1906) 

 somewhat more than 1,600, 1,534 being 

 on the reservation in Idaho and 83 on the 

 Colville res. in Washington. 



In general habits of life the Nez Perces 

 as well as the other Shahaptian tribes 

 conform to the inland tyjie of Indians 

 and differ sharply in most respects from 

 their western neighbors, the Chinook. 

 At the time of Lewis and Clark's visit 

 they are reported as living in communal 

 houses, said to contain aliout 50 families 

 each. There is evidence, however, that 

 the Nez Perces used the typical under- 

 ground lodge, and that these seldom con- 

 tained more than 3 or 4 families. A 

 much larger dancing house was built -at 

 each permanent winter camp. Salmon 

 constituted their most important food in 

 early times, and with roots and berries 



