Editorial Reviews
Product Description
Travel with Martin Stadius as he searches for answers to a saga that begins on the shores of Oregon's beautiful Wallowa Lake and ends in the barren, wind-swept hills at Bears Paw, Montana. Stadius tells the story of the Nez Perce people-the Nee-Me-Poo. In 1877, the "Dreamer" (non-Christian) faction of the tribe, under pressure from land-hungry whites to move to a reservation, fled their homeland in eastern Oregon and central Idaho. During the next four months, the Nee-Mee-Poo led pursuing troops on an 1,100-mile chase that ended tragically only forty miles short of Canada. Today, the route of the Nee-Mee-Poo retreat is a National Historic Trail, part of the Nez Perce National Historic Park, with sites in three Western states. Stadius' crisp, entertaining writing style makes Dreamers: On the Trail of the Nez Perce, more than a history book. He follows the Nee-Mee-Poo route in his Volkswagon van, describing the trail today. At the same time, he tells the story of the retreat in human terms-from the perspective of the Nez Perce, their pursuers and the people who found themselves in the path of the chase. The author gleaned the material for Dreamers from hundreds of sources. He discovered archives containing heretofore unpublished information that solves some of the story's most enduring puzzles. Dreamers: On the Trail of the Nez Perce is certain to become a foundation book for any study of this unique Native American culture.
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