#166 Chief Joseph in War Bonnet
"I am tired of fighting. Our chiefs are killed. Looking
Glass is dead. Toohoolhoolzote is dead. The old men are all dead. It is
the young men who say, "Yes" or "No." He who led the
young men [Olikut] 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 of them 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."
# 161 Heinmot Tooyalaket
"Young Joseph"
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Heinmot Tooyalaket
"Chief Joseph"
Nez Percé
(1840-1904)These carved emu eggs honors
the Nez Percé Chief known as Chief Joseph. He was born Heinmot
Tooyalaket (Hin-mah-too-yah-lat-kekt) or Thunder Rolling Down the
Mountain in what is now northeastern Oregon in 1840. He
soon became known as Joseph, or Joseph the Younger, because his father
had taken the Christian name Joseph when he was baptized.
Joseph the Elder helped Washington's territorial governor set up a
Nez Percé reservation stretching from Oregon into Idaho. In
1863 gold was discovered in Nez Percé territory and the
federal government took back almost all of this land, reducing the
reservation to an area one tenth it's prior size. When Joseph was
elected Chief after his father's death in 1871, he inherited a very volatile
situation. Threatened with a cavalry attack in 1877, Joseph began
to move his people to the small Idaho reservation. Unfortunately a
small band of about 20 warriors attacked and killed some white settlers
nearby - and the army gave chase. What ensued has been referred to
as one of the most brilliant military retreats in American
history. By the time the band of 700 Nez Percé
surrendered on October 5, 1877, they had marched 1,400 miles and engaged
2,000 U. S. Soldiers and Indian auxiliaries in four major battles and
several skirmishes.
Although he had been promised that he would be allowed to return home
if he surrendered, Chief Joseph and his people were taken first to
eastern Kansas and then to a reservation in Indian Territory
(present-day Oklahoma). Many of them died of epidemic diseases. In
1879 he was allowed to visit Washington, D. C. to plead his case before
President Rutherford B. Hayes. It did no good. Joseph and
the other refugees were not returned to the Pacific Northwest until
1885. At that time half of them (including Joseph) were taken to a
non-Nez Percé reservation in northern Washington while the rest of
their people went to Idaho.
Joseph died in 1904, according to his doctor, of a broken heart.
Each of these carved eggs comes with a hand turned wood egg stand and can
become a personalized gift with an inscription on the back.
Because of the variations of color and texture inherent in the emu
egg itself, each carved egg will be unique and make a distinctive
addition to any decor or collection. If you are looking for a
"different" housewarming gift, birthday present or other
special occasion gift for an Native American history buff, either of
these carved
eggs will delight them.
#166 Chief Joseph in War Bonnet $120.00
# 161 Heinmot Tooyalaket
"Young Joseph" $95.00
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