Bear Paw Battlefield - Nez Perce National Historic Trail - Auto Tours (sitios de interés)

Bear Paw Battlefield

After staying ahead of the military for five months and 1,170 miles, months in which they had crossed mountains, suffered hardship, and lost many friends and relatives, approximately 700 Nez Perce made a final camp on Snake Creek, south of present day Chinook, Montana, 40 miles from the Canadian border.

Shortly after 9:00 a.m. Colonel Nelson Miles and his troops descended on the Nez Perce camp. The warriors, hidden in the coulees and washes, halted the initial charge but the military attacked relentlessly. The battle went on as the days grew colder, with heavy casualties on both sides, until October 5 when Chief Joseph and the approximately 430 remaining Nez Perce surrendered. Those survivors began the last leg of their journey, farther away from their homeland than any of them could have dreamed.