Chief Joseph!

The Saga of Chief Joseph by Helen Addison Howard. YYY In case you didn't already know, I LOVE Chief Joseph! Even as a child I loved him. We had this portrait of him hanging in our home and as a young girl I remember looking at him and thinking he was my friend... ever since I have had a special kinship with him. So, I decided it was time to learn more about his life. This book seemed promising, but it only talked about the treaties and battles and his later years. I am glad I read it. Written in the 1950's the racism was a little challenging. This woman respected Chief Joseph and had spent years researching, however, she still called him a red man... annoying. A couple of things she mentioned will give you an idea of what I am talking about.

The Nez Perce as a tribe were peace loving, good people. She talks a lot about how important being charitable was in their tribe and how much they helped each others and strangers and how they recognized all they had was from the Great Spirit. Then she attributes all of this to the fact that Methodist missionaries had passed through teaching them. Like it was impossible to be a good Christian before the white missionaries came to teach them. Racist.

Oh... and when Lewis and Clark spent some time with their band, they asked them if they had brought "the book" with the "spirit law." They were waiting for men to bring "the book." They even sent three warriors back east searching for "the book" with the "spirit law." Sadly, all three men died before they made the trip back home. I say, give them the scriptures already! Obviously they had received revelation that the scriptures were coming.

Another time she explains that during the numerous treaty talks Alokut, Chief Joseph's brother, had drawn a map of their country, where the tribe had lived as long as they could remember. It included all of the rivers, mountains, valleys... all landmarks. She was amazed that "an uneducated redman" could draw such an accurate map. The army tried to take it from him and keep it, but Alokut refused to give it up and he took it home with him.

The history is tragic. In 1855 a treat was signed with the Nez Perce to give them a reservation including the homeland of most of the bands... over 10,000 square miles. The government also promised to set up schools and a saw mill etc. It was signed by the leaders of the different bands of the Nez Perce. Then in 1863 they drew up a new treaty, completely ignoring the previous treaty, a reservation of about 500 square miles that left out the homeland of Chief Joseph's band and many others. It was signed only by the leader of the northern most band, where the 500 square miles were. Using this treaty they forced Chief Joseph's people from their homes. They gave them 30 days to move all of their homes and stock up to the reservation. Even though it was spring and the run-off made the rivers way too dangerous, they set out. They lost most of their stock trying to cross the river! That same night Chief Joseph's wife gave birth... and three warriors from another band of Nez Perce got drunk and went on a killing spree.

Chief Joseph knew no one would believe he hadn't been involved so they started their run north. I won't share every detail... but it is tragic. Once the army caught up with and attacked the camp and killed men, women and children. When Chief Joseph finally surrendered he had 12 bullet holes in the blanket/poncho he wore. Also, at the time of his surrender, Looking Glass, the chief of the band who had started all of the problems, escaped with many of his people into Canada. Not fair.

OK... really, I am stopping. But may I just say, I still love Chief Joseph.

Ana loaned me three books of which this is the first I read. Howl's Moving Castle by Diana Wynne Jones. YYY It was published in 1986! I could have missed this forever. What I loved about this book is the happy ending. I hoped for it but was never quite sure if what I wanted to happen would happen. There were subtle little twists and turns, opening doors and you would never know what world you would be stepping into. Great fun! She has written many, many more books. I am going to have to check them out.


Wild Orchid A Retelling of "The Ballad of Mulan" by Cameron Dokey, also on loan from Ana. YYYY I have read many of her books, most of them from the Once Upon a Time series. They have not disappointed. She takes a common tale and puts a twist on it. In this one Mulan's mother died and her father was out fighting for the first thirteen years of her life, she was raised by her nurse. She has a great friend, Li Po, that teaches her all the "boy stuff" he is learning like reading, writing, archery and horseback riding. I loved the book. I am a little chagrined to admit that I could hear the Disney movie music in my head the whole time. What can I say, this is an extremely Disney stage in my life!

May I also remind you that Cameron Dokey did not release a press picture of herself. The only picture I could find of her was when she was in a play once. She is in full costume, sitting at a table with two other characters. Come on Cameron! Let us see who you are.

Brisingr, Eldest and Eragon by Christopher Paolini. The problem with reading a trilogy is that they all get blended in my mind. I can't really think of just one book, they are all one in my brain. I bought Brisingr when it was realeased but it sat on the shelf for months. I was determined to finish the Inkheart books first, which I eventually did.

Finally I started Eragon again, because you know my brain could never remember the whole story for that long. It is a good thing I started over at the beginning. I had even forgotten Brom! Horror of horrors, he is a very important character in the books. I enjoyed all of the books and can't wait for the next one. However, it is obvious that a young man wrote them. To much fighting and over the top descriptions of the fighting, bleh.

I love the toughness of the characters. Eragon fell into his destiny somewhat accidentally, yet he did a great job with what he had. His cousin was strong and determined to fight to protect family and home. The leader of the Varden was a brilliant politician and made difficult choices when she had to. Anywho, I always think about what I want to act like when I am in a predicament, and emergency or if I found a dragon egg. I would like to be like Eragon, Nasuada and the cousin (Ro...what's his name?) and Katrina. I also loved the dwarf. Fun descriptions of the cities. I even tried singing to some trees to see if I could make a little funiture or something. Hasn't worked yet!
Can't wait for the next book!!
It was also fun to hear the kids talking about Mama's dragon books.