Compelling SpeechesChief Joseph of the Nez Perce (1840?-1904)
Surrender SpeechEssay Prompt: Chief Joseph of the Nez Perce was known to his people as "Thunder Traveling to the Loftier Mountain Heights." He led his people in an attempt to resist the takeover of their lands in the Oregon Territory by white settlers, but was finally forced to surrender on October 5, 1877. Read the short speech included here carefully. Then write a well-organized essay which evaluates the stong rhetoric used by Chief Joseph, especially his legimate emotional appeals, that are use to project his anguish for his people and his dignity in this surrender.
Tell General Howard I know his heart. What he told me before, I have it in my heart. I am tired of fighting. Our Chiefs are killed; Looking Glass is dead, Ta Hool Hool Shute is dead. The old men are all dead. It is the young men who say yes or no. He who led on the young men 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 areóperhaps 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 Iwill fight no more forever.
