Thunder Rolling in the Mountains

“You Nez Perce own too much land. You can’t use all the land, not half of it […] You are a greedy bunch.”

Jason Upright, a white settler, says this to Sound of Running Feet when they meet in a meadow. They are arguing about who deserves land, and who owns it—the white settlers accuse the natives of having too much land and not using it the way the whites hope to use it. This quote represents the core of the story: the whites misunderstand (or don’t bother to understand) the tribe’s connection to the land. The settlers want to use the land, and the natives want to commune with it. This idea appears again when a Nez Perce man says he couldn’t plow the land anymore than he could tear the breast of his own mother. 

“On the backs of the running horses are soldiers […] their leader is Howard.”

Chief Joseph prophesies this vision to Sound of Running Feet. He has the power of foresight, and he can hear the white soldiers coming. Soon, they arrive and nothing for the Nez Perce is ever the same. This quote introduces one of the spiritual aspects of the story. Chief Joseph is accurate down to the name of the leader in his prophesy, suggesting that the spiritual connection to