Kate and Sue McBeth, Missionary Teachers to the Nez Perce
WAR DEPARTMENT REPORTS
Old Fort Walla Walla
"Old Fort Walla Walla, No. 42" (lithograph). In U.S. House. 36th
Congress, 1st Session. Reports of Explorations and Surveys for Pacific Railroad, Vol.
12, Bk. 1 (H.Ex.Doc.56). Washington: Government Printing Office, 1860. (Serial Set 1054)
These reports are perhaps the most thoughtful and least eurocentric of all the documents written about the Nez Perce people. Viewing the tribe from the perspective of a potential foe, the military could not afford to underestimate them, and thus tried to push aside popular prejudices for a more accurate assessment.