Book excerpt: From their meeting with Lewis and Clark in 1805 to the death of Chief Joseph in 1904, the story of the Nez Perce Indians is epic drama. No setting could be more spectacular than the rugged, beautiful homeland of this tribe. The Nez Perce friendship with white newcomers ended in the tragically bitter Nez Perce War. The participants in the developing drama tell the story in their own words, through excerpts from diaries, letters and contemporary accounts.