This narrative is about the Nez Perce, an American Indian tribe, in what is now northern Idaho. The tribe is preparing fora gathering before the coming winter.
Excerpt from Do Them No Harm!
by Zoa L. Swayne
1 Inthemoon of Ta-Yum, the hottest days of summer, when salmon spawn in the little streams and
huckleberries ripen in the high mountains, people from many villages of the Chopunnish Nation
gathered in the Oyaip Prairie for the work and festivities of their annual camas harvest.
2 From farand near The People came....
3 Shoulda stranger enter their homeland and ask, “Where areyou from?” the reply was always,
“We are Nee-mee-poo, The People who live here in this place.”
4 It was a time of Lawtiwa-mah-ton—a time of being friends together—when The People came for
this last chance to enjoy being together before the Cold Moons kept them close to their fires. The
visiting and trading, the foot racing and horse racing, and the gambling and stick games would be
remembered and talked about long after they had forgotten the drudgery of digging and roasting
camas, picking berries, or drying meat and fish. Lawtiwa-mah-ton! It was good to be
friends together.
5 As was their custom since wahk-kee-ma,a time farback beyond the memory ofman, they set up
their camps in the same locations their parents and grandparents had occupied before them. Red
Bear's people, from Kamiah, made their camp near the trail that came outofthemountains.
Their neighbors in Kamiah Valley, The People from Tee-e-lap-a-lo, had their camp close by. Across
the wide meadow, by thegreat roasting pits, the camps oftheTe-wap-poo and Ask-kah-poo were
located. The tepees and ish-nash, brush shelters, of other groups nestled in their accustomed
areas in and among thepines in such numbers that they encircled the entire meadow land.
6 Red Bear's people had traveled all summer with neighboring bands, gathering and preparing
roots, picking and drying berries, drying and smoking meat and fish for their winter food supply.
Now they were atthe Oyaip camp. The women worked hard to dig and cure as many bags of
roots as they could during the warm, sunny days, for the sharp night air brought warnings that
WARM wasgoing and COLD was coming.
7 Everyone helped in some way. Most of the men fished or hunted formeat. While many ofthe
women dugandroasted camas, other women andolder children picked and dried berries.
8 And the younger children played. They played at hunting. They played with the babies. They
played with their horses and puppies. They learned how to live through their play.
9 This sun, happiness, peace, and quiet blessed the Red Bear camp. All were busy with their daily
tasks, until sudden cries came from the children playing by the trail.
10 “People coming! People coming! People coming on the trail from the high mountains!” they called
as they ran to their elders, who looked sharply at the figures of approaching horsemen.
11 Were they friends or enemies? Did they bring good news or bad?
12 “Who canit be? What brings them here?” were the questions in every mind.
13 “Could they be the four hunters who had gone to Buffalo Country two summers past? Would they
have news ofthefamilies who had gone long ago to Buffalo Country and never returned?”
14 It was customary fora hunting party to be gone formore than one season.
15 “Looks like hunters,” the older men agreed. “Looks like they had good hunting. Maybe ourfour
hunters. [They have] been gone many moons.”
16 “Looks like five people—not four,” others observed.
17 Excitement grew as the riders came close enough to be recognized.
18 “A-a-a-a-a, they are our four hunters! But who is the fifth person?” they asked.
19 “Looks likea woman. Who is she?”
20 The hunters rode up to the welcoming crowd, proud to show offtheloads of meat, hides, and
other trophies of their hunt. They paraded around the encampment forall to see how strong their
Hunting Power had been—what great hunters they, themselves, were.
21 Red Bear's people rejoiced at their hunters' success. Good hunters brought good to everybody.
The meat meant plenty of food and the hides meant soft-tanned robes to give comfort through
the Cold Moons. But it was the sight of the frail figure of the woman that aroused their curiosity.
Who was she? Where had she come from?
22 “Belongs to Red Bear people. Gone then come back,” the hunters said, as they dismounted and
unloaded their packs....
23 Now they could see! She was the daughter of the family gone so long ago! The girl-child who had
left came back now—a grown woman.
24 “Wat-ku-ese!” the women cried. “Gone-from-Home-then-Come-Back. Wat-ku-ese!” And
Wat-ku-ese was her name from that time on.
25 Gentle arms lifted Wat-ku-ese from her horse. The women brought her food and madea place for
her to rest. For many suns they cared for her until she became stronger.
26 One evening Wat-ku-ese told her story for all to hear.
From DO THEM NO HARM!: Lewis and Clark Among theNezPerce by Zoa L. Swayne. Published by Caxton
Press. Copyright Oc 1990 by Zoa L. Swayne Orofino, Idaho and Legacy House, Inc. Orofino, Idaho. All
rights reserved.
- In paragraphs4 and 6, the beginning of the change in seasons affects the characters mainly by
