Nez Percés

Nez Percés, a tribe of American Indians, settled in Idaho, on the Lapwai River. The Nez Percés 'proper' have always been loyal to the whites, and are making good progress in civilisation. But in 1877 the treaty reductions of their reservation led to a sanguinary outbreak on the part of the 'non-treaty' Nez Percés, who murdered settlers, fought the soldiers, and then fled across Idaho, Montana, and Dakota. They were overtaken and beaten, and the survivors (some 350) transferred to Indian Territory; but in 1885 some were restored to Idaho, and the rest joined the Colville Indians, in Washington. There is no evidence that they ever had a custom which would justify their name, 'pierced nose.'