Challis, Idaho. Friday, June 7, 2024.
The weather and my state of exhaustion weren’t conducive to making the big ride today, so I’m taking another rest day. Ah, the joys of retirement. I caught up on my sleep, got supplies, confirmed logistics, and watched a great movie that I wanted to share with you.
For weeks I’ve been following the poignant odyssey of Chief Joseph and the Nez Perce, chased across the northwest and the newly founded Yellowstone National Park by Oliver Otis Howard, an otherwise fairly heroic Civil War general. On the plus side, he founded Howard University, possibly the nation’s foremost HBCU, and the Freedman’s Bureau, an important component of Reconstruction. He later settled in my hometown, a number of institutions in Burlington are named for him, and he is buried in our local cemetery.
On the negative side, he bought the brunt of Stonewall Jackson’s brilliant flanking maneuver at the battle of Chancellorsville, considered one of the most lopsided victories in history; Jackson was fatally wounded in the battle, which was the basis for The Red Badge of Courage. He was also one of the chief perpetrators of Sherman’s march to the sea. And of course, his role in the Chief Joseph story is problematic. When Joseph was finally caught, 40 miles from the Canadian border and safety, he pronounced his famous line, “I will fight no more forever.”
This is a made-for-TV movie from 1975–somewhat dated, but really well done. It features a very young Sam Elliott as Captain Wood. If you have the kind of free time I do, I think you’ll enjoy it. And hey, the price is right. I hope embedding this video is not too problematic.
The Ends of the Earth 