Chief Joseph and his nephew Red Thunder attended a University of Washington football game in Seattle on this day, November 20th,1903. The game was played at old Denny Field near 45th Street and because Joseph spoke almost no English, Red Thunder acted as his interpreter.
Washington won the game 2-0, scoring a safety against the University of Nevada as Chief Joseph seemed puzzled by the game of football. With Red Cloud translating, Chief Joseph commented, "I saw a lot of white men almost fight today. I do not think this good. … Those men I would think would break their legs and arms.” About a year later, Chief Joseph passed away and was buried in Nespelem, in Okanogan County.
For those not familiar with Joseph's history, he was the leader of the Wallowa band of the Nez Perce Tribe, who were forced off their northeast Oregon land in 1878, finally surrendering in a Montana snowstorm, 40 miles from the Canadian border—after a three month, 1,600 mile effort to reach Canada with four separate U.S. military units in pursuit. He surrendered on October 5, 1877, delivering his famous "I will fight no more forever" speech and was later sent to the Colville Reservation where his grave is still viewable.
He was a remarkable man and I encourage BB readers to read about him on HistoryLink.org and other sources.