This morning while Kati and I broke camp, G3 took his book down to the lake, he sat on a huge rock, and he read. He is really enjoying The Martian. I love when we are in the car and he reads aloud excerpts that make him laugh or ones he finds interesting. Yesterday he commented, “I love this book. There are so many curse words.”
Driving to Big Hole National Battlefield we could hardly see the mountains that were not far in the distance. They were covered in a thick layer of smoke that came from a nearby wildfire. When we rolled down the window we could smell the fire — a scent much stronger than a simple campfire. Even when we closed the windows the smell hung heavily in the car. I don’t understand why people in areas devastated year after year by forest fires continue to vote for people who deny science. How can they not acknowledge global warming when such severe evidence can be seen so clearly in their own backyards? Why is protecting the Second Amendment a higher priority than protecting the plant we all need if we are going to survive? Guns can’t defend anyone if we destroy our environment. I knew this trip would enhance G3’s education in science and history but he is also learning quite a bit about political science.
The Big Hole Visitor’s Center was open but all tours and talks were cancelled due to the fire which is raging only five miles away. We were also unable to walk the trail that runs through the battlefield because the smoke was too thick. It was disappointing, but at least we could see the battlefield in the distance. I would have liked a tour or talk especially since the talks at Little Bighorn were so interesting and informative. Besides, going into Little Bighorn, I was familiar with the history. Before today I knew little about the Nez Perce. I was familiar with Chief Joseph and his proclamation that, I will fight no more forever.” But I didn’t know the details of the how the United States stole their land and butchered their people. Luckily, a shot 26 minute film offered us a brief history, a history that prompted Kati to observe, “It’s the same story every time.” And she is right. The original treaty between the US and the Nez Perce gave the Nez Perce a decent sized reservation. But unfortunately, gold was discovered on the land which caused white people to pour onto into the reservation. Maybe the Nez Perce should have built a wall to keep all the illegal white people out. They didn’t. Instead, the US Government manipulated the the situation and sole their land, reducing the reservation by 90 percent. Not surprisingly, this led to conflict. At the Battle of Big Hole the US army slaughtered women and children, as well as the Warriors, all of whom where asleep in their teepees. Their actions were immoral and unethical.
When the film ended, G3 said, “It sounds more like a massacre than a battle.” I agreed with him. He asked why it isn’t called a massacre and why we don’t learn about it in school. My answer was simple, “Americans want to believe they are great. They want to believe our country is great. They don’t want to objectively look at our history and admit that we were cruel and committed acts of genocide.” If we taught the truth in school we would seriously need to reevaluate our romanticized version of westward expansion. We would also need to acknowledge that our belief in “rugged individualism’ is a myth that was only made possible because the Government protected the illegal acts of white settlers by committing acts of cruelty against non-white people. In reality, there was no individualism. The settlers could not have survived without Government interference.
Leaving the battlefield we continued driving west. We drove parallel to the fire and behind the trees we could see thick black smoke billowing up into air. Above, we heard and saw helicopters fighting the fires.
As we turned north, the three of us started to feel sick. G3 felt overwhelmingly tired despite sleeping in this morning. He put his book down and fell asleep. Kati’s throat hurt. And both she and I got bad headaches. We are certain it’s from driving through so much smoke. I can’t imagine living out west and dealing with these fires frequently.
We stopped briefly in Hamilton for A&W root beer floats and cheese curds, snacks we can’t get at home. We sat outside to eat and even though we had put some distance between us and the fire, we could still smell it. After eating, G3 and I felt better.
Our campsite isn’t as scenic nor as deserted as yesterday but it will do for a night. The guy in the site next to us is a criminal. He’s got one of those house arrest ankle bands on his leg. The writer in me is itching to know his story and G3 and I have spun several tales as to what his crime might be. If I ever write a story with a character who is a criminal camper you’ll know my inspiration.
Elizabeth Jaeger 