On August 9th

Before dawn on August 9, 1877, Col. John Gibbon's troops stormed the sleeping Nez Perce encampment in the Big Hole valley, killing scores — many of them women and children — before the warriors counterattacked and pinned the soldiers in a hillside siege. The two-day fight cost both sides dearly and became one of the bloodiest episodes of the Nez Perce flight toward Canada.

The August 9, 1877 battle is documented. Big Hole Battlefield's past is on record — the entry belongs to the verified layer beneath whatever lore attaches. It's verified history: the dossier's load-bearing detail. The detail is preserved in 'Big Hole'. It's the sort of fact that gives the haunting reports their context.

The August 2023 fire is documented. A documented history gives the file real substance; this entry is part of that spine. The fact is historically verified — the part of the file that doesn't need hedging. The detail is preserved in 'Lahaina fire'. The record keeps it — history, not lore. The file stays open on it.