"Travelers southward from Spokane over what is known as the Inland Empire Highway… pass through the scene of a real event in the history of the 'Inland Empire' of the State of Washington; real because it marked the beginning of the transition of the country from the home of the Indian to that of the white man... Here nature and tradition supply... the form of a beautiful and sightly elevation known as Steptoe Butte, which rises out of the gracefully rolling wheat fields of Whitman County, Washington... The fight between the Indians and Colonel Steptoe's command actually occurred some twenty miles northward of Steptoe Butte..."
