Thunder Rolling in the Mountains

The Red Coats are a gang of Nez Perce boys who want revenge against the white settlers. They wear red blankets as coats to demonstrate their desire for white blood. The Red Coats contrast the Blue Coats, what the Nez Perce call the white soldiers. The Red Coats are a symbol of war and violence in the novel—particularly of how contagious the for revenge can be on both sides. It is the Red Coats who begin war with the whites at the edges of the Lapwai reservation, and the Red Coats who transform Swan Necklace from a gentle painter into a brave warrior. Though the Red Coats have good reason for their desire for blood, they are also foolish in their perpetuation of violence. In many ways, the blood the Red Coats desire to spill turns out to be the blood of their own people; in fighting, they bring destruction upon the Nez Perce. 

Wallowa is the ancestral home of the Nez Perce. It is a symbol of the Nez Perce connection to homeland and of the idea of home as identity. Chief Joseph talks most explicitly about this connection when he tries to explain to Howard why he cannot leave Wallowa and how his name “Thunder Rolling in the Mountains” permanently binds him to the place.