Lewis and Clark Sites

The Corps of Discovery in Nez Perce National Historical Park

Copper colored Corp of Discovery friendship medal ground marker

1

Canoe Camp

At this site, the Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery learned from the nimíipuu (Nez Perce) to carve canoes to take them to the Pacific Ocean in 1805. They built five canoes in ten days, three of which were 55 feet long. The Corps cached their saddles and gear and left their horses here in the care of the nimíipuu until their return the following spring.

2

Lewis and Clark Long Camp

After spending the winter of 1805-06 on the Oregon coast, Lewis and Clark were eager to return home. Having left their horses in the care of the nimíipuu (Nez Perce) they had met the previous fall, the expedition was compelled to return to Nez Perce country. Their enthusiasm to return home was dampened by snow in the Bitterroot Mountains. With their route home blocked, they spent four weeks (May 14-June 10) living among the nimíipuu near present day Kamiah. When the time to go arrived, there was genuine sadness that the two parties would in all likelihood not see each other again. Accompanied by three nimíipuu guides, they left Nez Perce country for good in June 1806.

3

Weippe Prairie

Long before Lewis and Clark arrived, the prairie had been a traditional gathering place for the nimíipuu (Nez Perce). Families came to this area to dig for camas bulbs and socialize for thousands of years. In mid-September of 1805, Lewis and Clark made contact with the nimíipuu for the first time. Unprepared for the arduous trek over the Bitterroot Mountains, Captain Clark and a small group of hunters went ahead of the main party in search of food. When they entered the Weippe Prairie, they encountered three frightened nimíipuu boys hiding in the grass. Clark gave them small presents and sent them to the village. After Lewis and Clark reunited on September 22, 1805, they spoke with a headman known as Twisted Hair. They traded gifts, passed the pipe, and acquired information about the country.

4

Lolo Pass and Lolo Trail

Used by the nimíipuu (Nez Perce) long before Euro-Americans came on the scene, the route over the Bitterroot Mountains, known today as the Lolo Trail, extends from Weippe Prairie to Lolo Pass along the Idaho-Montana border.

Lewis and Clark followed this route on their trip across the mountains to the West Coast in 1805.

Looking for safety in Montana in late July of 1877, the nontreaty nimíipuu followed the same trail during the Flight of 1877.

Sources:

NPS. General Management Plan Nez Perce National Historical Park and Big Hole National Battlefield. Department of the Interior. September 1997.