In the Land of the Nez Perce
Today we had the choice of two different trips that would introduce us to the land of the Nez Perce. One group chose to explore Hell’s Canyon by jet boat. The powerful boat took us 55 miles upstream on the Snake River to witness the results of powerful geologic forces and scan the canyon walls for wildlife. Our efforts were rewarded with excellent sightings of Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep. This portion of the river has been navigated by many types of vessels over the years, including paddle wheelers; these cumbersome vessels risked class three rapids that we passed over in our modern craft with ease. We heard tales of the early white miners and settlers and saw evidence of their activities on the landscape. The petroglyphs we saw recalled people long gone who had made the area their home for centuries, long before Lewis and Clark passed nearby.
Escorted by historian Lin Laughy, the other group traveled by bus up the Clearwater River Valley to visit sites where Lewis and Clark camped and met with the Nez Perce on their journey. Lin interspersed his commentary on the activities of Lewis and Clark with insights into the culture of the Nez Perce. We saw the site at Colter Creek where Clark treated the Indians for their medical problems in exchange for horses, and Saddle Cache (photo above) where the Expedition hid their saddles before departing westward. An especially significant site that we visited was that of Broken Arm’s Lodge (also called Treaty Council Camp). It was here that Lewis and Clark benefited from the great hospitality of the Nez Perce in 1806, which prompted Lewis to speak of the “Immortal Honor” that should be bestowed on the tribe for their seemingly endless acts of kindness. We then traveled to a park where Lee and Carol Hamilton demonstrated primitive living skills including the art of making fire by two methods – rubbing wood on wood and striking flint with steel. Further down river was the “Canoe Camp” where Lewis and Clark fashioned their dugout canoes from ponderosa pine in 1805. Finally both travel groups were immersed in Nez Perce culture at the Nez Perce National Historic Park at Lapwai where we heard live and video presentations and viewed outstanding displays of the material culture of this tribe. A short bus ride brought us back to the ship with a much-expanded understanding of the passage of Lewis and Clark through the land of the Nez Perce and the meeting of these two cultures two centuries ago.
Today we had the choice of two different trips that would introduce us to the land of the Nez Perce. One group chose to explore Hell’s Canyon by jet boat. The powerful boat took us 55 miles upstream on the Snake River to witness the results of powerful geologic forces and scan the canyon walls for wildlife. Our efforts were rewarded with excellent sightings of Rocky Mountain Bighorn sheep. This portion of the river has been navigated by many types of vessels over the years, including paddle wheelers; these cumbersome vessels risked class three rapids that we passed over in our modern craft with ease. We heard tales of the early white miners and settlers and saw evidence of their activities on the landscape. The petroglyphs we saw recalled people long gone who had made the area their home for centuries, long before Lewis and Clark passed nearby.
Escorted by historian Lin Laughy, the other group traveled by bus up the Clearwater River Valley to visit sites where Lewis and Clark camped and met with the Nez Perce on their journey. Lin interspersed his commentary on the activities of Lewis and Clark with insights into the culture of the Nez Perce. We saw the site at Colter Creek where Clark treated the Indians for their medical problems in exchange for horses, and Saddle Cache (photo above) where the Expedition hid their saddles before departing westward. An especially significant site that we visited was that of Broken Arm’s Lodge (also called Treaty Council Camp). It was here that Lewis and Clark benefited from the great hospitality of the Nez Perce in 1806, which prompted Lewis to speak of the “Immortal Honor” that should be bestowed on the tribe for their seemingly endless acts of kindness. We then traveled to a park where Lee and Carol Hamilton demonstrated primitive living skills including the art of making fire by two methods – rubbing wood on wood and striking flint with steel. Further down river was the “Canoe Camp” where Lewis and Clark fashioned their dugout canoes from ponderosa pine in 1805. Finally both travel groups were immersed in Nez Perce culture at the Nez Perce National Historic Park at Lapwai where we heard live and video presentations and viewed outstanding displays of the material culture of this tribe. A short bus ride brought us back to the ship with a much-expanded understanding of the passage of Lewis and Clark through the land of the Nez Perce and the meeting of these two cultures two centuries ago.
