VIRTUAL TOUR

This is the traditional crossing site where Chief Joseph's band forded immediately before the 1877 Nez Perce War.

The Dug Bar site is in Hell's Canyon National Recreation Area and on the Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail.

The site is accessible via a single-lane dirt road 25 miles long, or from the Snake River.

FORT LAPWAI OFFICERS' QUARTERS

Troops were assigned to the Lapwai Valley in response to the gold rush. The fort was in use from 1862 to 1885.

It was here that General Oliver Otis Howard met with the leaders of Nez Perce non- treaty bands on May 3, 1877, as they made one last attempt to remain on their land.

The remnants of Fort Lapwai are situated near U.S. Highway 95 in Lapwai, Idaho.

NORTH IDAHO INDIAN AGENCY

As part of treaty agreements, the U.S. Government set up an agency to oversee the terms of the treaties. Originally located at Spalding, the agency was relocated in 1904 to the site of Fort Lapwai.

CAMAS PRAIRIE

The Camas Prairie site is interpreted at a point of interest on the north side of U.S. Highway 95 at Milepost 233.6, approximately 6 miles south of Grangeville, Idaho.

This large prairie was a Nez Perce gathering place where camas bulbs were harvested for thousands of years.

TOLO LAKE

Several non-treaty bands gathered here on June 2, 1877, in preparation for moving to the Nez Perce reservation. Chief Joseph's Wallowa band and White Bird's Salmon River band were camped here when war broke out on the Salmon River, June 14, 1877.

Both of these bands were under military pressure to settle on the Camas Prairie. Angered by the forced move, several young Nez Perce decided to take revenge on some white men who had killed some of their people. As a result of this action and a second raid two days later, the 1877 Nez Perce War began.

Tolo Lake, a shallow lake covering about 35 acres, is the largest natural water body on the Camas Prairie. The lake, 6 miles west of Grangeville, Idaho, is accessible via several unpaved roads from U.S. Highway 95. The Nez Perce name for Tolo Lake is Tepahlewam (Split Rocks).

The lake, which is just east of Rocky Canyon, is an ancient council site the Nez Perce used for gathering foods such as camas root and for meeting with neighboring bands. Rocky Canyon was part of a transportation network in the area, connecting with the Salmon River and Snake River drainages.

The lake was named "Tolo" by the Whites to honor a Nez Perce woman who carried the news of the Nez Perce outbreak to the Florence mines. Her real name was Tulekats Chikchamit; it was shortened to Tule and then corrupted to Tolo.

Tula, Too-lah, or Tolo:  Her Nez Perce name is Tulekeec'esa ceex c'emit, which breaks down to tulekeec'esa, meaning "to place" or "betting on cards," and ceex c'eemit, meaning a "card dealer." Apparently she earned this name because of her frequent participation in this type of activity -- and indeed, her ability at playing ceexc'em.

Highway: U.S. 95 Milepost 233.6

WHITEBIRD BATTLEFIELD

The first battle of the Nez Perce War was fought at White Bird Battlefield on June 17, 1877. Rushing from Grangeville on the evening of June 16, 1877, Captain David Perry planned to stop the Indians from crossing the Salmon River to safety. At daylight the next morning, he headed down the ravine. Near the base of this hill, over 100 cavalry men and volunteers met disaster in the form of some 60 to 80 Indians, and the survivors retired in disorder. No Indians were killed.

The battlefield is about 15 miles south of Grangeville, Idaho, between U.S. Highway 95 and the old White Bird Grade approximately a half mile from the town of White Bird, Idaho.

Most of the formal interpretation at this site can be found at the point of interest area and an interpretive shelter on U.S. Highway 95 at milepost 227 that overlooks the battlefield. Exhibit panels inside the shelter contain descriptions of events leading up to the battle and the U.S. Army and Nez Perce perspectives of the battle. Visitors can take an auto tour near the battlefield. There are designated stops keyed to a brochure that provides information about the battle. This allows visitors to see the battlefield from different perspectives. An interpretive trail leads visitors onto the battlefield from the road along White Bird Creek.

Highway: U.S. 95 Milepost: 227

LOOKING GLASS CAMP

During General Howard's 1877 Nez Perce campaign, Looking Glass and his band were camped up Clear Creek. Looking Glass told Army authorities, "Leave us alone. We are living here peacefully and want no trouble." But on July 1 the military attacked, destroying his village, ruining his gardens, and capturing 750 Nez Perce horses. Looking Glass and his band joined other non-treaty Nez Perce and soon headed for Montana's buffalo plains.

The Looking Glass Camp is interpreted at a point of interest site on the north side of the Middle Fork of the Clearwater River along U.S. Highway 12 at Milepost 75.9 about 3 miles east of Kooskia, Idaho. A federal fish hatchery now occupies the village site where the U.S. Army attacked the Looking Glass Band during the 1877 Nez Perce War.

Highway: U.S. 12 Milepost: 75.9

COTTONWOOD SKIRMISHES

A Gatling gun firing from the top of a low hill held off a Nez Perce attack on July 4, 1877. The next day, Indians just east of here surrounded 17 Mount Idaho volunteers; two were killed and three wounded before cavalrymen from Cottonwood came out to rescue them. Chief Joseph's people, screened by this well planned diversionary skirmish, crossed the prairie to join their allies on the Clearwater. From there the Indians headed across the mountains to Montana, where the Nez Perce War ended three months later.

The Cottonwood Skirmishes interpretive site is at a highway rest stop about 2 miles south of Cottonwood, Idaho, on the east side of U.S. Highway 95 at Milepost 252.9. This site consists of state interpretive signs and a cast concrete marker, a chamber of commerce orientation sign, and a few picnic tables. The skirmish sites associated with the Nez Perce War of 1877 are on private lands, mostly in agricultural use, near the community of Cottonwood.

Highway: U.S. 95 Milepost: 252.9

CLEARWATER BATTLEFIELD

In pursuit of the Nez Perce, General Howard met the non-treaty bands at the Clearwater Battlefield on July 12, but he failed to subdue them. Advancing northward along the high ground with 600 troops and artillery, General Howard found the Indian camp on the flat across the river. But 24 brave Indians blocked his advance, and 100 more pinned him in rifle pits for a day. Then the Indians, camp and all, moved slowly northward past Kamiah, while Howard followed without fighting. After the Clearwater Battle, the Indians crossed the Lolo Trail.

The Clearwater Battlefield site is interpreted at a roadside pullout on the west side of Idaho Highway 13 at Milepost 21.2, approximately 2 miles south of Stites, Idaho. Most of the Army movements of the Clearwater Battle occurred on a broad plateau immediately east and southeast of Stites. Much of the battle area is now cultivated. The Nez Perce occupied the ravines, which are uncultivated land. The stone rifle pits and barricades raised by the Nez Perce are still present in a collapsed state, as is the smoking lodge used by the old men at various stages of the fighting. At least one Nez Perce burial reportedly occurred on the site. A sense of the large size of the battlefield has been retained through modern agricultural use. The Nez Perce village site across the Clearwater River from the present interpretive site is used for agriculture.

Highway: Idaho 13 Milepost 21.2

HEART OF THE MONSTER

The non-treaty Nez Perce forded the Clearwater at this location during the 1877 war.

Heart of the Monster is located in East Kamiah. The site is approximately 53 acres of land, 2 miles upstream from a bridge across the Clearwater River in Kamiah, Idaho. Most of the property is between U.S. Highway 12 and the river.

This site was a major prehistoric and historic Nez Perce crossing point of the Clearwater River. An interpretive shelter with two exhibits offers an audio program to give background information on the role of legends in Nez Perce culture and tells a part of the "Coyote and the Monster" legend in Nez Perce and in English. A short trail leads to the Heart of the Monster formation, where a small semicircle of seating is available.

WEIPPE PRAIRIE

In 1877 shortly after the Clearwater Battle the non-treaty bands held a council.

Weippe Prairie is a swath of camas prairie trending northwest to southeast. The town of Weippe, Idaho is situated within this swath along Idaho Highway 11. The site is a traditional gathering place where the Nez Perce harvested camas root, socialized, and worshiped for thousands of years. Lewis and Clark made their first contact with the Nez Perce at this site in 1805. This national historic landmark is also associated with the 1877 Nez Perce War.

MUSSELSHELL MEADOWS

Musselshell Meadow is located within the Clearwater National Forest, 10 miles east of Weippe, Idaho, on Forest Road 100. The Nez Perce name Sew'issnime (Sa-w'ees-ne-ma), meaning mussel and tributary, or Musselshell Meadow drainage, has been suggested for this site. For thousands of years this area has been a traditional gathering place where the Nez Perce harvested camas roots.

Visitors walk a short trail to a wayside exhibit that looks out onto the meadow.

LOLO TRAIL and LOLO PASS

The corridor of this trail and pass contain significant ethnographic, archeological, and historic resources associated with Nez Perce use during buffalo hunts as well as during the Nez Perce War of 1877.

The trail was used by the Nez Perce and U.S. Cavalry during the Nez Perce War of 1877.

The Lolo Trail is about 100 miles long, roughly from Weippe to beyond Lolo Pass (which is on the Idaho/Montana border).

From Lolo, Montana, to a few miles west of Lolo Pass, the trail closely follows U.S. Highway 12.

It then follows the high mountain ridges north of the highway for more than 80 miles, eventually descending to the Weippe Prairie near Weippe, Idaho.

The Lolo Trail is a national historic landmark.

It encompasses the Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) National Historic Trail and the Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail.

Known as the Buffalo Trail in ancient times, the Civilian Conservation Corps in the 1930s built the Lolo Motorway, closely paralleling the Buffalo Trail.

BIG HOLE NATIONAL BATTLEFIELD

On the western side of the Big Hole Valley, Ruby Creek joins Trail Creek to form the north fork of the Big Hole River; the steep slopes of Battle Mountain merge with the willow-dotted marsh that stretches to the river bed.

But the east bank of the valley is grassy, and when the Indians arrived there on the morning of August 7, for the first time since leaving Clearwater, they could set up their tipis.

They cut trees to replace lost or worn-out poles, and put up 89 tipis. When camp work was done, they played games, sang, danced, and told stories long into the night. Looking Glass, believing that they were at last out of danger, did not post guards. Life felt almost normal again.

But by the next afternoon, August 8, Colonel Gibbon's advance party had found the Nez Perce camp. Shortly before down on August 9, Gibbon's men joined by civilian volunteers, crept through the darkness to the west bank of the Big Hole River, and prepared for a surprise attack on the Nez Perce camp.

The attack began prematurely, and the attackers crossed the river firing on the sleeping Nez Perce, some of whom scattered quickly, while others were slow to awaken.

The soldiers soon occupied the camp, but the Nez Perce warriors found sniping positions and with deadly accurate shooting forced Gibbon's men back across the river. There the soldiers dug in and were pinned down all that day and night, and the next day. Under this protection, Chief Joseph gathered his people together and hurriedly led them southward. Once more they were on the move, trying to avoid conflict.

Big Hole National Battlefield is 10 miles west of Wisdom, Montana, on Montana Highway 43. The Nez Perce were camped in this area in 1877 when they were attacked and overrun by Col. John Gibbon's troops. The 655-acre unit of the national park system is managed by the National Park Service. A self-guided trail leads from the lower parking area to the location of the camp at the time of the attack. Another self-guided trail leads to a site on the hill overlooking the scene where a prolonged battle took place, where the U.S. Army had placed a 12-pound mountain howitzer. After the army fired two rounds into the village, Nez Perce warriors subdued the howitzer detachment, and captured and dismantled the howitzer.

The Big Hole Battlefield visitor center primarily interprets the Big Hole Battle and the War of 1877. Wayside exhibits and battlefield markers supply details of the battle on the battlefield.

BANNOCK PASS

In 1877, the Nez Perce war combatants returned from Montana to Idaho through Bannock Pass on their way from Big Hole battleground to Yellowstone Park and Canada.

This traditional Indian route provided access from Montana's buffalo country to the Snake River and Salmon River fishing streams.

Hudson's Bay Company trapping expeditions came this way after 1822, and prospectors followed, searching for mines.

From 1910 to 1939, railroad trains from Dillon to Salmon steamed through here. Old Gilmore and Pittsburgh railroad tunnels and grades still can be seen from this highway.

Highway: Idaho 29 Milepost: 13.6 (at Montana state line)

CAMAS MEADOWS BATTLE SITE

This site was an important turning point in the 1877 campaign. Here, General Howard lost considerable momentum when the Nez Perce scattered and took some of his mules.

"Camas Meadows, a low and lush grassy area punctuating the basalt fields, is named for the plant whose blue flowers blanket the country each spring. The meadows are watered by a network of streams converging from the northwest, north, and northeast into two major courses — Camas Creek and Spring Creek. The two creeks begin to roughly parallel each other approximately 2½ miles south of the present community of Kilgore, Idaho. Camas Meadows encompasses an area approximately 5 miles east to west at its widest point, and 10 miles from north to south."
Nez Perce Summer 1877 by Jerome Greene

All day Sunday, August 19, the soldiers followed a broad trail left by the Nez Perce. After an 18-mile march across the sagebrush prairie, General Howard arrived at Camas Meadows. He camped along the high ground fringing the bottom of Spring Creek and named the camp in honor of Captain Calloway.

The Nez Perce scouts returned to their camp with word of the military's location. In a vision Black Hair saw himself and other warriors escaping with the Army's horses. Thus a plan evolved to slow the movement of the troops.

The Nez Perce arrived at Howard's camp before down on August 21st. Several warriors dismounted and crept quietly among the herd, cutting loose animals and removing horse bells. A sentry noticed riders approaching and called out to them. Suddenly, shots exploded in the dark, and chaos spread quickly throughout the camp. It took several minutes for General Howard and his men to overcome their surprise and organize themselves. They struggled to get dressed and find their weapons in all the noise and confusion. As bullets flew through the cool night air, the Nez Perce escaped unscathed with the military stock in tow.

At sunrise General Howard ordered three companies of about 150 men to recapture the stolen stock. After a 6-mile pursuit, Captain Norwood's company caught up with the Nez Perce, dismounted, and exchanged shots. As the cavalry moved, in the warriors executed a swift flanking maneuver and attacked from three sides. Captain Norwood and his men quickly found themselves cut off from the other two units. Retreating to a nearby aspen grove, Captain Norwood and his troops hastily built rock rifle pits for defense and hunkered down to await reinforcements. Bugler Brooks lay dead.

Bernard Arthur Brooks enlisted in a cavalry unit as a young man. He carried his bugle everywhere. He ended up in Captain Norwood's unit of General Howard's Army. A letter written to his sister states that Trumpeter Bernard A. Brooks, Co I 1st. Calvary, was killed in action with hostile Nez Perce Indians at Camas Creek on August 20, 1877. His body was recovered and buried with military honors at the Camas Meadows Camp. Bugler Brooks' grave has been officially marked but is on private property in Camas Meadows.

Meanwhile, the Nez Perce warriors assessed the success of their raid; they had captured most of the mule herd and some of the horses, leaving General Howard with too few pack animals to continue his pursuit. The Nez Perce broke camp and left Camas Meadows.

Camas Meadow Battle Site in southeastern Idaho consists of Gen. Oliver O. Howard's Camp Calloway and, about 3 miles away, Capt. Randolph B. Norwood's encounter site. These two skirmish sites, which are associated with the 1877 Nez Perce War, represent yet another unsuccessful attempt by General Howard to capture the fleeing non-treaty Nez Perce.

Access is over 25 miles of seasonal unpaved road east of Interstate Highway 15. There is one large interpretive sign. The concrete monument at the site summarizes the 1877 war and gives a detailed account of the Camas Meadows battle.

Highway: Interstate 15, northbound and southbound

Milepost: 167 (At Dubois Rest Area)

TARGHEE PASS

During the Nez Perce War of 1877, shortly after the battle at Camas Meadows, the Nez Perce headed over Targhee Pass for Yellowstone National Park six days ahead of General Howard's command.

This was the second time they had crossed the Continental Divide.

By the 1870s this standard route started at Camas Meadows and passed through Targhee Pass to the basin of the Madison River, and was known as the Bannock Trail.

NEZ PERCE CREEK

On August 24 the Nez Perce passed from the Firehole River up Nez Perce Creek.

Yellow Wolf had seen campfires from a group of tourists from Radersburg the night before. It was the next morning that they surprised the Radersburg tourists as they were preparing breakfast.

Over the next two days the fate of these tourists hung in the balance.

Some of the party escaped relatively quickly and were found by Howard's troops and scouts.

On August 25 they crossed the Nez Perce Ford on the Yellowstone River, about 5 miles north of Yellowstone Lake, and camped on the east side of the river.

Here the Nez Perce released the remaining tourists, providing them with food, horses, and assistance in recrossing the Yellowstone River.

CANYON CREEK

After emerging from Yellowstone National Park, the Nez Perce were pursued by the cavalry. In a successful Nez Perce rear guard action just north of the Yellowstone River, the Nez Perce were able to gain time by stopping the pursuing troops.

COW ISLAND

On their way to join Sitting Bull in Canada, the Nez Perce crossed the Missouri River at Cow Island.

This crossing is about 120 miles downstream from the river port of Fort Benton; it served as head of navigation during low water each autumn. Cow Island in 1877 comprised two large islands covered with cottonwoods, along with several small islands, located in a major bend on the south side of the stream.

A couple Nez Perces approached the landing to ask for provisions from the freight deposit. The sergeant left them a sack with some hardtack, and placed a side of bacon with it. The Nez Perce then opened fire. This was at sundown, and from that time on till daybreak, it was a furious fight. The Nez Perce approached the supply dump undetected, and after taking the food, tinware, and other supplies they desired, they set fire to the rest of the supplies. In the morning the Nez Perce had already departed, passing up a benchland headed for the Bear Paws. There were no fatalities in this skirmish.

BEAR PAW BATTLEFIELD

Finally on September 30, in the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana, just south of the Canadian border, the Nez Perce were surprised by Army troops under the command of Col. Nelson A. Miles.

The chiefs rallied their followers, but after five days of fighting and intermittent negotiations, they finally surrendered to Miles, more from exhaustion than from defeat.

Of the 800 non-treaty Nez Perce who had started the trek to Canada, some had been killed in battles or skirmishes en route, some had succeeded in reaching Canada, some were hiding in the hills, and others had found sanctuary with other tribes.

Only 480 were left to surrender, and they had traveled almost 1700 miles only to be stopped 30 miles short of sanctuary. In the end, it was the loss of fighting men, as well as the emotional blow at Big Hole, that broke the Nez Perce's power to resist.

Bear Paw Battlefield, a national historic landmark, is about 16 miles south of Chinook, Montana, along Cleveland Road (County Highway 240). A series of nine low-mounted wayside exhibits is dispersed around the battlefield's ¾-mile interpretive trail, outlining the story of the battle.

The White Bird Band succeeded in escaping to Canada, but after Chief Joseph's surrender, the rest of the Nez Perce were exiled, first to Kansas and later to Oklahoma.

NEZ PERCE CEMETERY

In 1885, eight years after the surrender at Bear Paw, Chief Joseph and his band were allowed to return to the Northwest Territory from Indian Territory (Oklahoma), but they never could return to their beloved Wallowa Mountains. Joseph spent his remaining years on the Colville Reservation and died here in 1904.

The Nez Perce Cemetery is an active, traditional Nez Perce cemetery. It occupies about 5 acres in Nespelem, Washington, about 16 miles north of Coulee Dam on Washington Highway 155. The cemetery is associated with the return of the Joseph band from exile in Oklahoma. The site is managed by the Colville Confederated Tribes, with special attention from the Joseph Band of the Nez Perce. There are no visitor facilities.

The cemetery holds the remains of many Nez Perces, including members of the Joseph Band and members of the Umatilla and Nez Perce Reservations. It is the primary active cemetery for the Joseph Band, holding the remains of participants in the Nez Perce War of 1877, including the younger Chief Joseph and Yellow Wolf. A 1905 monument has been placed on Chief Joseph's gravesite. A number of historic grave markers date from throughout the 20th century; there also are many unmarked graves.

NEZ PERCE CAMPSITES

Even in exile on a reservation that was not in their homeland, the Nez Perce continued their traditional way of life, refusing to live in houses built by the U.S. Government. These were their winter and summer homes and the last place where Chief Joseph lived.