After a day of rain, on Friday to a partly cloudy shy we headed south on Highway 93 to see the Bitter Root Valley. With the Bitter Root Mountains to the west and the Sapphire Mountains to the east we headed south out of Missoula. Our first stop was in LoLo, Montana. It was there that we stopped at Traveler's Rest State Park. This state park marks the location of a centuries-old Native American campsite that was used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition in 1805 and again the summer of 1806. In-fact, it is in the only scientifically verified Lewis and Clark campsite in the nation along the 8,000 miles of the Expeditions epic journey.
The place named "Travellers' Rest" by Meriwether Lewis in 1805 had been known by the Salish as Tmsmli (the place of no salmon) for thousands of years. 200 years before Lewis and Clark camped on this spot, well worn roads radiated in four directions as part of the intricate network of trade and culture that extended across the landscape. People traveled throughout North America
often stopping to rest and trade at geographical crossroads.Tipi poles were left here through the summer camping season as community property. Families brought reed or grass mats or animal skins to cover the lodge poles.
When the Lewis and Clark Expedition arrived in the Bitterroot Valley area in September of 1805, they were exhausted, hungry and had few horses. While the Expedition's appearance puzzled the Indian people they met in this area, it was obvious this group of light skinned, short haired strangers needed help.
On September 9, 1805, Meriwether Lewis noted in his journal that the expedition was camped near a "fine, bould running stream," and called it "Travellers Rest."
When the Lewis and Clark Expedition stopped here in 1805, they made preparations for their westward journey over the formidable mountains. Here they took celestial observations, hunted for game, and readied their horses and themselves for the journey. As we rounded the corner we spotted the doe in the bottom photo. I think she was as surprised as we were.
While the expedition had originally hoped to find a water route to the Pacific, they feared the rivers here had extensive waterfalls downstream. To avoid the delay of another long portage
, the Captains decided to follow a land route (today called the Lolo Trail) that the Salish and Nez Perce people told them was the best way to negotiate the Rocky MountainsOn the return from the Pacific Coast in late June of 1806, the expedition once again stopped here at the Travellers Rest area to prepare for the next leg of their journey. Over four days, they repaired their rifles, hunted game and made natural history observations.
Two men in the Corps were quite sick during their visit. As he commonly did for any ailment, Meriwether Lewis prescribed Dr. Benjamin Rush's Bilious Pills - power full purgatives that contained among other things, mercury. (During the archaeological study here, researchers detected a trench-like disturbance in the soil. Familiar with early 19th century military rules for encampment, the archaeologists knew that the Corps dug its latrine 300 feet away from the camp area. Careful measurements revealed that the trench in question was approximately 300 feet from the front of the camp. Additionally, tests completed with a probe confirmed the presence of mercury vapor in the soil within this trench. For ailing Corps members Silas Goodrich and Hugh McNeal the extended time spent in the latrine in 1896 was quite likely an unfortunate experience, but for the researchers their misfortune is the triumph of lovers of history.
Another interesting part of history that is little know or told. I find all this so interesting!!
That is all for this installment, more on our journey south through the Bitterroot Valley below.
Candy and Johnny
