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A Natural Meeting Place

By: LC200 staff

Missoula is strategically located where five great mountain valleys come together; the Bitterroot, Hellgate, Blackfoot, Missoula and Mission. From this great intersection ran the trails used by Indian tribes to cross over into the plains to the west. The Lewis and Clark Expedition took advantage of these features on their return trip from the Pacific Ocean in 1806 making traveling in the mountains of western Montana much easier than it was on their westward trip the year before. The Missoula area is one of the few places in Montana visited by the full expedition on both the westward trip in 1805 and the return trip in 1806.

The Expedition stopped at Traveler’s Rest, near Missoula, in September of 1805 to let the men and their horses recover from the rugged mountain trip they had just completed. The place they camped at was commonly used as a rest stop for travelers through the area. After a couple days rest the Expedition followed the Lolo Trail on their way to the Pacific Ocean. While at their winter camp at Fort Clatsop, Lewis and Clark decided to direct their return trip towards Travelers Rest where they would split the Expedition into several parties.

The time spent at Fort Clatsop afforded the Captains time to plan their return trip. Capt Clark made adjustments to his maps and realized he had misunderstood some of what the Indians had told him about the mountains; he corrected that error. They also realized that they needed to explore two other rivers in Montana and only by dividing their forces could that be done. By sending one group down the Yellowstone River they would have succeeded in exploring both of the major east/west flowing rivers in the state. Additionally, Lewis needed to more fully explore the Marias River to establish the northern limits of the Missouri River watershed and the northern boundary of the Louisiana Purchase.

According to the plan developed Lewis would take a party on horseback and go west from Travelers Rest up the Hellgate and Blackfoot Rivers, cross the continental divide, then head down the Dearborn or Sun Rivers to the great falls of the Missouri. (This is generally how Highway 200 runs from Missoula to Great Falls today.) When they reached the falls Lewis would leave a few men there and take the rest to explore the northern reaches of the Marias River.

Clark would take the rest of the Expedition also on horseback follow the Bitterroot Valley down to the Big Hole and Beaverhead country where they had met Sacajawea’s people the fall before. Instead of crossing the continental divide on Lost Trail Pass and following their route of 1805, they would cross another pass and stay on the east side of the divide until they reached Camp Fortunate where they had stored their canoes. At that camp Clark would send Sergt Ordway and some men by canoe down the Jefferson River, past the Three Forks, down the Missouri River and to the Great Falls. Here Ordway would join with the men Lewis left at the falls, they would recover their caches, portage the falls and continue down the Missouri. Lewis hope to join this group at the mouth of the Marias River.

After sending Ordway off with the canoes from Camp Fortunate, Clark would take the horses and the rest of his group overland to the Three Forks and on to the Yellowstone. At the Yellowstone they would make canoes for the downriver exploring trip. This group led by Clark would join up with Lewis where the Yellowstone flows into the Missouri (near the Montana/North Dakota border). Before departing down the Yellowstone Clark would send Sergt Pryor and a few men overland with the horses to Fort Mandan. Pryor would join the Expedition when it caught up with him there.

The plan called to split the Expedition into as many as five smaller groups in western Montana and everyone would be back into one big group once they had crossed the state and were back to their winter camp of 1804. When the Expedition departed Travelers Rest on July 3, 1806 this plan was put in motion with Capt Lewis heading east overland and Capt Clark following a southerly direction.

Captain Clark and his party left Travelers Rest retracing their route of the previous year down the Bitterroot River to the continental divide. Here they turned east crossing Gibbon’s Pass and entering the Big Hole Valley then crossing the Big Hole Pass into the Beaverhead Valley reaching Camp Fortunate the evening of July 8. They avoided the difficult trail along the Salmon River that they had traveled the year before. This was the camp the Expedition stored their canoes at the previous year when they were able to get horses from the Shoshones. Clark calculated the distance to be 164 miles. Pvt Shields had found the Gibbons Pass trail, which was the trail the Flathead Indians used frequently, and Sacajawea told Clark about the Big Hole Pass. Clark figured that by following this trail down the east side of the continental divide instead of retracing their 1805 trail down the west side would save them two days. Clark records in his journal that the eastern route would make an excellent wagon road.

Clark left Camp Fortunate on July 10 having split his party into a group that was to bring the canoes down the Jefferson to the Three Forks and a group that was to travel with the horses overland to the Three Forks. Both groups arrived at their destination on July 13. They spent only a few hours here before they continued their homeward journey.

As the Captains had planned while still at Fort Clatsop, Sgt Ordway headed a party that continued with the canoes down the Missouri River to the Great Falls. There they would meet with part of the Group that had come overland from Travelers Rest with Captain Lewis. Clark would take his party with the horses overland from Camp Fortunate to the Yellowstone River. After surveying the area to the southeast that he was to be passing through, Clark saw a pass that had several Indian roads leading toward it and determined that should be his route. Sacajawea suggested one more to the south instead which Clark readily agreed to. Clark was looking at what we know today as Flathead Pass while Sacajawea suggested Bozeman Pass. Either would have worked but the route through Bozeman Pass was more direct.

Clark tried following the Gallatin River valley, but the meandering river with its sloughs and bogs made travel extremely difficult. Sacajawea told Clark about a road farther up on the plains that would lead them to the pass with little difficulty. He calculated this road to be 48 miles from the Three Forks, over Bozeman Pass and to the Yellowstone River. They reached the Yellowstone near present day Livingston, Montana (by today’s roads it is 56) on July 15. Many of the horses were limping badly with very sore feet from the rocky ground they had been traveling almost continually since they left Travelers Rest. Clark had “moccasins” made from buffalo skin and tied onto the horses. The moccasins helped the horses’ feet considerably.

The plan developed at Fort Clatsop was that when Clark reached the Yellowstone they would make canoes to continue their trip down that river. A few of the party would be sent overland to the Mandan villages with the horses. However when Clark reached the Yellowstone he could find no trees suitable for making dugout canoes from. Since he was not willing to rely on buffalo hides and make bull boats, the only choice was to continue riding the horses downriver in hopes of finding suitable trees.

July 18, 1806 was a day of high drama. Clark observed smoke coming from the south mountains. He speculated that Crow Indians set it as a signal fire. Either they took Clark’s group to be Shoshones and were announcing their location so the “Shoshones” could come trade with them or the Crows took them to be enemy and was warning other tribes in the area. In addition to this situation, Pvt. Gibson fell from his horse onto a tree snag that punctured his thigh two inches. He was unable to walk or ride a horse the next morning so Clark had a litter made for him to ride on.

Finally, on July 19 Clark and Pvt Shields found some trees big enough to make canoes from. Clark calculated they could make two canoes each 28 feet long, 16 inches deep and about 24 inches wide. By lashing them together so they would not capsize in the swift current, they would serve the party’s needs. Also that day Charbonneau saw a lone Indian across the river from the group, Clark saw signal smoke again from the same location as before, York shot an elk (this is one of the very few times much is said about York hunting) and Clark reports “badly wounding” a buffalo he shot at. Clark stays at this “canoe camp” until July 24 as the men are busy making the canoes, preparing clothes, and Gibson is recovering from his wound.

Two nights later half the horses were missing. Clark, remembering the smoke signals, was afraid Indians took them so he sent three men to guard the horses to prevent the Indians from getting the rest of the horses. When the men approached the horses, they spooked and scattered. All the would-be guards could do is return to camp. The spooked horses were rounded up and LaBiche, the best tracker, confirmed Indians had repatriated 24, leaving Clark’s group with an equal number.

On the 24th Sgt Pryor and two others left canoe camp with the remaining horses on their trip to Mandan. The two groups met again 12 miles downriver where Pryor crossed to the north side. He asked Clark for another person to help with the horses, “to keep them on course. In passing every gangue of buffalo the loose horses would immediately pursue them and run around and head them as if Indian riders were riding them on a buffalo hunt.” Pryor figured the only way to keep the horses under control was to have someone ride ahead scaring all the buffalo away before the horse caught sight of them.

It was in the Three Forks area and the Beaverhead Valley that Sacajawea gained her image as a “guide.” Clark recorded several instances where her knowledge of the area helped pilot them. He went on to say she had “been of great service as a pilot through this country.” However useful she was in her home territory, she had little knowledge of the rest of the territory the Expedition had passed through. As the Expedition continued down the Yellowstone her knowledge of the area would again dwindle and her use as a guide would disappear with it.

The pass Sacajawea suggested Clark use would become important in the developing Montana territory. While it officially became the Bozeman Pass, its unofficial name along with the Trail that crossed it was more indicative of the activities associated with it; the Bloody Bozeman.

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