Lewis and Clark and the Forgotten Trail; Lewis and Clark and the Forgotten Trail Promo

After completing an historic journey west the story of Lewis and Clark was only half way over in the spring of 18 06. Lewis and Clark in the Corps of Discovery began to retrace their steps their unique journey inspired a great nation. Though the Native American way of life changed forever. This is the story of their homeward bound trip. After completing an historic journey west the story of Lewis and Clark was only halfway over. Much has changed over the course of the past 200 years as Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery made their two year trek to document the expanse of the North American continent. Surprisingly the return trip is

often forgotten in historical writings though their experiences along the way were equally important in shaping our nation's history. In the spring of 1906 Lewis and Clark in the Corps of Discovery began to retrace their steps their unique journey inspired a great nation. Though the Native American way of life changed forever. This is the story of their homeward bound trip. This is an interesting part of the journey where it was an overland short cut to save time getting back to St. Louis. There was only one trip through the area and that occurred in May of 18 0 6. I believe the Corps first learned of this very important shortcut from there as Pearce guides an 18 0 5 they were told of this Overland Trail which can save about 80 miles on their trip so the Corps was very interested in taking it on their way back.

Most of their return trip retrace their original path but there was one specific portion that is often forgotten in Lewis and Clark history. This was a short cut that stretched from the mighty Columbia River to the confluence of the snake and Clearwater rivers near present day Clarkston Washington in Lewiston Idaho thanks to the advice of the Native Americans along the way. They informed Lewis and Clark about a trail that the various tribes in the region used for centuries in late 18 0 6. Captain Clark wrote the Indians informed us there was a good road referring to the Overland Short cut that would save them six to seven days of time. Listen Clark arrived here in October of 18 0 5 they were escorted into our country by two men. The journals call them a harsh and twisted hair. But when these two men escorted the expedition into their neighbors and their relatives homeland here we greeted them. As we would anyone to honor the Lewis and Clark expedition there are a few individuals who portray certain members of the Corps of Discovery Craig Rockwell to make Neil and

Gary Lantz or some of the key players whose efforts play an important role to the bicentennial one that provides an educational message about shaping our nation's history. I once we reach the ocean we recognize that our mission had been accomplished and we had only to find a place to winter and then head for home. We had met TVL and oh well let's ride out the mouth of the Snake River Canyon asked us if we would spend some time with him and his people. They had been informed of a good road it was corroborated by Gallup and others that this road existed. They said it would save something on the order of 70 miles an hour return journey. So rather than take the big band of the the river itself of Lewis's river through there if we took that straight short cut across it would save a great deal of time. We tried first but as I explained we were anxious to get to the ocean before it snowed again so we asked him if we might have that meeting with him on our way

home the next spring. We knew that travelling across land. Much less arguing that travelling on rivers. So we were actually to listen to his suggestion. What is known as the forgotten trail today has been named by a variety of tribes who inhabit the region. It was often referred to as the Nez Perce trail to those travelling from the Columbia River. Since the trail led to the land with the Nez Perce people reside. Though today's name suggests a lost pathway. It is one that has stood the test of time. It was designed and planned as part of the old Nez Perce trail to allow people to access from almost the Bitterroot Mountains down to litle balls and it was an old fishing trip. Some people have started calling it the forgotten trail and I think it's because for many many years the people that are calling it that forgot the whole story of us. As it is some of us have never forgotten. It's an every day event for us and we think of it as The Good Road because the good road sums it up.

The Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery made reference to it as The Good Road in their journals. Today the forgotten trail is a fascinating corridor that provides a rich history of their travels and offers a glimpse of what Lewis and Clark actually experienced in the spring of 18 0 6. And even though it doesn't get written about because no one died here no one got sick here and no one really had anything of great significance happened to them personally. This is a very important part of the trip. When Lewis and Clark came through they they compared this part of the journey to the valleys of the Ohio in the Missouri River. And it opened the eyes of many people back east when they learned about this that what a great place to settle what a great place to be and that good road opened up. And today we have one of the bread baskets of the world. And so their effect and their reach is not forgotten far from it. It carries on the forgotten trail winds from the edge of the Columbia River up the mouth of the Walla Walla river through the towns of Prescott waits Byrd and Dayton Washington. It continues along the foothills of the Blue Mountains and passes through Pomeroy Washington before rising over the Alps summit down to the confluence of the snaking clear water rivers near

Clarkston Washington and Lewiston Idaho. Listen Clarke in their study of the different science. Disciplines as they cross the country had an incredible impact. One of the things that comes to mind is course Jefferson really wanted to learn as much as he could about the different tribes that lived in the city because Jefferson foresaw that the people would be heading out into this country and he wanted to know what the Native Americans were like and how they could enter relate to those people. I always say there are two reasons why Lewis and Clark were successful and one of those two reasons is the esprit de corps the cooperation of the crew the the Corps of Discovery. The other thing was that any time that there was a difficulty a problem any time we needed help there was always a hand there to help us and it was always an Indian house. So I give much much credit to the Indian people

for their kindness and their openness and their honesty and their help to make that decision successful. This often forgotten journey is much more than a mere shortcut on their homeward bound trip. It was a section that helped shape the mindset of the native people and perhaps transformed their experience with the white man as their way of life changed forever. The Bicentennial has awakened a lot of pain that's been somewhat buried the past 200 years have been like a bad dream for most Indians in the West. Lewis and Clark were the Harben jurors. What would come later. They're not the architects of it but indeed they are the signal that means all of the adversity that's about to flood over our lands is coming. Perhaps a better name for the Lewis and Clark expedition would be you know the core of Discovery's travels through the land of the American Indians because that in fact is exactly what it was. This was not a barren wilderness across the continent on the contrary

you know it was dotted with urban centers and stationary tribes as well as the tribes across the plains. And what Lewis and Clark really discovered was what people had known about for centuries the bicentennial celebration share a proud history between the modern day settlers who called the Lewis and Clark Trail home. And what it means to them today but it also is an important reminder how we change the face of the Northwest forever in the Lewis and Clark bicentennial we use the term. Commemoration instead of the word celebration. And that's primarily because any time you're looking at a historic event you have to come to the realization that different people remember it differently. And certainly the Indian world recognizes that while Lewis and Clark was a positive encounter with them it was the

first contact with European man. And that was the beginning of some very difficult years for them and to a large extent the end of life as they had known it to that point. As Lewis and Clark and the core of Discovery left for a class of they headed back up the Columbia River you present the Portland Oregon. Once we reach the ocean we achieved our goal. We had told about the continent and then it was a matter of of. Coming back now the interesting aspect is that we were coming back on slightly different rounds like the forgotten trail through this area. And so it's it's it is interesting to see that there was new territory there. The fact that we were on land instead of the rivers gave us a much different perspective of this area that is now eastern Washington. As the Corps of Discovery embarked on their journey back home they stopped along the shores near washer girl Washington where they stayed for five days together food before making their way back to the Nez Perce. Though this unity needs help them they too run the verge of starvation due to the late arrival of the salmon.

We finally got through the islands made our way up the river. We realized that we needed some food. The captain said our trade goods were just a mere handful. We didn't have much left. So what do you do to get food. Well you go honey as we often did in the past and we had excellent hunters with us we stayed there a week. It gave us a time to repair the canoes kind of get an idea of what was around the area to re provision ourself which is what we were most concerned about. We were somewhat concerned that if we had made it back to the Great Falls of the Columbia the Indians there might not be as hospitable as we like we might have a difficulty obtaining food. And so we wanted to make sure that we had provisions that would get us through that that ordeal of portaging back around the falls and buying horses and that sort of thing. It is here where a new park was dedicated in August 2005. Car Park is the first of its kind honor Captain Clark himself. Bud Clark who is a fourth generation descendant of Captain Clark was invited to dedicate the park in Captain Clark's honor after this temporary stop at the Chinook. Together food as they headed up the Columbia River Gorge. They were heading

back to me to honor the promise of their return and to seek the much needed shortcut they desired to find. On April 27 they arrived in this area which is now called the gap. Captain Clark wrote the Indians informed us that there was a good road which passed from the Columbia opposite this village to the entrance of the Cous Cous on the south side of Lewis's river. On the return trip in April of 18 0 6 that meets them before they come to where his village is located. Perhaps he had heard of their coming there was very a large population concentration along the Columbia River with the native peoples of that time. So yeah that meets up with the group 10 or 12 miles before they come to a settlement. It kind of walks them out into the area and he was delighted to see us return to his territory he insisted that we remain at his village for some days give us freely of the food firewood and such that they had available. They arrive in this area they want.

On April 20 to cross out of this country and get across the river and Louis continuously argues that it's a good day for crossing there's no wind. You know please won't you lend us the canoes and yell it says no. Eventually they compromise and he loans them canoes to cross the horses over to the other side and he entreats them to stay that night. We traded our canoes for horses as much as possible and we continued to collect horses it's interesting because at that point at the mouth of the Walla Walla river civi Elop brought a gift to me personally a white stallion I was very moved by such a gift it's a gift bought you know you want something in trade for you. And by that time the tribe had very little left to offer and he really wanted a cattle. But they were down to the minimum number of kettles it took to cook for them. Number for the rest of the trip. Gift giving was something very important. You know the traditional cultures in this area.

And if you were given a gift it was expected that you would give a gift of equal value in exchange. JP Elop had said in that case I'll take whatever you think is fair and at that point Captain park above his own personal sword and gave it the cheapie elephant. That was an amazing thing for me to say. His sign of authority and rank he took it off and gave it to the chief. After this historic exchange between Captain Clark in chief and before the court discovery set off along the good road there was a party of epic proportions between two completely different cultures. The thing I remember mostly about our visit in that nation in that neighborhood was that the people there waited very patiently. To see our party down. Here who saw. Who had his fiddle with them for the expedition which amazingly makes it all the way across the country and back in one piece. He. Was very happy to break out the fiddle played some music and sang. Dance was so much to the polite posts.

So you sat out the failing them and sang and danced for about an hour and we asked the Indian people to dance was a very cheerful day there were about three hundred fifty men women and children all joined in a huge dance. Some of our men joined with dancing until late in the night. But Lewis and Clark didn't know was it almost every song they heard that night or every song I heard that my was a prayer. Our people were hospitable for that to them because that is our way. That is our tradition. In addition our people were hospitable to them especially our leaders because they want to know why they were here. The next day they helped us cross the river they use their canoes to help transport our baggage and help swim our horses across. And we said goodbye to these honest and friendly and helpful people. The last day of April 18 06 they've borrowed some dugout canoes from Yelp it. It's about midday before they can gather all the horses back up to start along this trail. They decide there's not enough time to get to the next water source and so they camped overnight shortly inland from the Columbia River

along the wall River right at the base of this trail and over the next morning they get a good start. On April 29 they made good time through unfamiliar territory along the way. They were believed to be experiencing a waste of abundant wildlife water trees and various species of birds. I just think it's a delightful area and it's a. Refreshing break from that. Sage brush. And grass land there were trees or there was water and it must have been a fairly good house but some of the geographical features have not changed much since Lewis and Clark's time. When you're doing this cross-country trip. Through all the colony there are records and sand dunes. April 30 is 18 0 6. There are many large breaks of pure sand 15 or 20 feet in many parts of the plains to which we pass today being camped at the place where we intercept the creek. On the first three young men followed them and caught up with them to return three steel traps that they had left behind.

The trap was left close to where they had been and that evening with the elephant so this would have been a long long year. This is quite an amazing thing when you consider the value. That the strap would have had at that time there's no other steel trap for hundreds of miles around in the fur traders just getting going be a very valuable tool to help you obtain lots of furs to aquire lots of trade goods and where wealth May 1st 18 0 6. I think we can justly affirm to the honor of those people that they're the most hospitable and sincere people that we have met with on our voyage. And so you can come here and you can get that sense of history. You can almost hear the murmuring of the Indian languages over the last several hundred years. Still happening right here we're in. When Lewis and Clark passed through 200 years ago. After these gestures of sincerity and honesty it established a new level of understanding and trust for Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. So much so that it completely changed the original perspective of the native people.

The way they view Indians is the way everyone here at Indians then savages heathen squad dredges thieves. They did not mince words. One of the things that we noticed is that as we approached a new village there was a great deal of apprehension. But that's where this young Indian girl got seconds away. That's where she came in handy because as we approached the village and they really recognize that we had a young Indian girl and her baby boy they recognized that we were not a war party because no civilized nation would send a woman to war. And so I laid there fear for their fear. And we were able to visit with them on a much more friendly basis to properly communicate with the natives. The English speaking husband of stack was an important addition to Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery. Tucson Charbonneau was a trader. With the Indians and the white man. And so Tucson then was not a trapper.

It was not a hunter. It wasn't part of the military. He was rather an independent interpreter that was hired by Lewis and Clark with his wife who has just shown it. So the two of them covered many many languages. He lived among the Indians he was a with the cause of the French called the resident par which means that he lived and Except that the Indian culture married into it and became a resident trader. Between the white civilization and the Indian and th Indian sign talk or sign language as he would know and so that lends itself well for people to visually contact or be in contact with me. So it's a sympathetic aspect that maybe is lost in the Lewis and Clark saga of somebody that sympathize with the Indians and really could understand what their culture was.

Though the core of discovery was on the fast track to Nez Perce country halfway across the forgotten trail they found that access to food did not always come easy. They were informed by our people that there was plenty of game there with good grains and there was fresh water. They couldn't get any game that's not our shark I mean as the expeditions. I mean May 2nd 18 06 I observe them be the inner part of a young and succulent stem of a large coarse plant with a turn at least I tasted of this plant. Don't disagreeable eat heartily of it without feeling any inconvenience. Luckily for the Corps of Discovery their Indian interpreter also made sure the food they chose was safe to eat. And also I was a cook and for Captain Lewis and Captain Clark and their big time a very and them were there with what I could and so I was a cook I wish I was an interpreter and I see things through those eyes And so I can help on how the people understand the other side.

The French side the Indian side and it's very important for me to do that after they reclaim their lost track from Chief yell its men and manage to find ample food to replenish their energy. The expedition was reinvigorated to continue along the good road and made their next stop. Your present day Dayton Washington there are now villages all along. Their town awaits Burgundy Pomeroy Matahari all along in this round that we took back when you go out to the paddock creek you can see that there is a recreation of the entire every horse and every dog every animal every Indian every member of the expedition is represented there. It's the only place in the trail where you can see the entire expedition from a vantage point that allows you to appreciate the size and scope of the expedition. Soon the trek to today's forgotten trail was nearing completion but there was one more challenge to cross over the Alps the summit as well as facing another unfortunate bout with starvation in the sea on the 3rd of May we camped on the other side of this aisle how is something here and and and I've met with a family that owns that piece of

property and they're very pleased to have a campsite of ours on their property. Edith Cole and her family are the proud owners of the property where Lewis and Clark last Can't before finishing their journey along the historic forgotten trail. Here 200 years later you can see the tracks. The wagons not just the Lewis and Clark bicentennial But the other wagons that marked the dirt road the trail that went like that. North of the highway and park camp they actually showed me on the side of the hill world where you can still see the trail that we traveled up the side of a hill. It's not visible because it was the Lewis and Clark expedition or there was a cargo. It's visible because that was the nose purse Three Forks trail had been used by generations of Indians and we simply were following in their footsteps taking this the lead of Chief yelped. In recognition of the Forgotten trail the two day wagon train of it was held to celebrate the area's proud heritage which followed the actual path of Lewis and Clark. Edith Cole son Gary

and friend Carl Ingram were the force behind this unique bicentennial event. Began. And went across country. Following the trail. Yes now that the standard traveled up the short distance. About three then back out swinging but just possible this was a two fer. Their site storage speakers tell the story of the early happenings along the trail. The story the writers and to know that we're doing quite a bit more. Prepared. You just have to be slightly afraid of getting.

Stale. To get the education out to the younger. Generation. Of. What it took for our forefathers to give us all the privileges and stuff that we have not very many people in the country got so I can say we walk or rode or drove our team exactly on the Lewis and Clark. In the trails we've traveled. There is a lot of original things that they see some of the trees today we were talking about are probably 200 years old or born they lived here at the time they came through. Why. After going up and over the Alps how he saw the Snake River came into view in Lewis and Clark

in the core of discovering where once again at the doorstep of the Nez Perce people the good road not only cut of an arduous 80 mile section of their trip home but it provided our current generation a trip back into history one that has a significant historical impact today. Our journey is yes is one of. Sharing the Lewis and Clark story but also learning a mission of listening and learning as we go. So I look forward to learning more about this neck of the woods about the American Indians that were here. When we look at the Bicentennial there is a lot of pain. There's a lot of loss that accompanies the history that comes after Lewis and Clark. This is the beginning of that history. But we also look to the future and say 200 years from now what will seven generations later what will those children have. I think there are some very unfortunate and difficult relationships that happen between the white people and the natives between the white government and the native people

and their governments. And those are all regrettable and they're all difficult but they're all in the past when the pain is. Expressed as rage when the loss is expressed as anger. Working on the Bicentennial is pretty tenuous but we stay at the table because we've learned from history that if we stay at the table we just might be able to work things out to the benefit of the gift the Creator gave us. We're moving in the right direction in that regard. Learning about one another. Certainly that's the legacy of this bicentennial that we have already experienced as we've moved across the country is that people have come together and gotten to know one another better got to know about each other in the Indian communities and in the non Indian communities and interacting between the two. One of the joys for me one of the exciting moments and one of the exciting parts of being

involved in this in this bicentennial commemoration is that it is giving a platform for the Indian people to say hey wait a minute you know where's the forgotten people here we want to express our story. We want to tell you what we see and how the world looks to us. We want to share our culture our foods our dance pad giving them that opportunity giving them that platform I think is one of the great things I think that is right and proper that this country take the time to commemorate our expedition from 200 years ago. It was a time of great prosperity. It was a time of great growth. What was a time when we were still. Determining the value of this experiment and to look back on that I think is right and proper for this generation.