Turning point
by Joseph A. Mussulman
For three days the Corps rested here, gathering strength for the arduous 150-mile trek across the Bitterroot Mountains. The campsite was about two-thirds down in the photo, among the cottonwoods that shelter Lolo Creek.
Today's Lolo Creek in Montana
by Joseph A. Mussulman
At 3 o’clock in the afternoon, 11 September 1805, Toby led the Corps of Discovery out of Travelers’ Rest camp toward the Bitterroot Mountain barrier.
The artist's interpretation
by Joseph A. Mussulman
At Lewis’s right is Clark’s servant, York, dressed in blue as befitted a personal slave at that time. The Indian squatting at Lewis’s left hand is Toby, the Shoshone guide the captains had hired to lead them across the Bitterroot Mountains toward the Columbia River.
Hub of the west
by Joseph A. Mussulman
In the afternoon of 9 September 1805 they turned westward at a creek they dubbed Travelers’ Rest, today known as Lolo Creek. They stopped at a gathering place that Indians had been using for that same purpose for thousands of years.
Their daring tactical plan
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Dividing into as many as five separate details was part of a bold, diplomatic plan to achieve three of the objectives set by President Jefferson.
Thinking of South Carolina?
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Lewis and Clark and their men camped on 9–10 September 1805 and again on 30 June though 2 July 1806 beside a stream they called “Travelers Rest Creek.” Meriwether Lewis may have seen or sensed a comparison between it and the Travelers Rest in South Carolina.
The Bitterroot National Forest
by Joseph A. Mussulman
The orator spoke of the promises of “regions yet groaning under unviolated forests.” Lewis responded similarly: “With you I trust, that the discoveries we have made will not long remain unimproved.”
Archaeological evidence indicates that deliberate burning of forests and fields has been occurring on the North American continent for at least the past 10,000 to 20,000 years.
Fire has been part of the Bitterroot Mountain landscape for a long time. No wonder Clark saw “emence quantity of falling timber which had falling from dift. causes i e. fire & wind.”
Lewis and Clark's Montanan names
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Lewis and Clark’s name “Travelers Rest” was too site-specific to simultaneously function equitably with the creek, the peak, the hot springs, the pass, and all the rest. By the time settlers began moving into the region, the old name was basically meaningless.
Clarkia and rough wallflower
Clark mentions a plan to divide forces after reaching Travelers Rest, and Drouillard is sent to find Nez Perce men to guide them. Lewis discusses the Clarkia flower and prepares two more plant specimens.
Baby on board
by Kristopher K. Townsend
The captains’ journals give us a small glimpse into the experiences of Jean Baptiste Charbonneau as he traveled with the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Edgar Paxson captured the essence of the fast-disappearing Old West as he personally experienced it. In 1895, he painted “Over the Trail of Lewis and Clark,” his first known scene from that episode in western history.
Clark did not randomly insert wiggly lines merely to hint at the topography around K’useyneiskit. By comparing his sketches with a modern USGS map we can make reasonably good guesses as to what drainages he actually saw.
A worthwhile study
by Joseph A. Mussulman
How did the Lolo get its name? Let us briefly retrace our steps to a succinct conclusion.
A "lolo" was a "carrier"
by Joseph A. Mussulman
The verb, lolo, in the Chinook Trade Jargon, meant “to carry, load, bear, bring, fetch, transfer, lug, or pack.” Thus a “lolo” was a “carrier.”
Naming Lo Lo's Fork
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Lt. John Mullan surveyed the Northern Nez Perce road across the Bitterroot Range in 1853-54 to assess its suitability as a railroad route. He never met anyone named Lolo, but was told by an Iroquois guide and interpreter that the creek was called the “Lo Lo Fork,” or “Lo Lo’s Fork.”
A compendium of canoes in the journals
by William W. Bevis
The author lists every incident in all the journals, yielding information about the expedition’s boats and boating, especially concerning the canoes.
Lewisia rediviva
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Flathead Salish, Kutenai, Shoshoni, and Nez Perce people all regard the bitterroot with solemn reverence. No other root may be harvested until the elder women of the tribe have conducted the annual First Roots ceremony.
An interview with an elder
These songs are used in honorings, giveaways, recognition of society members, and respect for veterans. Blackfeet reporter Pelah Hoyt talked with Professor of Music Joseph Mussulman about the expedition and its music.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
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Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).