Twisted Hair, Lewis, and Clark
Douglas Hyde (1993)
Lewis and Clark State College, 10 October 2009. © Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
When Clark arrived at the Clearwater River on 21 September 1805, he met Twisted Hair at his fishing camp. Twisted Hair helped Clark locate a canoe-building site, drew maps of the route to the mouth of the Columbia, and along with Tetoharsky, traveled with the expedition to The Dalles. On that journey, he was river guide and interpreter-emissary among the Sahaptian-speaking peoples they encountered.
While they wintered at Fort Clatsop, he managed the Corps’ horses that would take them across the Rocky Mountains. The captains asked him to join them on that return journey, but on 6 June 1806, he declined.
Selected Pages
September 21, 1805
The main party struggles
Still on the Northern Nez Perce Trail, Lewis and several of the men find themselves “growing weak for the want of food”. Ahead, Clark descends from Weippe Prairie and visits Twisted Hair’s fishing camp.
September 22, 1805
Bitterroot Mountain triumph
Lewis and the main party arrive at the Weippe Prairie villages “having tryumphed over the rocky Mountains”. Clark and Twisted Hair climb up from the Clearwater River and the two captains unite.
September 23, 1805
Nez Perce council
At the Weippe Prairie Villages, the captains hold their first Nez Perce council with a message of “peace and good understanding”, and trading commences. Lewis and two others are sick.
October 5, 1805
Two Nez Perce guides
At Clearwater Canoe Camp, two new dugouts are put in the water. The horses are rounded up, branded, and given to Nez Perce caretakers, and two guides volunteer to take them down the river.
October 7, 1805
Down the Clearwater
After a busy day, thirty-three expedition members, Lewis’s dog, Seaman, and the two Lemhi Shoshone guides start down the Clearwater in their five new dugout canoes. Challenging rapids test their skills.
October 8, 1805
A canoe accident
On the Clearwater River, the paddlers navigate numerous rapids and pick up guides Twisted Hair and Tetoharsky. After a canoe accident at Colter’s Creek—present Potlatch River—travel abruptly stops.
October 14, 1805
'Ship Rock'
After passing a ‘ship rock’—Monumental Rock on the Snake River in Washington—Sgt. Ordway‘s canoe gets stuck on a rock and fills with water. They stop for the day and begin drying wet items.
October 15, 1805
Snake River rapids
The first half of the day is spent drying items while the hunters and Lewis explore the high plains above the Snake River. They continue through several difficult rapids and camp above yet another rapid.
October 18, 1805
Down the Columbia
At the mouth of the Snake, the captains council with the Wanapums and Yakamas. Late in the day, the expedition heads down the Columbia and camps below the Twin Sisters in Wallula Gap.
October 24, 1805
Running the Short Narrows
The dugout canoes are safely run down the Short Narrows of the Columbia astonishing the local onlookers. Below the narrows, the expedition encounters their first Chinookan-speaking People.
October 25, 1805
A "bad whorl & Suck"
The expedition’s most valuable cargo is carried around the Long Narrows of the Columbia, and then the best paddlers run the canoes. At present The Dalles, Oregon, Fort Rock Camp is established.
May 8, 1806
An argument about horses
On the Camas plains high above the Clearwater River, Twisted Hair and Cutnose argue about the expedition’s horses. Lewis describes the Nez Perce methods of extracting foods from the ponderosa pine.
May 9, 1806
Horses and saddles found
The corps moves about six miles to Twisted Hair‘s small camp near present Nezperce, Idaho. The horses and saddles left with the Nez Perce last fall are found, and then, it begins to snow.
May 12, 1806
Nez Perce speeches
At Lawyer Creek near Kamiah, Idaho, Nez Perce chiefs share with their people what they heard at yesterday’s council with the captains. The captains then give a gun and ammunition to Twisted Hair.
June 1, 1806
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.
June 6, 1806
Still no guides
Clark travels to Broken Arm’s village to repeat a diplomatic speech and ask for guides. He is given two peace pipes—one for him and the other for the Shoshones. Lewis describes the western tanager.
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Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
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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).