Near Kooskia in Idaho County, Idaho — The American West (Mountains)
My Name is K'useynisskit
I am the Trail of the Buffalo
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, May 10, 2018
1. My Name is K'useynisskit Marker
Captions: (upper left) Bald Man.; (lower left) Weitas Meadows.
Inscription.
My Name is K'useynisskit. I am the Trail of the Buffalo. You can find me on the ridgeline above you. I’ve seen many pass this way, some in joy and some in sadness, some in peace and some in war. For the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) I was K’useyneisskit or ‘road to the buffalo.’ For the Selish (Salish) I was Nap-to-nee-sha or ‘road to the salmon.’ For Lewis and Clark, this “. . . Indian road . . .” led them across “. . . the most horrible mountains.” From earliest times people have traveled across my back from the rivers of the west to the plains of the east, down my arms from high mountains gathering areas to fishing grounds. I was a key link in a vast trade network carrying buffalo, salmon, shells and bows from ocean to ocean. In more recent times visitors have scratched for gold, cleared trails and built roads across me. Some still call me K’useyneisskit, some know me as the Lolo Trail, the Lewis and Clark Trail or the Nez Perce Trail. But by whatever name I’m known, my history continues, and the beauty of the vast mountains and clear rivers that surround me remains.
You can find me on the ridgeline above you. I’ve seen many pass this way, some in joy and some in sadness, some in peace and some in war. For the Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) I was K’useyneisskit or ‘road to the buffalo.’ For the Selish (Salish) I was Nap-to-nee-sha or ‘road to the salmon.’ For Lewis and Clark, this “. . . Indian road . . .” led them across “. . . the most horrible mountains.” From earliest times people have traveled across my back from the rivers of the west to the plains of the east, down my arms from high mountains gathering areas to fishing grounds. I was a key link in a vast trade network carrying buffalo, salmon, shells and bows from ocean to ocean. In more recent times visitors have scratched for gold, cleared trails and built roads across me. Some still call me K’useyneisskit, some know me as the Lolo Trail, the Lewis and Clark Trail or the Nez Perce Trail. But by whatever name I’m known, my history continues, and the beauty of the vast mountains and clear rivers that surround me remains.
Erected by U.S. Forest Service, Clearwater National Forest.
Location. 46° 27.036′ N, 115° 5.04′ W. Marker is near Kooskia, Idaho, in Idaho County. It is on U.S. 12 at milepost 140 near Gravey Creek/Saddle Camp Road (Forest Road 107), on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Kooskia ID 83539, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Idaho — Idaho’s Panhandle. It is also in the American Mountain West, specifically in the Pacific Northwest, and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor. Globally, it is in North America, the Rocky Mountains, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere.
Credits. This page was last revised on September 11, 2018. It was originally submitted on September 11, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 423 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on September 11, 2018, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
