The Battle at Canyon Creek

The Battle at Canyon Creek. on the Nez Perce (Nee-Me-Poo) Trail. In June 1877, several bands of the Nez Perce, resisting relocation from their native lands in northeast Oregon to a reservation in North-Central Idaho, attempted to escape to the east through Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming over the Rocky Mountains into the Great Plains. By September, the Nez Perce had traveled nearly one thousand miles and fought several battles in which they defeated or held off the U.S. Army forces pursuing them. , At Canyon Creek, the Nez Perce held off and escaped from a cavalry force outnumbering them at least two to one. However, the loss of about 400 horses to the Crow scouts was a blow as it placed an additional burden on their remaining and increasingly worn-out horses and slowed their flight toward Canada. , The Friends of Canyon Creek, a Laurel organization, have built a wayside interpretive shelter near the mouth of the Canyon Creek Canyon, approximately 7 miles north of Laurel, where much of the conflict took place.