Exploring on the River

Exploring on the River. . , Seasonal Migrations , The Nimi’ipuu migrated throughout the region of the Snake River and its tributaries. They traveled seasonally to take advantage of the food sources: camas bulbs, berries, deer, elk, bear, and salmon. Their mobility was greatly enhanced by their herds of horses, allowing them to take explorations over Lolo Pass into the plains of Montana for bison and down the Columbia River for fishing. , ”We came to… with a view to make some lunar observations , the night proved Cloudy and we were disappointed.” , ~Capt. Clark, October 10, 1805 , Whether it was from Indian information or guesswork, Lewis and Clark determined that the Snake River was the same “Lewis’s River” which they had encountered in the Lemhi region near Salmon, Idaho. Clark utilized all available resources to compile navigational data for his maps. He took compass readings at every bend of a river or trail and figured by dead reckoning what the distance traveled might be. His map shows a latitude reading of 46 degrees, 29 minutes for the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater rivers. The actual latitude is respectably close: 46 degrees, 25 minutes. , MacKenzie’s Fort , Fur traders found this area not long after the Lewis and Clark Expedition departed the Nez Perce Country. In late 1811, Donald MacKenzie and ten other members of John Jacob Astor’s Pacific Fur Company reached this region while on their way to establish a trading post near the mouth of the Columbia River. He reappeared in August 1812 and built a small post on the Clearwater River about five miles above the confluence. However, this fur trading post was abandoned a year later due to the War of 18 12 and because the Nimi’ipuu did not want to engage in trapping beaver. , The Lure of Gold , E.D. Pierce, discovered the first gold in Idaho in 1860. By the spring of 1861, several thousand miners crossed the Weippe Prairie to the Pierce gold mining fields despite the fact that these lands belonged to the Nimi’ipuu. , Steamboats on the Snake , The first sternwheelers came to this valley to support the gold rush. They brought men and supplies to feed the frenzy of activity up the Clearwater River. In 1871, the steamboat Shoshone was piloted from Boise through Hells Canyon to Lewiston – the first and last time anyone attempted to run those rapids in a steamboat. Other boats were not as fortunate. The sternwheeler Imnaha sank at High Mountain Sheep rapids in 1903. There were no casualties as all twelve crew members abandoned ship.