The Nakota Indians (Yankton Sioux) welcomed Lewis and Clark because Lewis and Clark guaranteed their protection from their enemies. They held a 3 day feast for Lewis and Clark and they ate "Fat Dog". The Arikara Indians marveled at Lt. York, who was a black man. They actually rubbed his skin to be sure it wasn't painted on and called him "Big Medicine". To the Oyate Piute Indians the buffaloes were their guardians. Oce ti Sakowiz was a young warrior who the bison helped return him to his tribe. So now they will care for the bison as long as they live.
11,000 years ago the Indians herded the buffalo to the cliffs to fall to their deaths called Buffalo Jumps. The Giant Bison became extinct 6000 years ago. The modern buffalo is smaller. These modern American buffalo have larger heads and neck bumps and more ribs than the true buffalo( those from Asia and the African Water Buffalo). These modern buffalo roam in herds with a dominant male who has a breeding harem that he protects against wolves.
The Indians ate Boudin Blanc- buffalo sausage which was a suet of kidney and shoulder meat. They also cooked the buffalo leg bones , cracked them open and extracted the marrow to spread onto corn bread. The buffalo foot bones became toy horses for little boys to play a game of hunting and war. In the hoof and pen game they would swing the hoof bones and catch them on a sharp point. The buffalo horns became huge spoons. Nothing was wasted.
Lewis and Clark and their Corps of Discovery met many, many Indian tribes and about 50 different languages on their expedition west. The Indians also made use of sign language very effectively when they encountered a tribe that did not understand their language. All of the different tribes used the earth and its resources very carefully; wasting nothing.
In the western plains and the mountains of Idaho lived the Salish(Flathead) and Kalispell Indians. They ate bitter root, camas, fish, deer, buffalo and elk. Their enemy were the Blackfeet Indians. When the Salish chief, 3 Eagles, knew Lewis and Clark were near, he asked his braves to bring them in unharmed. Lewis and Clark and their men had to cross over the Bitter Root Mountains for their next stage of their trip to the Pacific Ocean. It was snow covered with many fallen trees. They were exhausted, hungry and cold for 11 days and resorted to eat 3 colts and 1 horse to prevent starvation on the Weippe Prairie. The Nimiipu and Nez Perce Indians used hides and tulle mats made of bulrushes to keep warm.
The Nez Perce had portable houses made of hides and bulrush (tulle) stalks that repel water. It is used on the floor as mats because the tiny air pockets in the stalks insulate in Spring, Summer and Fall. In the winter they moved to longhouses made with pole tripods formed into double ridgepoles. The rugged, hilly plateau provided them with good food. In the spring they fished the salmon runs. In the summer they gathered over 100 plants for food and medicines, including the camas which they made into cakes.. When fall came they killed buffalo and dried the meat. In the winter was the time for ceremonies and storytelling. They were excellent horse breeders because they had lush grasses. The horses were bred for strength, endurance and surefootedness. Wealth was measured by how many horses a person owned. The Nez Perce Indians made many tools from teeth, bones, antlers and stones. Nez Perce became their American name because several of the tribe had pierced noses. The Nez Perce Indians had an alliance with the Crow and Flatheads.
When they reached the territory of the Nimiipu Indians an older woman of the tribe was responsible for their friendly greeting. She had been captured by the Blackfeet and sold to a white trader, who was very friendly and took her back to her tribe. Because of this she told the tribe not to harm Lewis and Clark.
While staying there the Orofini Indians helped them make 5 dugout canoes by burning out the centers of pond pine trees to be able to launch into the Clearwater River. They branded their horses and asked the Nez Perce Indians to please pasture them until the spring when they planned on returning. It took 2 days to arrive at the Snake River and another 6 days to reach the Columbia River. From the Columbia River(whitewater) they went through Celilo Falls, to the Short Narrows, to the Dalles and the Cascades. They were able to accomplish between 20 and 60 miles a day. At the Short Narrows they couldn't portage the boats, so they rode the rapids. The Indians watching were very surprised that all 5 canoes made it. Today this area is classed as a Class V rapids. Because Sacajawea was with them, the other Indians they met did not consider them a war party because a woman was with them. They had upset stomachs from the amount of oily salmon they were eating now. So they decided to eat dog meat. At Celilo Falls there was a 20 foot drop so the carried the canoes. The Long Narrows and Celilo Falls are both under water now because of the Dalles Dam built in the late 1950s.
At the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers they met the Palouse, Palus, Solkulk and Chimnapun tribes. These Indians dealt mainly in fishing and trade. They were of a stocky build with flat heads. Their lodges had mat floors with flat tops which meant they must have very little precipitation because a large amount of rain would not fall off the roof. It seemed the Indians had eye problems because they had to constantly look at the glare from the sun off the river. Their habit of eating unwashed sandy roots led to worn down teeth.
When they arrived at the Dalles they rested for a while to dry out. The Dalles was the dividing line for the Indian languages. They left behind the Nez Perce languages and entered the Chinookan languages. The local Indians helped them with their passage; but they took blankets, axes and supplies in payment without asking first. So Lewis and Clark had to set up guards to ensure they had enough supplies for their trip. These Eneeshurs Indians had homes made of split wooden planks and stored their fish in rectangular baskets that held 100 # each. Their main diet was fish. The Chilluckittequaw Indians on the west coast at the Pacific Ocean has lightweight canoes with carved animal heads on their bows.
This trip took a total of 17 months and they covered 3174 miles.
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