Hilger
At Hilger you are crossing the historic Carroll Trail. The Carroll Trail was established in the 1870s to transport freight from the Missouri River to Helena, Montana, and the gold fields. At this point the Nez Perce headed north, while Howard’s command, a week later, followed the Carroll Trail northeast toward the landing at Cow Island on the Missouri River.
The Nez Perce, constantly on the move and unable to replenish their stores, raided a Crow village about twelve miles northwest of Lewistown where they acquired horses and dried buffalo meat. The results of that encounter were recorded in the diary of scout John W. Redington.
In one part of the Judith we found the remains of a wrecked Indian camp and wondered how it happened. From the way things were torn up around there, there had certainly been quite a little battle. George Huston figured out that the camp had been occupied by Dumb Bull’s outfit of River Crow Indians, who were drying buffalo meat and were attacked by the Nez Perces…. We found by moccasin tracks that several Indians had skipped out afoot, and when we passed Reed’s Fort later in the day we found that the scout’s conclusions were correct. Dumb Bull was there, and was feeling pretty sore about the way the hostiles had cleaned him out of all his horses. But still he declined the invitation to come along with the scouts and get some sweet revenge.
– John W. Redington
