Soda Butte, Wyoming
September 6, 1877 - Soldiers begin moving up Soda Butte Canyon
Soda Butte is a travertine (calcium carbonate) mound that was formed more than a century ago by hot springs. When the U.S. Army passed by this feature in 1877, the springs hydrothermal water and hydrogen sulfide gases were much more active. It was near this spot that troops under the command of Captain Orlando (Rube) Robbins and a correspondent from the Idaho Statesman were ordered by General Howard to follow the Nez Perce.
A short distance from the Soda Butte Trailhead there is a trail that passes close by the spot where S.G. Fisher and his scouting party killed a deer and stopped for a meal. General Howard was moving on toward Crandall Creek. Upon entering the Hoodoo Basin, Captain Robbins discovered that additional Nez Perce, possibly scouting parties, had joined with the main Nez Perce group and Chief Looking Glass. The very evening that Captain Robbins and his troops entered the Hoodoo Basin a storm moved into the area. Many of the men recalled the extreme cold and how they feared they would freeze to death.
“That night our efforts were principally directed toward keeping our blankets wrapped around us. No sooner did we fall into a doze that one of these zephyrs would rush along, ripping our blankets open and exposing to the chill air of the night. Next morning we resumed our travels along another high ridge, but for several miles could not find a descending place.”
- Idaho Statesman Journal Correspondent
