Clarks Fork Canyon
*Adventurous Travel: roads not recommended for motor homes or vehicles towing trailers; usually passable from July to October*
Troops throughout Montana had been alerted to the movements of the Nez Perce, an all out effort was assembled to converge from several directions to halt their progress.
“The Nez Perce…….may continue down the River to the bridge at the forks, go up the East fork and so over into Clarks fork or one of several passes leading towards the Yellowstone or Bighorn. East of the Yellowstone River and Lake, elk and deer are plentiful and both are filled to quantities of large trout. Your best and surest plan is to cling to the trail to the last, as you may rest assured other troops will sooner or later get in front of these Indians hampered as they are with their wounded and large herds.”
– Colonel John Gibbon to General Oliver O. Howard, August 26, 1877
With six companies of your regiment and the Artillery Detachment [a bronze twelvepounder Napoleon gun] with your command you will proceed by rapid marches, via the valley of the Yellowstone and Musselshell Rivers to the vicinity of Judith Gap, sending forward rapidly to Fort Ellis, M.T., to obtain possible information regarding the movements of the hostile band of Nez Perces…”
– Colonel Nelson A. Miles to Colonel Samuel D. Sturgis, August 12, 1877
Scouts gathered information about the movements of the Nez Perce and relayed that information back to the troops over rugged terrain. Hostile encounters made communication difficult. Ultimately it fell to the judgment and intuition of the army leaders to decide the best course of action.
“What hurt us worse than all else, was the discovery that the Indian trail entered the valley hardly more than a mile or two above the camp from which we had so recently started on that night march [September 8]. Had we remained where we were the Indians would almost have walked into our arms.”
– Private Theodore W. Goldin (7th U.S. Cavalry), years later
It was about half way between the current highway and the canyon that Colonel Sturgis and his men camped, waiting to intercept the Nez Perce before they turned south to the Shoshone River.
“Waiting a full day longer than the time agreed upon for the return of our scouts, the Colonel became anxious, and dispatched two scouting parties... with orders to penetrate into the range and try and discover traces of our overdue scouts.”
– Private Theodore W. Goldin
My command, discovering Joseph’s ruse, kept the trail which Sturgis had been so near, but had not seen, and, finally, slid down the canyon, many a horse, in his weakness, falling and blocking the way. The mouth of this canyon, which debouches in to Clark’s Valley, was not more than twenty feet across
from high wall to high wall. And one may imagine the scene of cavalry, infantry and pack-mules crowding through it, and admire the quick wit of an Indian who had the hardihood to try the experiment, and break the almost impassable roadway.”
– General Oliver O. Howard
