Day 7 June 22 Bears Paw Battlefield

Quiet morning in Malta. I really like the small Montana towns. We took a walk downtown and found this cute little house, I could live hear. Malta is a stop for the Amtrak train, however the stop is not much to look at. Just a building with a small waiting room.

The little park we stayed at, Trafton Park, has a couple of ball fields and a rodeo arena. As we were packing up to leave, several horse trailers pulled thru. Wish we could stay for the rodeo tonight.

Heading west we saw our first mountains of Montana. The distant Bears Paw Mountains came into view. We would get closer to them as we drove.

At the town of Chinook we headed south on the Nez Perce Highway. This part of the country has lots of "highways and byways". We have seen Fort Highways, Lewis and Clark Trail, Scenic Byways. Lots of places to adventure to.

We were headed to the Bears Paw Battlefield. This is sacred ground for the Indians. It was here on October 7, 1877 that the Nez Perce Indians were attacked by the US Cavalry. The Nez Perce were on the run from the military and were only 2 days journey from the safety of Canada, where Sitting Bull was waiting. As they rested here they were attacked unexpectedly. After three days of battle and many casualties on both sides Chief Joseph decided to surrender. As he handed over his gun he announced "where the sun now stands, I will fight no more". Many of his group were able to run for safety to Canada and were sheltered by Sitting Bull. One story told of a young boy who went to Canada and did not return to the US to see his Mother for seven years.

There were several locations where offerings were left

We left the Highline Road at Havre and headed southwest towards Great Falls. Our next stop was along the Fort Trail at Fort Assiniboine. This was a military fort, established to protect the settlers against the Indians.

Our next destination is one of my favorites. I know that I am following the Lewis and Clark Trail, but I really haven't talked much about them. Well this is one of those spots that speaks volumes. It was here on June 2, 1805 that the Corps had to make a "decision". They knew from the Indians there was a large falls on the Missouri River but as they approached this area they were not sure which way to turn. A large river was coming in from the north, was this the Missouri or was it the river following on the left? They camped here for nine days while trying to make a decision. A party went north and another went southwest exploring the rivers. Captains Lewis and Clark thought for sure it was the river going southwest since it flowed clear. The river from the north was muddy, swollen by Spring runoff. The Captains intuition proved correct since the "great" falls was discovered downstream. The strong following river out of the North was name the Marais River. This is a French word meaning "marsh of the swans" since much water fowl was found in this area. The Marais River is a large tributary of the Missouri River.

Marais River on the left, Missouri River on the right

One of the places that they can say for sure that the Corp camped

Next stop was Fort Benton. This is a really nice little river town. It was the last stop for the steam boats coming up the Missouri River since the Falls prevented any further travel. Fort Benton became a huge shipping point for all points west. Trade going both ways made this a very valuable location.

The area is now well known by River Runners. The Missouri Breaks downstream are a great location to float the river.

This is the Baker House, which is one the original and oldest homes in town. There wasn't much building material so the house was first made with adobe bricks. The walls are extremely thick to protect against the summer heat and winter cold.