Weippe, Idaho — Lewis and Clark Came Out of the Mountains Hungry

By the time the Corps of Discovery reached the Weippe Prairie in September 1805, the Bitterroot Mountains had nearly wrecked the expedition.

Food was scarce, men were weak and horses had been slaughtered.

Then they encountered Nimiipuu families on a prairie long used for camas gathering and other seasonal activity.

The Nimiipuu provided food and assistance. Lewis and Clark were grateful; several digestive systems were less enthusiastic about the abrupt menu change.

The encounter mattered far beyond dinner.

The expedition left equipment and canoes with Nimiipuu people before continuing west, then returned the following year when deep snow delayed passage back across the mountains.

Modern Weippe developed much later through farming and timber.

The prairie still explains the meeting better than any monument. One group had just emerged from brutal mountain country. The people already living there knew exactly where the food was.