Lewis & Clark's Visit to Lawyer Canyon

On May 10th, 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition rode down the Suzie Creek ridge into Lawyer Canyon.  The expedition came to reclaim horses Twisted Hair and Broken Arm cared for over the winter, while the expedition had gone down the Clearwater, Snake and Columbia in dugout canoes to the Pacific.  They camped in the Canyon for three days before going to a month-long camp in Kamiah, while they waited for the snow to melt atop the Bitterroots.

Lewis wrote in his journal that Broken Arm's lodge sounded like a nail factory, a sound familiar to him because Jefferson had a nail factory at Monticello. The sound came from women grinding Camas root with pestle and mortar.

The Indians raised an American flag on a pole beyond the lodge, and set a special tipi for Lewis and Clark's use.  The flag had been presented to Twisted Hair the previous fall.  Here in the canyon near the spring, they held an official council with the headmen delineating the United States desire for peace and trade.  They asked the Indians to make peace with neighboring bands to facilitate trade.  The Nez Perce said peace might be made with the Shoshone, but no one could have peace with the Blackfeet.