Kamiahpu

Kamiahpu belongs to the Clearwater River country of the Nimiipuu, whose name means the people and whom outsiders called the Nez Perce. Near present-day Kamiah, a former village site became the expedition camp that Lewis and Clark called Chopunnish in 1806. Returning east after their winter on the Pacific coast, the explorers had recovered horses left with the Nimiipuu the previous autumn. Snow still blocked the Bitterroot Mountains, so they remained beside the Clearwater from May 14 to June 10. The site offered pasture and access to the river, where the salmon run was expected. Shallow depressions marked the houses of an earlier village. During this stay the expedition hunted and fished, while local visitors watched demonstrations of a compass, spyglass, watch, magnetism and an air gun. When the travellers finally resumed their journey, three Nez Perce guides accompanied them. The long halt makes the Clearwater community visible as a place of hospitality, practical assistance and exchange on a difficult mountain crossing.