Long Camp

Clark spent much of the stay as a doctor. The Nimiipuu came to him with ulcers, rheumatism, sore eyes and weak limbs, and he became, in his own words, their favorite physician, dressing wounds, draining abscesses and handing out salves and eyewash; the eyewash bought food and horses. The camp itself was set inside the sunken ring of an old Nimiipuu lodge, which Lewis thought easy to defend. Chopunnish, the name historians gave it, was the captains' mishearing of what the people called themselves; Kamiah means place of rope litter.

What the plaque says

Long Camp In 1806, Lewis and Clark waited six weeks for snow to melt from the high ridges of the Lolo Trail east of here. In May and June, they camped across the river from present-day Kamiah near the railroad bridge. With their Nez Perce friends, they hunted, traded and played games. They showed the Nez Perce "the power of magnetism, the spye glass, compass, watch, air gun and Sundry other articles...novel to them." Finally, with Indian guides, the captains set out on their long journey home. 310 Text prepared by the Idaho Historical Society Marker made & installed by Idaho Transportation Department

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Heart of the Monster — 0.7 mi
  Where the Nimiipuu say their story begins: Coyote, a monster, and the heart he tore loose, still on the Clearwater's bank.
• Weippe Prairie — 9.7 mi
  Where the Nimiipuu decided what to do with Clark's starving men, and fed them camas until they were sick.

More markers nearby

• Asa Smith Mission — steps away
• Looking Glass — 6.5 mi
• Camas Prairie — 9.7 mi
• Nez Perce War — 10 mi