Rye Creek

The Bitterroot Valley is steadily narrowing, and here along Rye Creek, on one of the last wide flats of the valley, Myron Lockwood had settled.

A certain band of the Nez Perces were under the command of T-whool-we-tzoot ... This was ... a very unruly lot. While passing Lockwood's ranch, some of this band went into the cabin and helped themselves to about 200 pounds of flour, 30 or 40 pounds of coffee, one file, two or three shirts, and some other small articles. On reaching camp they went to Looking Glass and told him what they had done. Looking Glass was very angry and told T-whool-we-tzoot that unless they obeyed his order they should be put out of the camp. He said he would not permit plundering, and demanded seven head of horses from those Indians as payment for the articles they had stolen. The thieves consented to give up seven head of horses and leave them at the ranch, but Looking Glass would not be satisfied unless they branded the horses with Lockwood's brand and left them at his ranch. I understand that Lockwood, not satisfied with the seven horses left him, went on the war path, joined Gibbon's command, got shot at the Big Hole battle and lost his brother at the same place.

Duncan McDonald

Closing the gap between his command and the unsuspecting Nez Perce, Colonel Gibbon came by Rye Creek on August 6, just two days after the Nez Perce.


Timeline

Credits

The Nez Perce Flight to Canada - An Introduction

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