Colt Killed Creek

Lolo Trail covered in snow.

University of Montana, Mansfield Library

Quick Facts

Significance:

Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, their party, and Pikee Queenah passed through here in 1805 after making a wrong turn. With little to eat, they killed and ate two horses here.

Designation:

Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, National Register of Historic Places, National Historic Landmark

Amenities

14 listed

Beach/Water Access, Benches/Seating, Fire Pit, Parking - Auto, Parking - Bus/RV, Pets Allowed, Picnic Table, Tent Campsites, Toilet - Flush, Toilet - Vault/Composting, Trailhead, Trash/Litter Receptacles, Water - Drinking/Potable, Water - Hookup - Boat/RV

“All the time, Lewis and Clark were looking for hipt [food], and when they had little or no food they ate dogs and horses. But sometimes they are yuc ciqamqal [pitiable dogs]. Sometimes they were given horses to eat because they looked so yucna [poor/pitiful], and we ate horse with them to be polite and good to them. Ayeaa! We never ate dogs with them! We never ate dogs because they helped us while tracking and hunting.” —Allen V. Pinkham, Sr., Nez Perce, 2007 

When Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and their party followed Pikee Queenah (Swooping Eagle), their Shoshone guide, westward across the Lolo Trail in September 1805, they encountered snow and little food to hunt or forage. These visitors did not know the area, and their guide had only been on this trail once, many years ago.  

The Flathead, Nez Perce, and other Indigenous people who frequently traveled this path knew that September was a bad time to cross because of the snow and lack of food along the way. As Clark noted in his journal, the grass was “entirely eaten out” by horses and no salmon swam in the stream.  

Crossing at this time of year, the expedition members had to resort to drastic measures to feed the men (and woman and baby) with them.  

They decided to kill a horse and eat it. Joseph Whitehouse wrote that everyone was very happy with the horse meat. In honor of the meal, they called the nearby stream Colt Killed Creek. 

The meal was so satisfying, amid such cold and miserable conditions, that the next day Clark noted they “Killed a Second Colt which we all Suped hartily on and thought it fine meat.”  

They had purchased these horses from Shoshone people near the Missouri River Headwaters. Did they know the unprepared travelers would resort to eating these useful animals? 

About this article: This article is part of a series called “Pivotal Places: Stories from the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail.”

Lewis and Clark NHT Visitor Centers and Museums

Visitor Centers (shown in orange), High Potential Historic Sites (shown in black), and Pivotal Places (shown in green) along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail