(Three panels, presented left to right, form this marker.)
The Flight of the Nez Perce
In Search of Peace
In the mid-1870s the United States government attempted to force the Nez Perce (Nee-Mee-Poo or Nimiipu) people of Oregon, Idaho, and Washington onto an Idaho reservation. For those who didn't move to the reservation, a tragic sequence of events resulted in open warfare. After several fights and two major battles in Idaho at Whitebird Canyon and the Clearwater, five bands reluctantly left their homeland. They followed the Nee-Mee-Poo (or Nimiipu) Trail, one of their traditional routes, over the Bitterroot Mountains.
When they reached this point in late July 1877, many Nez Perce thought they had left hostilities behind them. They anticipated safety in Montana, among a white and Indian population who had always been friendly. It was here, however, that they received their first indication of the relentless pursuit that was to come.
Unknown to the Nez Perce, soldiers in Montana had received orders to assist in cutting off their escape. Soldiers and citizen volunteers set up a system of barricades here to prevent the Nez Perce from passing. Fort Fizzle was not just a tactical obstacle - it was an ominous symbol of the government's determination to stop the flight
of the Nez Perce.
Fort Fizzle
A Successful Failure
What occurred here was one event among many in an American tragedy - the flight of the Nez Perce.
In July 1877, scouting parties from the 7th Infantry at Missoula verified rumors that "hostile Nez Perce" were approaching over the Lolo Trail. Ordered to block the passage of the Nez Perce, about 35 soldiers headed up Lolo Creek where, on July 25, Captain Charles Rawn selected the terrace in front of you for his defensive position. His soldiers, joined by citizen volunteers, constructed a breastworks from earth and logs, and dug shallow rifle pits. Over 200 men joined forces to prevent the Nez Perce from passing.
About four miles west of here, at Woodman Flats, parleys were held between the Nez Perce and Rawn's forces; the Nez Perce were ordered to surrender arms, ammunition, and horses. They refused, promising to pass peacefully.
Many of the citizen volunteers accepted the Nez Perce promise. Sharing fears of destructive retaliation on families and property, they abandoned the "fort" and trickled home. Soon Captain Rawn had insufficient forces to fulfill his orders - orders from an Army still embarrassed by the Little Big Horn disaster of 1876 and now stung by Nez Perce victories in Idaho.
On the morning of
July 28, the Nez Perce bypassed the breastworks by climbing up the low ridge to your left and traveling just out of sight behind the ridge in front of you. They descended east of here and entered the Bitterroot Valley. The "fort" had "fizzled." But it was a successful failure. The battle few participants wanted was avoided. The Nez Perce proceeded south through the Bitterroot Valley, confident that they had a non-aggression pact.
When the confrontation here was over, locals sarcastically named this place "Fort Fizzle" to ridicule a mission that failed.
Regulars & Volunteers
An Uncomfortable Alliance
The events here at Fort Fizzle brought citizen volunteers shoulder to shoulder with Army regulars. It was, however, an uncomfortable alliance. The Army regulars viewed volunteers as a disorganized, undependable mob looking for thrills and booty. The volunteers thought soldiers were illiterate immigrants, drunks and shiftless Easterners unable to hold a job.
Upon hearing of the imminent arrival of the Nez Perce, the Governor issued an emergency call for citizen volunteers. Missoula's newspaper ran the plea, "HELP! HELP! COME RUNNING!" Scores responded, coming from nearby communities. Leading the volunteers were their "officers," elected in democratic
fashion based on prior military experience and local reputation.
The soldiers were volunteers too, but for five years of service. Some were career soldiers, several were Civil War veterans, and many were immigrants. Most had been laborers or tradesmen prior to enlistment; their ages ranged from 18 to 49. Some of these soldiers were killed or wounded 12 days later at the Battle of the Big Hole.
Although skeptical about the volunteers, Captain Rawn realized that he could not hold his position without them. When the citizen volunteers began leaving after accepting the Nez Perce promise to pass peacefully, Captain Rawn bristled at the militia's refusal to submit to his authority. Another officer threatened to shoot a volunteer officer to prevent "desertion." But the volunteers left anyway.
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