Just For Kids

Plants and Animals

This page will introduce you to some of the plants and animals found along the Nez Perce National Historic Trail. Some of these can be found on our coloring pages, too. Have fun!

SALMON

The salmon was a very important food source for the Nimiipu. Salmon could be caught from the rivers and streams with a scoop, with dip nets, with fish traps, or with gaff poles.

The salmon were split, cleaned, and hung up on poles to dry, or smoked on wooden racks. Fishing was very important to the culture, and the salmon's return each year from the ocean to the rivers was sacred to the Indians.

Lewis and Clark recorded in their journals that the Indians gave them gifts of salmon. They wrote that they saw many women splitting and drying the fish, which were hung on racks. William Clark one day was served a salmon dinner; he said the man who fixed it for him brought in a piece of wood, and then used some elk horn and stone tool to split the log into small pieces. He laid those onto the fire and added some round stones.

"A woman handed him a basket of water and a large Salmon about half Dried," he wrote, "and when the Stones were hot he put them into the basket of water with the fish which was soon sufficiently boiled."

He said the fish was taken out of the water and set out on a platter made with rushes, and the Indians boiled a salmon for each of the men who were with Clark that day. He said the salmon was delicious.

APPALOOSA HORSE

The appaloosa is Idaho's State Horse.

The Nez Perce Indians domesticated and raised this beautiful horse long before Lewis and Clark crossed into what is now Idaho. The dark spots either confined to an area around its rump, or spread across the horse in a "leopard" pattern, along with speckled faces, can identify the Appaloosa.

Nez Perce tradition says that they first saw the horse among their closest relatives and allies, the Cayuses.

The horse reached the Nez Perces by about 1730 and it brought many changes to their lives. The people could now travel farther and for longer periods of time, transporting more supplies, trade goods, and provisions.

Click here for neigh

The Nez Perces practiced selective breeding, meaning they intentionally picked out the best stallions and the best mares to produce the best foals. Horses were considered personal property and objects of wealth.

As the Nez Perce begin the 21st century, they are again actively involved in several different horse programs: breeding, riding, training, horse care clinics, field trips, trail rides, parades, and Nez Perce demonstrations in full traditional regalia.

The horse culture has been life for the Nez Perce for nearly 200 years, and will continue on into the future.

COYOTE

A coyote has a dog-like body and a long, bushy tail. The coyote is not very big - it weighs an average of just 30 pounds. The thick coat is grayish in color, with reddish tinges to the legs and ears, and a lighter-colored belly and nape.

Coyotes have yellow eyes, which reflect as greenish-gold at night. Extremely vocal animals, the coyote's mournful howls and yapping barks often fill the night with haunting songs.

Coyotes are extremely intelligent, curious, and adaptable creatures, inhabiting diverse habitats throughout Asia, Europe, and western North America. Classified as opportunistic carnivores, coyotes readily eat fish, rabbits, rodents, deer, and carrion, as well as birds, plants, insects, and even small domestic animals.

Click button to hear the coyote sing

In the beginning, before La-te-tel-wit' (humans), Nez Perce legend tells us there was COYOTE. He was the principal character in many of the Nez Perce stories, endowed with all the characteristics of a human, including strengths and frailties. He was a hero, trickster, fool and savior - all in one.

The creation of the Nimiipu (Nez Perce People) is told at the Heart of the Monster at East Kamiah, Idaho, part of the Nez Perce National Historical Park.

BISON

The American bison is thought to have journeyed to North America via the land bridge that once connected our continent to Asia. The bison slowly moved southward over the centuries, reaching as far south as Mexico. When the Europeans discovered America, the bison's range stretched from Mexico all the way to New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Georgia, and Florida. They were also found in the Pacific Northwest. The greatest numbers, though, inhabited the plains and prairies. At their peak, probably before the discovery of America, they may have numbered 60 to 70 million.

Our bison, commonly called a buffalo, are related to the European buffalo, but they are not related to the Asian buffalo or cape buffalo of Africa.

Bison belong to the cattle family. Both males (bulls) and females (cows) have a single set of curved hollow horns. The bulls often weigh a ton or more; they stand 5 to 6 feet high at the shoulders. Despite their enormous size, these animals can wheel and charge quickly. They have amazing speed and agility.

Click button to hear the bison

Indians usually hunted buffalo in late spring. They used the hides from females for clothing and robes, and their lodges and shields were made from the stronger hides of bulls.

These animals breed during mid to late summer. Usually quiet and aloof, the bulls become quarrelsome and can be heard bellowing hoarsely. Most calves are born the following spring, between April and May. Calves are a bright tawny or buff color.

Bison reach maturity at 7 years; they can live to be 25 to 30 years old.

Indians believed the white buffalo had special qualities or powers.

CAMAS

Camas bulbs are dug in early summer; they are the bottom part (below ground) of the camas flower. It is best to remove the black outer layers of the bulb immediately upon digging.

To cook the bulbs, a pit is dug in the morning about 18 inches deep and about 5 feet in diameter. A layer of very hot stones is placed on the bottom of the pit.

Over the stones comes a layer of green meadow grass with a little water sprinkled on it, to steam the bulbs and keep the grass from drying too much, and that's followed by a layer of green alder leaves. The alder adds a nice flavor to the bulbs.

The camas bulbs are laid evenly over the leaves. The pit is covered, and about 6 inches of dirt is piled on top like a lid.

At nightfall a rather large fire is built on top of the pit and then allowed to burn out. This process is repeated the next night. The morning of the third day (two days and two nights) the pit is opened and the bulbs checked. (They are almost always done. If not, more fire is placed on top for another day). The bulbs are removed and some are placed in jars while still hot. Others are allowed to cool and are eaten there or later. Modern refrigeration will let one keep cooked bulbs indefinitely. Or, they can later by allowed to dry and will, in this manner, also keep indefinitely.

Sometimes the bulbs get overcooked into a dark brown, glue-like mass. A gruel can be made from this for immediate consumption, or it can be dried into loaves for future use.

In the days before refrigeration and canning in glass jars, the Nez Perce people prepared camas into loaves. This was done by taking hot fresh bulbs and mashing them into a kind of dough, and then forming them into loaves. These loaves or cakes were then cooked some more in order to seal the outside, after which they were allowed to cool and were dried in the sun or over a campfire. These dried cakes were stored for future use, keeping fit for several months.