Do Them No Harm: An Interpretation of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Among the Nez Perce Indians
by Zoa Swayne
Category: Fiction

DO THEM NO HARM by Zoa L. Swayne is an interpretation of what the coming of Lewis & Clark meant to the Nez Perce Indians living in the Clearwater Valley in Idaho, 1805-1806. Lewis & Clark wrote daily entries in their journals. The Nez Perces preserved their legends, myths, & histories orally. From older Nez Perces the author learned certain stories that had survived from 1805-1806 until modern times. By blending the Nez Perce oral histories & legends with the facts as recorded by Lewis & Clark, DO THEM NO HARM presents a broader view of what took place in the Clearwater Valley in 1805 & 1806. The names of some of the Nez Perces have been preserved. The consternation at seeing men with hair on their faces, a black man, a huge dog, & a horse with rabbit ears is remembered. The Nez Perces helped the explorers find timber for canoes. They helped burn out five canoes & took charge of the party's thirty-eight horses over winter. After the expedition returned from the coast in the spring of 1806 the Nez Perces pointed out a good camping place near Kamiah, Idaho. Here they stayed until they could cross the Bitterroot Mountains. When the white men realized they could not get over the mountains without guides, three official Nez Perces guides led the way; four others joined them. Both white men & Nez Perces parted with regrets, admiration, & appreciation near Missoula, Montana, July 4, 1806. Notes, Bibliography, Index.