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29-526: The upper Touchet was a traditional summer meeting place for trade and games for the Palus , Nez Perce and Walla Walla tribes. The name Touchet derives from the similarly pronounced Sahaptin term for the river, Tu-se meaning roasting. Nez Perce legend tells that coyote roasted salmon at this river after breaking a fish dam guarded by the seven swallow sisters at Celilo . The USGS cited two variant names, Pouchet River and Toosha River. The Touchet River

58-592: A gaging station on the Touchet River at Bolles (between Waitsburg and Prescott) from 1924 to 1989. The average annual discharge was 226 cu ft/s (6.4 m/s) with monthly averages ranging from a high of 440 cu ft/s (12 m/s) in February to a low of 35 cu ft/s (0.99 m/s) in August. A record peak flow of 9,350 cu ft/s (265 m/s) was set on December 23, 1964, during

87-441: Is a genus of plants in the family Asteraceae known commonly as balsamroots . These are perennials with fleshy taproots and caudices bearing erect stems and large, basal leaves. Atop the tall stems are showy yellow sunflower-like blooms. Balsamroots are native to western North America ( United States and Canada ). Native Americans used the sticky sap of this plant as a topical antiseptic for minor wounds. The entire plant

116-519: Is also joined by the Wolf Fork and its tributary Robinson Fork , which drain the area between the North and South Forks. The North Fork and South Fork join at Baileysburg , forming the main Touchet River, which flows north through Dayton where it is joined by Patit Creek and turns west. Below Dayton, it enters Walla Walla County and flows through the long Touchet Valley, past Waitsburg (where it

145-408: Is edible and nutritious, but not necessarily enjoyable because it contains a bitter, strongly pine-scented sap. The large taproots produced by Balsamorhiza sagittata are edible and were harvested, dried, and ground into a starchy flour by Native Americans when other food plants were scarce. The plants' large taproots are reported to be very palatable and far less bitter than the above-ground parts of

174-708: Is formed by several forks draining the north slope of the Blue Mountains above Dayton in Columbia County . All the forks have their head in the Walla Walla Ranger District of the Umatilla National Forest . The North Fork, about 25 miles (40 km) long, begins near Ski Bluewood , while the 20-mile (32 km) South Fork is formed by the confluence of Green Fork and Burnt Fork near Deadman Peak. The North Fork

203-588: Is joined by Coppei Creek) and Prescott (where it is joined by Whetstone Creek). Near the former settlement of Lamar (east of Eureka ) the river turns south flowing through rolling hills to its confluence with the Walla Walla River at Touchet , approximately 22 miles (35 km) upstream from where the Walla Walla joins the Snake River . The United States Geological Survey (USGS) operated

232-638: Is preserved to this day (see photo). Near the head of the Touchet valley, Dayton was officially incorporated on November 10, 1881. Palus (tribe) The Palouse / p ə ˈ l uː s / are a Sahaptin tribe recognized in the Treaty of 1855 with the United States along with the Yakama. It was negotiated at the 1855 Walla Walla Council . A variant spelling is Palus . Today they are enrolled in

261-563: Is probably a derivation of the term "A Palouse horse." They bred the horses for their distinct markings. In the latter half of the nineteenth century, the United States Army captured and slaughtered hundreds of tribal horses to cripple the tribe during the Indian Wars . In October 1805, Lewis and Clark met with the tribe, although most were away from the area for fall food-gathering and hunting. Lewis and Clark presented one of

290-466: The Christmas flood of 1964 . The Touchet is known for its rainbow and cutthroat trout fishing, especially in the upper and middle reaches. Summer steelhead , which like salmon are anadromous , and Chinook salmon spawn throughout a large portion of the middle and upper reaches of the Touchet River drainage, the population is imperiled in the 21st century. The Nine Mile Dam, constructed in 1905 on

319-711: The Nez Percé , Cayuse , Walla Walla , Umatilla and the Yakama . The Palouse (Palus) territory extends from the confluence of the Snake and Clearwater Rivers in the east to the confluence of the Snake and Columbia Rivers in the west. It encompassed the Palouse River Valley up to Rock Lake in the north and stayed north of the Touchet River Valley in the south. To the north, their territory bordered

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348-646: The Sahaptin -speaking group which traditionally inhabited the Columbia Plateau region of the northwestern United States. Roots provided plentiful food along the Touchet Rivers. These included quamash , camas , kouse , bitterroots , serviceberry (currant), chokecherry , huckleberry , gooseberries , rose berries and whortleberries , elderberries, wild strawberries , wild onions and balsamroot . Once Euroamerican immigrants began settling

377-587: The Sinkiuse-Columbia , Spokane , and Coeur d'Alene ; to the east, their territory bordered the Nez Perce; to the south, the Cayuse and Walla Walla; and to the west, they bordered the eastern boundary of the Yakama and Wanapum territories. The Palouse (Palus) lived in three main regional bands, composed of several village-based groups: The ancestral people were nomadic, following food sources through

406-728: The federally recognized Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation and some are also represented by the Colville Confederated Tribes , the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and Nez Perce Tribe . The people are one of the Sahaptin -speaking groups of Native Americans living on the Columbia Plateau in eastern Washington , northeastern Oregon , and North Central Idaho : these included

435-465: The fuzzy silver gray appearance of Balsamorhiza species. Balsamorhiza sagittata is the most common and widespread species in the genus within the Mountain West of North America. Palatable to wildlife and livestock, this is a herb that decreases under grazing. Though once covering much of the arid west in spring, this common forb has become uncommon and even disappeared in some areas like

464-751: The Elder), Tilcoax (chief of the Lower Palouse), Hinmahtutekekaikt alias "James" (one among the first to be Christianized, friend to Henry H. Spalding and Marcus Whitman , often associated to the Nimiipu band of Hollolsotetote), were the leaders until the Isaac I. Stevens Treaty in 1855, when the Palouse refused to take part but sent, as observers, Kahlotus (already a good friend to Marcus Whitman), Tilcoax (a war chief) and Slyotze; "Old" Hathalekin and Tilcoax led

493-603: The Nez Perce were migratory, returning to the same locations year after year; Celilo Falls lay at the western end of their annual range. On their return journey in 1806, the Lewis and Clark Expedition followed the Old Celilo Falls Trail , up the Walla Walla and Touchet River Valleys; they camped on the Touchet about 12 miles (19 km) north of today's town of Touchet on April 30, 1806. The Lewis and Clark Trail State Park commemorates their May 1, 1806 campsite on

522-587: The Palouse warriors against the U.S. troops during the Cayuse's uprising in 1847–1848, defeating col. Cornelius Gilliam and his "Oregon Volunteers" on the Tucannon Creek (March 14–15, 1848). In 1858 Tilcoax led again the Palouse warriors in the "Skitswish (Coeur d'Alene) War": in May 1858 the Palouses succeeded in taking possession of a herd of Army's horses, but, on September 8, 1858, their own herd of 800 horses

551-500: The Snake River Plains. The presence of this plant can be used as an indicator of overall range health—fewer plants and flowers indicate over-utilization of pastures and/or allotments. Hillsides covered with these flowers and perennial bunchgrasses and sagebrush can quickly become wastelands of cheatgrass and tumblemustard if cattle or other stock overgraze, consuming the herb and grass energy reserves again and again until

580-501: The Touchet River. The expedition left the Touchet River to follow a tributary, Patit Creek, at what is now Dayton. They camped about 2 miles (3 km) above modern-day Dayton on Patit Creek on May 2, 1806, before following the trail across country to the Tucannon River . The Whitman Mission catalyzed white settlement of the region, beginning in 1843 when 1,000 people, 120 wagons, and approximately 5,000 horses and cattle came to

609-628: The Walla Walla River below the confluence with the Touchet River, impeded anadromous fish migration into the Touchet, but a wild steelhead population (listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act) continues to return to the river. The Touchet River lay in the traditional range of the Palus American Indian tribe , marking their southern border with the range of the Walla Walla tribe . These peoples were of

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638-460: The Walla Walla valley. The initial settlers remained near the current city of Walla Walla and into the Touchet River valley. The Lamar Cabin, built in 1863 of hand-hewn cottonwood logs from the Touchet River valley by George Dudley Goodwin, became the home of the bachelor brothers James and Joseph Lamar in 1872 (women were rare in the valley and many men remained unmarried). The brothers initially raised sheep and horses; in later years they, mirroring

667-651: The area after 1858, Indian root grounds were displaced by agriculture. Prior to the white man coming into the valley of the Touchet River, there was an established American Indian trail through the valley, the Nez Perce Trail to Celilo Falls or Old Celilo Falls Trail , by which the Nez Perce (also part of the Sahaptin-speaking group) passed west to fish for salmon at Celilo Falls on the Columbia River . As with other Sahaptin-speaking peoples,

696-685: The expedition's silver peace medals to paramount Chief Kepowhan. The Diaries of the Corps of Discovery describe the people as a separate and distinct group from the Nez Percé. After Kepowhan, during the decades 1830', 1840', 1850, Wattaiwattaihowlis (Kepowhan's son and probably principal chief), Kahlotus (known also as Quelaptip and Talatuche, chief of the Upper Palouse), Soei (chief of the Middle Palouse), Nehtalekin (called also Hahtalekin

725-419: The plant. The plant grows on dry hillsides and dry open meadows throughout the Mountain West of North America. The plant can be easily confused with species belonging to the genus Wyethia (mule's ears); and Wyethia and Balsamorhiza tend to have very similar appearances and flowering habits. Wyethia species are easily distinguished from Balsamorhiza due to their very sharply lanced leaves which lack

754-408: The seasons. The Palus people gathered with other native peoples for activities such as food-gathering, hunting, fishing, feasting, trading, and celebrations that included dancing, sports and gambling. They lived near other groups including the Nez Perce, Wanapum, Walla Walla, Umatilla and Yakama peoples. The present tribal designation probably derives from the proper designation of the most populous of

783-618: The three regional bands of the Palouse/Palus people - the ″Middle Palouse/Palus Band″ as Palúšpam - "people of Pa-luš-sa/Palus [one of their most important settlements]", the neighboring Nez Percé also called them Pa-loots-poo/Pelú`cpu/Peluutspu and the Yakama Palúuspam/Pelúuspem both meaning "people of Pa-luš-sa/Palus", their proper autonym was Naxiyamtama or Naha’ámpoo/Naha'u'umpu'u - “the river people”. The people were expert horsemen. The term Appaloosa

812-472: The transitions of many others in the region, cultivated dryland winter wheat . This area developed into the town of Lamar when the Hunt Railroad was built along the Touchet River valley in 1888. The railway left the Touchet River and continued west at Lamar at the point where the Touchet River turns south to meet the Walla Walla. Although the town site is now virtually abandoned, the historic Lamar cabin

841-561: Was slaughtered by col. George Wright 's soldiers, and they surrendered. Husishusis Kute, chief of the Wawawai Palouse, and "Young" Hathalekin (also known as Taktsoukt Jlppilp), war-chief, led a small Palouse band as allies of the last free Nimiipu of Heinmot Tooyalaket alias "Chief Joseph"; "Young" Hathalekin died fighting on August 9, 1877, at Big Hole; Husishusis Kute surrendered with Heinmot Tooyalaket on October 5, 1877. Palouse Chiefs Balsamorhiza Balsamorhiza

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