*"Sagebrush was strong, and the air swelled with its smell and the scent of pine. Then the wild, musky odor of bighorn sheep swept over the hillside. It came rolling down, like an avalanche. The sky was cloudless. To the north, the peaks of the Gallatin Range across the canyon were bright with snow that became darkly treed as the range ran south toward me and, farther south, to Yellowstone. Winter lasts longer on that side of the canyon."*
-- Ruth Rudner, "Greetings from Wisdom, Montana" (1989)


Mingled among the smells of bighorn sheep and sagebrush in Montana's Big Hole Valley is the scent of history.

Maybe it's lingering woodsmoke from the campfires of Lewis and Clark, who explored the basin when America was still young. Or the sweat and blood of soldiers and Indians alike, blended together in the soil of an old battlefield. Or the hopeful air of gold fever. Or the sweet, peaceful hayfields more a century old. The great movements of Manifest Destiny -- exploration, conquest, settlement, commerce and agriculture -- have a nexus in the valley named simply by trappers as "the Big Hole."

Today, it's a fisherman's paradise, a Western history buff's delight and a largely undiscovered destination for Rocky Mountain travelers. It is dotted with quaint but historic Western settlements like Jackson, Wise River, Divide, but at its heart is a crossroads outpost with the euphonious name of Wisdom.

When Lewis and Clark came to the Big Hole in 1805 they named three forks of the Jefferson River Wisdom, Philanthropy and Philosophy. Years later, settlers renamed the Wisdom River as simply the Big Hole River, but a town founded at one crossing around the turn of the last century became known as Wisdom.

A traveler must seek Wisdom. Nobody stumbles on it. But at least there's a map to this Wisdom: It's about 52 miles west of Interstate 15, between Dillon and Butte.

Today, you can bed down in Wisdom, whet your whistle or your appetite at a handful of saloons and eateries, grab some staples at a local trading post, make arrangements for a guided fishing trip, even visit an unexpectedly upscale art gallery ... but you can't talk on your cell phone and even radio signals are faint. In other words, it's a perfect place to escape the world for a few days.

And escape has been the historic attraction of the Big Hole. Not just for explorers, pioneers and Indians, but for modern residents, too.

"I figure moving here extended my life by 10 years," says Stuart Fitzgerald, a retired Marine and Bay Area banker who moved to Wisdom in 1990.

But escape has not always had such a happy ending in Big Hole. When some bands of Nez Perce Indians in Idaho and Washington refused to go to reservations in the 1870s, they fled their ancestral lands, seeking asylum among friendly tribes in Montana and Wyoming, and eventually decided to make a run for freedom in Canada. Their 1,500-mile flight -- and their pursuit by soldiers -- became known as the Nez Perce War

The tide of tragic Nez Perce War turned in the Big Hole Valley, west of current-day Wisdom. One of the most devastating -- and obscure -- battles of the American Indian Wars erupted in the peaceful basin and changed history.

On Aug. 9, 1877, confident Army troops and some citizen volunteers under Col. John Gibbon attacked the Nez Perce camp before dawn, firing lethal volleys into the sleeping village, killing men, women and children in their teepees. But the Nez Perce warriors rallied and forced the startled soldiers back across the Big Hole river, surrounding them in a small grove of lodgepole pines where they dug in for what might have been their last stand. It is no small factor that these same soldiers were the ones who first found the grisly carnage at the Little Big Horn only a year before. Standing in the rifle pits they dug amid the thick pines, even at midday, you'll sense the isolation and fear these soldiers must have felt.

But a handful of Nez Perce warriors merely pinned them down while Chief Joseph and the Indian camp's survivors buried some of their dead and escaped. When the Big Hole battle ended the next day, 30 Indian warriors lay dead, along with twice as many women, children and elderly men. The Army's casualties included 29 dead and 40 wounded.

Who won this battle? Col. Gibbon claimed the victory, although his unit had clearly been beaten. And if it's to be considered a victory for the Nez Perce, it was pyrrhic and short-lived: they would eventually surrender in Montana two months later, only a day from freedom in Canada. Near the Bear Paw Mountains of Montana, Chief Joseph ended that heartbreaking odyssey with his timeless promise: "From where the sun now stands, I will fight no more forever."

Self-guiding tours will take you to many points of the battleground. A short drive to the lower parking area connects with foot trails to the Nez Perce Camp, the Siege Area, and the Howitzer Capture site. The walks each take about an hour; the Camp and Siege area walks are fairly easy, while the Howitzer site path meanders almost a mile up a nearby hill.

The Visitor Center offers basic orientation through an audiovisual program and exhibits, where you'll find historical and ethnological artifacts of the Nez Perce Indian culture; 1870s Army equipment, uniforms and guns; a manuscript collection; and various objects unearthed in archaeological digs throughout the park.

Every summer, many of the Nez Perce tribe return to the battlefield to remember the victims and survivors of the Big Hole battle. This year's public memorial is Aug. 6.

But there's more to Big Hole's history than war. As you drive through Big Hole, note the large frames in the lush hayfields. These "beaver slide stackers" are antique machines to help stack hay, invented by a farmer in the Big Hole in 1910. They've fallen out of use in most other places, but are still used today in Big Hole country during the laying season, roughly mid-July through August.

Outdoorsmen will find some of the best fishing (cutthroat, brook, rainbow, mackinaw, brown and golden trout) and hunting (elk, black bear, mountain goat, antelope, moose and deer) in Montana, along with many willing outfitters.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

If you go...
Lodging: The Nez Perce Motel in Wisdom offers clean rooms, but no phones, natural air conditioning and limited TV. Owners Wayne and Barb Challoner keep it rustic but pleasant. (P.O. Box 123, Wisdom MT 59761, 406-689-3254.)

Drinking and dining: You have more choices than you might expect. The Big Hole Crossing Restaurant is at the top of the food chain with a diverse menu, friendly waitresses and warm decor (406-689-3800). And you can eat breakfast, lunch or dinner -- including excellent burgers -- at Fetty's Bar and Cafe (406-689-3260). And you can grab a pizza and beer, shoot some pool and listen to the locals' tales at the Antler Saloon just about any time.

Big Hole National Battlefield: The battlefield is open daily from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. from June 1 to Labor Day; 9 to 5 the rest of the year. There is a small admittance fee of $4 per vehicle.



Recommended: Yes