Presentation explores historic trails

Eureka author Darris Flanagan will explain why Kootenai Indians spurned today's highway and railroad passes when traveling to the buffalo country of the Great Plains during a presentation on Monday, Oct. 16.

Instead, the tribe trekked over mountain passes labeled “challenging” in modern trail guides.

Cliffs on routes like Logan Pass required stationing men on individual ledges, who would boost the women and children to the next level.

Gentle passes, like Crowsnest, located just north of the Canadian border, were avoided because of dense forests and deadfalls. Marias Pass, on U.S. 2, was considered too far for foot traffic. It was only traversed in summer with horses, and the Kootenai's route included climbing the crests of the Swan and Flathead ranges.

Flanagan lives near the start of the tribe's main route on Graves Creek south of Eureka. The historic trail crosses the Whitefish Range, just south of the U.S.-Canadian border, to the aptly named Trail Creek on the North Fork side. From there the tribe scaled several alpine passes north of the present border.

Once in buffalo country, the tribe needed to keep an eye out for their traditional enemy, the Blackfeet. For that reason, they typically camped on the open prairie, rather than sheltered river bottoms. And the Kootenai people could also take refuge in the forested hills, where the superstitious Blackfeet were reluctant to pursue them.

A former teacher in Fortine, Dayton and Somers, Flanagan has authored 15 books on Northwest Montana history. Titles include “Adventures Along the Fort Steele Trail” and “The Montana Christmas Tree Story.”

The talk is the monthly presentation of the Northwest Montana Posse of Westerners, a local history group. It starts at 7 p.m. on the second floor of the Northwest Montana History Museum, at 124 2nd Ave. East in Kalispell. The cost is $5 for the general public, with Posse members and youths under 16 admitted free.