For the nimíipuu in late June and early July 1877, the Lolo Trail served two purposes.

It was a path through the mountains, relatively secure from immediate army pursuit because the terrain was difficult to move through with a large military column and because the army initially did not know exactly which route the nimíipuu had taken.

And it was a passage into Montana, which the nimíipuu still believed might offer alternatives to continued conflict.

Howard’s column attempted to follow, but the army’s pace through the Lolo Trail was slower than the nimíipuu’s.

The army had wagons and supply trains and soldiers who were not experienced mountain travelers; the nimíipuu had horses, children, and the knowledge of generations.