Yellept of the Walla Walla: The Chief Who Showed Lewis and Clark a Shortcut

Yellept (sometimes spelled Yelleppit), a chief of the Walla Walla, made a lasting impression on the captains of the Corps of Discovery.

A sketch in William Clark's astronomy notebook (1805) that includes the directions Yellept gave the captains. State Historical Society of Missouri.

A first meeting, 1805

Lewis and Clark first met Yellept in the fall of 1805 at his village near the mouth of the Walla Walla River. They were so taken with him that they promised to stay longer on their way home the next spring. In his journal that October, Clark described the chief as "a bold handsom Indian, with a dignified countenance about 35 years of age, about 5 feet 8 inches high and well perpotiond."

Yellept was probably not his personal name. In the Sahaptin language, yalípt means "trading partner." The Oregon History Project explains it as a formal social bond among the Plateau peoples, whose economies rested largely on trade, gift-giving and other exchange.

The return, 1806

By late April 1806 the expedition was worn out and hungry, struggling up the Columbia against a strong current. Yellept came out to meet them with six others, and the Corps spent three days with the Walla Walla and a group of Yakama living nearby. The tribe's hospitality and kindness stayed with the captains. Lewis wrote that Yellept was "a man of much influence not only in his own nation but also among the neighbouring tribes and nations," and called the Walla Walla "friendly honest people."

The chief gave more than hospitality. He told them of an overland shortcut to the Nez Perce homeland, where the Corps' horses were being kept — a route that saved them at least 80 miles.

The party set out on April 29 along a well-traveled Native trail across southeastern Washington. Two days later, three young men from Yellept's village caught up with them for one reason: to return a steel trap a soldier had left behind. On May 1, 1806, Lewis wrote: "I think we can justly affirm to the honor of these people that they are the most hospitable, honest, and sincere people that we have met with in our voyage."

Sources

• National Park Service, Lewis & Clark National Historic Trail: "Yellept of Walla Walla," quoting the journals of Lewis and Clark and citing the Sahaptin Yakama Dialect Practical Dictionary and the Oregon History Project.