Where Rolls the Kooskia 
Descending the Selway and Kooskia Rivers on 
a Raft—Suggestions as to Outfits 
and the Route 
Part V.—Conclusion 
By CHARLES STUART MOODY 
T HE trip down the swift waters of the Sel¬ 
way, into the South Kooskia and thence 
on to our place of starting, was not de¬ 
void of interest. Beautiful scenes continually 
opened before us, wild rapids and shady stretches 
of calm water, frowning basaltic cliffs, smooth 
reaches of meadow land with Indian lodges dot¬ 
ting the shores, appeared in ever-changing pano¬ 
rama. At last we shot the rapids around China 
Island and brought our rude craft to the shore 
at home. A white woman stood upon the river 
bank with her arm about her red sister as they 
waved a welcome, each to the man she loved best. 
This account of the country traversed would 
be incomplete did I fail to give some suggestions 
as to the means of penetrating the region. 
I will, therefore, outline the various routes by 
which the Kooskia basin may be reached, and 
endeavor to suggest, from my experience in 
Western hunting, a modest equipment for the 
sojourn. 
At present there are three principal routes by 
which the pleasure seeker may enter the region. 
Either one will land him in big-game country, 
though the regions are widely separated. 
The first, and in my judgment the best route, 
is by way of the Clearwater Short Line from 
Spokane, Wash. Each day two trains leave Spo¬ 
kane via the Palouse branch of the Northern 
Pacific for Lewiston, Idaho. One of these trains 
connects at Arrow Junction with the Clearwater 
train for all the up-river points. The hunter has 
the choice of three small towns on the Kooskia 
for his point of departure — Orofino, Kooskia and 
Greer—each about equally distant from the Lo 
Lo trail. Personally I should choose Orofino, as 
affording the best opportunities for obtaining 
horses and supplies. From Orofino it is not best 
to go by way of Pierce, as we did in our trip, as 
it carries you too far north. T should leave 
Orofino and travel by wagon to the Musselshe’l 
Meadows, the end of the wagon road. The Lo 
Lo trail crosses these meadows and strikes di¬ 
rectly into the heart of the Bitter Roots. Once 
beyond the Indian Post Office Buttes, he can then 
turn north to the Lochsaw meadows or south¬ 
east to Jerry Johnson’s cabin. Either route will 
take him into big-game country soon after leav¬ 
ing the main trail. Perhaps the Lochsaw portion 
of the country is less hunted, though 'none of it 
is overrun with hunters. To-day the game ex¬ 
ists practically as it did when we were there. 
The industrious hunter can obtain a good head. 
The second route, and one that is somewhat 
more convenient for Eastern hunters, is that by 
way of the Lo Lo Hot Springs. The hunter may 
leave the main line of the Northern Pacific at 
Missoula and take the Bitter Root branch for 
Lo Lo. From Lo Lo a good wagon road runs 
as far as the Lo Lo Hot Springs. These springs 
are near the summit 'of the Continental Divide 
and some few miles north of the Lo Lo trail. 
This trail will lead into the Kooskia basin. The 
traveler then has the choice of turning north to 
the Lost Lakes or south to Jerry Johnson’s 
cabin. Guides with horses and supplies may be 
obtained at Lo Lo. 
The third route is via Wallace, Idaho, thence 
over the Government trail to the Lost Lakes. 
This route then may be continued westward to 
the Lochsaw Meadows, though the going is bad. 
If one is only out for fish and smaller game, 
the route by way of Wallace is very favorable. 
There is a fourth route by way of Kooskia 
near the terminus of the Clearwater short line. 
This takes the hunter far south of the country 
described in the body of this article. It is 
reached by what is known as the Nez Perce 
trail. The country surrounding the Selway is 
good game range, but when one goes further to 
the south on the Salmon River divide he gets 
into a country that is too difficult for the aver¬ 
age hunter. The Seven Devils and Saw Tooth 
mountains are simply great volcanic dikes with 
sparse timber, only frequented by goats and 
sheep. Late in the season there are deer and 
elk to be found along the breaks of the Salmon, 
but unless one is prepared to spend nearly the 
entire winter in” the country, he will not find 
game in sufficient quantities to warrant the trip. 
As far as my knowledge extends, there are 
not, at any of the points mentioned above, men 
who make a business of guiding. That is, I 
know of no one who holds himself out as a 
licensed guide, but the hunter can easily find 
men equipped with horses and camp outfits who 
will take him into the country. These men are 
residents and know every foot of the country, 
much better in my estimation than men having 
only a theoretical knowledge. 
In considering an outfit I should not advise 
the shipping of anything in the line of tents, 
blankets, saddles, cooking utensils, food or in 
fact anything more than the personal attire of 
the hunter himself. All these things can be sup¬ 
plied by the local merchants and the packers 
much better than if shipped from the East. 
To advise as to personal outfit is a difficult 
matter. Each man has his own peculiar ideas 
about his personal get-up, and may resent any 
suggestions about it. This may be said: that 
common sense will dictate that in penetrating 
a country where the facilities for transportation 
are limited, the outfit should be scaled down to 
the least possible compass consistent with com¬ 
fort. After nearly thirty years in the West I 
have learned to forego many things that I once 
deemed indispensable. A merciful man is merci¬ 
ful to his beast, and one of the elements of 
mercy is to eschew trunks and suit cases on a 
trip of the kind mentioned. 
Apropos of this I cannot refrain from relat¬ 
ing an incident told me by Charley Adams. Told 
in his mixture of broken English and Sahaptin, 
the story was funny. I fear it will lose much of 
its charm when rendered into cold Anglo-Saxon. 
A party of Ohio capitalists were developing 
a large placer project on the Oro Grande, one 
of the tributaries of the North Kooskia. They 
had been accustomed to freighting their supplies 
up the North Kooskia in batteaux, but the water 
got low in the summer and they were obliged 
to take them overland from Orofino. One day 
in August a party, among which were several 
women, stepped off the train, and the express 
man began to tumble camp duffle and suit cases 
out of his car until a mountain of it lay oh the 
platform. The last thing unloaded was a square 
flat piece carefully wrapped in several wool 
blankets. This article was taken tenderly by 
one of the men and set up beside the station. 
After several hours of skirmishing around they 
finally prevailed upon Charley to pack the out¬ 
fit and the party into the Oro Grande. 
Charley went down to the station and surveyed 
the pile of baggage, estimating the number of 
horses it would require. He failed to note the 
flat article standing in lonesome grandeur along¬ 
side the platform. The next morning, when he 
appeared with the cayuses, the women were 
there to greet him with suggestions regarding the 
disposition of their personal effects. When the 
packing was about complete a fat dowager who 
