Spurgin’s Beaver Slide - Nez Perce National Historic Trail - Auto Tours (sitios de interés)

Spurgin’s Beaver Slide

September 3, 1877 - Captain Spurgin gets the wagons through

Several of the army wagons had no choice but to descend one particularly steep bit of ground that became known as Spurgin’s Beaver Slide after Captain William F. Spurgis who headed the effort. Fortunately they had a 100 foot rope in one of the wagons. They wound the rope around a tree at the top of the slope and tied the other end to a wagon. With several men holding the end of the rope, they carefully lowered the wagons one at a time. Once 100 feet were gained they secured the wagon to a tree with a shorter rope while they moved the longer rope down slope for the second 100 feet. In this manner, the army wagons “slid” down the steep slope.

The rope burns created by the ropes sliding on the trees were visible for years. The last rope-burned tree was destroyed in the fires of 1988.