Lewis & Clark Meet Yellept
In 1805-06, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark passed through Walla Walla, meeting Chief Yellept of the Walla Walla People. On their trip back from the coast, many gifts were exchanged, and friendships were made.
Questions for students: Why were the gifts of the horse and firewood so important to Lewis & Clark? What simple item did Yellept want in exchange? Why would this item have been important? Who benefited from this trade? What did Lewis & Clark think of the Walla Walla people?
Military Fort History
Fort Walla Walla Museum is located on the military complex where the final military fort was occupied in 1858. While the earliest days of the fort included skirmishes between soldiers and the Homeland Tribes, the fort helped keep the peace between the two groups.
Questions for students: Why would it have been important to have a fort in Walla Walla? What did you learn about the 9th and 10th Cavalry Units? Why do you think the artillery group volunteers made wooden cannons?
Early Agriculture: Push Header and Header Box
The next stop on the agricultural tour shows a major advancement in harvesting: the push header. This machine was pushed forward by mules through dry grain, as opposed to green grain. The animal-powered header cut and moved the grain heads up an elevator into the waiting header box.
Questions for students: What are the advantages of using the push header over the scythe or binder seen in the previous video? Why was this machinery pushed by mules and not pulled?
Early Agriculture: Thresher and Water Wagon
Museum docent Charles Saranto continues his tour of early agriculture. The invention of the steam engine once again changed the face of agriculture with another source of power. The engine powered the thresher, which separated the grain from the straw. However powerful the engine or the animals, neither could function without a source of water.
Questions for students: How was steam-powered equipment different than animal-powered equipment? In what ways was water so important to this kind of agriculture? It took many people doing different jobs to harvest grain this way. Which job would you like to do? Why?
The Harris Combine and 33-Mule Team
Museum docent Charles Saranto ends his tour at one of the museum’s most popular exhibits: the Harris combine. The combine is just as its name suggests—it combines the thresher and push header into a single piece of equipment. The museum’s combine is hitched to a team of 33 fiberglass mules.
Questions for students: Describe three ways in which the combine makes farming even more efficient than other equipment you’ve learned about. Why do you think farmers preferred to use mules over horses? How did using mules change the way farmers cared for their teams and kept them stocked with strong animals?