Coming here on May 10, 1839 to study with Lawyer, an important Nez Perce leader, Asa Smith stayed to work on an Indian dictionary and to hold daily religious classes each spring and winter. After spending six months in a “mere hovel,” he finished a comfortable home and started a garden of several acres. But he never got used to pioneer life here. Leaving Kamiah on April 19, 1841, he moved to a mission in Hawaii.