Lewis and Clark
In 1803 President Jefferson stretched the Constitution to the limit and bought
the Louisiana Territory from the French emperor Napoleon for $15 million.
Napoleon preferred to sell the territory to losing it to the British, and Jefferson
was not pleased with the idea of British possession of Canada and the
Mississippi valley. Jefferson sent an expedition up the Missouri River from St.
Louis to the Pacific under the command of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark
the following year. The expedition had two goals: scientific investigation of the
geology, flora and fauna of the region and the persuasion of the Indians to send
their furs down the Missouri to sell them to Americans. The expedition was
successful on both points.
from: My Travels with Capts. Lewis and Clark by George Shannon, a novel by
Kate McMullan, Harper-Collins, New York, 2004, p. 100 ff
Missouri River
Sept. 17, „04
Capt. Clark issued each man a red flannel shirt for the coming winter. I
was mighty glad, for when we stopped yesterday and unpacked our provisions
to air them out, I found my extra shirt and trousers had rotted from the damp.
That left me with only the clothes on my back.
Capt. Lewis took six of us out on a ramble. We stopped by a village of
prairie dogs. We sat a while and watched them pop in and out of their holes,
always seeming in a great hurry. The Captain saw a rattlesnake slithering away
from their village and shot it. He slit it open with his knife and found the snake
had swallowed a little dog whole. Hawks circled overhead. We believe they
make meals of the little dogs, too. We saw wild goats, porcupines, hares and
polecats. Walking farther onto the prairie, we were amazed at the sight of
buffalo in numbers too large even for Capt. Lewis to count. We ate the dinner
we had brought while watching herds of elk and antelope graze. Not far from
these herds were restless packs of coyotes and wolves, scouting for their
dinner. I saw more animals in this one days than in all the other days of my life
put together.
We have plenty of meat, so we shot no game.
Big Bend
Sept. 21, „04
We camped last night on a sandbar. Some time after midnight, Sgt. Pryor
blew his horn for an alarm. We jumped up and cocked our guns, ready for a
Teton Sioux attack, but Sgt. Pryor yelled that the sand beneath our boat was
giving way. Instantly we tossed our bedrolls into the boat, piled in, and took off.
We were hardly away when our campsite was sucked down into the river and
disappeared. All was visible due to the light of the full moon.
Missouri River
1,283 miles from Fort Wood River
Sept. 23, „04
Three Indian boys swam across the river to our campsite this evening.
Drewyer signed with them, and I was able to understand some of what was
said. The boys were Teton Sioux. They said two large Teton villages lie north of
here. Capt. Lewis gave the boys twists of tobacco. Through Drewyer, he told
the boys to give them to their chiefs and to ask them to come to council with us.
The boys agreed to do so and swam back across the river.
At last we will meet the mighty Tetons.
Capt. Lewis gathered us together. “President Jefferson most desperately
wishes us to befriend the Teton Sioux,” he said. “This is a vital part of our
mission. We must let nothing get in the way of our becoming friends with this
powerful nation. Nothing! Those of you keeping journals, write down all you can
of our council with the Tetons. We must record this important event for
posterity!”
The Captain is more anxious than I have ever seen him.
Bad River, Teton territory
Sept. 24, „04
As we paddled toward the Teton villages, Colter ran up the bank yelling,
”The Tetons stole my horse Lizzy!”
We pulled ashore. Five Tetons appeared.
Capt. Clark said, “Our horse has been stolen.”
Saint Peter translated this into Omaha. According to Saint Peter, the
Tetons replied that if their warriors took the horse, they will return it.
We made camp on the bank of what the Tetons call Bad River.
“Unpack the bale of gifts for the Tetons, Pup,” Capt. Lewis said. “And
you‟d better unpack one of the extra bales, too. I have a feeling we are going to
need a large quantity of gifts.”
Two Tetons led Lizzy into our camp this afternoon. “No more need be
said about this,” said Capt. Clark. But Colter muttered, “A stolen horse is a bad
omen.”
recommended by Ms. Margaret Marik, mmarik@bordersstores.com