U.S. -977 
 6'i> 
 
 A Glance 
 
 at the 
 
 Lewis and Clark 
 Expedition 
 
 By 
 Grace Flandrau
 
 %
 
 A Glance 
 
 at the 
 
 Lewis and Clark 
 
 Expedition 
 
 By 
 Grace Flandrau 
 
 Compliments of the 
 Great Northern Rail\va\'
 
 :^ 
 
 Captain Merhvelher Lewis
 
 1i 
 
 A Glance at the Lewis and Clark 
 Expedition 
 
 By Grace Flaudraii 
 
 To Thomas Jefferson, more than to an\ one factor in our 
 national development, is due the creation of an empire, reaching 
 from coast to coast, out of a handful of states stretching along 
 the Atlantic seaboard, and here and there by territorial posses- 
 sions across the Alleghanies to the Mississippi. In theory he 
 was fanatically the opponent of a great national sovereignty, 
 abhorred those things which are the bulwarks of empire — armies, 
 navies, cities, and strong centralized power. His political 
 philosophy aspired to a rural world swarming with schools, 
 farms and agricultural democrats, who, meeting on a basis of 
 equality, should make the laws by which they governed them- 
 selves. 
 
 In practice he was our first imperialist. 
 
 When the revolution had scarcely been won, before he 
 became President, before the frontiersmen had fought and 
 hewn their way to the Mississippi, Jefferson's purpose reached 
 far beyond this river — across the Spanish-owned Louisiana, over 
 the fabled mountains and along the legendary rivers of the far 
 northwest, to the Pacific Coast. 
 
 His hope was not that all this vast expanse should become one 
 American state, but that it should not be European; that it 
 should be a group of small democracies, a kind of pan-America, 
 free forever from the European traditions of king, church, and 
 class. Here, in fact, was the real beginning of the Monroe 
 Doctrine. 
 
 Jefferson was, moreover, as much scientist as social philos- 
 opher. He felt the keenest interest in acquiring knowledge of the 
 primitive inhabitants, animal and vegetable life, topographical 
 and geological features of this unknown world. And he was 
 politician as well. 
 
 As early as 17N3, while a member of the infant Congress of 
 the Confederation, he heard that the British government was 
 planning an expedition of discovery and exploration to the 
 northwest coast of America. He wrote at once to George Rogers
 
 Clark of re\olutionary fame, urging that he undertake such a 
 journey and thus estabhsh a prior claim to these regions. 
 
 In 1785 while Minister to France, a rumor that the French 
 government entertained a similar project again alarmed his 
 watchfulness and he interested the explorer John Ledyard in 
 undertaking a journey through Russia and Siberia, across the 
 Pacific, to the northwest coast and thence eastward down the 
 Missouri Ri\'er to the United States. Later he is found engaging 
 the Philosophic Society of Boston in a project to send a French 
 botanist Andre Michaux on a tour through this territory. 
 
 None of these plans materialized, but Jefferson's preoccupation 
 with the future of the continent as a whole — a preoccupation in 
 which he stood at that time alone — was unceasing. When, in 
 1801, he became President it was possible for him to accomplish 
 the exploration of that countr\- which he had so long attempted 
 to bring about. 
 
 In the meantime the question of free use of the Mississippi 
 for American craft became a burning one. Five months after 
 Jefferson came into office, Livingstone was sent to France to 
 buy the island of New Orleans commanding the mouth of the 
 river, and the Floridas from Bonaparte who had recently caused 
 the recession of Louisiana by Spain to France. Monroe joined 
 Livingstone in Paris, in April 1803, and shortly afterwards 
 Napoleon tossed the whole of Louisiana instead of the small 
 strip they had been sent to buy, into the laps of the astonished 
 emissaries. That the possession of Louisiana was fortuitous and 
 not planned by Jefferson has nothing to do with his consistent 
 policy as regarded the future of the far west and northwest. 
 
 Before the purchase of Louisiana his plans for a considerable 
 expedition to traverse the entire region were well in hand; and 
 when Captains Lewis and Clark appeared in the streets of the 
 little Spanish-French village of St. Louis in December 1803 they 
 came less as scientific explorers than as the direct expression of 
 a philosophic and political ideal. 
 
 The Lewis and Clark expedition as nearly reached perfection 
 both in planning and execution as is possible for a merely human 
 effort. The project, as we have seen, had been developing and 
 ripening in Jefferson's mind many \ears, so that the volumin- 
 ous and exact instructions he drew up for the conduct of the 
 tour were amazingly thorough and competent; and the men 
 
 6
 
 he chose to lead the party and those in turn chosen by the 
 leaders, were in the highest degree devoted, capable, and cou- 
 rageous. 
 
 The Leaders 
 
 Captain Meriwether Lewis was a Virginian ot tlistinguished 
 colonial ancestry and was born in 1774 on a farm near Charlottes- 
 ville. He had several years of formal schooling but from farm 
 and nearby forest he obtained a still more valuable education. 
 
 At eighteen he served with the militia in the so-called Whiskey 
 Rebellion and later was made first lieutenant and then captain 
 of the regular army. When Jefferson became president he made 
 Lewis whom he had known from boyhood his private secretary 
 and two years later appointed him to the leadership of the west- 
 ern e.xploration. 
 
 In writing of him there is no praise too high for Jefferson 
 to lavish upon his young subordinate. He especially commends 
 his honesty, courage, and firmness; his powers of exact observa- 
 tion; his knowledge of woodcraft; of Indians and their ways, 
 and of the animal and vegetable life of the forest. 
 
 It was Lewis' wish to ha\e a companion of equal rank associ- 
 ated with himself. Jefferson willingly acquiesced. Nothing 
 could be more important than that the choice of such a partner 
 should fall upon a man thoroughly qualified for the delicate and 
 arduous task. 
 
 Lewis unhesitatingly sent to a Kentucky farm for a young 
 officer, William C. Clark, then retired, under whom he had 
 ser\ed. 
 
 Clark was ninth of a family of ten children — a younger brother 
 of General George Rogers Clark. 
 
 Although William Clark had retired a captain it was necessary 
 to obtain a new commission for this command. The rank of 
 Captain of "Indioneers" [Engineers] as Clark, in his astonishing 
 orthography spells it, was accordingly applied for. He was made 
 however only a second lieutenant of artillery, but Lewis was 
 scrupulous in according him strict equality of command. 
 
 The party consisted of twenty-nine members — the two officers, 
 nine young Kentuckians, fourteen soldiers of the regular army, 
 two French boatmen, an interpreter, and a negro servant of 
 Captain Clark named York. They reached St. Louis in December
 
 of 1803 and spent the winter months in camp at the confluence 
 of Wood River with the Mississippi opposite the mouth of the 
 Missouri. The time was passed in drilling the men, instructing 
 them in the duties the varied nature of the enterprise would 
 entail upon them, and other preparations. 
 
 Xature of the Undertaking 
 
 Although the morale and spirits of the party were of the best, 
 even the humblest members were impressed with the seriousness 
 and importance of their enterprise and aware of the dangers 
 which would attend it. 
 
 A journey of thousands of miles lay before them through an 
 unknown and unmapped country. A few French and Spanish 
 traders had straggled up the Missouri as far as the Mandan 
 villages which parties of British fur traders, descending from the 
 north, occasionally visited; one French exploring expedition, 
 that of the La Verendrye sons, had made an unmarked journey 
 overland to the Black Hills or an easterly spur of the Rocky 
 Mountains. That was all. Beyond these villages the Lewis and 
 Clark party must lay its course with no guide except instinct 
 and common sense. They were to ascend the Missouri as far as 
 seemed wise — it was vaguely supposed to rise in central Cali- 
 fornia; find a practicable pass across mountains indefinitely 
 known to exist, and manage somehow to connect on the western 
 slope with a tributary of the Columbia — an unexplored river 
 whose mouth had been discovered by an American, Captain 
 Gray, in 1792. They were to make topographical surveys, take 
 astronomical and meteorological observations; examine and 
 report on the plants, animals, and minerals of the regions trav- 
 ersed; make an especial study of the waterways as avenues of 
 future transportation and of the contour of the land with a view 
 to future trading posts and fortifications. Particularly, they 
 were to confer with the various tribes of Indians, assure them of 
 the benevolent interest felt for them by their great father in 
 Washington and prepare the way for future negotiations; try 
 to persuade them to more peaceful relations among themselves; 
 ascertain their numbers, tribal afifiliations, agricultural and other 
 pursuits and condition in general. Indeed the number of duties 
 and obligations imposed upon these dauntless adventurers would 
 seem preposterous were it not for the fact that they were ac- 
 tually and to the smallest detail carried out! 
 
 8
 
 The party was increased before its departure by sixteen new 
 members. These — a corporal, six soldiers and nine boatmen — 
 were to accompany the main bod\' (»nl\- as lar as the Mandan 
 villages, 1,000 miles above St. Louis. 
 
 Tbc Jounuy Begins 
 
 At last, on a Ma\- morning in iSOi. the square sail of the keel 
 boat was raised, the oars of the tw»> pirogues manned and the 
 party set out on their great adventure. They carried with them in 
 carefully packed bales the necessities of life and trade tood, 
 clothing, guns, ammunition, and articles for barter with the 
 Indians. Horses for the use of the himters were led along the 
 shore. On the 2.')th of May, a significant entry in one of the 
 journals states that on this day the "last establishment of whites 
 on the Missouri" was passed. 
 
 For five months the small flotilla toiled against the rapid 
 current of the shifting, snag-filled river. There were many delays; 
 the boats were often in need of repairs; the hunters went out after 
 meat; observations were taken; Indian conferences held as 
 directed, when the savages were informed that America not 
 Spain now ruled along the Missouri and good advice as laid 
 down by Mr. Jefferson earnestly offered by the young leaders. 
 The Indians were not only to make peace at once among them- 
 selves or let the Great Father in Washington decide their dis- 
 putes, but they were to prepare themselves to fit into a new 
 order of things. 
 
 Good advice certainl\-, but wh\ the saxages should have been 
 expected to act upon the gratuitous admonitions constantly 
 thrust upon them in the early days, much less be grateful for 
 them, or belie\e the promises made them which so frequently 
 remained unfulfilled, I have never l)een able to see. Usually, 
 ot course they didn't. 
 
 With the Indians of the lower Missouri little difticulty was 
 expected or experienced but the temper of the powerful Sioux 
 was known to be uncertain. A French trader, Peter Dorion, who- 
 had married and lived among this people many years, was met 
 descending the river and induced to turn back and accompany 
 the expedition as interpreter. Several bands of Sioux were en- 
 countered and the meetings passed without serious difficulty. 
 
 The one casualty of the expedition occurred during this part 
 of the trip. Sergeant Floyd was taken ill on .August 1 0th and 
 
 9
 
 died the following da>'. He was buried with the honors of war 
 a mile below the river which still bears his name and his gra\e 
 marked, Clark writes, by a "seeder" post. The Great Northern 
 Railway follows the \alle\- of this ri\er into the present Sioux 
 City. The citizens, including the railroads, with state and 
 federal aid, have erected a mbnument here to Sergeant Floyd on 
 a bluff overlooking the Missouri. 
 
 One of the only two instances of insubordination which oc- 
 curred during the whole journey also took place at this time. The 
 culprit was punished and dismissed but we find Lewis in his 
 report of the expedition generously expatiating on the otherwise 
 good conduct and character of the man and regretting that this 
 one misdeed could not have been overlooked. 
 
 On the 26th of October they reached the first village of the 
 Mandans — that mild, industrious and vanished people whose 
 domed, mud houses, like the work of great burrowing animals, 
 rose in low irregular clusters from the banks above the Missouri. 
 
 Indians lined the river and crowded the house-tops to witness 
 the arrival of this imposing flotilla, the most considerable group 
 of white men they had ever seen; or. charmed and terrified by 
 the black skin and kink\- hair of the negro York, followed at 
 a prudent distance this wholK' unexpected and doubtless super- 
 human apparition. 
 
 The Winter Camp 
 
 Several Frenchmen were found here and a Scotch fur trader 
 belonging to The Northwest Company. Minnetarees came 
 down in large numbers from their villages further up the river, 
 and later bands of Knisteneaux [Crees] and Assinniboines paid 
 a visit to the Mandans. 
 
 It had been decided to winter at this place; a number of huts 
 were accordingly built and called Fort Mandan. 
 
 It is now that the gentle figure of the Bird Woman, Sacajawea, 
 appears, whose quiet courage and devotion have touched with 
 a peculiar grace the subsequent adventures of the party. 
 
 She was a Shoshone and had. with another young woman, 
 been captured from her people by the Minnetarees. She was 
 sold to Chaboneau, one of the Frenchmen found at these vil- 
 lages, who later married her. Chaboneau was to accompany 
 the expedition as interpreter, taking his wife and baby with him. 
 
 10
 
 The captains devoted the wiiiier to ethnological observations 
 and to the compilation of \oluminous reports. In the spring 
 other Canadian traders arri\ed. The Northwest Company 
 regarded with extreme disfavor the significant arrival of an 
 American expedition in these regions where they had enjoyed a 
 monopoly of the Indian trade. Hoping to impede the western 
 advance of the party they incited Chaboneau to make exorbitant 
 demands. These were of course refused, but before the party set 
 out the fellow repented his attitude and, together with his wife 
 and young child, was permitted to undertake the journey. 
 
 In March, 1805, canoes were built for the further ascent of 
 the river. Cottonwood was the only timber a\ailablc. It was 
 not fit for the purpose and was the source of much future diffi- 
 culty, the soft fibrous planks being constantly twisted and 
 crushed in the rough waters of the upper Missouri. 
 
 The party now separated; those who were to return to St. 
 Louis embarked carrying with them despatches, reports, and 
 maps prepared by Lewis and Clark, and scientific specimens — 
 "A variety of articles for the President" writes one of the leaders, 
 including stuffed animals, skeletons, horns of mountain sheep, 
 elk and deer; peltries of various kinds; dried plants, Indian 
 curios; tobacco seed; an ear ot Mandan corn; a box of insects, 
 and a "burrowing squirrel, a prairie hen and four magpies, 
 all alive." 
 
 It is not stated that the latter were still ali\e when and if 
 they reached the White House. We can easily imagine with what 
 passionate interest its learned occupant examined these first 
 fruits of his longfelt scientific curiositx as to the remote and 
 virgin world of the upper Missouri. 
 
 The Indians among whom the party passed the winter did not 
 fail to respond to the scrupulous fairness and courtesy which it 
 was the definite policy of the expedition to extend to the savages 
 and gave their friendship and what help they could to the 
 explorers. 
 
 Before the latter set out the\ received a visit from the great 
 chief of the Minnetarees, Le Borgne, an interesting old monster, 
 murderer, thief and drunkard, the wickedest Indian on the 
 Missouri. He came to find out for himself whether the black man 
 York of whom he heard were really black and not as he believed, 
 merely a painted white man. When his doubts were set at rest 
 he evinced the wonder and gratification generally felt by the 
 Indians at looking upon so fabulous a creature. 
 
 11
 
 April 7, 1805, was the day set for departure. The green 
 Cottonwood canoes laden with baggage waited along the shore 
 of the muddy, turbulent river whose unknown course was to 
 lead the party westward. 
 
 In his journal for that day Captain Lewis expresses the 
 emotion he experienced at what seemed to him the real begin- 
 ning of his dangerous venture: 
 
 "This little fleet altho' not quite so rispectable as those of 
 Columbus or Capt. Cook, were still viewed by us with as much 
 pleasure as those deservedly famed adventurers ever beheld 
 theirs; and I dare say with quite as much anxiety for their safety 
 and preservation, we were now about to penetrate a country at 
 least 2,000 miles in width, on which the foot of civilized man had 
 never trodden . . . and these little vessells contained every 
 article by which we were to expect to subsist or defend ourselves, 
 however, . . . entertaining as I do the most confident hope of 
 succeeding in a voyage which had formed a darling project of 
 mine for the last ten years, I could but esteem this moment 
 of departure as among the most happy of my life." 
 
 The Journey Resumed 
 
 After passing the Minnetaree (Hidatsa) villages some miles 
 above Fort Mandan the party saw no more Indians for many 
 months. The Assiniboines of whom they had heard bad reports 
 were hunting farther north on the Assiniboine River. The plains 
 were given over to buffalo, deer, wolves, and fleet bands of ante- 
 lope that passed like flying clouds before the hunters; ferocious 
 grizzlies infested the willow thickets; white bear were seen; wild 
 fowl of all kinds passed above them in long-throated flight; 
 creeks and backwaters swarmed with beaver. 
 
 On April 26 the party approached the mouth of the Yellow- 
 stone. The rivers flowed to their confluence between banks 
 shaded with cottonwood, elm and ash; willows, tall rose bushes 
 and wild berries grew thick on the lowlands and everywhere 
 game was seen pasturing on the rolling plains that stretched 
 away to the horizon. 
 
 Lewis pronounced this an excellent situation for a future 
 trading house and his recognition of the importance of the site 
 has proved to be prophetic of even more important development. 
 Not only did Fort Union, the central frontier outpost of the 
 Upper Missouri, stand here for forty years, but the confluence 
 of these great rivers which suggested the location of this trading 
 post to Lewis, later indicated the natural boundary point be- 
 tween Dakota and Montana: not far from here the military post 
 
 12
 
 Marias River 
 
 Reprinted from Stevens 
 Northwest Explorations 
 and surveys 1853-oo 
 
 of Buford was built later, while a few miles farther east the city 
 of Williston has grown to importance and prosperity. 
 
 Westward from Williston, a traveller on the Great Northern 
 Railway follows approximately the route taken by Lewis and 
 Clark for 600 miles to Butte, one of the southern terminii of 
 the railroad in Montana. Whenever the Missouri Ri\er is 
 sighted along that course, there, o^■er a century ago, the small 
 flotilla might have been seen, the men struggling against the 
 rapid current, hunting along shore, cooking their elk and buffalo 
 meat over the camp-fire or bivouaced for the night among the 
 willow thickets. Four months of weary effort it took them, a 
 journey now accomplished in twenty hours! 
 
 A month after leaving the mouth of the Yellowstone the 
 shadowy outline of distant mountains appeared on the western 
 horizon. Captain Lewis again experienced a throb of exultation 
 at this further unfolding of his adventure and a sense too of the 
 terrible difficulties this cloud-like barrier would oppose to his on- 
 ward march. But he "held it a crime to anticipate evils." 
 
 Indeed the immediate evils might well have occupied all his 
 attention. The sluggish brown Missouri had become a clear, 
 tumultous stream flowing between walls of rock. For many weary 
 days the men fought their way up the river, towing the canoes 
 over rapids, often immersed in water to their armpits, their 
 
 1:5
 
 moccasins cut and their feet wounded b>" the sharp stones. 
 Incessant repairs had to be made on the flimsy craft; tow lines 
 broke and once the boat carrying their indispensable instru- 
 ments for taking observations was almost lost. Through it all 
 the courage and good nature of the men nexer flagged. 
 
 On June 2 they reached a place where the river forked and 
 they were uncertain as to which was the main channel . Nothing 
 is more characteristic of the two men and their conduct of the 
 whole expedition than the care with which they studied this im- 
 portant question, and the exactness of their deductions. The 
 clearness of the water, speed of the current, topography of the 
 country and reports previously obtained from Indians were duly 
 considered. Captain Lewis ascended the northern branch and 
 soon felt convinced that it was the tributary and not the Missouri 
 he was following. He named it Maria's river in honor of Miss 
 Maria Wood, although, he remarks in terms of true southern 
 gallantry, "the hue of the waters of this turbulent and troubled 
 stream but illy comport with the pure celestial virtues of that 
 lovely fair one." 
 
 Captain Clark meanwhile reconnoitered the south fork for 
 a short distance. When the leaders returned to their camp at 
 the junction of the two rivers, both were agreed that the south 
 branch was the Missouri, although the men of the party were 
 unanimously convinced that Maria's river was the main stream. 
 
 The conclusion reached by Captains Lewis and Clark was, 
 like most of their careful decisions, correct. Had they however 
 been mistaken and ascended Maria's river they might have 
 obtained a far more favorable crossing of the mountains by what 
 is now known as Marias Pass and an easier way from there to 
 the Columbia than by the route taken. But they chose to proceed 
 by the Missouri, a way illumined at least by the vague light of 
 rumor, while away from that stream all was profound darkness. 
 
 From this time the leaders often separated, one to explore in 
 advance, one to follow with the baggage. On July 13, 1805, 
 Captain Lewis reached the Great Falls of the Missouri and his 
 pen is inspired to lyric flights by the truly magnificent spectacle. 
 On the 25th, the three forks of the river were reached and named 
 JefTerson, Madison and Gallatin. After a careful reconnaissance 
 it was decided to follow the most westerly — the JefTerson. 
 
 It now became a matter of the greatest necessity to find 
 Indians who might guide them to the best passage through the 
 
 14
 
 mountains. Game was already scarce and would, the\ knew, be- 
 come still more so in the country they were about to {penetrate. 
 Along the west loomed the ominous mass of the great mountains, 
 their broad slopes cloaked with pine, or bare and torn b\ ancient 
 cataclysm into deep fissures of gashed, grey rock; their lofty 
 peaks, streaked with snow, towered above the clouds. 
 
 Sacajawea had already recognized the spot where the conflict 
 between her people and the Minnetarees had taken place and 
 where she had been made captive. They could not, she assured 
 them, fail soon to encounter some bantl of Shoshones. 
 
 Across the Rockies 
 
 On August 12. the headwaters of the stream were reached 
 which he joyfully beliexed to be the source of the Missouri. 
 Following an Indian road they soon came upon westward-flowing 
 water — the source of the Lemhi River. They had surmounted 
 the Continental Divide and before them flowed a tributary of 
 the fabled Columbia! But the triumph of this great moment 
 was hea\il\- overshadowed with anxiety. With scanty provisions 
 and no guides their condition would be all but desperate. 
 
 At last Lewis came upon a band of Shoshones and persuaded 
 them to return with him to meet the main body still advancing 
 up the Missouri under Captain Clark. The meeting of the two 
 parties was marked b\- a most romantic incident. At sight of 
 the Indians the interpreter's wife, Sacajawea who, burdened as 
 she was with a young child, had shared helpfully and without 
 complaint the painful marches, privations, and difficulties of the 
 long journey, manifested extravagant joy. Laughing, weeping, 
 sucking her fingers to indicate that these people were her own 
 relatives, she rushed to embrace them and was recei\ed with 
 equal delight. In the person of the chief she later discovered her 
 own brother. Sacajawea's services as interpreter were invaluable 
 and this incident was also of great importance in strengthening 
 the friendly relations established with the Shoshones. Her 
 character and conduct offer a singular contrast to that of her 
 white husband Chaboneau, who was always tired, always afraid 
 and like most cowards, a bully as well. "I checked " Captain 
 Clark writes on August 14 [180.3] "our interpreter for striking 
 his woman at their dinner." 
 
 They travelled for almost a month through wild and difficult 
 mountain country and at last crossed the main range of the 
 
 15
 
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 'edition into the Marias Country, July, 1806
 
 Bitter Root from the headwaters of a tributary of the Bitter 
 Root River called by them Traveller's Rest Creek and now 
 known as the Lo Lo fork, to those of the Kooskooskie or Clear- 
 water, a branch of the Snake River. 
 
 Late in September they reached a Xez Perce \illage on the 
 Clearwater from which place they were to proceed by water. 
 The work of building canoes was now undertaken. By the first 
 week in October, the party was ready to go forward. The 
 horses were intrusted to a Nez Perce chief who promised to 
 guard them until the return of the explorers the following spring. 
 
 They descended the Clearwater to the Snake or Lewis River, 
 and from there passed into and down the Columbia. 
 
 The Goal Reached 
 
 The long westward journey of over eighteen months was 
 drawing to a close. On November 2, the canoes felt the deep 
 swell of tide water pushing up stream. We can imagine with 
 what new courage the boatmen sped their frail and battered 
 craft! The morning of the 7th came veiled in rain and fog, but 
 as the day advanced the rain stopped, the curtain of fog lifted 
 and before them lay the mighty Pacific. 
 
 "Great joy in camp" Captain Clark writes, "we are in view of 
 the Ocian, this great Pacific Octian, which we have been so long 
 anxious to see, and the roreing or noise made by the waves, 
 brakeing on the rockey shores . . . may be heard distictly . . . 
 O! the joy." 
 
 There was not much cause for joy however in the dreary months 
 that followed. They lived like amphibian creatures in an in- 
 cessant downpour of rain; their houses dripped at every crack; 
 they slept, cooked, hunted, and explored in a bleak deluge. The 
 trading vessels on which they had counted to renew their sup- 
 plies had all left these waters. The health of the men suffered 
 severely from lack of proper shelter, clothing and food. The 
 Indians, inferior to any they had known, were troublesome and 
 demanded exorbitant prices for all they had to sell. 
 
 Early in December permanent winter quarters were estab- 
 lished near the mouth of the Lewis and Clark River, not far 
 from the present town of Astoria. Here Fort Clatsop — a 
 cluster of huts surrounded by a stockade — ^was built and the re- 
 mainder of the winter spent 1)\' liie leaders in work on their 
 journals and various scientific examinations and reports. 
 
 18
 
 The Rt'turn 
 
 On March 2(5, 1806, they set out on the long homeward journey 
 lacking in almost every necessity but that j^allant spirit with 
 which each member of the party was so plentifull> endowed. 
 The first part of their route, except for a short cut from the mouth 
 of the Lewis or Snake Rixer to its junction with the Clearwater 
 was the same that had l)een taken on the westward journey. 
 On the Clearwater they found the Nez Perc6 chief to whom 
 they had entrusted their horses. These were deli\ered to them 
 together with a plentiful supply of food for which this admirable 
 Indian indignantly refused any payment. Most of this time the 
 explorers, being almost without trade goods, bought the services 
 of the Indians by administering medical treatment. For this 
 the scrupulous Captain Lewis rather apologizes, observing how- 
 ever, that they were careful to prescribe none but harmless 
 remedies! 
 
 When they reached the Bitter Root valley the two leaders 
 separated — each to proceed by a different way to the confluence 
 of the Yellowstone and the Missouri Rivers where they were to 
 meet. 
 
 Captain Clark turned southeastward. When his party reached 
 the Three Forks of the Missouri, a number of men under Ser- 
 geant Ordway descended this river to the mouth of the Maria's 
 where they were to await Captain Lewis, while Captain Clark 
 was to go on across countr\' to the headwaters of the Yellow- 
 stone and proceed thence by canoe. 
 
 Maria's River Expedition 
 
 Lewis' expedition, which has received less attention than 
 other parts of the exploration, we shall follow in some detail. 
 On July .3. this leader, with nine men and five Indians (the 
 Indians remained with them only one day) left the camp on the 
 Bitter Root. They proceeded in a northeasterly direction, 
 crossed the Continental Divide by what has since been known 
 as the Lewis and Clark Pass, and reached the Missouri in the 
 vicinity of the Great Falls. Leaving a small party of men and 
 four horses to await Sergeant Ordway, Captain Lewis with only 
 three men set out on what was to be the most dangerous and 
 nearly fatal of all their adventures. 
 
 W^hen Lewis had investigated the Maria's river the pre- 
 vious summer, he had Ix-lieved it to be one of the most important
 
 LeuLs Mo)iti)}ie)it , Mcriicellier. Afoul.
 
 tributaries of the Missouri and one which was Hkely lo be of 
 importance in determining the international boundar\-. He 
 decided therefore to ascertain how far north it had its source. 
 It seems probable that he also wished to discover whether there 
 were not passes in this northern latitude more fa\orable than 
 those by which they had crossed the mountains farther south. 
 
 The part>' left the Great Falls July 17, ISOIi. Their course 
 lay over a vast plain, empty of tree and shrub on which roving 
 herds of buffalo peacefully grazed. 
 
 After traveling twent\' miles they reached a ri\'er (the Teton) 
 called by them the Tansy. Here they came upon the track of a 
 bleeding buffalo which they took as an indication that Indians 
 were in the vicinity. They were now in a country frequented by 
 the Minnetarees of F^ort de Prairie — one of the two distinct 
 tribes to which the name Gros Ventres was also applied* — and 
 by the Blackfeet. Lewis had been told that these were Indians 
 of a far more dangerous temper than those formerly encountered, 
 in spite of which he does not seem to have had the slightest 
 hesitancy in proceeding with his slender escort, deep into their 
 territory. 
 
 Hoping now, he writes, to avoid an interview with them, the 
 party hurried into a small wood across the Teton River. From 
 this shelter, however, they seem promptly to have emerged and 
 set out separately in search of the buffalo and further Indian 
 signs. Neither were discovered and the night passed tranquilly. 
 
 The next day they struck a small tributary of the Maria's 
 which they called Buffalo creek and which they descended, 
 passing countless herds of bulTalo. After traveling twelve miles 
 they cut across overland to Maria's river. 
 
 Lewis found that he was above the highest place on that 
 river he had reached on the former journey, and sent a party 
 down stream to make sure that no important tributary came in 
 between these two points. 
 
 The remainder of that day and the whole of the next they 
 continued up the Maria's. The 21st they reached the forks of 
 the river, the southern branch now being known as the Two 
 Medicine, and the northern as the Cut Bank ; crossing the present 
 line of the Great Northern Railwa\- near the station of Cut Bank 
 they proceeded up the latter fork, their course being north of 
 
 Note:* — These Minnetarees were a branch of the .Arapahoes, a separate 
 racial stock from the Hiflatsa, or Minnetarees found near the Mandan villages. 
 
 21
 
 and generally parallel with the Great Northern Railway for 
 twenty miles. The following afternoon they reached a point 
 about ten miles, Lewis writes, from the foot of the Rockies (it 
 was in reality 25 miles from Glacier Park where the prairie 
 touches the rugged mountain slope). Here the river bent to 
 the southwest, and he realized that the Maria's did not attain 
 so high a latitude as he expected. They made camp here, on the 
 south side of the Cut Bank River, and proposed to remain two 
 days for the purpose of taking observations and examining the 
 surrounding region. 
 
 This was the most northerly point reached by the Lewis and 
 Clark expedition. It is about six or seven miles northwest of the 
 Great Northern and at the nearest point on the railway (about 
 two miles west of the present station of Meriwether) a sandstone 
 shaft has been erected which bears the following inscription : 
 
 JULY 26, 1806 
 FARTHEST POINT WEST 
 ON CAPT. LEWIS' TRIP 
 UP THE 
 MARIAS RIVER 
 
 To the southwest they might almost have seen Maria's Pass, 
 which, had they ascended Maria's river instead of the Missouri 
 on their outward journey, might have taken them across the 
 mountains by a far easier way than the one they followed. 
 
 Lewis' first care was to send a man forward to examine the 
 river "till its entrance to the mountains." Although they pro- 
 longed their stay at this place several days, the desired astronom- 
 ical observations could not be taken; the weather remained 
 overcast and the captain's chronometer stopped for several 
 hours. Game was scarce and the party suffered from hunger and 
 cold. They left on the morning of July 26th, naming the place 
 Camp Disappointment. 
 
 Encounter with Minnetarees 
 
 Their course lay southeastward across the plains. The party 
 crossed Willow Creek about two miles from camp and soon 
 crossed the present line of the Great Northern Railway two 
 miles west of the station Meriwether near the place where the 
 monument above referred to now stands; a twelve-mile ride 
 
 22
 
 brought them to the Two Medicine or South fork of the Maria's. 
 They forded this river and a few miles farther reached a small 
 tributar>' known as Badger Creek, on which many years after- 
 wards a trading post and the Blackfoot agency were situated. 
 Crossing Badger Creek at its mouth they continued down the 
 south side of the Two Medicine for three miles. One of the 
 hunters, Drew\er, advanced along the valley on the opposite 
 side. 
 
 Captain Lewis with the remaining two men ascended the 
 high land beside the river. They soon caught sight of about 
 thirty horses grazing on the plains. With the aid of his glass 
 Lewis now made a most unpleasant discovery. Eight of the 
 horses were saddled and he had not far to look for their riders. 
 On a hilltop, gazing down into the valley, probably at Drewyer, 
 he beheld for the first time since entering the territory of the 
 plains Indians whom he refers to as "vicious and profligate 
 rovers", a group of savages. 
 
 He carefully weighed the situation which seemed to him 
 serious. He did not know how numerous this band might prove 
 to be; he had every reason to fear that their disposition would 
 be hostile. The horses of his party were slow and could easily 
 be overtaken; it was moreover out of the question to abandon 
 Drewyer, whom the Indians had already seen. He decided 
 therefore to advance in "friendly fashion" under the problematic 
 protection of the American flag. 
 
 On perceiving them the Indians were thrown into great con- 
 fusion, but at last mounted and rode to meet the Americans. 
 When the two parties were within a hundred yards of each other 
 the savages halted and one of them came on alone. Captain 
 Lewis therefore stopped his men and went forward to meet him. 
 They shook hands, after which the others advanced and greeted 
 each other with the same show of good feeling, the Indians in- 
 dicating that they wished to smoke with the white men. Captain 
 Lewis gave them to understand that the man they had first seen 
 going down the river had the pipe and asked that an Indian go 
 with one of his party to bring Drewyer back. 
 
 He learned by signs that they were, as he had feared, Minne- 
 tarees of the North and inquired if there were chiefs among 
 them. They indicated three of their number to whom, although 
 Lewis did not believe them to be chiefs, he offered gifts — a flag 
 to one, a medal to one, and a handkerchief to the third. He felt 
 
 23
 
 somewhat reassured in finding there were but eight of the 
 sa\ages, believing his men could easily hold their own with 
 that number. 
 
 Lewis now proposed that the parties camp together for the 
 night. Accordingly they descended to the river bank where 
 the Indians put up a leather lodge and the evening was spent 
 in talk and smoking. They learned that these Indians were 
 part of a large band which was camped on the Two Medicine 
 branch of the Maria's, near the Rocky Mountains, and that 
 another party was hunting about the Broken Mountains [Sweet- 
 grass Hills]. 
 
 Lewis recounted to them his long journey, said that he hoped 
 to persuade the Minnetarees to live on more peaceful terms with 
 other tribes and to bring their furs to the future trading posts 
 which were to be established at the mouth of the Maria's. He told 
 them that the rest of his party was waiting for him there and 
 suggested that some of the Indians proceed to their main en- 
 campment and invite all of the band to meet him at that place, 
 while the rest should go there with him. It was arranged among 
 the white men that a watch be kept during the night. I shall 
 quote Elliott Coues in his "History of the Lewis and Clark 
 Expedition": 
 
 "Sunday, July 27th. At sunrise, the Indians got up and 
 crowded around the fire near which J. Fields, who was then on 
 watch, had carelessly left his rifle, near the head of his brother, 
 who was still asleep. One of the Indians slipped behind him, and, 
 unperceived, took his brother's and his own rifle, while at the 
 same time two others seized those of Drewyer and Captain 
 Lewis. As soon as Fields turned, he saw the Indian running off 
 with the rifles; instantly calling his brother, they pursued him 
 for 50 or 60 yards; just as they overtook him, in the scufile for 
 the rifles R. Fields stabbed him through the heart with his knife. 
 The Indian ran about fifteen steps and fell dead. They now ran 
 back with their rifles to the camp. The moment the fellow 
 touched his gun, Drewyer, who was awake, jumped up and 
 wrested it from him. The noise awoke Captain Lewis, who in- 
 stantly started from the ground and reached for his gun; but 
 finding it gone, drew a pistol from his belt, and turning saw the 
 Indian running off with it. He followed him and ordered him to 
 lay it down, which he did just as the two Fields came up, and 
 were taking aim to shoot him; when Captain Lewis ordered them 
 not to fire, as the Indian did not appear to intend any mischief. 
 He dropped the gun and was going slowly off when Drewyer 
 came out and asked permission to kill him; but this Captain 
 Lewis forbade, as he had not yet attempted to shoot us. But 
 finding that the Indians were now endeavoring to drive off all 
 the horses, he ordered [all] three of us to follow the main party, 
 who were chasing the horses up the river, and fire instantly upon 
 the thieves; while he, without taking time to run for his shot- 
 pouch, pursued the fellow who had stolen his gun and another 
 Indian, who were driving away the horses on the left of the 
 
 24
 
 camp. He pressed them so closely that they left twelve of their 
 horses, but continued to drive off one of our own. At the dis- 
 tance of 300 paces they entered a steep niche in the river-bluffs, 
 when Captain Lewis, being too much out of breath to pursue 
 them any further, called out, as he had done several times before, 
 that unless they gave up the horse he would shoot them. As he 
 raised his gun one of the Indians jumped behind a rock and 
 spoke to the other, who stopped at the distance of thirty paces. 
 Captain Lewis shot him in the belly. He fell on his knees and 
 right elbow; but raising himself a little, fired and then crawled 
 behind a rock. The shot had nearly been fatal, for Captain 
 Lewis, who was bareheaded, felt the wind of the ball very dis- 
 tinctly. Not having his shot-pouch, he could not reload his rifle; 
 and having only a single load for his pistol, he thought it most 
 prudent not to attack the Indians, and therefore retired slowly 
 to the camp. He was met by Drewyer, who, hearing the report 
 of guns, had come to his assistance, leaving the Fields to pursue 
 the Indians. Captain Lewis ordered him to call out to them to 
 desist from the pursuit, as we could take the horses of the Indians 
 in place of our own; but they were at too great a distance to hear 
 him. He therefore returned to the camp; and whilst he was 
 saddling the horses, the Fields returned with four of our own, 
 having followed the Indians until two of them swam the river 
 and two others ascended the hills, so that the horses became 
 dispersed. 
 
 "We, however, were rather gainers by the contest, for we took 
 four of the Indian horses, and lost only one of our own. Besides 
 which, we found in the camp four shields, two bows with quivers, 
 and one of the guns, which we took with us, as also the flag 
 which we had presented to the Indians, but left the medal round 
 the neck of the dead man, in order that they might be informed 
 who we were. The rest of their baggage, except some buffalo- 
 meat, we left; and as there was no time to be lost, we mounted 
 our horses, and after ascending the river-hills, took our course 
 through the beautiful level plains, in a direction a little to the 
 south of east. We had no doubt but that we should be imme- 
 diately pursued by a much larger party, and that as soon as 
 intelligence was given to the band near the Broken mountains, 
 they would hasten to the mouth of Maria's river to intercept us. 
 We hoped, however, to be there before them, so as to form a 
 junction with our friends."* 
 
 Travelling as fast as their horses could carry them, they soon 
 passed a stream which they called Battle River, now known as 
 Birch creek, and later crossed the Teton, five miles above where 
 they had passed it on the northward trip. Here they halted for 
 a much needed rest of an hour and a half. They continued their 
 journey until nightfall when, having killed a buffalo, they ven- 
 tured to stop for another two hours. By the light of a cloudy 
 moon, among limitless dark masses of buffalo they then con- 
 tinued their desperate race from this perilous vicinity. At two 
 in the morning they stopped for a few hours' sleep, but at dawn, 
 broken and sore from the hard riding of the previous day, were 
 again in the saddle. 
 
 Captain Lewis was as deeply concerned for the safety of the 
 party at the mouth of the Maria's as for himself and his three 
 
 26
 
 men. He felt sure that the main body of the Minnetarees, on 
 learning what had occurred, would proceed to that point and 
 attack the men waiting with the canoes. He announced his 
 intention of ad\ancing by the most direct and most dangerous 
 route to the confluence of the rivers. If, before reaching there, 
 the enemy overtook them they were to make a stand until — as, 
 with his fine courage and hopefulness he suggests — they routed 
 the Indians; or were killed. 
 
 As they approached the river they heard the sound of rifles 
 and hurrying to the bank "saw, with exquisite satisfaction our 
 friends coming down the river". 
 
 It was Sergeant Ordway with the party which had separated 
 from Captain Clark at the Three Forks of the Missouri. 
 
 At the mouth of the Maria's, by great good fortune, they met 
 the men Captain Lewis had left above the falls and who had 
 descended to this point by land bringing the horses. 
 
 Down the Missouri 
 
 On the 29th the whole party set out b>- canoe down the 
 river. The water was high and the current strong and they 
 were soon swept safely out of reach of the Minnetarees. 
 
 It rained at first in torrents; buffalo continued in immense 
 numbers; elk. many big horn, antelope, deer, and wolves were 
 seen and the hunters brought in a varied supply of meat. 
 
 The progress of the party was rapid and without serious 
 incident and on August 7, 1806, they reached the mouth of 
 the Yellowstone. Here they found the fragment of a letter left 
 by Captain Clark saying that he had continued down the 
 Missouri. Captain Lewis accordingly went forward. 
 
 On the 12th of August they met two traders from Illinois, 
 the first white men outside of their own party they had seen 
 since leaving the Mandan villages in March, 1805, and on that 
 same day they overtook Captain Clark. 
 
 On August 14 the united party reached the Minnetaree and 
 Mandan villages where they had spent the winter of 1804-0.3 
 and where they were now cordially received. They tried to 
 induce chiefs of both nations to accompany them to St. Louis 
 and go from there to Washington to visit the President. A Man- 
 dan chief was finally persuaded, together with his wife and son, 
 to accept the invitation. At this place Chaboneau asked for 
 
 27
 
 his discharge and, with his wife Sacajawea and their much 
 traveled infant remained among the Mandans. 
 
 As the party proceeded down the river the most striking 
 feature of their journey was the frequency with which they met 
 parties from St. Louis ascending to the Indian country to trade. 
 These were the pioneers of that great traffic in furs which was 
 to be the important commerce of the frontier for fifty years 
 and in them Lewis and Clark beheld the first result of their own 
 achievement. Ever widening circles of activity were to follow 
 that achievement until Jefferson's dream of a continent re- 
 deemed from savagery, the home of an American people freed 
 from the rule so abhorred by him of King and Church, became 
 a reality. 
 
 In spite of the generally sober language of the journals we 
 find a growing undercurrent of excitement and joy at this 
 return to civilization after two years and three months of such 
 isolation, toil, danger, and privation as they had undergone. 
 
 On September 20. they reached the French village of La 
 Charette which they saluted with cheers and a discharge of four 
 guns, and where they were welcomed doubtless with astonish- 
 ment, it being the popular belief that they had perished in the 
 wilderness. The next day they were again on their way. New 
 settlements had sprung up and they were "refreshed with the 
 sight of men and cattle" along the banks. St. Charles was reached 
 on the 21st and wildest excitement greeted their arrival. De- 
 tained by the hospitalities extended them they did not set out 
 until ten o'clock of the following day. 
 
 Word of their coming preceded them and men, women and 
 children flocked to the shore, the ri\er rang with cheers as the 
 small flotilla swept past with its bronzed and tattered crew. 
 
 On the 23rd of September they entered the Mississippi and at 
 noon fired their salute before the village of St. Louis. 
 
 Their task was accomplished. They had navigated the Mis- 
 souri River from its mouth to one of its sources in the heart of 
 the Rocky mountains; had crossed that range to the western 
 slope of the continent; found their way to the Columbia and 
 down its waters to the Pacific Ocean. On their return they 
 discovered new mountain passes and widened the scope of their 
 exploration by separate expeditions. The various operations of 
 the party covered over 6,000 miles in a primeval world which 
 afforded no aid or succor but that which they themselves could 
 
 28
 
 wrest from its hard grasp. When they entered it the calendar 
 turned back thousands of years and took them to an age the story 
 of which is written only in geologic strata. 
 
 At all times e\en in moments of most desperate need or peril 
 they did not fail carefully to observe birds, plants, animals and 
 topographical features and record them in their copious reports. 
 The maps they drew are accurate and complete and ser\ed for 
 many years as guides to those who followed them into these wild 
 regions. Of the aboriginal peoples the\' encountered, many had 
 never before seen a white man ; the courage with which the\' were 
 met and the fairness with which the\were treated won from them 
 often friendship, always respect. If all the white men who came 
 in early contact with the Indians had been of the quality of 
 Lewis and Clark the stor\- of Indians and whites in the north- 
 west would have been a \er\- different one. 
 
 This was the first official exploring expedition sent out by 
 the American government. Its significance in our national 
 development cannot be overemphasized; where Lewis and Clark 
 led, the population of an empire has followed. 
 
 When the reader puts down their journals, admiration for 
 their extraordinary efficiency is mingled with a feeling of some- 
 thing like personal affection for the thoughtful, generous Lewis, 
 the unlettered and indomitable Clark^ — brave and simple men, 
 of whom the nation may justly be proud. 
 
 (Printed in U.S. .A ) 
 29