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Army in Boats -- pt 4

8/12/2022

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An Army in Boats
Part 4:  Back over the Rockies and home

        While planning at Fort Clatsop, Lewis and Clark calculated they would have eight canoes and two pirogues, plus whatever Clark made for his trip down the Yellowstone, to carry them from their reunion point back down the Missouri to St. Louis.  What they actually had when the Expedition was reunited was less than that. 
          Lewis recorded that the pirogue left at the Marias was rotted so we know it was left behind.  Pryor’s bullboats lasted until August 12.  That was the day Lewis and his party caught up with Clark.  The combined group must not have needed the bullboats since Clark wrote that when the combined Expedition continued down the river, they left the two “leather canoes” laying on the bank.  An interesting side note is that earlier that day Clark had one of the men repair a rip in one of the bullboats.  When finished the boat worked fine and without any leaks.  The two small canoes Clark built and had fastened together on the Yellowstone remained in use almost all the way home to St. Louis.  At the Osage River on September 20, several of the men were unable to work so the Corps was consolidated and left Clark’s          catamaran behind.
          But what happened to the three canoes that were unaccounted for?  Journal records show that the one canoe cached at the Big Hole River (Lewis’ Wisdom River) was cut up for other uses.  A bit of investigation shows that one of the canoes at Camp Fortunate was badly damaged so it too was cut up for other uses.  The third canoe was left at the Upper Portage Camp at the Great Falls because it was damaged and according to the Sergeants, not needed. 
          Interestingly, Capt. Clark said the damaged canoe at Camp Fortunate was repaired, but Ordway said it was cut up for other uses.  Maybe Clark just assumed they would fix it.  Ordway’s response is more accurate since they only took six canoes downriver from there. 
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Army in Boats -- pt 3

8/3/2022

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An Army in Boats
Part 3:  Western waters
 
          From this camp at the east slopes of the Rocky Mountains, they continued on horses across the Continental Divide and down the west side of the mountains to the Clearwater River.  Here they left the horses in the care of friendly Nez Perce and built five canoes to make their way down the Clearwater, Snake and Columbia to the Pacific.
            By October 7, 1805 the Corps of Discovery had completed the five canoes they needed to make the rest of their trip.  These were different from the cottonwood dugouts they had used on the east side of the Rockies. These were made from what Clark called pine and most of the inside had been burned out rather that chopped out with an adz.
            Journal records of the trip to the Pacific are filled with tales of adventures of split, sunk, banged up and broken canoes.  The rivers were in low water time so many large boulders and dangerous rapids had to be overcome.  But there are also reports that they repaired all of the damaged canoes.
          As the Expedition spent the winter at the fort they named Fort Clatsop, they were absorbed in making salt and hunting for the food they needed to survive.  There was a constant parade of Indians coming to visit and trade that took much of the group’s attention.  Although the Indians’ prices were high these trading sessions often proved to be the only source of the food the Corps of Discovery needed to survive.
          Basic transportation in the coastal area of the fort was by canoe.  Canoes were needed to cross the numerous small streams, lakes and travel on the rivers.  The Expedition canoes were in constant use by the hunters that were out daily.
          As might be expected during the time at Clatsop, the journals record lost canoes, found canoes, broken or bashed in canoes, and repaired canoes.  But when the time came to leave Fort Clatsop and head home, the Corps of Discovery had six canoes; this is the number the two Captains determined they needed to carry the Expedition members and their baggage.  The canoes the Expedition had included the famous one that was stolen from the Indians.  However, when the owner of the canoe saw it, he was pleased to take some elk skins in payment for it.
          The next Spring the Expedition retraced its route east along the Columbia River and over the Rockies to Travelers Rest.  The return up the Columbia from March 23 when they left Clatsop until they reached the Falls of the Columbia saw little or no transportation problems.  Most efforts were overcoming the current of the river and finding enough food.
          After the Expedition portaged the Falls, they would try to trade their canoes for horses.  The idea was that they would go cross country to the Clearwater saving time and miles.  By April 24, 1806 all the canoes were disposed of and the Corps of Discovery was traveling on horses.  They would have no more canoes until they reached Camp Fortunate.
          Throughout the travels down the western rivers in 1805 and back up again in 1806 many times a canoe is reported as damaged or sunk, but it is always repaired and useable again.  The reader must be very careful and read ahead and backward to maintain an accurate count of the canoes. The journals of all the journalists must be referenced because the events did not necessarily include all members of the Corps at the same time.  If this section of the Expedition’s travels is read like a normal book, page 1 then 2 etc., canoe count results will be impossible.  They actually only lost one canoe at the Great Falls of the Columbia on 4/12/06 and one canoe they lost while hunting in the swamps etc. on 3/8/06 before leaving Fort Clatsop.
          While at Camp Chopunnish on the Clearwater River waiting for the snow to melt in the Rockies, Lewis had a canoe built for local use by the hunters.  Tragically, on its maiden voyage it got caught in the dangerous currents of the river and sank.  Nobody, Nez Perce or Corps of Discovery, could recover the boat.
 
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Army in Boats -- pt 2

7/25/2022

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An Army in Boats
Part 2:  East of the Divide - 1805

          The Lewis and Clark Expedition is known as a trek by water from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back, along with a few times the exploring was on land. It is generally understood that the Expedition left Camp Dubois in a keelboat and two pirogues and made their way up the Missouri to the Mandan villages where they wintered.  The next Spring the keelboat was sent back to St. Louis and the Expedition continued on up the Missouri River to where one pirogue was cached.  The other pirogue was cached at the Lower Portage Camp.  The rest of the trip was a mixture of boat and horse travel.  Somewhere along the way during the 1806 return, after splitting into several groups, they got back together on the Missouri and finished the trip to St. Louis in boats. 
          What many people do not realize is the Corps of Discovery made canoes in four different places along their water trail.  They started the trip on the large eastern rivers that required larger boats.  When they reached the upper Missouri, they were on smaller western waterways that called for smaller boats.  Here is where the canoes became useful.
          After the keelboat left for St. Louis from Fort Mandan the Corps of Discovery needed more boats than the two pirogues they had, so men were sent five miles upriver where they had located six cottonwood trees large enough to make dugout canoes from.  When Lewis left winter camp with his men, he had two pirogues and six canoes. 
          All went well until they reached the mouth of the Marias River.  At that place they cached part of their food supplies and other equipment that would not be needed on the journey over the mountains.  With the reduction in “baggage” came a reduction in the number of water craft needed to carry it in.  One of the pirogues was also cached at the Marias. 
          The Corps of Discovery continued on about 50 miles until they encountered the Great Falls of the Missouri.  The other pirogue was cached at the Lower Portage Camp because it was too big and heavy to portage around the waterfalls and it would be too big for the much smaller rivers above the falls.  The collapsible, iron-framed boat had been carried along to replace the pirogues.  It would be light but capable of hauling a large load of men and equipment.  When that boat would not stay afloat, it was discarded.
          Once again, men were sent upriver to where cottonwood trees were found that were adequate for making dugout canoes from.  Two canoes were made at this place which is about eight miles beyond the Upper Portage Camp.  When The Expedition continued their travels toward the western sea, they were using eight canoes.
          The Expedition worked its way up the Missouri River to the Three Forks where the Madison, Gallatin, and Jefferson Rivers join to form the Missouri River.  From the Three Forks they followed the Jefferson since it appeared to go west into the mountains while the other two went in a more southerly direction.
            As they progressed along the upper reaches of the Jefferson River near the mouth of the Big Hole River (Lewis’ Wisdom River), they encountered an area of rapids that gave them particular trouble.  While they were camped drying wet baggage, they cached one of the canoes there since they had used their supplies down to the point they could continue with one less canoe.  Some fifty miles farther up the Jefferson, near its source, the Expedition cached their canoes at Camp Fortunate then traded for horses to cross the Rocky Mountains.

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Army in Boats--pt 1

7/16/2022

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An Army in Boats
Part I:  The Adventure Story
 
          If the purpose of studying history I to learn from the past to help plan for the future, then we must find a way to understand the past history as best we can. We need to see and understand both the good and the bad to enable us to universalize that which will endure the tests of time.  It is relatively easy to understand the events, but to profit from knowing what happened we need to understand why the events happened.
             If we personalize that history, that is make the people involved as understandable as possible we must show them as real people instead of “heroes” placed on high pedestals by society, we will best accomplish our task of learning and better understanding the events of our past.
           The following 5 part article uses a detailed record of canoe counts during the Expedition’s journey to better understand their Journals and the writers.
          By tracking the number of canoes, including when and how they were obtained we can:
  • See that the explorers did not always record many details, including some important ones
  • See the need for several journalists to get a more complete story
  • See journalists were not always objective, but had inherent prejudices
    • These savages made great canoes but had even greater skill on how to use them which gave them freedom to move about their environment
    • Dismal notch as an example
  • See we need to sometimes go beyond what the journalists wrote to get the complete story
    • letters they wrote
    • other writers of their time
    • Toussaint Charbonneau as example
             
          When Jefferson and Lewis were making the initial plans for the journey to explore the Upper Louisiana Purchase, they knew a portage would be needed to go from the headwaters of the Missouri to the headwaters of the Columbia—across the Rocky Mountains—which they calculated would be just a short distance requiring one day to complete.  The boats they would use to travel up the Missouri would be too large and heavy to haul across the portage.
            The solution worked out was to make canoes at Fort Mandan to replace the keelboat that was to return to St. Louis.  Later, the iron framed boat would be assembled to replace the two pirogues since they could not be portaged.
            The iron framed boat would be the primary craft down the Columbia to the Pacific, then back upriver the next Spring.  It would be re-portaged and the Expedition would use it for the trip down the Missouri and home.
            As unexpected events occurred and the plans started unraveling, the two Captains quickly adjusted the plans as needed to get the job done.  Their boats are a good example of their abilities as commanders who were flexible and capable of getting the rest of the Corps to “buy in” to what needed to be done to get the job at hand successfully completed.
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Who Were Replaceable?

7/3/2022

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           Those of us who follow the Lewis and Clark Expedition and its legacy have spent a great deal of time poring over books and articles to learn everything we can about who these brave people where and what they did.  The journey of the Corps of Discovery was a major episode in our American history.
            We have learned that President Jefferson wanted the journey to be made by a military unit that was used to life on the frontier.  We know that several of the men who were destined to become members of the Corps of Discovery were civilians recruited by Clark from the frontiers of Kentucky.
            There must have been some sort of selection criteria since several of the military personnel who made it to Camp Dubois were returned to their units as unacceptable to the Captains.  The only clue we get is that Lewis asked Clark to get a few good hunters.  In my opinion how the selections were made is one of the least understood, yet most important elements of the preparations for the expedition.
            As we read about the early days of life in Camp Dubois, we start to get a better picture of what these men could and could not do.  We find a mix of skills that would be used throughout the journey such as, blacksmiths, carpenters, surveyors, boatmen, hunters, trappers, fishermen, interpreters, and tailor.  Most of the men had some skill in all areas, but each seemed to have something he was best suited for.  But what if for some reason one of the selected men did not go and someone else had been sent in his place?  How much would the overall expedition suffered?  To expand upon that idea, who were replaceable and who were not?
            A person could go through the list of people who participated in the expedition, one by one, to show strengths and weaknesses then make a decision to replace or keep.  However, that would undoubtedly be a waste of time because we really don’t know enough about most of them to justify such an exercise.  Separate the two Captains from the list then, as a group, it can be said they were common men who answered the call.  They were people like you and me who did the best they could, most of the time.  Then, when the expedition was done, they returned to their prior lives of simple, common men.
             The Captains were separated because they both went to continued public life until their deaths.  But that is not to say that they could not have been replaceable.
             I read a book titled The Collected What If, edited by Robert Cowley.  He said “what ifs” are questions bantered about by historians when they are not doing otherwise purposeful research.  These mental gymnastics can from time to time produce some new or different perspective on an aspect of history.  Regardless of outcome they are almost always fun to think about. 
             The question of who was replaceable on the Lewis and Clark Expedition fits very much into the “what if” category. 
             That question is summed up by one of the contributors to Cowley’s book, William H. McNeal who writes on page 827 (of my copy) “So what if Pizzaro had not found potatoes in Peru?  Our world would be radically different for sure, even though no one can say exactly how very different it would be.”
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Defining the Corps cont

6/18/2022

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              When Jefferson first formulated this expedition, he specified it should be a military unit.  One of the reasons for him making that requirement was the military discipline system that resulted in the men following orders from their commander.  That is a great theory, but if a person reads about other military expeditions and campaigns, they will quickly discover how frequently orders were not followed or men deserted.  The abilities of the commander played a major part in orders being followed.  As both Lewis and Clark learned first-hand in their early military years during the Indian Wars poor training resulted in desertions and failed campaigns.
                When the Corps of Discovery formed at Camp Dubois during the winter of 1803-1804 Clark put his prior training under Gen. Anthony Wayne to good use and developed a cohesive military unit as Jefferson had specified.  But he went well beyond that expected basis.  As a result of his, and Lewis’, training and personal abilities as leaders the Corps of Discovery that left that spring was a team, officers and enlisted.  Respect for leadership and followship had been earned.
                In the eyes of the men, the Captains had earned the right to be the leaders by the way they conducted themselves and the “office of commander.”  Fairness of work assignments, appropriate discipline, adequate input into decision making, responsibility spread as needed all made this happen.  These are all the things that effective leaders today do to earn the respect of the men they command.  A mutual trust among the men enabled a cohesive team to develop.
                The Captains careful geographic decision followed by the men’s statement that they all disagreed, but would cheerfully follow wherever the Captains chose to lead and the Captains’ decision to take an advance party up the river they selected were the result of careful preparation by people with knowledge and used to making decisions.
                So far, we have seen the Captains made conscious decisions as the journey unfolded.  But the story of the Marias also shows an inner quality both Captains possessed that served them well.  Although they had spent months in planning and preparation for the expedition they did not hesitate to make changed when they encountered a situation that required it.
              As the “decision at the Marias” saga came to its conclusion Jefferson’s requirement to send a military unit to explore the Northwest was vilified.  The Corps of Discovery’s planning and training proved to have been key to insuring a successful mission.  A great deal of hard labor lay ahead, but the Corps showed it was ready for any challenge that presented itself.
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Defining the Corps

6/7/2022

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        It is just a small river, even by the standards of the western prairies it runs through.  But it nearly cost the Corps of Discovery its very life.  By assuming a frisky character known only during the late spring flood season, this river, masquerading as something much greater than it actually was, caused the Expedition to spend at least an extra week of precious time discovering its real nature.
          A close examination of this river reveals a great deal about Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the entire project of “discovery of the interior of the continent of North America.”  Such an examination reveals what sets this exploring party apart from all the others and why it was ultimately so tremendously successful in doing what it was supposed to do.
          In his book, River of Promise, David Nicandri discusses geography considerations faced by the Expedition as they traveled through the mountains of Western Montana and Idaho.  He appropriately points out the Expedition was totally at a loss in that area even with a native guide.  The entire Expedition could have easily perished if it had not been for friendly natives who helped them through the area.
          However, they were also struggling with their paradigm of “continental symmetry” so were not really using their full capabilities.  This part of the journey was not a true representation of the Captains’ real abilities.
          When the Corps of Discovery first saw this unknown river [we now call the Marias] on the evening of June 2, 1805, they were collectively baffled.  For a thousand miles they had followed the Missouri River knowing they were on course with only cursory references to maps and notes they had to keep them on track.  But this river was not in their collected references from St. Louis or their winter at Fort Mandan.  Bernard DeVoto said that Meriwether Lewis had no rival in his ability to read the geography of the land, except for William Clark; a very bold statement considering all the other explorers who traversed the continent turning an unknown land into a known one.
          By reading both Captains’ journal entries for the first few days of June we see how they studied the land and concluded that the South Fork was the Missouri River they should follow.  Those journal entries show just how the Captains’ minds digested the evidence at hand.  They reached their conclusion in one day’s time.  We find in this episode one of the Expedition’s finest hours.  If we continue to read the journal, we learn much more.
 
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Miscellany

5/31/2022

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                                                   Lewis and Clark Expedition
                                           Small Arms, Personnel, and Miscellany
                                                                by Walt Walker

             A nine part series examining details of the men and their guns

Miscellany 1:  Hunters
 
            In Chapter Two, I stated the nine men from Kentucky were issued rifles and my supposition was based on those men being hired as hunters according to letters between Clark and Lewis.  Each of those men was cited by the captains as sent out and returning from hunting forays after departure from Camp DuBois through the winter at Fort Mandan.
            Of the prior-enlisted men, Collins was sent out to hunt on numerous occasions. He was one of the best hunters and was cited by the captains as such several times in the Journals.  Willard was also an excellent hunter and when he accidentally dropped his gun while trying to cross a river, Ordway noted on July 28th, 1904 that the gun was a rifle. Ordway also noted on July 29th, 1804 that it was raining hard and he (Ordway) aimed to keep his rifle dry.
            By now, twelve of the fifteen rifles can be counted as issued.  Even though Windsor was cited as sent to hunt sometime after the Corps left Fort Mandan in 1805, he was not considered a hunter before that time.  Sergeant Floyd wrote on August 7th, 1804 that Reed took all of his clothes and all his powder and balls and hid them out the night before he deserted. Clark wrote on August 18th, 1804 that Reed confessed to desertion and stealing a public rifle, a shot pouch, powder, and balls.  From this, one could deduce that Reed had been issued one of the Harpers Ferry rifles.  Windsor most certainly was not issued a rifle prior to Reed’s court-martial.
            Sergeant Gass related at different times that he had been sent to hunt only after Sergeant Floyd’s death. It’s logical that he was issued Floyd’s rifle. Whitehouse wrote in his journal entry dated April 2nd, 1806, “The best of our hunters crossed over to the south side of the River Columbia to hunt”.  Gass and Windsor were two of those hunters. In Whitehouse’s journal, Cruzatte was cited several times as hunting, and LaBiche was cited as killing a deer on the same day as Cruzatte, August 2nd, 1804.   LaBiche was also among the hunters who were sent to find and return Reed. I have inferred from this and other instances that Cruzatte and LaBiche were both issued rifles.
            Two other prior-enlisted men cited as being sent out to hunt before reaching the Mandan Villages were Howard and Newman.  On September 2nd, 1804, together they killed an elk on the river shore.  They had seen the elk swimming in the river while they were eating breakfast and ran a mile up the river shore to get it.  Whether they used rifles is unknown.  Reed’s rifle was not mentioned as being reissued but might have been issued to Newman. Such a rifle would have been taken away from him upon his September 12th confinement and court-martial on September 13th, 1804. 
            At this point, only one rifle was left in the Corps Inventory. There were two hunters left to be issued rifles, Windsor and LePage. As mentioned before, LePage may have brought his own rifle with him. It wasn’t until the two accompanied Lewis up the north fork of the Missouri (the Marias River) that Windsor was probably issued that 15th rifle.  He hunted frequently after that.  Windsor was the man whose rifle muzzle had burst and then was fixed by Shields.  That rifle was given to one of the Nez Perce guides at Traveler’s Rest in 1806.  On June 4th, 1805, Whitehouse wrote that the six men with Lewis were hunters and the five men with Clark were hunters.  Lewis’s party explored the north (Marias River) fork and Clark’s party the south fork of the Missouri.
 
A note on Drewyer:
            He was a civilian and was hired to be an interpreter and a hunter.  He was not hired to be a laborer or an oarsman. When they left Camp Dubois, he was either on horseback, on foot, or riding on the keelboat.  When they left Fort Mandan, he would hunt on foot or command the rudder on the White Pirogue.  After they left the Canoe Camp above the Great Falls of the Missouri, he hunted on foot most of the way to Camp Fortunate. From there to the Shoshone, he was alternately on foot or horseback.  From the Lemhi Shoshone to Travelers Rest to the Canoe Camp near the mouth of the Clearwater, he was on horseback. Of necessity, he traveled in a canoe from that camp to the various camps at or near the mouth of the Columbia.
          On the return trip, he was in the advance hunting party with the Field brothers and, once beyond the falls of the Columbia, he reverted to walking and riding a horse all the way to Decision Point.  From there to St. Louis, he rode in the White Pirogue and only occasionally hunted.
 
Lone Hunters:
Drewyer, Collins, Labiche, Ruben Field, Shannon, Colter, Joseph Field, Lewis, Clark, York
 
Hunting Partners:
Shannon/Labiche                   Field/Field                                Collins/Drewyer  
Shannon/ J. Field/Shields        Collins/R. Field                         Willard/ Colter
Drewyer/ Labiche                   Drewyer/ Labiche/ Collins         
R.Field/ Frazer/ Shields       Drewyer/ J. Field                     
Drewyer, Labiche./ Cruzatte      Drewyer/ Field/ Field
Drewyer/ J.Field/ Frazer        J.Field/Collins/Shannon/Labiche
Pryor/Gibson                         J.Field/Pryor/Gibson                Drewyer/Shannon
Drewyer/Shannon/Labiche             Collins/Willard 
Drewyer/ LePage                   Shannon/Labiche/R.Field              
J. Field/Willard/Gibson     Drewyer/ Lewis                      Collins/Windsor              J. Field/ Shannon/ Shields
Collins/ Shields/Shannon      Gass/ R. Field/ Thompson
Gass/ R.Field/ J. Field           Ordway/Willard                            Collins/ Colter 
Drewyer/Clark                         Collins/Field/Field                       Drewyer/ R. Field
Collins/Shannon                      Drewyer/ any other man               
J.Field/ any other man
R. Field/ any other man          Collins/ any other man
 
Seven Best Hunters:
Drewyer, Collins, R. Field, J. Field, Colter, Shannon, Gibson
 
Other Exccellent Hunters:
Shields, Willard, Clark, Lewis, Labiche, Gass, Pryor, Ordway, Windsor, Cruzatte, Bratton
 
Other Hunters:
Frazier, LePage, Howard, Weiser, York, Potts, Charbono
 
Non-Hunters (though each might have hunted on occasion):
McNeal, Werner, Whitehouse, Thompson, Hall, Goodrich
 
Fowlers:
Labiche, Collins, J. Field, R. Field, Drewyer, Lewis, Clark, York
 
Fisherman:
Goodrich
 
Miscellany 2:  Grizzly bears killed or wounded
 
1.   10/20/1804         First, encounter, Pierre Cruzatte wounds a grizzly. It                                                escapes.
2.  4/28/1805            One of the hunters wounds a grizzly but it escapes.
3.   4/29/1805           Lewis and one hunter, near Culbertson, MT killing one                                            and wounding one.  The wounded bear got away.
4.   5/5/1805             Clark and Drouillard kill a grizzly near Wolf Point, MT—                                       10 shots.
5.   5/11/1805           Bratton wounds a grizzly that chases him awhile.                                                        Hunters kill the bear.
6.   5/13/1805           Gibson wounds a grizzly, but it is too late in the
​                                       day to pursue.      
7.   5/14/1805            Six hunters shoot a grizzly that chases each of them.                                                Many shots
                                      later, the bear is downed with a headshot.
8.    5/15/1805           The hunters wound a grizzly.
9.   5/17/1805            The hunters shoot a grizzly.
10.   5/19/1805          Clark along with other hunters shoots a grizzly.
11.   5/22/1805          Hunters kill a grizzly late in the afternoon.
12.   5/23/1805          Hunters kill a grizzly but lose it in the river.
13.   6/2/1805            Drouillard kills a grizzly.
14.   6/4/1805            Drouillard shoots and wounds a grizzly.
15.   6/5/1805            Clark’s party kills three grizzlies. 
16.   6/12/1805          Lewis’s party kills two grizzlies.
17.   6/25/1805          Drouillard and J. Field kill three grizzlies.
18.   7/2/1805            Drouillard kills a grizzly.
19.   7/26/1805          Clark’s party kills two grizzlies.
20.   9/1/1805            A hunter wounds two grizzlies.
21.   5/14/1806          Collins kills two grizzlies.
22.   5/14/1806          Labiche kills a sow and two large cubs.
23.   5/16/1806          Drouillard wounds three grizzlies.
24.   5/17/1806          Collins kills a grizzly.
25.   5/25/1806          Gibson and Shields wound a sow with two cubs.
26.   7/10/1806          Drouillard kills a grizzly.
27.   7/13/1806          Hunters wound a grizzly.
28.   7/13/1806          Pryor’s party kills a grizzly.
 29.   7/19/1806         Shields shoots two grizzlies from his horse while
                                       they are chasing him.                                            
30.   7/30/1806          Ordway and Willard kill a grizzly.
31.   7/31/1806          Clark’s party wounds a grizzly.
32.   8/1/1806             Lewis and Drouillard kill a grizzly.
33.   8/1/1806             Lewis’s party kills a grizzly.
34.   8/2/1806             Clark kills a grizzly.
35.   8/2/1806             Clark’s party wounds a grizzly.
36.   8/4/1806             Ordway and Willard kill a grizzly.
37.   8/5/1806             Clark and one other man kill a grizzly 
38.   8/5/1806             The Field brothers kill two grizzlies.
39.   8/6/1806             Clark’s party wounds a grizzly.
40.   8/7/1806             The Field brothers kill two grizzlies.
41.   8/7/1806             Lewis’s party wounds two grizzlies.  
 
Summary
 
            The first grizzly sighting was actually a grizzly track.  On October 7th, 1804 Captain Clark found the tracks along the Moreau River a mile up from the Missouri River in present-day Dewey County South Dakota.  He stated that “the tracks were very large”.
            The first encounter with a live bear was by Cruzatte who wounded the bear and, then, ran as it chased him. He dropped his tomahawk and rifle as he fled. The bear escaped and, fortunately, Cruzatte was able to retrieve his weapons.
            The next encounter was by Captain Lewis and another hunter near present-day Poplar, MT. on April 29th, 1804.  Each of the men shot at one of two grizzlies.  The one Lewis shot charged them.  Fortunately, they were able to run and reload and killed the charging bear.  The other wounded bear escaped.
            These two instances were typical of most of the Corps’ encounters with grizzly bears.  Some of the hunters were barely able to escape being caught. In one instance, a bear chased a man and got close enough to swipe his foot. This incident was the first of two close calls the hunter had with grizzly bears. In both cases, the bear ambushed the man.
           Another incident occurred when six men shot at a bear that pursued each of them in turn.  Five men ended up in the river with one of them jumping off a twenty-foot cliff and the bear following him into the river. The only man left on-land was able to kill the bear, shooting him in the head. The bear had eight ball wounds in his body before he was taken down.
           Lewis’s encounter with a grizzly that chased him into the river leaving Lewis holding nothing but his espadrille is well-known. The bear finally ran away but it could have been a different story.
          When the Corps were returning from their mission in 1806, Gass and Thompson were riding horses and leading other horses along the Medicine River. They were chased a long distance by a grizzly but managed to escape without losing the horses. Shields experienced a similar situation while riding a horse along the Yellowstone River.  He was pursued by two grizzlies but was able to shoot both of them from his horse.
           In the frequent grizzly bear encounters, almost sixty of them, many bears escaped, others were wounded and others were not shot at by the men. From those grizzlies killed, hides, meat, and fleece were utilized by the Corps.  The fleece was rendered to provide oil used in cooking for all the party.  The oil was a valued commodity, especially in cooking for 30 plus people.
          In 1805 all of the grizzly bear encounters occurred in present-day Montana east of the Continental Divide.  No black bears were sighted until the Corps reached the three forks of the Missouri River.
          The Corps did not encounter more grizzlies on their journey forward after the Continental Divide until their return trip in 1806 when they reached Nez Perce country in the mountains of Idaho. Passing over the Continental Divide on their return, the bears were, again, found on the high plains where bear food was plentiful.  The last grizzly encountered by the Corps was killed near present-day Williston, North Dakota.
 
Miscellany 3:  Clark’s Various Spellings of “Sioux”
Scioux ….. Sioux …… Seioux ….. Soux ….. Suxex            
Sciuex ….. Sisouex ….. Seeoux ….. Souiex ….. Sues
Sciouex ….. Sieoux ….. Seouex ….. Souis ….. Sueoux
Sceiouex ….. Sicux ….. Seaux ….. Souix ….. Suouex
Scoux ….. Sieuix ….. Seauex ….. Soue
Sceouex ….. Siouex ….. Seauix ….. Souex
Sceoux ….. Siouxs ….. Seaus ….. Sous
Scouix ….. Siaus ….. Seoux ….. Soauex
Sciaux ….. Sious ….. CueouSx ….. Souixs
Sceaux ….. Sieuex ….. Souxs
Scious  ….. Sieaux ….. Soos
 
 
                                                      ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
 
Many thanks to my wife, Angela for her much-needed help editing, suggestions and typing this effort. My thanks also to Phil Scriver for his encouragement and suggestions. Many thanks go to Gary Moulton and his herculean effort transcribing the journals of Lewis and Clark completely for all of us to explore and enjoy.  
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Going Home

5/24/2022

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                                               Lewis and Clark Expedition
                                 Small Arms, Personnel, and Miscellany
                                                           by Walt Walker

                 A 9 part series examining details of the men and their guns

Chapter 10:  Homeward Bound
 
          On August 15th, Colter was discharged from the corps with the captains’ blessing.  He was furnished with powder and lead, but no rifle. The captains would not have given him his government rifle but would have put it back in the inventory.  He might have received a gun from the two men with whom he partnered. Colter also might have been given the gun Lewis retrieved from the encounter with the young warriors. Either way, Colter would not receive a government gun.
                Charbonneau and his family left the party at the Mandan Villages, but LePage went on to St. Louis. It has been stated before that he had no strong ties with the villages.  He had lived with the Cheyenne and had only come to the villages in the late summer of 1804.
               On the 17th August, two more of the largest canoes were converted into a catamaran to carry some chiefs and their families and an interpreter to St. Louis and on to Washington.  Pryor, Willard, and Weiser were assigned to man this catamaran.  The two small canoes held the best hunters, except for Drewyer and the third canoe is under Ordway's command.  All of the rest of the enlisted hunters, except Gass, traveled in those three canoes. Gass commanded the catamaran Clark built on the Yellowstone. He had Hall, Howard, Potts, and Whitehouse on board. The Field brothers, Shannon, Shields, and Collins were the hunters in the two small canoes.  Gibson and Bratton were in Ordway’s canoe as were Frazer and LePage. Two extra oarsmen picked up on the way were on Gass’s catamaran. On August 28th and 29th, Frazer and Bratton were ordered to collect some prairie dogs.
              Excepting Gass, Cruzatte, and Ordway, the Field brothers, Collins, Shannon and Shields did most of the hunting on this leg. Pryor, Willard, Drewyer, and Labiche only hunted a little.  The last day the hunters were sent out was the 18th of September.
 
Chapter 11:  The Sprint
 
          On September 20th, 1806, the catamaran Clark built on the Yellowstone was set adrift and its passengers distributed among the other vessels.  The Corps arrived in the afternoon and spent the night in the village of LaCharrette. The next day, they arrived at St. Charles.  On the 22nd they arrived at Fort Belle Fontaine. 
                On the 23rd, they arrived at St. Louis amid a boisterous welcome. Clark’s journal entries end on the 26th of September, 1806 with his writing the phrase, “a fine morning, we commenced wrighting &c”.
                                            ______________________________________
 

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Exploring New Lands

5/9/2022

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                                                      Lewis and Clark Expedition
                                  Small Arms, Personnel, and Miscellany
                                                        by Walt Walker

         A 9 part series examining details of the men and their guns

Chapter 9: Divided Forces
      
          Lewis left from Travelers’ Rest with Drewyer, the Field brothers, Gass, Frazer, Werner, Thompson, McNeal, and Goodrich.  Lewis said that the last three men were not hunters.  They were chosen to be treated with the medicine Lewis had left at the Portage and Werner was the cook. Gass and the Field Brothers had Harpers Ferry rifles and Frazer had his musket. The balance of the party possessed muskets except for Goodrich as his musket had been traded to the Shoshone. Understandably, McNeal would have been issued one of the muskets cached at Decision Point to replace his broken one and Goodrich would have been issued the other musket.
          Clark and his party left Travelers Rest with the rest of the party and all but seventeen of the horses which Lewis had taken with him. They headed for Camp Fortunate and the cached canoes. With Clark were York, Charbono, Sacajawea, Pomp, Bratton, Collins, Colter, Cruzatte, Gibson, Hall, Howard, Labiche, LePage, Ordway, Potts, Pryor, Shannon, Shields, Weiser, Whitehouse, Willard, and Windsor. Ten of the men had rifles- Ordway, Collins, Colter, Cruzatte, Gibson, Labiche, Pryor, Shannon, Shields, and Willard.  Ordway, Collins, and Willard also had muskets.
          After arriving at Camp Fortunate and recovering the canoes, Ordway's party set out in six canoes having cut up the seventh canoe for paddles, headed for the three forks.  Pryor's party set out with the horses to meet up with Ordway again at the three forks. Clark later joined Ordway's party on the way. Collins killed a goose as the party descended the Beaverhead River.  It isn’t known whether he used his rifle or musket.  He was close to Labiche's ability as a fowler. On July 11th while descending the Jefferson River, Clark sent out Colter, Collins, Willard, and Gibson to hunt. All of them brought in game for the party.  Clark called them four of the best hunters.
         Ordway had with him in the canoes, the men who would descend the Missouri from the three forks. He took Collins, Colter, Cruzatte, Howard, LePage, Potts, Weiser, Whitehouse, and Willard.  Ordway, Collins, Colter, Cruzatte, and Willard all carried their rifles.  Collins, Colter, Cruzatte, and Willard did the hunting for Ordway’s party all the way from the three forks to the lower camp at the falls. On July 13th, 1806, Ordway left the three forks to descend the Missouri while Clark’s party went overland to the Yellowstone.
          Clark’s party had the balance of thirteen personnel who would travel overland from three forks to the Yellowstone River. He also took along forty-nine horses and a colt. Included in the party were York, Charbonneau, Sacajawea, Pomp, Pryor, Shannon, Shields, Gibson, Labiche, Windsor, Hall, and Bratton.  Windsor and Hall carried muskets, Bratton probably carried Clark’s fusil or one from the inventory list from the coast. Charbono’s firearm is unknown. He probably carried one of Clark’s when needed.  The other enlisted men carried rifles.
          Clark chose his personnel so that, if they met the Crow Indians along the way, he would have Sacajawea, Charbono, and Labiche as interpreters.  He took Bratton because he might need the medical attention that Ordway could not provide.  By that time Lewis had taken his party up the Marias and would not have been available to administer medicine. Pryor and Shannon and Windsor were specifically chosen to take the horses overland to Fort Mandan. Hall was soon also sent with Pryor. Labiche, Shields, and Gibson were the designated hunters for Clark’s remaining party of nine. Before Pryor’s party separated from Clark’s, they all stopped to make two canoes, which Clark then utilized to construct a catamaran which better suited their needs.
            Of Clark’s party, Bratton, Hall, and Windsor were the non-hunters.  Bratton set some traps near the mouth of the Yellowstone, but most of the way, he was too weak to work.  All of the other enlisted men hunted, as did Clark and York. Charbono met with a bad accident when his horse stepped in a hole while he was chasing a buffalo. Gibson also became injured on July 18th and he did not hunt again until the 30th of July.
          On August 3rd, Clark’s party arrived at the mouth of the Yellowstone.  They stayed for two nights before going on. Pryor’s party joined them on August 8th.  Pryor’s party had all their remaining horses stolen on their second night out. They, then, made bull boats to descend the Yellowstone. Shields, Shannon, Gibson, and Labiche then did all the hunting up to the time Lewis’s party caught up to them.
          As regards Lewis's party, they reunited on July 28th and, after opening the caches at Decision Point and stripping metal from the rotted red pirogue, proceeded down the Missouri.  Gass and Willard hunted and brought the horses and the meat from the Lower Camp.  Ordway brought the balance of fourteen personnel in the White Pirogue and five canoes from the Lower Camp to Camp Disappointment. The combined parties consisted of twenty men, eight of whom had Harpers Ferry rifles.  They also had the two cached muskets and the gun Lewis brought from the encounter on the Marias.
            Howard and Frazer were named as hunters on July 28th and 29th.  Howard brought down two deer on the 28th and Frazer killed a buffalo with his musket on the 29th. When they left Decision Point on July 28th Lewis, Drewyer, Cruzatte, and likely, McNeal, Goodrich, Thompson, Werner, and the injured Weiser manned the White Pirogue. There were three small canoes all manned by hunters and two large canoes.
           The Field brothers were in one small canoe and Collins and Colter were in the other small canoe. Ordway and Willard were in a little larger canoe. Likely, Gass, LePage, and Frazer manned one large canoe.  Likely, Potts would be in charge of the other large canoe since he was one of the best canoe handlers. He probably would have had Whitehouse and Howard with him.
           Ordway hadn’t hunted for a long time, but teamed with Willard to kill a bear.  Both of them carried rifles.  Colter and Collins in one canoe and the Field brothers in another were sent ahead of the party to hunt most days.
Drewyer killed a doe on August 3rd, the first day he was reported hunting after the encounter with the young warriors.  Lewis, Drewyer, and the Field Brothers had just completed a grueling ride on horses a few days earlier. It is amazing that any one of them could walk with ease let alone go hunting.                  Lewis’s party arrived at the mouth of the Yellowstone on the 7th. Drewyer hunted again on the 8th.  On the 11th of August, Lewis and Cruzatte pursued a herd of elk and Cruzatte accidentally shot Lewis because of the thick brush and his limited vision. When Lewis and Cruzatte got back to the White Pirogue, Gass dressed Lewis’s wound.
           On the 12th of August, Lewis’s party caught up with Clark and the Corps was united. Lewis’s party readjusted loads and people when they met  Clark. There were five men assigned to oar the White Pirogue since none of these men were hunters.  Clark came aboard the White Pirogue to attend to Lewis.  York probably came with Clark along with, possibly, the Charbono family.  The assigned boat crew stayed on the white Pirogue and the balance of Clark's party manned the catamaran. Possibly, two or three men were placed in canoes. The next day, Clark and Drewyer walked on the shore to hunt.  The party arrived at the Mandan Villages on August 14, 1806.
 

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