The Lewis and Clark Expedition
Small Arms, Personnel, and Miscellany
By Walt Walker
A nine-part series examining some details of the
Corps of Discovery to make the Expedition more personal
Chapter 4: Into the Unknown
The Expedition left Fort Mandan on April 7,1805, using six canoes they had built over the winter and the Red and the White pirogues and sent the keelboat, commanded by Corporal Warfington, with his crew and some passengers to St. Louis. Until April 16th, the party found that game was scarce along the river due to the number of Hidatsa and Assiniboine winter camps all along the way. The game was extremely wary after being chased all winter by the tribesmen. At one point, the captains sent out ten hunters and none were able to shoot any game. When the Corps was able to get an animal, it was in poor condition after coming through the bitter winter and had not had enough time to restore its condition during spring feeding.
After the 16th they began to encounter more game for their meat supplies and hunters were sent out more frequently. On one of those hunts on the 21st, Potts killed a buffalo calf. Buffalo calves and beaver became the preferred meats on this leg of the journey. Potts and Drewyer were the only hunters mentioned by name, other than the captains. Lewis wrote on April 27th, as the Corps was passing the mouth of the Yellowstone River, that he thought two hunters could supply a regiment with provisions from this area. Lewis and Drewyer made the party’s first grizzly bear kill on the 29th and Clark and Drewyer make the second kill on May 5th. These grizzly bears were the first two of forty that the Corps would kill on their way. All but the last bear were killed in present-day Montana and Idaho. The 40th bear was killed near present-day Williston North Dakota on August 5th, 1806. Most were taken by rifle, but muskets were also used.
From the Yellowstone to the Musselshell River, the hunters mentioned by name were Gibson, Bratton, Shields, J. Field, Labiche, Drewyer, Shannon, and the captains. After the Musselshell, the game became scarce until after the party passed the White Cliffs and traveled on to the Marias River. Bratton, Drewyer, Charbono, and the captains were the hunters mentioned by name on this leg.
Here, at the mouth of the Marias River, also called Decision Point, the Field brothers, Pryor, Gass, Drewyer, Shannon, Shields, Windsor, Cruzatte, LePage, York, and the captains divided into two parties to explore up the Missouri and up the Marias trying to determine which branch was the true Missouri River. Note that all of these men were hunters and all carried rifles, except maybe LePage. After it was decided that the south branch was the Missouri the Corps drew the red pirogue out of the water and secured it between trees. Two muskets were cached near the Marias with other items. These were the muskets that had been issued to Leekens and Reed. Lewis took Drewyer, J. Field, Gibson, and Goodrich by land to find the falls, to confirm that this was the way. Hunters mentioned were Drewyer, the Field brothers, Gibson, Frazer, Shannon, Willard, and Colter.
The White Pirogue was cached near the Lower Camp below Portage Creek and the canoes were portaged. On the portage past all of the falls of the Missouri, until the Corps reached the Upper Camp and later, the Canoe Camp nearby (where two more canoes were built). Drewyer, the Field brothers, Shannon, Willard, Shields, Gass, York, Ordway, and the captains were mentioned as hunting.
On July 15th, 1805, the Corps departed the Canoe Camp in eight canoes. They continued to find game plentiful with the captains and Drewyer being the named hunters. As the party proceeded upriver into the mountains, the game became scarce. At one of their stops on July 22nd, they found a fusil, to be added to their inventory. Clark went ahead onshore with York, Potts, and J. Field to, hopefully, find the Lemhi Shoshone. They hunted as they went. Then Clark changed his crew and took J. and R. Field, Frazer, and Charbono with him on land. Drewyer hunted on his own.
On July 30th, the Corps proceeded on from the Three Forks to find the headwaters of the Missouri, the Shoshone Indians, and a route to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis took Drewyer, Charbono, and Gass by land. Hunters included the captains, Drewyer, and the Field brothers. On August 6th, one canoe overturned, and several articles were lost including a shot pouch and implements for one rifle. Two more canoes filled with water with Joseph Whitehouse thrown out and injured when one canoe passed over him. The next day they cached one of the canoes near the mouth of the Wisdom River.
On the 10th, Lewis and his party including Drewyer, Shields, and Hugh McNeal (the cook) arrive at the future site of Camp Fortunate. The game has not been plentiful for them. Clark, with the remaining fourteen hunters and the rest of the party, did not arrive until August 17th. Collins, Colter, and the Field brothers had been sent out in advance to hunt as standard procedure since leaving the Three Forks up to reaching Camp Fortunate. Leaving there, all of the hunting was done by men with the Harpers Ferry rifles from Camp Fortunate to the Canoe Camp on the Clearwater in Nez Perce country. Frazer, however, continued to hunt with his musket. While ascending the Jefferson and Beaverhead rivers to Camp Fortunate several musket men, along with the regular rifle hunters, took game along the river as well as in the river. The rifle hunters were able to hunt the ground further away from the water.
At Camp Fortunate and upon meeting the Shoshone Tribe, the party started trading for horses. Clark traded a pistol, balls, powder, and a knife for a horse on the 29th of August. The next day, he traded a fusil to a soldier for the man’s musket which Clark then traded for a horse. After they met the Tushepaws, the hunters procured enough game for their immediate needs until they traveled up and over the pass on the trail from Travelers Rest.
Chapter 5: Ocean in View
The party had to kill three colts and a horse to survive on the trek through the mountains to Nez Perce country. Here, the hunters took some game. However, after leaving the Canoe Camp on the Clearwater River, where they built five canoes, large game was not to be found all the way to the Columbia River and below. They took some waterfowl and some upland birds. However, they did not take enough to feed the party, so they had to trade for salmon and dogs to subsist. Labiche, noted for taking waterfowl, used his fusil since the party had at least one canister of shot and some shot pouches.
It was not until the party reached The Dalles that they were able to successfully hunt deer. From the Dalles, nearing the Quicksand River, several of the men traveled out hunting while the men left in camp shot several geese flying overhead. Collins and the Field brothers killed waterfowl as did the captains but not any big game.
Passing through the coastal mountain ranges, the thickness of the vegetation prevented hunting on foot. The hunters took only waterfowl from there to the coast. Initially, the Corps reached the mouth of the Columbia on the north side and sent out hunters and fowlers. Labiche was the best fowler and Collins was also very good. Several riflemen and musket men were also good fowlers.
Whenever the party went to explore on foot, all the party was considered to be on the hunt. Clark would probably not have relied on Peter Weiser or Charbono given that he had six of the seven best hunters with him on his tour of the coast north from Cape Disappointment. Lewis had previously made a similar tour and was in camp with the rest of the party. Colter stayed in camp along with the only other hunters: Shields, Cruzatte, Frazer, and Gass. There were, possibly, some other fowlers among the men who stayed.
Small Arms, Personnel, and Miscellany
By Walt Walker
A nine-part series examining some details of the
Corps of Discovery to make the Expedition more personal
Chapter 4: Into the Unknown
The Expedition left Fort Mandan on April 7,1805, using six canoes they had built over the winter and the Red and the White pirogues and sent the keelboat, commanded by Corporal Warfington, with his crew and some passengers to St. Louis. Until April 16th, the party found that game was scarce along the river due to the number of Hidatsa and Assiniboine winter camps all along the way. The game was extremely wary after being chased all winter by the tribesmen. At one point, the captains sent out ten hunters and none were able to shoot any game. When the Corps was able to get an animal, it was in poor condition after coming through the bitter winter and had not had enough time to restore its condition during spring feeding.
After the 16th they began to encounter more game for their meat supplies and hunters were sent out more frequently. On one of those hunts on the 21st, Potts killed a buffalo calf. Buffalo calves and beaver became the preferred meats on this leg of the journey. Potts and Drewyer were the only hunters mentioned by name, other than the captains. Lewis wrote on April 27th, as the Corps was passing the mouth of the Yellowstone River, that he thought two hunters could supply a regiment with provisions from this area. Lewis and Drewyer made the party’s first grizzly bear kill on the 29th and Clark and Drewyer make the second kill on May 5th. These grizzly bears were the first two of forty that the Corps would kill on their way. All but the last bear were killed in present-day Montana and Idaho. The 40th bear was killed near present-day Williston North Dakota on August 5th, 1806. Most were taken by rifle, but muskets were also used.
From the Yellowstone to the Musselshell River, the hunters mentioned by name were Gibson, Bratton, Shields, J. Field, Labiche, Drewyer, Shannon, and the captains. After the Musselshell, the game became scarce until after the party passed the White Cliffs and traveled on to the Marias River. Bratton, Drewyer, Charbono, and the captains were the hunters mentioned by name on this leg.
Here, at the mouth of the Marias River, also called Decision Point, the Field brothers, Pryor, Gass, Drewyer, Shannon, Shields, Windsor, Cruzatte, LePage, York, and the captains divided into two parties to explore up the Missouri and up the Marias trying to determine which branch was the true Missouri River. Note that all of these men were hunters and all carried rifles, except maybe LePage. After it was decided that the south branch was the Missouri the Corps drew the red pirogue out of the water and secured it between trees. Two muskets were cached near the Marias with other items. These were the muskets that had been issued to Leekens and Reed. Lewis took Drewyer, J. Field, Gibson, and Goodrich by land to find the falls, to confirm that this was the way. Hunters mentioned were Drewyer, the Field brothers, Gibson, Frazer, Shannon, Willard, and Colter.
The White Pirogue was cached near the Lower Camp below Portage Creek and the canoes were portaged. On the portage past all of the falls of the Missouri, until the Corps reached the Upper Camp and later, the Canoe Camp nearby (where two more canoes were built). Drewyer, the Field brothers, Shannon, Willard, Shields, Gass, York, Ordway, and the captains were mentioned as hunting.
On July 15th, 1805, the Corps departed the Canoe Camp in eight canoes. They continued to find game plentiful with the captains and Drewyer being the named hunters. As the party proceeded upriver into the mountains, the game became scarce. At one of their stops on July 22nd, they found a fusil, to be added to their inventory. Clark went ahead onshore with York, Potts, and J. Field to, hopefully, find the Lemhi Shoshone. They hunted as they went. Then Clark changed his crew and took J. and R. Field, Frazer, and Charbono with him on land. Drewyer hunted on his own.
On July 30th, the Corps proceeded on from the Three Forks to find the headwaters of the Missouri, the Shoshone Indians, and a route to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis took Drewyer, Charbono, and Gass by land. Hunters included the captains, Drewyer, and the Field brothers. On August 6th, one canoe overturned, and several articles were lost including a shot pouch and implements for one rifle. Two more canoes filled with water with Joseph Whitehouse thrown out and injured when one canoe passed over him. The next day they cached one of the canoes near the mouth of the Wisdom River.
On the 10th, Lewis and his party including Drewyer, Shields, and Hugh McNeal (the cook) arrive at the future site of Camp Fortunate. The game has not been plentiful for them. Clark, with the remaining fourteen hunters and the rest of the party, did not arrive until August 17th. Collins, Colter, and the Field brothers had been sent out in advance to hunt as standard procedure since leaving the Three Forks up to reaching Camp Fortunate. Leaving there, all of the hunting was done by men with the Harpers Ferry rifles from Camp Fortunate to the Canoe Camp on the Clearwater in Nez Perce country. Frazer, however, continued to hunt with his musket. While ascending the Jefferson and Beaverhead rivers to Camp Fortunate several musket men, along with the regular rifle hunters, took game along the river as well as in the river. The rifle hunters were able to hunt the ground further away from the water.
At Camp Fortunate and upon meeting the Shoshone Tribe, the party started trading for horses. Clark traded a pistol, balls, powder, and a knife for a horse on the 29th of August. The next day, he traded a fusil to a soldier for the man’s musket which Clark then traded for a horse. After they met the Tushepaws, the hunters procured enough game for their immediate needs until they traveled up and over the pass on the trail from Travelers Rest.
Chapter 5: Ocean in View
The party had to kill three colts and a horse to survive on the trek through the mountains to Nez Perce country. Here, the hunters took some game. However, after leaving the Canoe Camp on the Clearwater River, where they built five canoes, large game was not to be found all the way to the Columbia River and below. They took some waterfowl and some upland birds. However, they did not take enough to feed the party, so they had to trade for salmon and dogs to subsist. Labiche, noted for taking waterfowl, used his fusil since the party had at least one canister of shot and some shot pouches.
It was not until the party reached The Dalles that they were able to successfully hunt deer. From the Dalles, nearing the Quicksand River, several of the men traveled out hunting while the men left in camp shot several geese flying overhead. Collins and the Field brothers killed waterfowl as did the captains but not any big game.
Passing through the coastal mountain ranges, the thickness of the vegetation prevented hunting on foot. The hunters took only waterfowl from there to the coast. Initially, the Corps reached the mouth of the Columbia on the north side and sent out hunters and fowlers. Labiche was the best fowler and Collins was also very good. Several riflemen and musket men were also good fowlers.
Whenever the party went to explore on foot, all the party was considered to be on the hunt. Clark would probably not have relied on Peter Weiser or Charbono given that he had six of the seven best hunters with him on his tour of the coast north from Cape Disappointment. Lewis had previously made a similar tour and was in camp with the rest of the party. Colter stayed in camp along with the only other hunters: Shields, Cruzatte, Frazer, and Gass. There were, possibly, some other fowlers among the men who stayed.
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