One of the success stories of the Lewis and Clark Expedition is the small number of injuries that happened as they traveled through miles of unknown lands, facing many potentially fatal acts of nature and overcoming the constant threats from buffalo, wolves, grizzly bears, snakes, etc. etc.
There were several close calls reported briefly and rather matter-of-factly such as the comments each Captain made when they were almost bitten by rattlesnakes. Then there were those close calls that have become part of the lore of the Expedition such as the times grizzly bears chased various members of the Expedition up trees or into the river.
Of course, one of the favorites is the story of Sacajawea calmly retrieving pieces of baggage and other articles from the water when one of the pirogues was nearly overturned by the strong wind.
There were those accidents such as cuts or scrapes that did require medical attention, but they were considered to be routine because the men were experienced in caring for these occurrences.
Interestingly only one time did any of these animals actually cause any injury to the party. It happened on the Yellowstone near Pompey's Pillar.
On the night of July 26 when Sergt. Pryor and his three men were sleeping on the prairie with nothing but maybe a blanket to lay on, and no horses to warn the sleeping men of any danger, a wolf came into the camp. Clark wrote the incident as a wolf came into camp and “bit Sergt. Pryor through the hand” then was “so vicious as to make an attempt to seize Windsor.” Shannon shot the wolf before it could do any more harm.
Two weeks later Clark noted that Pryor’s hand was almost healed up. What was potentially a severe problem turned out to be a minor daily incident. The wolf could very easy have been rabid, but thankfully it wasn’t.
There were several close calls reported briefly and rather matter-of-factly such as the comments each Captain made when they were almost bitten by rattlesnakes. Then there were those close calls that have become part of the lore of the Expedition such as the times grizzly bears chased various members of the Expedition up trees or into the river.
Of course, one of the favorites is the story of Sacajawea calmly retrieving pieces of baggage and other articles from the water when one of the pirogues was nearly overturned by the strong wind.
There were those accidents such as cuts or scrapes that did require medical attention, but they were considered to be routine because the men were experienced in caring for these occurrences.
Interestingly only one time did any of these animals actually cause any injury to the party. It happened on the Yellowstone near Pompey's Pillar.
On the night of July 26 when Sergt. Pryor and his three men were sleeping on the prairie with nothing but maybe a blanket to lay on, and no horses to warn the sleeping men of any danger, a wolf came into the camp. Clark wrote the incident as a wolf came into camp and “bit Sergt. Pryor through the hand” then was “so vicious as to make an attempt to seize Windsor.” Shannon shot the wolf before it could do any more harm.
Two weeks later Clark noted that Pryor’s hand was almost healed up. What was potentially a severe problem turned out to be a minor daily incident. The wolf could very easy have been rabid, but thankfully it wasn’t.
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