LEWIS AND CLARK'S EXPEDITION.
With George and Victor Shelton seated on the fallen tree on one side of
the camp fire, and Captains Lewis and Clark on the other, these two
famous explorers told the story of their expedition, which must always
retain an historical interest for all of us.
As early as 1785, while Jefferson was in Paris, he became impressed
with the value of the Northwest. This interest increased after his
return home, and when he became President he secured an appropriation
of twenty-five hundred dollars from Congress for the purpose of
defraying the expense of an exploration of the vast region to the
northwest of the Mississippi. This appropriation was made in February,
1803.
The area of Louisiana was more than a million square miles, and greater
than that of the whole United States as it then existed. It was
purchased from France for the sum of fifteen million dollars, the
treaty to that effect between the two governments being ratified in the
summer of the year named. By this single transaction the dominion of
the United States was extended across the whole continent of North
America, from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
The exploring party that entered this enormous region was under the
command of Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. It will be
noted that both of these officers held the same rank. Military law does
not permit the anomaly of equal authority, and Clark was really the
junior, but in point of fact the rights of the two were the same. They
were so considerate toward each other that no difference ever arose,
and "the actual command and conduct of the expedition devolved upon
each in exactly equal degree."
Lewis belonged to an old Virginia family and early displayed
enterprise, boldness and discretion. He won the promotion to a
captaincy at the age of twenty-two, and was barely thirty years of age
when called to take part in this memorable exploration. Clark was also
a native of Virginia, but his childhood had been spent in Kentucky,
whither his parents removed. He was a younger brother of the more
famous General George Rogers Clark, but for whom the Allegheny
Mountains instead of the Mississippi would have been our western
boundary after the close of the Revolution. He was about thirty-three
years old when he joined Lewis. He possessed excellent qualities, and
it may be said that no two persons could have been selected who were
better fitted to lead the score and a half of men across the continent.
On July 5, 1803, Captain Lewis left Washington, hoping to gather his
men and materials in time to reach La Charrette, the upper white
settlement on the Missouri, and there spend the winter. The inevitable
delays followed, and the Spanish commandant of the province, not having
received official notice of the transfer, would not allow the
expedition to pass through the territory. The explorers, therefore,
went into camp for the winter at the mouth of the Du Bois River, a
little north of St. Louis, on the eastern bank of the Mississippi. This
point was left on May 14, 1804. Entering the Indian country the leaders
held a council with the Ottoes and Missouris, and by the distribution
of gewgaws and presents won the good will of the red men. Lewis and
Clark named the place of meeting Council Bluff, which is retained to
this day, although the site of the modern city is below the meeting
place and on the opposite, side of the river.
For a time the expedition acted the part of peacemaker among the
Indians. The officers patched up peace agreements between the tribes
that were on the verge of warfare, and made treaties with the Yankton
branch of the Sioux and the Ricaras. All these natives were familiar
with white men, having known both French traders and the employees of
the British Fur Company. The Indians showed a friendly disposition
toward the explorers, but their wonder was unbounded at sight of the
African servant, he being the first of his race they had ever seen.
With the waggery of his nature this negro gravely informed them that he
was really a wild animal that had been caught and tamed. The simple
folk believed his fantastic yarns, which were emphasized by numerous
feats of strength on his part.
Progress up the river was slow, because of the many sand bars and
numerous curves of the stream. The hunters, who kept in advance,
secured large quantities of fresh meat, and dried a good deal for the
winter supply. The region of the Mandans was reached in the latter part
of October. There a fort was built and occupied during the winter. This
was in what is now McLean County, North Dakota. The winter was very
severe, and many of the men had their hands and feet frostbitten, while
the continual glare of the snow caused a temporary blindness.
At this fort another interpreter was engaged. He was a Canadian, whose
wife was a member of the Snake tribe of Indians of the Rocky Mountains.
She was stolen when a child and brought east, where she was bought by
the Canadian, who made her his wife. She was a remarkable woman, and
the only one of her sex who accompanied the party. When she set out she
carried an infant barely two months old. She not only stood the journey
as well as any of the men, but displayed a rare degree of intelligence.
She remembered much of the wild region through which the party had to
pass, and smoothed the way among her own race for the white invaders.
She became very popular with all the members, and deserved the praise
which the leaders gave her.
Six canoes were soon completed. The company made their start April 7,
1805, sixteen going down stream with a barge laden with curiosities of
the region for President Jefferson, while thirty-two formed the
permanent party, which pressed into the great unknown region spreading
out before them. The names of all these explorers are preserved in the
archives of the War Department under the title of "A roll of the men
who accompanied Captains Lewis and Clark on their late tour to the
Pacific Ocean through the interior of the continent of North America,
showing their rank, with some remarks on their respective merits and
services."
Early as was the season, the men suffered much from mosquitoes. Spring
kept company with the expedition. Herds of deer, elk, buffaloes and
antelopes were seen grazing on the rich grass, and there seemed no end
to swans and geese. Passing the alkali regions, the party reached, in
the latter part of April, the mouth of a large river, to which they
gave the name of Yellowstone. Joseph Fields, of Kentucky, ascended it
for eight miles, and was the first white man to do so. Rains, high
winds and cold weather welcomed them into the hills of Montana, and
often the boats had to be dragged along the banks by means of elk-skin
cords. They were thus laboriously making their way when, as has been
shown, they were met by Deerfoot and the Shelton brothers at the mouth
of the Musselshell River.
The story of the Lewis and Clark expedition, therefore, ended for
George and Victor Shelton at the point named. It will not be
uninteresting, however, to sum up the history of one of the most
memorable enterprises connected with the development of the West.
Captains Lewis and Clark gained a great deal of valuable knowledge from
the boys, who had traversed a large part of the region which they
intended to explore. The excellent memories and the marked intelligence
of the youths were admired by the officers.
A few days after the meeting between the two parties Lewis climbed to
the top of the highest elevation north of the river and gained his
first view of the Rocky Mountains, known at that time as the Stony
Mountains. All the numerous streams were described and named. It has
been charged against the explorers that they were lacking in sentiment
and imagination, for most of the names thus given by them have been
supplanted by others, but it cannot be said that these changes have
always been an improvement.
On the second day of summer the explorers had to face a puzzling
problem. A large branch flowing from the north was so similar to the
Missouri that it seemed it must be that river, while the one hitherto
accepted as such bore to the south. Which was the branch that,
according to the reports of the Indians, had its rise in the Rocky
Mountains, near the source of the Columbia? To settle the question the
party divided, one ascending either branch. Upon reuniting it was
agreed that the south branch was the real Missouri. The northern stream
was named the Maria. This was another of the few instances in which the
title given by the explorers stuck.
The rapids five miles below the Falls of the Missouri were reached on
June 15. These had to be passed by a portage. An idea can be formed of
the great difficulties encountered when it is stated that, although the
portage was hardly eighteen miles long, it took eleven days to make it.
The men, however, were in high spirits, and at night Peter Cruzatte
added to the "gayety of nations" by playing on his violin.
About the middle of August horses were obtained from the tribe from
which the Indian wife of the interpreter had been stolen. The passage
through the mountains or over the Divide caused the greatest suffering
of the expedition. The men had to cut their way in many places through
the brush, clamber over jagged stones and climb such precipitous walls
that several of their horses were crippled. Then snow began falling and
the nights became very cold. Game seemed to have deserted the country,
and the sufferers had to eat all their supply of flour and parched
corn. Beginning with September 14, they were obliged to kill and eat
some of their horses, and even at that had to be very sparing or the
supply would have been exhausted.
Descending the western side of the mountains, however, they found
abundant edible roots, dried salmon and dried berries at the Indian
villages. The famishing men feasted so ravenously that most of them
became ill. New canoes were constructed, and leaving their horses with
a chief they started down the Clearwater and reached the Columbia on
October 16. Ten days were occupied in making the portage of the falls
and rapids, and on the morning of November 7, when the fog lifted, they
saw in the distance the Pacific Ocean.
A month later the party went into winter quarters. It rained eternally,
the weather was chilly and their condition for a long time was
miserable in the extreme. The shelter built for themselves was called
Fort Clatsop. There they remained until March 23, 1806, when the
explorers set out on their return journey. They had to face
difficulties, hardships and sufferings again, but they had learned from
experience and were better prepared to do so. They embarked on the
Yellowstone July 24, and ten days later reached its junction with the
Missouri. At this point the men were driven almost frantic by the
mosquitoes. At midday, September 23, 1806, they arrived at St. Louis,
where the whole town turned out to welcome them. There the party was
disbanded, and, passing to their various destinations, the Lewis and
Clark expedition took its place in history.
During the latter part of the chat between Lewis and Clark, Deerfoot
came quietly forward and sat down beside the Shelton boys. He listened
closely to all that was said. When the officers asked questions, the
Shawanoe left the answers to the brothers. But more than once they were
in doubt, and turned to him for aid. His prompt response in every
instance was noticed by the officers, who, after a time, addressed
their questions almost wholly to him.
Finally, at a late hour, the visitors wrapped themselves in their
blankets and stretched out on the ground, with their feet turned toward
the blaze. The explorers always maintained a watch, for though they
felt no fear of the Indians they were subject to unpleasant visits, as
in the case when a bison swam a river and went plunging like a steam
engine through the camp. Moreover, the men had seen enough of the
grizzly bear to hold him in respectful awe, and they did not intend to
have any of the brutes steal a march upon them.
The morning was clear and pleasant, and the explorers were astir at an
early hour. A breakfast was made from catfish and goose, and a cordial
farewell took place. The boys wished Captains Lewis and Clark the best
of fortune, and Lewis complimented them, and especially Deerfoot, for
the information they had given him of the region through which they
expected to force their way. In return, Lewis advised his guests to
bear directly to the south and not to follow the course of the
Missouri, as he and his company had done. In fact, it would have been
absurd for the three to adopt any other plan. They could make no use of
the current because they had no boats, and if they procured them from
the Indians they could not be made to carry the horses. The distance
was much greater by the Lewis and Clark route, which held no
attractions to our friends. When, therefore, Victor Shelton told
Captain Lewis that his advice would be followed, he said that which had
been determined upon before the meeting of the two parties.