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The Story of The Exploring Expedition of Lewis and Clark in 1804-5-6
The Story of The Exploring Expedition of Lewis and Clark in 1804-5-6
CONTENTS Chapter I A Great Transaction in Land Chapter II Beginning a Long Journey Chapter III From the Lower to the Upper River Chapter IV Novel Experiences among the Indians Chapter V From the Tetons to the Mandans Chapter VI Winter among the Mandans Chapter VII From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone Chapter VIII In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo Chapter IX In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri Chapter X To the Great Falls of the Missouri Chapter XI A the He
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Chapter I — A Great Transaction in Land
Chapter I — A Great Transaction in Land
The people of the young Republic of the United States were greatly astonished, in the summer of 1803, to learn that Napoleon Bonaparte, then First Consul of France, had sold to us the vast tract of land known as the country of Louisiana. The details of this purchase were arranged in Paris (on the part of the United States) by Robert R. Livingston and James Monroe. The French government was represented by Barbe-Marbois, Minister of the Public Treasury. The price to be paid for this vast domain wa
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Chapter II — Beginning a Long Journey
Chapter II — Beginning a Long Journey
In 1803, availing himself of a plausible pretext to send out an exploring expedition, President Jefferson asked Congress to appropriate a small sum of money ($2,500) for the execution of his purpose. At that time the cession of the Louisiana Territory had not been completed; but matters were in train to that end, and before the expedition was fairly started on its long journey across the continent, the Territory was formally ceded to the United States. Meriwether Lewis, a captain in the army, wa
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Chapter III — From the Lower to the Upper River
Chapter III — From the Lower to the Upper River
The party finally set sail up the Missouri River on Monday, May 21, 1804, but made only a few miles, owing to head winds. Four days later they camped near the last white settlement on the Missouri,—La Charrette, a little village of seven poor houses. Here lived Daniel Boone, the famous Kentucky backwoodsman, then nearly seventy years old, but still vigorous, erect, and strong of limb. Here and above this place the explorers began to meet with unfamiliar Indian tribes and names. For example, they
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Chapter IV — Novel Experiences among the Indians
Chapter IV — Novel Experiences among the Indians
About this time (the nineteenth and twentieth of August), the explorers lost by death the only member of their party who did not survive the journey. Floyd River, which flows into the Upper Missouri, in the northwest corner of Iowa, still marks the last resting-place of Sergeant Charles Floyd, who died there of bilious colic and was buried by his comrades near the mouth of the stream. Near here was a quarry of red pipestone, dear to the Indian fancy as a mine of material for their pipes; traces
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Chapter V — From the Tetons to the Mandans
Chapter V — From the Tetons to the Mandans
“On the morning of September 25th,” says the journal, “we raised a flagstaff and an awning, under which we assembled, with all the party parading under arms. The chiefs and warriors, from the camps two miles up the river, met us, about fifty or sixty in number, and after smoking we delivered them a speech; but as our Sioux interpreter, M. Durion, had been left with the Yanktons, we were obliged to make use of a Frenchman who could not speak fluently, and therefore we curtailed our harangue. Afte
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Chapter VI — Winter among the Mandans
Chapter VI — Winter among the Mandans
Before finally selecting the spot on which to build their winter quarters, Lewis and Clark held councils with the chiefs of the tribes who were to be their neighbors during the cold season. These were Mandans, Annahaways, and Minnetarees, tribes living peacefully in the same region of country. The principal Mandan chief was Black Cat; White Buffalo Robe Unfolded represented the Annahaways, and the Minnetaree chief was Black Moccasin. This last-named chief could not come to the council, but was r
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Chapter VII — From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone
Chapter VII — From Fort Mandan to the Yellowstone
Up to this time, the expedition had passed through regions from which vague reports had been brought by the few white men who, as hunters and trappers in pursuit of fur-bearing game, had dared to venture into these trackless wildernesses. Now they were to launch out into the mysterious unknown, from which absolutely no tidings had ever been brought by white men. The dim reports of Indians who had hunted through some parts of the region were unreliable, and, as they afterwards proved, were often
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Chapter VIII — In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo
Chapter VIII — In the Haunts of Grizzlies and Buffalo
Game, which had been somewhat scarce after leaving the Yellowstone, became more plentiful as they passed on to the westward, still following the winding course of the Missouri. Much of the time, baffling winds and the crookedness of the stream made sailing impossible, and the boats were towed by men walking along the banks. Even this was sometimes difficult, on account of the rocky ledges that beset the shores, and sharp stones that lay in the path of the towing parties. On the twenty-eighth of
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Chapter IX — In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri
Chapter IX — In the Solitudes of the Upper Missouri
Under date of May 17, the journal of the party has the following interesting entries:— “We set out early and proceeded on very well; the banks being firm and the shore bold, we were enabled to use the towline, which, whenever the banks will permit it, is the safest and most expeditious mode of ascending the river, except under sail with a steady breeze. At the distance of ten and one-half miles we came to the mouth of a small creek on the south, below which the hills approach the river, and cont
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Chapter X — To the Great Falls of the Missouri
Chapter X — To the Great Falls of the Missouri
Next day, June 8, the Lewis party returned to the main body of the expedition. They reported that timber was scarce along the river, except in the lowlands, where there were pretty groves and thickets. These trees, the journal says, were the haunts of innumerable birds, which, as the sun rose, sung delightfully:— “Among these birds they distinguished the brown thrush, robin, turtle-dove, linnet, gold-finch, large and small blackbird, wren, and some others. As they came along, the whole party wer
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Chapter XI — A the Heart of the Continent
Chapter XI — A the Heart of the Continent
Captain Clark continued his observations up the long series of rapids and falls until he came to a group of three small islands to which he gave the name of White Bear Islands, from his having seen numerous white, or grizzly, bears on them. On the nineteenth of June, Captain Clark, after a careful survey of the country on both sides of the stream, decided that the best place for a portage was on the south, or lower, side of the river, the length of the portage being estimated to be about eightee
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Chapter XII — At the Sources of the Missouri
Chapter XII — At the Sources of the Missouri
The explorers were now (in the last days of July, 1805) at the head of the principal sources of the great Missouri River, in the fastnesses of the Rocky Mountains, at the base of the narrow divide that separates Idaho from Montana in its southern corner. Just across this divide are the springs that feed streams falling into the majestic Columbia and then to the Pacific Ocean. As has been already set forth, they named the Three Forks for President Jefferson and members of his cabinet. These names
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Chapter XIII — From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees
Chapter XIII — From the Minnetarees to the Shoshonees
Travelling in a westerly direction, with a very gradual descent, Captain Lewis, on the thirteenth of August, came upon two Indian women, a man, and some dogs. The Indians sat down when the strangers first came in sight, as if to wait for their coming; but, soon taking alarm, they all fled, much to the chagrin of the white men. Now striking into a well-worn Indian road, they found themselves surely near a village. The journal says:— “They had not gone along the road more than a mile, when on a su
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Chapter XIV — Across the Great Divide
Chapter XIV — Across the Great Divide
Captain Clark had now left the water-shed of the Missouri behind him, and was pressing on, over a broken, hilly country, to the lands from which issue the tributaries of the Columbia. The Indian village which Captain Lewis had previously visited had been removed two miles up the stream on which it was situated, and was reached by Clark on August 20. The party was very ceremoniously received by Chief Cameahwait, and all hands began to explain to the white men the difficulties of the situation. Ho
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Chapter XV — Down the Pacific Slope
Chapter XV — Down the Pacific Slope
The early days of October were spent in making preparations for the descent of the river,—the Kooskooskee. Here they made their canoes, and they called their stopping-place Canoe Camp. This was at the junction of the north fork of the river with the main stream; and all below that point is called the Lower Kooskooskee, while that above is known as the upper river. The latitude of the camp, according to the journal of the explorers, was 46'0 34’ 56” north. Here they buried in a cache their saddle
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Chapter XVI — Down the Columbia to Tidewater
Chapter XVI — Down the Columbia to Tidewater
The voyagers were now drifting down the Columbia River, and they found the way impeded by many rapids, some of them very dangerous. But their skill in the handling of their canoes seems to have been equal to the occasion, although they were sometimes compelled to go around the more difficult rapids, making a short land portage. When they had travelled about forty miles down the river, they landed opposite an island on which were twenty-four houses of Indians; the people, known as the Pishquitpah
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Chapter XVII — From Tidewater to the Sea
Chapter XVII — From Tidewater to the Sea
Near the mouth of the river which the explorers named Quicksand River (now Sandy), they met a party of fifteen Indians who had lately been down to the mouth of the Columbia. These people told the white men that they had seen three vessels at anchor below, and, as these must needs be American, or European, the far-voyaging explorers were naturally pleased. When they had camped that night, they received other visitors of whom the journal makes mention:— “A canoe soon after arrived from the village
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Chapter XVIII — Camping by the Pacific
Chapter XVIII — Camping by the Pacific
Next in importance to the building of a winter camp was the fixing of a place where salt could be made. Salt is absolutely necessary for the comfort of man, and the supply brought out from the United States by the explorers was now nearly all gone. They were provided with kettles in which sea-water could be boiled down and salt be made. It would be needful to go to work at once, for the process of salt-making by boiling in ordinary kettles is slow and tedious; not only must enough for present us
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Chapter XIX — With Faces turned Homeward
Chapter XIX — With Faces turned Homeward
The officers of the expedition had decided to begin their homeward march on the first of April; but a natural impatience induced them to start a little earlier, and, as a matter of record, it may be said that they evacuated Fort Clatsop on the 23d of March, 1806. An examination of their stock of ammunition showed that they had on hand a supply of powder amply sufficient for their needs when travelling the three thousand miles of wilderness in which their sole reliance for food must be the game t
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Chapter XX — The Last Stage of the Columbia
Chapter XX — The Last Stage of the Columbia
On the thirteenth of April the party reached the series of falls and rapids which they called the Long Narrows. At the point reached the river is confined, for a space of about fourteen miles, to narrow channels and rocky falls. The Long Narrows are now known as the Dalles. The word “dalles” is French, and signifies flagstones, such as are used for sidewalks. Many of the rocks in these narrows are nearly flat on top, and even the precipitous banks look like walls of rock. At the upper end of the
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Chapter XXI — Overland east of the Columbia
Chapter XXI — Overland east of the Columbia
It was now early in May, and the expedition, travelling eastward along Touchet Creek, were in the country of their friends, the Chopunnish. On the third, they were agreeably surprised to meet Weahkootnut, whom they had named Bighorn from the fact that he wore a horn of that animal suspended from his left arm. This man was the first chief of a large band of Chopunnish, and when the expedition passed that way, on their path to the Pacific, the last autumn, he was very obliging and useful to them,
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Chapter XXII — Camping with the Nez Perces
Chapter XXII — Camping with the Nez Perces
Soon after they had fixed their camp, the explorers bade farewell to their good friend Tunnachemootoolt and his young men, who returned to their homes farther down the river. Others of the Nez Perce, or Chopunnish, nation visited them, and the strangers were interested in watching the Indians preparing for their hunt. As they were to hunt the deer, they had the head, horns, and hide of that animal so prepared that when it was placed on the head and body of a hunter, it gave a very deceptive idea
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Chapter XXIII — Crossing the Bitter Root Mountains
Chapter XXIII — Crossing the Bitter Root Mountains
Disasters many kept pace with the unhappy explorers on their way back to Quamash flats after their rebuff at the base of the Bitter Root Mountains. One of the horses fell down a rough and rocky place, carrying his rider with him; but fortunately neither horse nor man was killed. Next, a man, sent ahead to cut down the brush that blocked the path, cut himself badly on the inside of his thigh and bled copiously. The hunters sent out for game returned empty-handed. The fishermen caught no fish, but
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Chapter XXIV — The Expedition Subdivided
Chapter XXIV — The Expedition Subdivided
On the third of July, accordingly, Captain Lewis, with nine of his men and five Indians, proceeded down the valley lying between the Rocky and the Bitter Root ranges of mountains, his general course being due northwest of Clark’s fork of the Columbia River. Crossing several small streams that make into this river, they finally reached and crossed the Missoula River from west to east, below the confluence of the St. Mary’s and Hell-gate rivers, or creeks; for these streams hardly deserve the name
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Chapter XXV — Adventures on the Yellowstone
Chapter XXV — Adventures on the Yellowstone
The route of Captain Clark from the point where he and Captain Lewis divided their party, was rather more difficult than that pursued by the Lewis detachment. But the Clark party was larger, being composed of twenty men and Sacajawea and her baby. They were to travel up the main fork of Clark’s River (sometimes called the Bitter Root), to Ross’s Hole, and then strike over the great continental divide at that point by way of the pass which he discovered and which was named for him; thence he was
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Chapter XXVI — The End of a Long Journey
Chapter XXVI — The End of a Long Journey
The reunited party now set out for the lower river and proceeded rapidly down-stream, favored with a good wind. They made eighty-six miles on the first day, passing the mouth of the Little Missouri early in the forenoon, and camping at Miry River, on the northeast side of the Missouri. On the second day they arrived at the principal village of the Minnetarees, where they were received with cordial welcome by their old friends. The explorers fired their blunderbuss several times by way of salute,
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