The United States Expands: The Lewis and Clark Expedition, 2nd Edition Part 2
Two months later, on May 14, 1804, the Corps of Discovery set out from their camp at Wood River where the mighty stream known as the Missouri flows into the Mississippi River. [16] They started the long, slow trip up the Missouri River, which at 2,341 miles is the longest waterway in the United States, in a 60-foot flatboat (barge). [17] Going upstream was tough, as they had to row, pole, and sail, when there was wind in the right direction, their craft while fighting a strong current for over 2,000 miles.
It was eleven weeks before they met their first Plains Indians. These were the Otoe, a prairie tribe, of Siouan dialect, located along the Missouri River near the junction of modern-day states, Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. On the third day of August, 1804, after “liberally distributing gifts and peace medals” Meriwether Lewis gave a speech telling their new-found friends that the great chief of the United States, President Jefferson, now considered these Native Americans to be his adopted children and as such, he was responsible for their welfare. Lewis said they must live in peace with the white men. Basically, Captain Lewis told the Otoe what he was to tell many other tribes: as long as you do what we tell you to, everything will be fine; if you don’t, “you will be sorry.” [18]
On August 20 tragedy struck. Sergeant Charles Floyd, who was ill and progressively growing weaker, finally died of “Biliose Chorlick” (bilious colic) near the present-day site of Sioux City, Iowa. [19] There is a possibility that it may have been appendicitis. [20] Floyd would be the only fatality of the entire expedition.
The explorers had their first brush with the Sioux Indians on August 27 at the mouth of the Teton River in what would become South Dakota. [21] These Native Americans soon showed that they were inclined toward hostility. At one point Clark coolly faced the antagonistic natives by himself. Finally, the aggressors withdrew. The belligerent and warlike tribe, who had been “outfaced” now begged for a fresh start at negotiations. Although the Sioux were still basically inhospitable, they never made any kind of threat to the expedition after this incident. Impressed by the white men they “took to begging and offering women for the explorers’ beds.” [22]
Moving north by northwest the expedition proceeded up the Missouri River. They arrived at a Mandan Village at the mouth of the Knife River on October 26. With cold weather approaching, it was decided to make winter camp. Lewis and his entourage built Fort Mandan near modern-day Washburn, North Dakota. [23][24]
It was a good thing they had decided to fort up. Not only did their strong shelter protect them from hostile Indians but also from the elements. The weather was very cold. “Lewis recorded temperatures down to 45 degrees below (zero).” In fact, “some of the expedition’s hard liquor that had been left outside froze solid in 15 minutes.” [25] It was apparent, however, that the “white men needed shelter more than the Indian, who played lacrosse on the ice, stark naked, with the temperature at 26 below zero.” [26]
The expedition stayed at Fort Mandan for five months. During this time Clark was able to gain valuable geographic information of the upper Missouri River and its tributaries from a chief named Big White. [27] During this time Lewis was also busy playing the role of diplomat. He cultivated Indian friendship by giving them presents and also by having his men help the Indians. [28] Probably the best thing that could have happened to the expedition occurred on November 11, 1804 when a pregnant squaw walked into their camp. Her name was Sacagawea and she was to have a great impact upon the success of the mission. Sacajawea, a captured Shoshone, and her French Canadian husband Toussaint Charbonneau went with the expedition all the way to the Pacific and back. [29]
Finally, on April 7, 1805, the Corps of Discovery broke camp and once again headed west. [30] By May 26, the expedition had come within sight of the Rocky Mountains. [31] Onward they traveled, but Lewis became very sick. By June 11, he was too sick to eat. Then a high fever set in, and Lewis knew he could go no further. Resorting to an old remedy his mother had taught him, Lewis had Chokecherry twigs boiled till they gave off a “strong black decoction of an astringent bitter taste.” [32] After taking three pints of this concoction over the next 12 hours, the expedition’s leader felt so much better that he was back to hunting by the next day.
On June 13, Lewis came upon a sight that he said was “the grandest sight I ever beheld.” [33] It was the Great Falls of the Missouri River. “The sight of the roaring falls dumbfounded Captain Lewis.” He noted “the torrent was 300 yards wide and at least 80 feet high.” [34] The portage around the falls was more than 18 miles and it took the expedition 24 exhausting days. [35]
Toward the end of July, Clark, and his small party, advancing ahead on an overland trail reached the Three Forks of the Missouri, the source of the great river. [36][37] Before setting out from the Three Forks, Lewis and Clark paused to name them. They called the southeast fork Gallatin’s River, after the Secretary of the Treasury; the middle fork, Madison’s River, after the Secretary of State; and the north fork, up which they were traveling, Jefferson’s River, in honor of that “‘illustrious’ personage who was ‘the author of our enterprise.’” [38]
On August 12, Lewis with a party of three, in advance of the others, “finally reached the headwater of the ‘Missouri River’ – or what they chose to regard as such.” Actually, it was just a tributary. [39] Shortly thereafter, Lewis and his men “became the first white Americans to stand on the Continental Divide.” [40]
The men were now faced with a major problem. They had reached the end of the river but had not made contact with any Native Americans since leaving Fort Mandan. The expedition needed horses in order to continue with their journey. Their only hope of getting them was if they could find Sacajawea’s people, the Shoshone. Lewis finally made contact with this tribe on August 13. [41] Although suspicious at first, the Shoshone, when they realized that Lewis and his men came in peace, wholeheartedly welcomed them. On August 17, Clark and the rest of the party arrived and there was great rejoicing when Sacajawea recognized the chief (Ca-me-ah-wait) as her long-lost brother. [42]
Passing out gifts and trading with the Shoshone enabled the party to gather a sufficient herd of horses as well as other needed supplies. On August 22, the Corps of Discovery once again, headed west. [43] Although the horses greatly aided the Corps, it was still a long and treacherous journey to the Pacific coast. On top of everything else, wild game became more difficult to find. Food became very scarce. At one point there was “nothing to eat but a little bear’s oil and twenty pounds of candles.” [44] In addition to the lack of food, snow caught them while they were still in the Rockies. Finally, on September 22, the Corps of Discovery came out of the Rockies. Clark also found a “branch of the Columbia (river).” Hunting improved immensely, and they met friendly Nez Perce Indians. [45] However, the men were so exhausted that it would be two weeks before they were sufficiently recovered to go on. While recovering, the party began to make dugout canoes. Nez Perce legend had it that the tribe aided in the work. [46]
On October 7, the expedition continued westward. With the aid of maps prepared by the Nez Perce “the expedition was afloat again in four large canoes and one small one.” [47] Although the journey became considerably easier, since they were going downstream, the party still encountered difficulties. More than once rapids upended boats, and their occupants would have to put ashore in order to dry out. Finally, the expedition reached the mainstream of the Columbia River on October 16. [48] As the expedition floated down this river, Sacajawea’s presence more than once prevented trouble, for “a woman with a party of men is a token of peace.” [49]
“Then quite suddenly, on November 7, 1805, the climactic moment came for the Corps of Discovery. Far off the men heard for the first time the rumble of Pacific breakers.” [50] Although there is some doubt, whether Lewis and Clark did see the ocean that day, and even though it would be another month, December 7, before they would camp on the south bank of the Columbia River near its mouth, the effect was the same. [51] Morale grew as the members of the Corps of Discovery were able to view, for the first time, the Pacific Ocean. [52] For protection, the men built a wooden stockade, and by the first day of the new year, 1806, had named it Fort Clatsop. [53] This is where they spent their second winter.
The weather was bad, not really cold, but it was rainy, foggy, and windy, typical Oregon weather. The Pacific was not living up to its name as Clark wrote “I can’t say Pacific as since I have seen it, it has been the reverse.” [54] Food again became a scarcity as winter set in. In addition to this, they had a problem with the Chinooks and Clatsop, who were coastal tribes. Since they had already been in contact with European sailors, they knew the value of trade much better than the interior Indians. The trade goods that the expedition had brought soon began to dwindle. Another problem with the coastal tribes was venereal disease. Although Lewis and Clark tried to warn the men that since these Indians had already made contact with the outside world it might not be good to indulge in sexual activities with them, several of the men did have relations with them. One Chinook woman brought six female relatives to the camp, and she even “had regular prices, proportioned to the beauty of each female.” [55] Naturally some of the men did contract venereal disease. “Having come prepared for just an emergency, Lewis gave the men mercury treatment and by January optimistically supposed that they were cured.” [56]
