Buck Conner1
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Those that like the history of our country will find this interesting how some lived in the early years of traveling in the unknown. When you consider what this adventure was and some still believing the world was flat, these fine gentlemen were the bravest of the brave to sign up for such duty. This shows how they viewed each of these special days throughout the year. How would you stack up against these members of the Corp of Discovery?
Holidays with the Corp of Discovery
<img src="<a href=" alt="Here are Special Days Throughout the Year - ENJOY <a href=" />
<table align="center" width="843"><tr><td width="835"><table align="center" width="768"><tr><td width="14"></td><td height="1" width="878"><div align="left">At this time of the year, remember those of the past and present, loved ones and friends, God Bless them all. We've given you a little history of what was going on with the Corp of Discovery under the direction of Lewis & Clark.
Thanksgiving
Remember that this was not a Holiday as we know it now, that did not happen until the next century and then 50 years before becoming a National Holiday.
On November 24 the captains called everyone together. They had come 4,162 miles since leaving the Mississippi, Clark estimated. But now a decision was needed: where to spend the winter. Lewis and Clark explained the options.
On November 24 the captains called everyone together. They had come 4,162 miles since leaving the Mississippi, Clark estimated. But now a decision was needed: where to spend the winter. Lewis and Clark explained the options.
Staying near the ocean meant they might yet meet a ship, get provisions, and perhaps send a man or two back to Washington by sea with word of their achievement. And being near ocean water, they could also make salt, which they would need for the return trip.
They could remain on the north side of the Columbia River, through the local Chinook I ndians charged what Clark considered extravagant prices for everything and there did not appear to be an abundance of game.
They could move to the south side (in what is now Oregon). Some Clatsops, who had crossed over there, promised plenty of elk for food and clothing.
Or they could head back upriver - perhaps halfway back toward the Nez Perce - where they could count on drier weather.
Once again the captains broke with protocol in reaching an important decision. As military commanders - especially as commanders now operating in territory beyond the borders of the United States - Lewis and Clark could simply have imposed their own choice.
Instead, the Corps of Discovery would face this issue the same way it had already dealt with the grueling portage of the Great Falls, the deflating disappointment of Lemhi Pass, the biting cold and near starvation of the Bitterroot Mountains, and the rain-soaked gales of the lower Columbia. They would face it together, as a collection of diverse individuals who had molded themselves into a cohesive unit that was stronger than the sum of its particular parts.
E pluribus unum.
One by one, the name of each member of the Corps of Discovery was called out. And each ones preference was recorded.
Clark's slave York, was allowed to vote - nearly sixty years before slaves in the rest of America would be emancipated and enfranchised.
Sacagawea, the Indian woman, voted too - more than a century before either women or Indians were granted the full rights of citizenship.
In the end, a majority decided to cross to the south side of the Columbia. There, together they would spend the winter with all of North America between themselves and their countrymen.
Capt. Lewis Branded a tree with his name, Date, etc..... The party all Cut the first letters of their names on different trees.... I marked my name, the Day & year on an alder tree.... William Clark. By Land from the U. States in 1804 & 1805.
<div align="right">WILLIAM CLARK
Not as fancy a November 24th as we have come to be accustomed to, with large amounts of food, family and left overs, but to them working as a unit and making that crossing to be with the Clatsops, who had crossed over there, promised plenty of elk for food and clothing they had a wonderful day to be thankful for.They could remain on the north side of the Columbia River, through the local Chinook I ndians charged what Clark considered extravagant prices for everything and there did not appear to be an abundance of game.
They could move to the south side (in what is now Oregon). Some Clatsops, who had crossed over there, promised plenty of elk for food and clothing.
Or they could head back upriver - perhaps halfway back toward the Nez Perce - where they could count on drier weather.
Once again the captains broke with protocol in reaching an important decision. As military commanders - especially as commanders now operating in territory beyond the borders of the United States - Lewis and Clark could simply have imposed their own choice.
Instead, the Corps of Discovery would face this issue the same way it had already dealt with the grueling portage of the Great Falls, the deflating disappointment of Lemhi Pass, the biting cold and near starvation of the Bitterroot Mountains, and the rain-soaked gales of the lower Columbia. They would face it together, as a collection of diverse individuals who had molded themselves into a cohesive unit that was stronger than the sum of its particular parts.
E pluribus unum.
One by one, the name of each member of the Corps of Discovery was called out. And each ones preference was recorded.
Clark's slave York, was allowed to vote - nearly sixty years before slaves in the rest of America would be emancipated and enfranchised.
Sacagawea, the Indian woman, voted too - more than a century before either women or Indians were granted the full rights of citizenship.
In the end, a majority decided to cross to the south side of the Columbia. There, together they would spend the winter with all of North America between themselves and their countrymen.
Capt. Lewis Branded a tree with his name, Date, etc..... The party all Cut the first letters of their names on different trees.... I marked my name, the Day & year on an alder tree.... William Clark. By Land from the U. States in 1804 & 1805.
<div align="right">WILLIAM CLARK
"LEWIS & CLARK / The Journey of the Corps of Discovery" is the main source where this information was gotten from, Dayton Duncan & Ken Burns have done a wonderful piece of work on these adventures of Lewis & Clark and the Corps of Discovery members. A must have book for anyone interested in the travels of this group and the mapping of America.
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</div>Christmas
At this wonderful time of the year, remember those of the past and present, loved ones and friends, God Bless them all. We've given you a little history of what was going on with the Corp of Discovery under the direction of Lewis & Clark.
On Christmas Eve, the temperature climbed above zero - and almost above freezing. Fort Mandan was deemed officially complete, and the captains handed out dried apples, pepper, and extra flour for the next day's meal and celebration.
Just before Christmas dawn, the captains were awakened by the men, all if them, Clark noted, "merrily disposed."
December 25th, 1804.
We ushed [in] the morning with a discharge of the Swivvel [gun], and one round of Small arms of all the party.
Then another from the Swivvel. Then Capt. Clark presented a glass of brandy to each man of the party. We hoisted the american flag, and each man had another Glass of brandy.
The men prepared one of the rooms and commenced dancing. At 10 o'c [lock] we had another Glass of brandy, at one a gun was fired as a Signal for diner. Half past two another gun was fired to assemble at the dance, and So we kept it up in a jov[ia]l manner untill eight o'c[lock] at night, all without the company of the female Seck [sex].
Joseph Whitehouse
The mandans were asked not to visit the fort on Christmas because, the captains explained, it was a "great medicine" day for the expedition. But on New Year's, the men celebrated with their Indian hosts.
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New Year's Day
January 1st, 1806.
Our repast of this day, tho' better than that of Cristmass, consisted principally in the anticipation of the 1st day of January 1807, when in the bosom of our friends we hope to participate in the mirth and hilarity of the day, and when with the zest given by the recollection of the present, we shall completely, both mentally and corporally, enjoy the repast which the hand of civilization has prepared for us.
Meriwether Lewis.
Men were put to work making candles, boiling ocean water for salt, preserving elk meat in a smokehouse, and sewing clothes from elk hides for the return trip home.
Clark labored over a new map that would replace eastern speculation with the hard facts of western geography.
Lewis wrote page after page of descriptions of animals and plants unknown to science-from the giant sitka spruce tree to the evergreen huckleberry; from ring-necked ducks and whistling swans to small smelt-the candlefish-that the men roasted and ate whole.
In the next life may we experience such an adventure, and may God see us fit enough to handle the chore.
For a new year it seems things are well with our early travelers, fed and full of thoughts of returning home.
May you and yours have a good New Year.
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EasterChecking the different sources listed below, no entries where made on this date, but we know that they where with at Fort Mandan waiting for the ice to clear from the rivers.
Invoice of articles from Fort Mandan to the President:
First box, skins of the male and female antelope, with their skeletons;.... horns and ears of the black tail, or mule deer;.... skeletons of small animals, or burrowing wolf of the prairies, the skin having been lost by accident.
Second box, four buffalo robes and an ear of Mandan corn.
Third box, skins of male and female antelope, with skeletons.
Fourth box, specimens of earths, salts and minerals; specimens of plants;..... one tin box containing insects.
In a large trunk: one buffalo robe painted by a Mandan man representing a battle which was fought eight years [ago], by the Sioux and [Arikaras] against the Mandans and [Hidatsas].
One cage, containing four living magpies.
One cage, containing a living burrowing squirrel of the prairies.
One cage, containing one living hen of the prairies.
One large pair of elk horns, connected by the frontal bone.
We know that by the end of March the ice was no longer a problem on the rivers and Lewis had sent a small detachment back to St. Louis with the big keelboat, loaded with materials for Jefferson: maps, lengthy reports about populations and customs of the Indian tribes in the Louisiana Territory and the prospects for trade, and box after box of specimens they had collected from the newest region of the now growing U. States.
April ?. At this moment, every individual of the party are in good health and excellent sperits; zealously attached to the enterprise, and anxious to proceed; not a whisper of discontent or murmur is to be heard among them; but all in unison act with the most perfect harmoney. With such men I have every thing to hope, and but little to fear.
MERIWETHER LEWIS
On April 7, 1805, the Corps of Discovery headed west once more...........___________________________________
Memorial Day
By the way being Memorial Day 1999, Let's take a look at what our forefather's were up to on the Upper Missouri 1805.
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Lewis's journal of May 20, 1805, decribes a "handsome river" which the captains named Sacagawea, or Bird Woman's River.
May 20th. The large creek which we passed..we Call Blowing fly Creek, from the emence quantities of those insects which geather on our meat in such nombers that we are obledged to brush them off what we eate.
John Ordway.
May 30th. Many circumstances indicate our near approach to a country whos climate differs considerably from that in which we have been for many months. [Clark names the Judith River in honor of a young girl back in Virginia he hoped to one day be his wife] The air of the open country is asstonishingly dry as well as pure. I found by several expeeriments that a table spoon of water exposed to the air in a saucer would evaporate in 36 hours...My inkstand so frequently becoming dry put me on this experiment. I also observed the well seasoned case of my sextant shrunk considerably and the joints opened.
Meriwether Lewis.
May 31st. We passed some very curious cliffs and rocky peaks, in a long range. Some of them 200 feet high and not more than eigth fett thick. They seem as if built by the hand of man, and are so numerous that they appear like the ruins of an acinet city.
Patrick Gass.
May 31st. In maney places...we observe on either Side of the river extraodanary walls of a black Semented Stone which appear to be regularly placed one Stone on the other..[T]hose walls Commence at the waters edge & in Some places meet at right angles.
William Clark.
May 31st. The hills and river Cliffs which we passed today exhibit a most romantic appearance...The bluffs of the river rise to the hight of from 2 to 300 feet and in most places nearly perpendicular; they are formed of remarkable white sandstone...
The water in the course of time in decending from those hills and plains on either side of the river has trickled down the soft sand clifts and woarn it into a thousand grotesque figures, which with the help of a little immagination...are made to represnt eligant ranges of lofty freestone buildings, having their parapets well stocked with statuary...
Meriwether Lewis.
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Many of the brothers have made this trip from Ft. Benton passed Judith Landing and further south on the Upper Missouri, reading what has been stated almost 200 years before brings back fond memories of this land and what we have all seen - then and now.
If you have never made this trip please write it down as a "must adventure to do", if you don't canoe (best way to see it) there are float trips available. Be sure to ask the US Forest Service for use of their "Guide Book" while making the trip, it really adds to the river with history and pictures, like Bodimer's, etc. painted in the early 1800's, and the landscape hasn't changed that much. Believe me you'll remember this water venture for years, period or not take a camera and a note pad - you'll make good use of both.
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Independence Day
Fourth of July
Being Independence Day 1999, Let's take a look at what our forefather's were up to on the Upper Missouri 1805. With the portage behind them, the Corps of Discovery celebrated their second Fourth of July of the journey with a meal of beans, suet dumplings, and heaping portions of buffalo meat, a "very comfortable dinner," Lewis wrote.
We had no just cause to covet the sumptuous feasts of our countrymen on this day......... . We have conceived our party sufficiently small and therefore have concluded not to dispatch a canoe with a part of the men to St. Louis as we had intended early in the spring. We fear also that such a measure might possibly discourage those who would be in such case remain, and might possibly hazzard the fate of the expedition................
MERIWETHER LEWIS
July 4th. A beautiful, clear, pleasant warm morning....It being the 4th of Independence, we drank the last of our Spirits.... The fiddle [was] put in order, and the party amused themselves dancing all the evening until about 10 oClock in a jovi[a]l manner.
JOHN ORDWAY
Their supply of whiskey was running low, but the captains let the men finish it off as "they continued their mirth with songs and festive jokes and were extremely merry until late at night".
They were was behind schedule. And off in the distance, they could now see the mountains that awaited them.
The mountains to the N.W. and West of us are still entirely covered [with snow], are white and glitter with the reflection of the sun. I do not believe that the clouds that pervale at this season of the year reach the summits of those lofty mountains; and if they do the probability is that they deposit snow only, for there has been no p[er]ceptable diminution of the snow which they contain since we first saw them. I have thought it probable that these mountains migth have derived their appellation of SHINEING MOUNTAINS from their glittering appearance when the sun shines in certain directions on the snow which covers them.
WILLIAM CLARK
I wonder how many of the brothers of the AMM camped in the Yellowstone area this year have seen these SHINEING MOUNTAINS as did William Clark, Meriwether Lewis and their group did a few years before !
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<img src="<a href=" alt="Here are Special Days Throughout the Year - ENJOY <a href=" />
Buck Conner
Aux Ailments de Pays!
GREAT RESOURCES:
Original Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804 - 1806., Reuben Gold Thwaites, Bernard De Voto, Arno Press, Inc.
Journals of the Lewis and Clark, Bernard De Voto, Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston.
LEWIS & CLARK / The Journey of the Corps of Discovery, Dayton Duncan & Ken Burns. Alfred A. Knopf, Publisher, New York.
Lewis & Clark: Pioneering Naturalists, Paul Russell Cutright, University of Nebraska Press, Lincoln and London, Bison Books.
Only One Man Died - The Medical Aspects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Eldon G. Chuinard, M.D., Ye Galleon Press, Fairfield, Washington.</td></tr></table>
Published AMM Tomahawk & Longrifle - November 1990
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