Lewis and Clark For Dummies E-Book

Sammye J. Meadows

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 650

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2011

Beschreibung

The Lewis and Clark expedition was the greatest camping trip in history. It was one of those irresistible American adventures that many people dream of living. This book shares the delightful details of the journey that historians have gleaned from the group's journals and maps, and also discusses what's known of the Indian perspective of the expedition. Throughout the book, you find out about Jefferson's western exploration from his earliest efforts to see the Corps assembled through the aftermath for the explorers, the tribes, and the United States. But the focus of Lewis & Clark For Dummies is on the period between Jefferson's confidential letter to Congress requesting dollars to mount a western exploration (January 18,1803) and the expedition's triumphant (and improbable) return to St. Louis (September 23, 1806): forty-two months that changed the world. Join Lewis and Clark as they recruit the Corps of Discovery, meet Sacagawea and various Indian tribes, and set off along the Missouri River on a thrilling, perilous journey. Lewis & Clark For Dummies also covers the following topics and more: * The expedition's people and places * Jefferson's fascination with the West * Final preparations of Meriwether Lewis * Weathering storms to launch the expedition * The discomforts and dangers of the journey * Making maps and writing reports * A first look at the Pacific Ocean The story of Lewis and Clark doesn't end with their return to St. Louis. This book will also lead you on an exploration of the fates and lessons of the Corps of Discovery. Find out what happened to Lewis, Clark, and many other key players after their famous journey. And examine the aftermath for the American Indians and the political and cultural ramifications for the United States. You'll even find the resources you need to plan your own recreation of the expedition as you take the Trail yourself!

Leseprobe

Lewis & Clark For Dummies

by Sammye J. Meadows and Jana Sawyer Prewitt

Lewis & Clark For Dummies®

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Copyright © 2003 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2003105849

ISBN: 0-7645-2545-X

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Authors

Sammye Meadows comes from a family of storytellers and has written and published prize-winning short stories and contributions to Appalachian regional anthologies. Sammye has been executive director of the national Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation and communications director for the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. She currently works for the Circle of Tribal Advisors for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Sammye has been a ski bum, a small-town bureaucrat, a national environmental advocate, a marathon runner, an arctic backpacker, and a high-country gardener.

Jana Sawyer Prewitt grew up Jana Sawyer near Camp Dubois on the Lewis and Clark Trail. She has been a writer, communications director, or press secretary for two cabinet secretaries, one deputy secretary, and two governors. As a Clinton administration appointee at the U.S. Department of the Interior, she led the interagency group working on the National Lewis and Clark Bicentennial. Today, Jana owns Seventh Generation Strategies, an Alexandria, Virginia, consulting firm, and is an associate of The Clark Group in Washington, D.C. Both companies help tribes and other clients achieve their economic, environmental, and energy goals. Jana has two grown children.

Dedication

Sammye Meadows

To the Circle of Tribal Advisors of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, a diverse, fascinating, smart, dedicated, and delightful bunch of Indians. I am honored to work for you. I hope we got things right — somewhat.

Jana Sawyer Prewitt

In memory of John E. Sawyer, beloved father and armchair historian.

Authors’ Acknowledgments

Both authors want to especially thank editors Tere Drenth, Kathy Cox, and Susan Diane Smith, and technical reviewer Steve Witte.

Sammye Meadows

My deepest appreciation to Amy Mossett, Bobbie Conner, Jim and Dark Rain Thom, Allen Pinkham, Jeanne Eder, Chief Snider, Germaine White, the Circle of Tribal Advisors, Gerard Baker, the National Council of the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial, the National Park Service, the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Tillie Walker, Mary Elk, Beatrice Miles, Ed Hall, Jana Prewitt, James Ronda, Gary Moulton, Paul Russell Cutright, Donald Jackson, Stephen Ambrose, Michelle Bussard, Clarice Hudson and so many more. Thank you all for the marvelous and unexpected journey.

Jana Sawyer Prewitt

A very special thank you to Michael Gauldin for more reasons than there is space to name them.

Heartfelt thanks to all the remarkable people who made studying Lewis and Clark a growth experience: Ed Hall III, Dark Rain and Jim Thom, Sammye Meadows, Gerard Baker, Suzy Hubbell, Michelle Dawson-Powell, Dayton Duncan, Dick Williams, Germaine White, Carla HighEagle, Bobbie Conner, Amy Mossett, Mark McDermott, Jane Henley, David Nicandri, Chief Cliff Snider, Ted Kaye, Jerry Garrett, Otis Halfmoon, Jeff Olsen, Clarice Hudson, Gale and Rosemary Baker, Tillie Walker, Tex Hall, Sam Penney, Birgil Killstraight, Lanny Jones, Sherman Fleek, Ken Smith, George Tabb, Michelle Bussard, David Borlaug, Allen Pinkham, Molly Buckey, Margaret Gorski, Steve Morehouse, Kim Prill, Jeanne Nauss, Kindra Reid and Thomasine Singleton.

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Contents

Title

Introduction

About This Book

Conventions Used in This Book

How This Book Is Organized

Icons Used in This Book

Where to Go from Here

Part I : Lewis and Clark’s America

Chapter 1: Reflecting on the Legacy: Lewis and Clark, Then and Now

Proving That Truth Is Stranger (and Better) Than Fiction

Meeting the Cast of the Saga

Accepting Mission Improbable

Placing Lewis and Clark in History

Retracing the Corps’ Steps: The Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Joining the Journey: The National Bicentennial Commemoration

Chapter 2: Getting Acquainted with the Expedition’s People and Places

Pursuing His Dream: Thomas Jefferson

Journeying to the Pacific: The Corps of Discovery

Helping the Corps Survive and Succeed: The American Indians

Offering Support: Tutors and Traders

Playing a Leading Role: The Land and the Rivers

Chapter 3: Compelling Lewis and Clark West

Don’t Know Much about Geography

Jefferson’s Motto: If at First You Don’t Succeed . . .

Jefferson’s Euro Struggles

Part II : Into the Known: Monticello to Fort Mandan

Chapter 4: Gambling Big — the Jeffersonian Way

Jefferson and Lewis: Almost Kinfolk

White House Calling

Jefferson and Lewis Multi-Task

Clark for Co-Captain

Chapter 5: Training an Explorer

Traveling to the Wise Men

Shopping for the Voyage

Giving Lewis His Marching Orders

Recruiting Two Good Men (and a Great Dog)

Getting the Boat to Float

Uniting with Clark and Shoving Off

Chapter 6: Wintering at Camp Dubois

Rowing Against Time

Looking for a Few Good Men

Stocking Up on Supplies

Collecting Bugs, Leaves, Stats, and Maps

Worrying about the American Indians

Keeping Rank Secrets

Braving the Storms: The Expedition Begins

Chapter 7: Traveling on the Big Muddy

Leaving “Civilization” Behind

Rowing, Poling, and Towing

Viewing the Vast, Bountiful Prairie

Getting Sick, Lost, Scared, and Busted

Chapter 8: Pitching American Trade to the Western Tribes

Poling Past the Platte

Peddling Peace and Prosperity to the Otoes and Missouris

Wooing the Sioux

Persuading the Arikaras

Chapter 9: Enjoying a Cold Winter among Warm Mandans

Promoting the American Trade Plan

Building Fort Mandan

Meeting Sacagawea

Trying to Manipulate Plains Politics

Living Life at 45° Below Zero

Making Maps and Feeling Optimistic about the Northwest Passage

Part III : Into the Unknown: Fort Mandan to the Pacific

Chapter 10: Journeying through Paradise and Purgatory on the Northern Plains

Closing Up the Fort and Sending the Keelboat Home

Never-Ending Enchantment on the Plains

Appreciating Sacagawea

Deciding Which River Was the Missouri

Hearing the Roar of the Great Falls at Last

Sailing Boats over the Prairie

Launching the Experimental Boat

Savoring the Last Gill of Whiskey

Chapter 11: Searching for Snakes and Horses

Sailing through the Gates of the Mountains

Avoiding Assiniboines

Desperately Seeking Shoshones

Scaring Away a Shoshone

Realizing the Awesome Truth about the West

Chapter 12: Making a Cold, Hungry, and Dangerous Trek across the Mountains

Needing the Shoshones (but the Shoshones Need to Leave)

Hooking Up with the Shoshones

Promising Guns in the Future for Horses Now

Returning from The River of No Return

Preparing for a Long Walk

Slipping, Sliding, and Hacking Their Way Up the Divide

Meeting “Welsh” Indians

Resting for the Next Climb

Freezing and Starving over the Bitterroot Mountains

Descending Joyfully to Level Ground

Chapter 13: Recording “Ocian In View! O! The Joy”

Escaping the Mountains: Clark Reaches the Weippe Prairie

Getting a Camas Bread Welcome: Lewis Joins Clark and the Nez Perce

Getting Back on the Water

Meeting the Salmon People: Wanapums, Yakamas, Walla Wallas, and Umatillas

Going to the Super Market

Running the Falls: Extreme Canoeing in the Columbia Gorge

Loving to Hate the Chinookan Tribes

Celebrating an Ocean View

Chapter 14: Coping on the Coast

Holing Up at Cape Disappointment

Building Fort Clatsop

Getting to Know Cuscalar

Making Salt

Being Out-Maneuvered in Trade and Diplomacy

Suffering through the Winter: Oh, How I Wanna Go Home

Mapping and Drawing

Part IV : Bound for Home

Chapter 15: Stealing Away and Climbing Every Mountain (Twice)

Fleeing the Columbia River and Its Peoples

Seeking Respite with the Walla Wallas

Returning to the Nez Perce

Passing the Time at Camp Chopunnish

Facing the Bitterroots Again

Chapter 16: Exploring Far Horizons

Splitting Up at Travelers’ Rest

Exploring the Yellowstone: Clark Leaves His Mark

Bringing Tragedy to Two Medicine

Reuniting the Corps

Chapter 17: Heading Home

Trying Again to Impose the American Trade Plan on the Indians

Parting with Sacagawea, Pomp, Charbonneau, and Colter

Returning to “Civilization”

Reaching Cheering Crowds in St. Louis

Basking in Praise from the President, the Press, and the Public

Disbanding the Corps

Chapter 18: Exploring the Fate and Lessons of the Corps of Discovery

Arriving in Washington

Dying Young: Meriwether Lewis

Living Long: William Clark

Expecting Freedom: York

Becoming a Legend in Three Cultures: Sacagawea

Traveling Happy: Jean Baptiste (Pompy)

Surprising Outcomes: Men of the Corps

Breaking Promises to the American Indians

Altering the Land and Rivers

Proceeding On

Part V : The Part of Tens

Chapter 19: Twenty Places Lewis and Clark Saw: Ten Changed; Ten Unchanged

Ten Places Changed Completely

Ten Places Unchanged

Chapter 20: The Ten Best Places to Visit on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail

Monticello

Falls of the Ohio State Park

Katy Trail State Park

Joslyn Art Museum

Native American Scenic Byway

Fort Mandan

Pompeys Pillar

Nez Perce National Historical Park

Columbia Gorge Discovery Center

Fort Clatsop National Memorial

Chapter 21: Ten Resources for Information about Lewis and Clark

The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, Volumes 1–13

Lewis and Clark among the Indians

The Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents, 1783–1854

Lewis and Clark Pioneering Naturalists

Undaunted Courage: Meriwether Lewis, Thomas Jefferson, and the Opening of the American West

Lewis and Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition

In Search of York — The Slave Who Went to the Pacific with Lewis and Clark

Traveling the Lewis and Clark Trail

Lewis and Clark — The Journey of the Corps of Discovery

www.lewis-clark.org

We Proceeded On

Part VI : Appendixes

Appendix A: Tribal Homelands Visited by the Expedition

Appendix B: Glossary

Introduction

T hanks for picking up Lewis & Clark For Dummies.

About This Book

The Lewis and Clark expedition was the greatest camping trip in history. It was one of those irresistible American adventures that many people dream of living. This book shares the delightful details of the journey that historians have gleaned from the group’s journals and maps, and also discusses what’s known of the Indian perspective of the expedition.

And while reading about the expedition is a lot of fun, you can also travel to the places the Corps of Discovery (the official term for the group) ventured and meet descendants of many of the same people. (You can even get bitten by descendants of the same mosquitoes!) So, this book gives you tips and ideas for traveling Lewis and Clark’s route.

Conventions Used in This Book

In this book, you find the actual words of Lewis and Clark, quoted from their journals, which have been published in various forms since 1806. In this book, we use the most recent — and best: Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, in 13 volumes, edited by Gary E. Moulton and published by the University of Nebraska Press (Lincoln, Nebraska), 1983–2001. (See Chapter 21 for additional details on these volumes.)

Please don’t adjust your eyeglasses. The spelling and punctuation throughout the quotes from the expedition’s journals, Moulton edition, are inventive. The captains were creative spellers (especially Clark), and we haven’t cleaned it up for you. It’s too much fun the way it is! In addition, we have used the spelling “Sacagawea” for the name of the young Shoshone mother who accompanied the expedition, because that is the spelling on which most historians agree. You may have seen her name spelled “Sacajawea” (the spelling the first editor of the Lewis and Clark journals changed it to in 1814 and the one still used by the Shoshones) or “Sakakawea” (the spelling used by the Mandans and Hidatsas). But we use “Sacagawea” because that’s how Lewis and Clark phonetically spelled her name in their journals.

You may also notice some italicized words in the quotes from Lewis and Clark’s journals and wonder how they got that way — you know that Lewis and Clark didn’t take along a typewriter or computer! In the Moulton edition, italics are used for Lewis and Clark’s corrections or alterations or for words they inserted between the lines.

In addition, throughout this book, we use certain terms associated with Lewis and Clark and the people who helped them on their journey. We also avoid other terms, including the following:

Native American: When we discuss a tribe that Lewis and Clark met, we use that tribe’s name — Mandan, Shoshone, Blackfeet, Sioux, Clatsop — or the term “Indian” to describe the members of several tribes, although we use that term sparingly to avert the notion that all Indians are alike.

We avoid the term “Native American” for two reasons:

• To be as unconfusing as possible when discussing the culturally rich, fascinating, powerful, prosperous, and diverse pantheon of civilizations that Lewis and Clark paddled into.

• To honor our Indian colleagues who prefer “Indian” or “American Indian” over “Native American.”

Chief: This title doesn’t appear at all in Lewis & Clark For Dummies, except when cited in a quote from the Lewis and Clark journals. Lewis and Clark (as did all American diplomatic and military emissaries of the day) bestowed the rank of 1st, 2nd, and 3rd “chief” on those Indian leaders they perceived to be most amenable to their American trade plan. The term, however, is not necessarily a traditional title for a tribal leader. To keep from perpetuating false assumptions, we simply use the terms “leader” or “headman.”

Squaw: This word doesn’t appear in Lewis & Clark For Dummies either, except when cited in a quote. Tribal people consider it an extremely derogatory term for woman. And because we’re both women, well . . . .

How This Book Is Organized

Throughout this book, you find out about Jefferson’s western exploration, from his earliest efforts to see the Corps assembled through the aftermath for the explorers, the tribes, and the United States. But the focus of this book is on the period between Jefferson’s confidential letter to Congress requesting dollars to mount a western exploration (January 18, 1803) and the expedition’s triumphant (and improbable) return to St. Louis (September 23, 1806): forty-two months that changed the world.

Part I: Lewis and Clark’s America

This part tells you who the players were: Thomas Jefferson who dreamed the expedition for years, Lewis and Clark who led it, members of the expedition, the Indians, and the land. You find out why the expedition happened, what regions it explored, who saved it from disaster, and how history has judged it so far.

This part also explains erroneous 18th-century assumptions, like the existence of a Northwest Passage, of woolly mammoths, and of salt mountains.

Part II: Into the Known: Monticello to Fort Mandan

This part follows the Lewis and Clark expedition from its conception at Monticello (Thomas Jefferson’s west-facing mountain-top home in the Blue Ridge foothills of Virginia) to its winter garrison at Fort Mandan on the serene frozen prairies of today’s North Dakota. You find out that Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis to Philadelphia to study botany, zoology, climatology, archaeology, celestial navigation, paleontology, medicine, and everything else a first-rate explorer ought to know. And Jefferson also sent a confidential letter to Congress requesting money to pay for Lewis’s upcoming trip.

Throughout this part, you live alongside Lewis as he studied; bought boats, supplies, and a dog; and asked William Clark — an old Army buddy — to share command of the expedition. You get to come along as the two young captains joined forces at the Falls of the Ohio and proceeded on to their first winter encampment at Camp Dubois (Camp Wood), where they recruited and trained the Corps of Discovery.

In May 1804, the entire wooly bunch set off up the Missouri River. Along the route, Lewis and Clark met with local Indians, trying to convince them to forsake old ways and join a trade alliance with their new Great White Father. You find out about friendly Otoes, Missouris, Yanktons, and Arikara, as well as less-cooperative Teton Sioux, that Lewis and Clark met before arriving at the Mandan Villages near today’s Bismarck, North Dakota.

This part wraps up with the building of a second winter camp on the Missouri River (near the Knife River), where the Corps settled in for a warm and contented season among the Mandans. There, they met Sacagawea, who would become their interpreter, and included her and her new baby in their entourage.

Part III: Into the Unknown: Fort Mandan to the Pacific

This part details the expedition’s journey from Fort Mandan to the Pacific Coast. First, the Corps paddled up the Missouri River through the bountiful Northern Plains, teeming with wildlife. They reached the Great Falls of the Missouri — a sight more wondrous than Lewis and Clark expected — and had to portage their boats around them.

You witness the Corps at the headwaters of the Missouri, where Lewis and Clark searched frantically for the Shoshones, Sacagawea’s tribe, in order to procure horses for crossing the Continental Divide. They did succeed in meeting the Shoshones — led, by a stroke of great fortune for the Corps, by Sacagawea’s brother Cameahwait — and began an arduous trek across the snow-covered Rocky Mountains.

You find out about the harrowing experience of the Corps and how they emerged, starving, on the western side of the Divide in Nez Perce country. An elderly Nez Perce woman convinced the tribe to spare their lives, and the men struggle to digest unfamiliar foods — camas (an onion-like root — see Chapter 12) and salmon. They then left their horses with the Nez Perce and built dugout canoes to travel on to the Columbia River.

In this part, you also get to ride along as Lewis and Clark zoomed down the mighty Columbia, and portaged around thunderous Celilo Falls, the ancient salmon fishery of the Columbia River tribes. On November 7, 1805, William Clark looked up from his seat in one of the canoes and recorded, “Ocian In View! O! The joy.”

This part winds up as you witness Lewis and Clark taking an historic vote of the Corps of Discovery membership — including Sacagawea and York (Clark’s slave) — to determine which side of the Columbia to winter on. The group selected the south side, so a third winter garrison of the expedition was built near today’s Astoria, Oregon. The Corps of Discovery spent a wet, cold, hungry, and homesick winter in the middle of extraordinary natural and cultural wealth in the land of the Chinooks and Clatsops.

Part IV: Bound for Home

In this part, you watch as the homesick Corps started east for home on March 23, 1806. To their discredit, the group stole a canoe from their generous host, Coboway of the Clatsop Nation. To compensate, they bequeathed Fort Clatsop to Coboway and set out.

You also witness the group’s trek over the mountains again and understand why the expedition split up, with Lewis and one crew going back to the Great Falls of the Missouri and exploring the Marias country, and Clark and his crew going back to the Three Forks of the Missouri and exploring Yellowstone country. Clark’s journey was uneventful, but Lewis’s resulted in misunderstanding and death for two Blackfeet youths, and one of Lewis’s own men also shot him in the backside. Yet, the entire Corps survived to reunite on the Missouri River once more. At the Mandan Villages, Lewis and Clark said goodbye to Sacagawea and Pomp (Clark’s nickname for Sacagawea’s son) and proceeded down the Missouri River to St. Louis. There, they met a heroes’ welcome.

Expect the story to end there? Not a chance: This part also describes what happened to the key players after the expedition.

Part V: The Part of Tens

In this fun part, we describe places on the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail that are now completely changed (or completely unchanged) from how Lewis and Clark saw them. We also share our favorite and most recommended places to visit on the trail. Finally, we give you our favorite resources for additional information on the Corps of Discovery and on your own recreation of the expedition as you take the Trail yourself.

Part VI: Appendixes

This part includes reference material: a list of tribal homelands that Lewis and Clark visited and a glossary of 18th-century terms that Lewis and Clark used throughout their journey.

Icons Used in This Book

Icons — cool little images in the margins of this book — help you focus on significant events of the expedition, select parts of the Lewis and Clark Trail you may want to visit, ruminate over some amazingly creative spelling, and more. Here’s a list of what the icons mean:

This icon points out significant Lewis and Clark facts that help you better understand the circumstances surrounding the Corps’ journey. At the very least, you can use these tidbits of information to impress friends over dinner.

This icons brings to light any especially dangerous or foolish moment for the Corps of Discovery.

Next to this icon, you find quotes from the Lewis and Clark Journals, edited by Gary E. Moulton and published by the University of Nebraska Press. (See Chapter 21 for more on these journals.) These quotes present the exact words of Lewis and Clark as they wrote them — in non-standard English (according to today’s standards, that is) with non-standard spelling. These aren’t typos!

This icon marks valuable travel-planning information that you can use to recreate Lewis and Clark’s journey.

This icon highlights information that you can skip if you want to: technical information like latitude and longitude, measurements, and other specifications.

Where to Go from Here

Unlike other histories of Lewis and Clark, this one is designed — like all For Dummies books — to be opened to any chapter or section within a chapter that interests you. You can start reading anywhere without getting lost. After all, you may want to know only what Lewis and Clark did 200 years ago when they were in your neck of the woods.

On the other hand, because this book relates the history of the greatest camping trip ever taken, you can also read it from cover to cover, following in the footsteps of the Corps.

Either way, go on and open the book wherever you like and start understanding who was in the Corps; visit the rivers, prairies, mountains, and the awesome Pacific Coast that Lewis and Clark saw; and meet the tribes who befriended and opposed the expedition.

Part I

Lewis and Clark’s America

In this part . . .

You meet the cast of characters: Jefferson, Lewis, Clark, York, Sacagawea, Jean Baptiste, Charbonneau, Drouillard, Black Buffalo, Sheheke, Seaman, and the others. This part lets you peek in on the United States at the beginning of the 19th century and also opens your eyes to some of the consequences of the Lewis and Clark expedition. You also find out about the Louisiana Purchase and understand why Jefferson sent a scientific exploration out West to broker U.S. trade with the Indians. Finally, you get details about both the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail and Lewis and Clark Bicentennial activities.

Chapter 1

Reflecting on the Legacy: Lewis and Clark, Then and Now

In This Chapter

Getting acquainted with the Corps of Discovery and its fascinating story

Figuring out what the Corps actually did

Recognizing how the exploration changed America (for better and for worse)

Commemorating the Lewis and Clark expedition

A s true stories go, you won’t find a better one than the Lewis and Clark expedition. It includes a great multicultural cast of characters and a terrific action-adventure plot that’s full of surprising twists and turns. And it’s set in an inhabited paradise full of natural wonders that no American had seen before. This chapter gives you an overview of the story.

In the end, Lewis and Clark couldn’t fulfill some of the expedition’s goals, but they did increase America’s knowledge of the West and opened the door for westward expansion. As you discover in this chapter, this was good news for U.S. growth and prosperity, but terrible news for American Indians and the natural environment.