Lewis and Clark

 

  By Chairman Joe

    It was on this day in 1804 that the Lewis and Clark expedition left their camp in Illinois just north of Saint Louis and headed for the Pacific Ocean 4,000 miles away as the river winds on its official journey of exploration of the new Louisiana Purchase. The expedition's official starting point was in Pittsburg where their 12 ton keelboat had been built and launched the previous August. But May 14 was the day the keelboat dropped its lines and headed into the wilderness.

   Of course this so-called wilderness had been crawling with mountain men and traders for years. And let's not forget that the seventy or so indigenous tribes the expedition would meet along the route had been living here for thousands of years. The British also had long-standing and profitable trading agreements with the Lakota tribes (AKA the Sioux to their enemies). 

   President Jefferson's main purpose in sending out the expedition was to show the flag. He wanted to notify the British to the north and the Spanish to the south that the United States planned to exploit it's new possessions.  A secondary purpose for the expedition was to find a water route to the Pacific. And thirdly, Lewis and Clark were to let the Indians know about their Great Father in Washington. The Lakota were not going to take kindly to this Great Father idea.

   Lewis and Clark were not the first to cross the North American continent. Alexander Mackenzie had made the trip from Montreal to the British Columbian coast in 1789. And a Yazoo Indian from Mississippi named Mancacht-Apé had reportedly crossed the continent in the early 1700's. In his old age he had told his story to a French writer, but the Frenchman did not mention the Rocky Mountains in his account so Lewis and Clark thought they would have a fairly pleasant trip to the coast.

   Parts of the trip were pleasant. Other parts were horrible. It's absolutely incredible that the expedition lost only one of its members and that one was to appendicitis. It's also quite amazing that Clark's black slave York and their female guide Sacagawea were allowed to vote when the expedition needed to make major decisions. And then there's Lewis's dog Seaman. He didn't vote, but he was a full fledged member of the expedition

   I could go on all day about Lewis and Clark, but I recommend you read the journal for yourself. It's one of the great armchair adventures of all time

Clark (left) and Lewis meet with Mandan Chief Sheheke.