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On the Same Spot

By: LC200 staff

The Lewis and Clark Expedition made their final preparations and departed Canoe Camp and the Great Falls of the Missouri on July 15th. They now had 8 dugout canoes, each on heavily loaded with baggage. Lewis bemoaned that it was “extremely difficult to keep the baggage of many of our men within reasonable bounds; they will be adding bulky articles of but little use or value to them.” During the next three days it took the Expedition to reach the Rockies many of the men walked on shore to help lighten the load in the canoes. They found this mode of travel quite satisfactory since the ground was not rocky and the cactus could be avoided.

Two rivers were named on this part of the trek that still carry the names of Smith River and Dearborn River, named in honor of the Secretary of the Navy and the Secretary of War. Lewis also named a large creek Ordway Creek but that stream now is called Prickly Pear Creek. Standing as if it were a guardian of the Missouri River’s entrance into the Rocky Mountains was a large rock Lewis estimated to be 400 feet tall, surrounded on three sides by a modest plain with the river against it on the fourth side. When he climbed “with some difficulty nearly to the summit” Lewis commented on the most pleasing view of the country we were about to leave. This rock was named The Tower or Tower Rock.

The Captains had seen plentiful Indian signs all along their route and were eager to meet the Shoshones a get a few horses for an advance party. They did not want the hunters’ guns scaring the Indians off. One of the Captains had an advance party out all the time, but because they were on foot they could not get very far ahead of the main party.

The Expedition reached the Gates of the Mountains on July 19, 1805. From there until they passed on through the Canyon Ferry area on July 22 was a time of good news and bad for the travelers. These mountains were filled with extremely sharp rocks that played havoc with the men’s feet. Additionally, there was so much cactus growing that it became impossible to avoid. The result was their feet became so bruised and cut and sore they could scarcely walk at all. Clark recorded that on July 19 he pulled 17 cactus thorns from his feet.

The good news was much evidence of Indians frequenting the area. Clark mentioned several times he followed well worn Indian roads and saw lodges that had been used within the month. Clark and his small overland party were seen by Indians who set a signal fire, but the Expedition never saw any Indians in the area. Although Captain Lewis hoped these Indians were Shoshone and he would soon be able to meet them to trade for horses, they could have been any of several tribes including Piegans or Blackfeet who also spent time in the area.

During the Expedition’s journey through this area, Lewis first described Lewis’ woodpecker on July 20 and a blue grouse the next day. Both of these birds were new to science.

Captain Clark with Charbonneau, Frazier and the two Fields brothers reached the Three Forks of the Missouri on July 25, 1805. Captain Lewis and the main party arrived two days later. One of President Jefferson’s major objectives for the entire expedition had been realized – find the beginning of the Missouri River. Jefferson reasoned that once the source was found there would be a short and easy portage to the headwaters of the Columbia River. That river would take the expedition to the Pacific Ocean.

Lewis climbed a point of land where he “commanded a most perfect view of the neighboring country” on the 27th, much like Clark had the day before. Each one quickly realized that this was the place where the Missouri began. Three new rivers flowed together here to form the Missouri. Lewis named them the Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin. They could also determine which river to follow that would “take them through the Rockies.” These decisions were easily made since the Captains were able to climb a hill and see the rivers for many miles ahead. Lewis decided to remain at the Three Forks for several days to let the men rest, repair equipment, make moccasins and most of all to give Captain Clark a chance to recover from his sickness. He had a high fever, chills, aching in all his muscles, and hardly the strength to walk. Doctors today speculate that he had a tick fever. While camped there Lewis assessed the area determining there was sufficient timber and other materials “to support an establishment” if it was built of stone or brick. Good limestone rock was available and the earth was suitable for making bricks.

When Lewis speculated about more severe rapids or waterfalls in the river as they continue further into the mountains, Sacajawea told him that there were no more on the river. This was the first time she showed any recognition of the territory they were passing through. They were some 30 miles north of the Three Forks. Then while camped at the Three Forks Sacajawea said they were camped on the same spot her tribe had been when she was captured five years earlier. This was the second time she showed recognition of the area the Expedition was in.

The Expedition left the Three Forks on July 30, 1805 following the westernmost river that Lewis had named the Jefferson. The next seventeen days would become a physical nightmare for the Expedition as their daily exertions wrestling tons of equipment over the sharp rocks rapids and other obstacles in the rivers they followed extended them almost beyond their limits. The “perfect harmony” Lewis wrote about earlier in the spring was not so perfect as the men frequently almost begged to abandon the river in favor of overland travel. Even Captain Clark, suffering from an ankle tumor and barely able to walk, was prevented from fulfilling his normal duties. Lewis makes note that he helps with the labors of hauling the canoes to encourage the men and says that he has “learned to push a tolerable good pole.”

The Expedition continued on down the Jefferson River from the Three Forks for six days. Each succeeding day saw tougher going as the river changed from a plains river to a mountain river. The men were slowly but surely being drained of their energy so that more time had to be spent resting. On August 6th near disaster struck. Several of the canoes had been caught in a rapid that sent them spinning out of control. One canoe overturned spilling its contents into the river. Two other canoes took on water and got the cargo completely wet while another canoe bucked the current throwing Pvt Whitehouse into the river. The canoe then passed over him forcing him down into the water almost to the bottom. Lewis says “had the water been inches shallower [the canoe] almost inevitably would have crushed him to death.” (The Expeditions canoes were dugout from cottonwood logs requiring several men to haul them, not the light canoes we know today.) After everything was fished out of the river and spread to dry, Lewis found out that a sizeable amount of “our most valuable stores were much damaged.”

As if this wasn’t bad enough, Pvt. Shannon, who had been lost for 15 days in the early part of the journey, had been sent out hunting had not returned. Lewis had several guns fired and the trumpet sounded, but when Shannon did not return he was feared to be lost again. However he rejoined the Expedition three days later after having followed the wrong river for a day.

The Jefferson River at this point is joined by two other rivers. Lewis surveyed the area and determined the river they had been following was the main river and the other two were its tributaries. He named them the Wisdom and Philanthropy rivers “in commemoration of those two cardinal virtues.” Today they are called the Big Hole and Ruby rivers. The Jefferson River below these forks is known as the Beaverhead.

On August 8th Sacajawea again recognized the area they were traveling. She told the Captains that “the point of a high plain” was called the beaver’s head by her people and her people were not very far away. Lewis determined to take an advance party and go up the river until he found the Shoshones even if it took a trip of one month. Lewis departed accompanied by Drewyer, McNeal and Shields, following the Jefferson River. Three days later they encountered a lone Shoshone on horseback, but he disappeared into the mountains.

Finally on the 17th the Expedition was able to get council with the Shoshone Indians and obtain the horses so desperately needed to cross the Rockies to the headwaters of the Columbia. This meeting was at Camp Fortunate and was the famous encounter where Sacajawea discovered the Shoshone Chief was her brother. The Expedition departed overland on August 24, 1805 on their way to the ocean.