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Finding Lewis & Clark Campsites

By: Phil Scriver, LC200 Historian

“There will always be some degree of uncertainty about the campsite locations until definitive artifacts are found.”

For many years historians have searched for the camping spots used by Lewis and Clark on their journey across the continent. There seems to be a great fascination with being able to “walk in the footsteps” of the Expedition. Many people have poured over the Journals of the Expedition, comparing old maps to current day ones, and re-measuring large areas of land trying to find proof that the Expedition “camped on this spot.” In spite of all the work by so many people, there has never been conclusive proof found. The best that historians have been able to say is that “within a few hundred feet of here” they camped. All the research has shown the locations of all the campsites are approximate. Never have they found the exact spot.

Archaeologists have been working with historians in several locations to find that elusive artifact that will provide the hard scientific proof. The Lower Portage Camp just below the great falls of the Missouri River is one of those locations and the Upper Portage Camp near the White Bear Islands is another. As interest about the Lewis and Clark Expedition continues to grow other locations have come under the same close scrutiny. Fort Clatsop on the Oregon coast and Fort Mandan in North Dakota are more recent sites being examined.

Ken Karsmizki from the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center has been conducting an archaeological dig at the Lower Portage Camp for several years. The detailed work of re-examining historical records, modern maps, aerial photographs, and re-calculations of latitude and longitude readings taken by Lewis and Clark that has been done by Bob Bergantino gets close to where the camp should have been located. He has defined the area that contains the “most likely” site based upon the best history, math and logic can offer. However the actual journal words written by the Expedition members can be in error or in conflict. For example, Lewis recorded going up Portage creek 1¾ miles before taking the canoes out to actually start the portage, while Clark reported the distance as one mile. Errors could have been made in the readings taken because of the weather, fatigue or carelessness. These must all be re-checked and reconciled, normally in the field at the locations described. A good example of this kind of error is the readings reported by Captain Lewis at the mouth of the Marias. He describes “Barn Mountain” and gives its readings. Using those readings today results in sighting no particularly outstanding features until the direction on the readings is changed from “southwest” to “southeast”. When that change is made the Square Butte south of Geraldine is found. This was Lewis’ Barn Mountain.

Many extra acres had to be checked by the archaeological team as the dig closed in on the real camp; Bergantino was only able to say that the camp was located “somewhere in an area five acres in size.” Karsmizki then had to dig test plots in a checkerboard fashion up to twelve inches deep and three feet square covering the entire five acres. This extremely tedious work has filled the years since each piece of earth that is removed has to be carefully examined for telltale signs. Exciting clues have been found that have become strong indicators pointing to the Lewis and Clark camp’s location. The work has moved closer and closer to the actual camp location. A number of artifacts have been found along with the fire rings and animal bones which all have been scientifically dated to the Lewis and Clark era. Although Karsmizki is convinced he has exactly located the Lower Portage Campsite, not everyone else is. The last step remaining to be accomplished will show the campsite is more than Lewis and Clark era; it must be proven to be Lewis and Clark that made the camp.

The years Ken has spent working at the Lower Portage site has caused Karsmizki to develop a unique method for conducting his campsite searches. By using a combination of detailed analysis of the Expedition documents such as journal entries and maps then expanding to include other historical maps and current aerial photographs result in a multiple overlay of maps showing changes from the time of the Expedition until now, which are used to guide on-the-ground search and survey of the area. Cutting edge technology from such sources as NASA and the Air Force Research Laboratory are employed in the early stages of search to speed up the time required to reduce the search area as much as possible before the traditional archaeological digging begins.

When Ken Karsmizki was asked why he is willing to spend so much time on such tedious work chasing such an elusive object, his reply was simply, “archaeological success creates historical fact in place of folklore.”

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