Saturday, September 1, 2018

WEEK 3 SUMMARY:

Following Lewis and Clark, at the end of Week 3, Wilma and I have driven 3,733 miles, crossed 10 major US rivers, touched 20 states and seen 70 separate bird species. We are in good health, the truck and trailer are both driving and riding very well and up to this point, we've got access to fuel.  We are abit concerned about getting fuel as we plan our next section, west from Williston, ND to Great Falls, MT shadowing the the Missouri River. 

At our daily devotions this morning, Wilma and I read from Psalm 98:7-9, which reads, "Let the sea resound, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. Let the rivers clap their hands, let the mountains sing together for joy; let them sing before the Lord..." Wow, we daily hear and see the power of the winds, the beauty of the plains, the clapping of the rivers and the singing of the mountains on this trip as well as the incredible message of our feathered friends in Matthew 6:26!

Saturday's Plans

At 7:00am temperature was 49 degrees. Minot, ND is only 57 miles from Canada, a nice place north of Bismark, ND with this campground on the Souris River.  We left at 9:00 for a  1 hour ride to Ft. Mandan/North Dakota Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, Washburn, ND and the 30 minute ride to the National Park Service Knife River Indian Villages in Stanton, ND. We're in the Upper Missouri region now. 

Plaque reads: "Fort Mandan - 1804-1805, Winter quarters of
Lewis and Clark  Expedition, also was the birthplace of the son
born to Sakakawea and her French husband Charbanneau,
interpreter for the explorers. The 'Bird Woman' helped
guide Lewis and Clark to their destination on the
Pacific coast. This replica of Fort Mandan was erected
and dedicated by Molene County Historical Society in 1972.
The original site, 10 miles west upriver, is now in the river channel."

FORT MANDAN

From October 1804 to April 1805, 80 men and women lived here. The actual Fort Mandan was 8-10 miles west up river from this site. Due to river bends and sandy bottoms and sides, (and dams) the river changed considerably over 215 years. Stories recorded by 10 men of the Corps in their journals document what went on here. This Fort Mandan replica went up in 1972 and measures accurately to Lewis/Clark's drawings. The Corps actually completed building the fort in 2 months.

Because the Corps left Camp River Dubois (St. Louis) late in the year, they arrived in October 1804 at Mandan later than anticipated so with winter setting in, they needed shelter, fuel and food. The Mandan and Hidatsa tribes literally rescued them from destruction and starvation. Temperatures reached -40F that winter.

Within the Fort, they lived in 10 separate rooms, 4 chimneys; 1 guard room, 2 rooms and the lofts in all other rooms for bedding the soldiers and French Voyageurs, 1 room for woodworking, 1 room for women/children (Interpreter Tuissant Charbonneau with his 2 wives: Little Otter Woman, Sagagawea and son Jean Baptist) 1 room for blacksmith John Shields, 1 room for Sergeants and weapons, 1 room for the 2 captains, 1 smoke room for meats, 1 room for food and supplies (the keelboat and 2 pirogues that came from St. Louis carried 30 tons of cargo), They also made dugout canoes of cottonwood that weighed 600 lbs each. These, with the 2 pirogues, would be used for the voyage north and west.  There was a very open relationship to and from Fort to the Hidatsa/Mandan villages, an "open brotherly relationship" and even "companionship" with Indian women. Both sides trusted each other so much that their Chief eventually agreed to go to Washington, DC to meet President Jefferson. 

North Dakota Lewis and Clark Interpretation Center
and Fort Mandan (2 miles away) Washburn, ND

The route from St. Louis to Mandan was known and mapped since French traders and explorers came down from Hudson Bay or up the Mississippi from New Orleans, but Mandan was the last point on any known maps; going west was going into the unknown. Many of the Mandan, Arikara and Hidatsa Chiefs as well as visiting Indians told the Captains about what to expect west, especially the Warrior-like Hidatsas who had been raiding other tribes for thousands of years. 

From Fort Mandan, 33 "original Corps" members then headed west up the Missouri River on April 7, 1805 with 6 dugout canoes and 2 pirogues.  12-15 men went south on the Missouri with the keel boat loaded with Lewis and Clark journals, Indian artifacts, captured live and stuffed animals and birds, plant and mineral samples, the French Voyageurs and the Corps "troublemakers."  

The Mandans and Hidatsas grew 13 varieties of corn that they ground into flour, and 4-5 varieties of sunflowers. They made their own "energy bars" of berries, sunflowers, corn and dried squash.  

This Interpretive Center actually had two items of note:  an exact replica of Lewis' Harpers Ferry 1803 air rifle, made a few years after Lewis' trip. The loaded, 46 cal. rifle could hold 40 lead balls, but took 1,400 pumps to add air to a leather bag in the stock in order to shoot.  All the Indian tribes were terribly impressed and respectful of the Army's  armament.  

The other original items were a hasp and button: a hasp from Meriwether Lewis's journals and a probable William Clark US Army Uniform button found upriver during a 1950 archaeological dig. The hasp description on the left (picture) says, "Meriwether Lewis Hasp. This hasp was removed from the journals by historian Elliot Coues during his attempt to edit them for publication in 1892-1893. In December 1892 Coues visited the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia and persuaded the Officers of the Society to let him take the Journals to his home for close study. Coue's treatment of the Journals was scandalous in the historical profession. He interlined Journal text with his changes, made notes and even removed the hasps. Coues sent the hasps to acquaintances as gifts. The card attached to the hasp reads, 'Piece of a hasp from one of the field note books which were carried across the continent by Lewis and Clark in 1804-1806.'  Very few original Expedition artifacts still exist, and our Interpretive Center is one of the few places which display them for public viewing."

This Center also had an impressive collection of George Catlin Indian "hunting and amusement" prints.

Meriwether Lewis Journal Hasp and
Artillery Captain's Button (Clark's?) discovered
1950 Mandan Village archaeological dig.

At Fort Mandan, Lewis and Clark met over 50 tribes, and at Councils inside the Fort, they traded information and food for medals, beads, cloth, trade goods, knives, etc so that by the time they were at Fort Clatsop in Oregon, they had little or nothing left to bargain for other than their uniform buttons, etc. 

Meriwether Lewis sent lignite coal samples back to Thomas Jefferson from this area thinking this might have value for the country.  How prescient that North Dakota has quantities of coal power, wind power and water power (from Army Corps of Engineer managed dams). A many named Clay Jenkinson who lives in Bismark, ND, is an expert on Jefferson and Lewis and Clark history broadcasts a podcast called the Thomas Jefferson Hour.  

The ND Native made bison boots on display inside the Fort aren't elsewhere on display and very unique to Fort Mandan. And at the Fort, John Shields, the blacksmith, helped make iron and metal tools, pipes, knives, tomahawks, and hatchets that were bartered for years among the Indian tribes.

KNIFE RIVER INDIAN VILLAGES

The Knife River Mandans and Hadatsis numbered a population of 5,000, with hundreds of mud huts. The NPS site with Mandan earth mound in Stanton, ND  The Mandan Indians were a gentle tribe, much bullied by other Plains Indians;  The Hidatsas were more warrior like and traveled far for annual buffalo hunts. The Arikera were the youngest tribe of the three and more aggressive, especially against US Army forts and soldiers in the late 19th century. Fort Clark and Fort Abraham Lincoln are nearby and served as Army and trading posts for decades. 15-20 Indians of varied generations lived in each hut.  

After 2 visits, headed back to Minot, ND, went to Olive Garden for Wil's birthday dinner and arrived at 5:45pm.  Temperatures forecast in the 50s tonight.

A few picture to lighten your day:

Bill's favorite dog!
Meriwether Lewis took along a Newfoundland dog named
Seaman, who apparently impressed the Indians as well as
hunted for the Corps and protected them in camps. When the
Indians in Fort Clatsop, Oregon stole him, Lewis threatened the
entire tribe with serious harm if Seaman were not returned.
They returned him to Lewis. Quite the hound!

And finally, a picture that says it all for the past three weeks.....