rough ground covered with cactus, the captains ordered their men to go through their baggage and winnow out everything that could be spared. They made another cache at the foot of the portage and hid the white pirogue in the willows, cutting its mast to make axles for a pair of rough four-wheeled trucks to haul the canoes. The men eventually found a large cottonwood tree which they felled to cut rounds for wheels; Lewis doubted there was another one that size within twenty miles.
The portage was heartbreaking work. Although the men had double-soled their moccasins against the prickly-pear cactus, many of the spines still penetrated, and the uneven earth hurt their feet. They had to grab rocks and clumps of grass to help pull the trucks up the slopes and were so close to exhaustion when they stopped that they would fall asleep in a moment.
Frequent storms made the going even more difficult. An especially violent one on June 29 brought hail so fierce it knocked down and bloodied some of the men. Clark was out with Sacagawea, the baby, Charbonneau, and York when the storm struck, and they took shelter in a ravine under an overhanging rock. “The rain fell like one voley of water falling from the heavens and gave us time only to get out of the way of a torrent of water which was Poreing down the hill . . . with emence force tareing everything before it takeing with it large rocks & mud,” Clark wrote later. Pushing Sacagawea in front of him while she clutched the baby, Clark scrambled out just as fifteen feet of water poured over the spot they had just been. They lost a number of items, including Clark’s umbrella and Sacagawea’s papoose board. The next day, the men searched the ravine and found the expedition’s compass, the one item they could not afford to lose.
The first load to come up the portage was the iron framework of Lewis’s boat, the Experiment . Now was the time to put it to the test. Since there was no suitable bark to cover its frame, Lewis sent hunters to bring in elk and buffalo skins to use instead. But the sinew used to sew the hide to the frame left holes larger than Lewis had expected, and there were no evergreen trees to make pitch for caulking the leaks. The charcoal-and-tallow mixture he substituted would not stick to the hides, and as a result, the Experiment leaked mightily. “I therefore relinquished all further hope of my favorite boat,” he wrote. Lewis ordered it to be taken apart, and the frame buried; its rusty remains are undoubtedly still in Montana.
With the failure of Lewis’s boat, Clark sent a party in search of timber for two dugout canoes to take the Experiment ’s place. In the country around the Great Falls, there were few trees of any size. The woodcutters kept breaking their ax handles and had to stop to whittle new ones. One day, four men broke thirteen handles. A month had passed since they left the Marias River, and Lewis was impatient to move on.
The expedition set off again on July 15. Two men were still sick, but were able to hike along the bank. The river had become so swift that the men poled or towed the canoes most of the time.
It was important to meet the Shoshone Indians, Sacagawea’s tribe, to obtain horses and guides to take them across the mountains. But the Shoshones, persecuted by the Blackfeet and Minnetarees, had grown wary of strangers.
The captains feared the Shoshones might hear the expedition’s hunters shooting at game and flee. To avoid this, Clark and four men took gifts and began traveling ahead of the main party to greet the Shoshones. Lewis ordered the men to fly American flags on the canoes to show that they came in peace.
On July 22, Sacagawea began to recognize landmarks and told the captains that the place where the Missouri divided into three branches was not far ahead. “The Indian woman recognizes the country and assures us that this is the river on which her relations live,” Lewis wrote, “and that the three forks are at
The portage was heartbreaking work. Although the men had double-soled their moccasins against the prickly-pear cactus, many of the spines still penetrated, and the uneven earth hurt their feet. They had to grab rocks and clumps of grass to help pull the trucks up the slopes and were so close to exhaustion when they stopped that they would fall asleep in a moment.
Frequent storms made the going even more difficult. An especially violent one on June 29 brought hail so fierce it knocked down and bloodied some of the men. Clark was out with Sacagawea, the baby, Charbonneau, and York when the storm struck, and they took shelter in a ravine under an overhanging rock. “The rain fell like one voley of water falling from the heavens and gave us time only to get out of the way of a torrent of water which was Poreing down the hill . . . with emence force tareing everything before it takeing with it large rocks & mud,” Clark wrote later. Pushing Sacagawea in front of him while she clutched the baby, Clark scrambled out just as fifteen feet of water poured over the spot they had just been. They lost a number of items, including Clark’s umbrella and Sacagawea’s papoose board. The next day, the men searched the ravine and found the expedition’s compass, the one item they could not afford to lose.
The first load to come up the portage was the iron framework of Lewis’s boat, the Experiment . Now was the time to put it to the test. Since there was no suitable bark to cover its frame, Lewis sent hunters to bring in elk and buffalo skins to use instead. But the sinew used to sew the hide to the frame left holes larger than Lewis had expected, and there were no evergreen trees to make pitch for caulking the leaks. The charcoal-and-tallow mixture he substituted would not stick to the hides, and as a result, the Experiment leaked mightily. “I therefore relinquished all further hope of my favorite boat,” he wrote. Lewis ordered it to be taken apart, and the frame buried; its rusty remains are undoubtedly still in Montana.
With the failure of Lewis’s boat, Clark sent a party in search of timber for two dugout canoes to take the Experiment ’s place. In the country around the Great Falls, there were few trees of any size. The woodcutters kept breaking their ax handles and had to stop to whittle new ones. One day, four men broke thirteen handles. A month had passed since they left the Marias River, and Lewis was impatient to move on.
The expedition set off again on July 15. Two men were still sick, but were able to hike along the bank. The river had become so swift that the men poled or towed the canoes most of the time.
It was important to meet the Shoshone Indians, Sacagawea’s tribe, to obtain horses and guides to take them across the mountains. But the Shoshones, persecuted by the Blackfeet and Minnetarees, had grown wary of strangers.
The captains feared the Shoshones might hear the expedition’s hunters shooting at game and flee. To avoid this, Clark and four men took gifts and began traveling ahead of the main party to greet the Shoshones. Lewis ordered the men to fly American flags on the canoes to show that they came in peace.
On July 22, Sacagawea began to recognize landmarks and told the captains that the place where the Missouri divided into three branches was not far ahead. “The Indian woman recognizes the country and assures us that this is the river on which her relations live,” Lewis wrote, “and that the three forks are at
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