Posted on 08/20/2006 9:07:27 AM PDT by nuconvert
Pong
ping
This grafitti covered rock, (Indian petroglyphs, Clarke's signature and even Gen Custer's signature a year before the Little Bighorn), attest to the vibrant/historic point on the Clarke Expedition route and later the Oregon Trail settlers!
"-- he liked dog even better than elk."
Of course he did, 'cause it was probably cooked by the tribe they were passing through.
I don't think they took dogs along on their trek. Nor, would there be "wild dogs" to hunt, unless you are talking about wolf or coyote.
The tribal feast would have been the first western diners for passing tourists.
Of course, dogs performed many functions for some tribes, such as security alarms and pulling travious, before horses
were introduced to the Americas.
The men of the Corps of Discovery were the Special Forces of today---the best our country had to offer. Jefferson gave Lewis carte blanche to select his men from the Continental Army.
Today, we hike twenty miles in rigid soled boots with state of the art packs on established trails and think we are something special. Lewis' men averaged significantly more than that in mocassins without trails and with heavier and much less manageable loads. They almost starved going over the Divide and, thus weakened by hunger and illness, still shot rapids on the Columbia that even the local Indians wouldn't try.
One of my college professors said that, if you want to experience how difficult the Expedition was, plunge into a mountain stream up to your neck and then try to push a log upstream. He wasn't very far off the mark.
He would't have had enough money to get in anyway.
That reminds me...in the movie Hidalgo, Viggo Mortenson's character explains that the Lakota (Sioux) word for horse is translated as meaning "Big Dog".
Because the Lakota who first encountered the Spainiards had never seens horses before.
After years in the Boy Scouts and US Army, my idea of "roughing it" these days, is *slow room service*. LOL.
good read :)
Good thing Jefferson was single. That way he didn't need the 48 hour rule.
I traveled the Lewis and Clark trail in 2003. I tried to stay as true to the spirit of the Corps of Discovery as possible, except we went by car, stayed in nice hotels, ate in restaurants, used cell phones, laptops and flew home from Portland.
Other than that, we really roughed-it!
Actually, Meriwether Lewis did take a along a Newfoundland (which he had purchased for $20 in 1803). The dog's name was Seaman and he was adopted by the whole Corps of Discovery and referred to as "Our Dog".
The book, Undaunted Courage, is fascinating. I had no idea of the hardships faced by the Corps during their exploration.
Lol. Sounds like the only way I'd do it!
*snort* I'm going to save this for our son to read when he's doing US History this year, along with "Undaunted Courage", of course. ;o)
Are....Event Horizon
Lewis brought his newfoundland - Scannon. The expedition ate and traded both dog and horse, even leather shirts and moccasins after nearly starving in the bitteroot mountains. Deer, Elk, even Grizzly are more or less plains animals, the mountains in those days were nearly devoid of game in the wintertime.
Thanks for the info. I was just in it for the joke anyway. You KNOW how us Americans love hitting roadside diners.
There was some cult situated there when I passed through in the early '80's. I stopped (unwittingly) at their restaurant and had some of the best homemade apple pie ever. I still remember the rose relief in the crust, and the conversation with the poor beguiled waitress...
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