Exploring Lewis and Clark's legacy

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | 5/21/03 | TOM GRALISH

[Valin]

PHILADELPHIA - Stories of Lewis and Clark usually start out west, where the explorers paddled up the Missouri River in 1804 to explore the Louisiana Purchase and find an easy water route to the Pacific Ocean.

But it was 200 years ago that the tale really began - in Philadelphia.

A few years after drafting the Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was elected to membership in the American Philosophical Society, based in Philadelphia. Though he had never traveled more than 50 miles west of Virginia's Shenandoah Valley, Jefferson dreamed of a scientific exploration of the unmapped West.

So when he became president in 1801, Jefferson brought Meriwether Lewis to Washington and Monticello as his personal secretary.

Then, before sending Lewis west, Jefferson sent him to the intellectual, medical, scientific and trading center of the new United States - Philadelphia. Here, he spent a month in the spring of 1803 gaining specialized training and purchasing supplies for the expedition.

Lewis' education included instruction in navigation from Robert Patterson, botany from Benjamin Smith Barton, medicine from Benjamin Rush and anatomy from Caspar Wistar. He also spent time in Lancaster, Pa., learning astronomy and surveying with Andrew Ellicott.

Lewis left Pennsylvania prepared for what would become one of the most important events in the growth of the young country.

In honor of that endeavor, the photographs presented in this series seek to reflect how the rivers, lands and peoples encountered along the 3,700-mile route taken by Lewis and his partner, William Clark, have been affected in the ensuing 200 years.

[Valin]

RELATED LINKS

Lewis and Clark: Wildlife captivates explorers Lewis and Clark: Life in their wake

Lewis and Clark: Celebrating their legacy

Lewis and Clark: Charting the once-mysterious far West

Lewis and Clark: Indians looking back with pride

These can be found at link.

[stainlessbanner]

bttt

[bvw]

Speaking of a leagcy, does anyone know if there are commercially available 700 psi air rifles like Lewis and Clark had?

[Valin]

700 psi air rifles

Be careful! You'll put your eye out with that!
/Little Ralphey(sp) quote

[Wonder Warthog]

"Speaking of a leagcy, does anyone know if there are commercially available 700 psi air rifles like Lewis and Clark had?"

Yes--you charge'em up from SCUBA tanks.

See, for example:

http://www.airgunsofarizona.com/

[bvw]

I read through that site's catalog. Very nifty! Some 3000 psi stuff, too. Wish list stuff.

[bvw]

What would be cool, though, is a functioning reproduction of the actual Lewis and Clark air rifle. Truly one of the guns that won the West!

[bvw]

Not to take this thread too far from it's subject but
I worked with this german high-pressure pump once -- that was up in the thousand-plus BAR range. It was the last stage of a pumping system used to charge diamond-making tooling.