Sioux City, Iowa, is on the eastern side of the Missouri River just as it starts its inland curve through South Dakota and then to Bismark, ND, where the expedition spent its first winter. While the interpretive center we went to had much to share, what we’re going to concentrate on are the men on the expedition. While they had different skills and different personalities, by the time they reached this area they had committed themselves to the mission of the trip.
According to Wikipedia, “Siouxland is a term coined by author Frederick Manfred in 1946 to describe the lower Big Sioux River drainage basin in South Dakota, Minnesota, Nebraska and Iowa. It is a region where people share a history, interests and identity, but not a fixed geographic area.”
As you’ve probably figured out, I love maps because they show me where I’ve been, where I am, and where I’m going.
As we were walking around the center, I met these women who are part of a Lewis & Clark group and who were enjoying the center today too.
I know, another map.
cottonwood trees
For a couple of weeks we’ve been seeing these white fluffy puffs like cotton blowing in the air that we realized were from cottonwood trees. We thought it was time to understand these trees and why they were such a part of the Lewis & Clark trip.
Cottonwoods once lined the Missouri River and its tributaries. In 1811, one tree was measured at 36 feet in circumference at its base. Native peoples while traveling across the treeless upland prairies relied on tall Missouri Valley cottonwoods to guide them to life-giving rivers. These Natives used dried cottonwood timber in their fires for cooking, as fuel to warm their earthlodges (more about these homes when we’re in Mandan, ND) and tipis in the winter, and for cooling shade in the summer. When grazing grasses disappeared under the snow cover, Native people fed strips of cottonwood bark to their hungry horses.
Cottonwood trees helped the Lewis & Clark expedition complete its journey across the continent.
While in the Sioux City area in August 1804, Lewis and Clark wanted to meet with the Omaha Tribe. The meeting never happened because that tribe had left their nearby village to hunt buffalo (we’ll talk about the Omaha Tribe again when we’re at Fort Mandan).
The Native peoples depended on the North American bison for physical and spiritual sustenance. They burned the prairie to encourage fresh grass that would attract the powerful animal.
In 1876, the Omaha Tribe conducted its last buffalo hunt, forever changing their way of life. By the late 1900s, buffalo had almost disappeared from the prairie, replaced by domestic cattle. If you want to know more about the bison in this area and what is happening now, check out our post from our stay in Jamestown from our first trip to North Dakota in 2020.
spirit of discovery
The explorers’ time here was marked by attempts to promote U.S. trade interests among Native peoples, the unexpected death of Sgt. Floyd, the election of his replacement, the court martial of a deserter, and encounters with natural resources that were opposite to what they had been told to expect.
While man-made dams have changed the look and feel of the river, there are places where the river remains dynamic, with islands, sandbars, and backwater areas. Its braided streams still hold obstacles much like those the explorers encountered.
the men on the expedition
Pierre Cruzatte provided musical diversions around the campfire at night. Another fiddler, George Gibson, specialized as a hunter and sign-language interpreter.
This next picture from early in their trip shows how hard the men had to work in sometimes muddy water. On May 24, 1804, William Clark wrote in his journal that they set out early to pass a very bad part of the river called the Devil’s Race Ground. They attempted to pass under the left bank, which was falling in so fast that the evident danger forced them to cross between the starboard side and a sandbar in the middle of the river.
So what’s the full story of Reuben Fields? Here’s what I found from the National Park Service website:
“While wintering at Camp River Dubois [before the expedition took off], Reuben was one of several soldiers who didn’t always respect the authority of the sergeants left in charge of the camp while the Captains were away. When Reuben refused to serve on guard duty one evening, he was rebuked by Captain Lewis, but got off without severe punishment.
“The Captains quickly discovered that Reuben was one of the most valuable men in the Expedition – he was an excellent woodsman and hunter, knew how to scout, and was loyal and trustworthy.”
On March 28, 1804, an all-day court martial was held at Camp Dubois for 3 men who had joined the expedition: Robert Frazer, John Shields, and John Colter. Shields and Colter apologized to the captain the next day and “promised to do better in the future.”
missing men
Moses Reed had the job as a sawyer at Camp Dubois, but the work wasn’t familiar to him [and I got the sense that he didn’t like it]. (Per AI, a sawyer’s job involved cutting and preparing timber for building and repairs during the journey. This role was essential for maintaining the expedition’s equipment and constructing necessary structures along the route.)
On August 4, 1804, as the expedition moved upstream from their Council Bluff camp, Reed announced that he had left his knife behind. As with all irreplaceable tools, he was sent back to get it.
other men
While heading upriver, the expedition met a group of boats led by fur trader Pierre Dorion, Sr.
The 27 unmarried soldiers and others who were part of the Corps of Discovery endured extreme hardship and contributed significantly to the expedition’s success.
They met a new challenge on a chase while at Fort Mandan during the winter. Ill-equipped with proper clothing, they tied rags around their ears and feet to combat the cold. They were lucky enough to have a Canadian-style sled to haul hides and meat back to the fort.
French boatmen
Eleven French boatmen had been hired to move the expedition’s supplies upriver. These men made their living hauling freight up and down the Mississippi, and several were already familiar with the lower Missouri River.
Seaman was a Newfoundland and prairie dog that Captain Lewis purchased for $20 [$532 today] in Pittsburgh, Pa., in 1803. This big, black dog became a valuable member of the expedition and a friend to the explorers. He caught beavers, squirrels, and even an antelope to help feed the soldiers. He helped save their lives when a buffalo bull charged the explorers’ camp on the night of May 29, 1805. Seaman’s bark warned the soldiers and scared off the buffalo. He also warned the soldiers when grizzly bears threatened their camp.
views along the way
Clark wrote in his journal on August 11, 1804, in the Sioux City area “from the top of this hill may be Seen the bends or meanderings of the river for 60 or 70 miles round and all the Country.”
They also recorded mineral deposits and found good farmland. They certainly expected the area to develop.
Captain Lewis almost poisoned himself on August 22, 1804, around Pierre, SD. He had been taste-testing some minerals he found on a bluff along the river. They were purer than he expected, but when crushing some samples, he was almost overcome by fumes. The minerals were probably a combination of arsenic, cobalt, alum, and ferrous sulfate.
smallpox
We’ve previously covered most of what is in the next picture, but I wanted to add the information about the smallpox vaccine. Dr. Rush, who had taught Meriwether Lewis so much, was the first in America to advocate smallpox vaccinations that had been developed in England in the late 1700s.
The first smallpox vaccine exposed patients to “cowpox.” While completely different from smallpox, cowpox was similar enough to generate immunity to smallpox. President Jefferson was aware that smallpox had devastated Native peoples. He instructed Lewis to carry “cowpox vaccine” and educate Native peoples about its usefulness.
Early in the journey, however, Lewis discovered that his supply of cowpox vaccine had lost its potency. He wrote to President Jefferson requesting a new batch of the vaccine, but it never arrived.
Few indigenous people were vaccinated until Congress passed the Indian Vaccination Act in 1832. Even then, funds and distribution were limited.
Sgt. Floyd’s death and replacement
The next post will cover Sgt. Floyd’s death in the Sioux City area, but he was the first American soldier to die west of the Mississippi and then be replaced by the winner of the first American election held there.
Gass was the first of the Corps of Discovery to publish his journal, and his heavily edited narrative remained the only published record of the full journey between 1807-1814.
The next post will concentrate on Sgt. Floyd, his death, and his remembrance.
Leave a Reply
Your email is safe with us.