When you’re on a long trip and you have to figure out where to go next, how do you make your decision? We’ve been using GPS, maps, online information, hosts at interpretive centers, and people we meet along the way. But Lewis and Clark only had input from the Natives they’ve met along the way. None of these other options were available to them. They had to scout out the area themselves and decide on what made sense to them. I’m glad we have the resources we do as we follow the expedition.
The Mandan and the Hidatsa had told the Corps of Discovery about places to look for to confirm they were going in the right direction. We’ve seen 2 of these places: where the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers come together and the great falls. Now Lewis and Clark are looking for the place where three rivers come together to make the Missouri River that they’ve been following, because Sacagawea told them that this was the place her tribe, the Shoshone, could be, and they would have horses that the expedition could use to cross the mountains. Now we’re at that place.
early people coming to North America
But first, let’s look at how people came to North America. Geologic evidence points to an ice-free corridor, shown in the blue section of the following picture, that was open at various times during the 2-million-year ice age. A possible migration route might have connected the coastlines of Asia and North America. Today we’re at the bottom of that ice-free corridor where migration could have opened up to North America.
There are many theories of America’s first people. They may have walked through this ice free corridor or along the Pacific Coast. They may have arrived in boats along the Pacific, or even from the Atlantic Coast.
For thousands of years, people have found the Headwaters of the Missouri River where we are today to be a wonderful place to live.
expedition at three forks
In 1805, the Corps of Discovery passed through this area on their search for a Northwest water passage to the Pacific Ocean.
On Thursday, July 25, 1805, Clark and four men reached the confluence of three rivers. Leaving a note for Lewis, he scouted the right-hand fork (Jefferson River)—the likely choice with its approach to the mountains. He pushed himself mercilessly in search for Shoshone.
On Saturday, July 27, 1805, Lewis wrote, “. . . the current still so rapid that the men are in a continual state of their utmost exertion to get on, and they begin to weaken fast.”
Poling and towing the heavy dugouts, the men struggled upstream through meandering channels and dense brush. Lewis learned to “push a tolerable good pole,” encouraging the men by joining in their backbreaking labor.
The two groups of men finally got together, and the expedition camped here for 3 days as they tried to decide which fork of the river to keep following.
Lewis and Clark’s journals describe this area as teeming with beaver. Some members from the expedition returned here to work for the Missouri Fur Company, trapping for fur. This grand enterprise they hoped for never developed because the Indians effectively defended their territory and chased them away.
Colter’s run
One of Montana’s most amazing historical events occurred near here in September 1809. John Colter and John Potts, former expedition members, were trapping beaver on the Jefferson River near the headwaters when a band of Blackfeet Indians captured Colter and killed Potts.
The Blackfeet gave Colter a chance to escape and provide themselves with a little entertainment. They stripped him, gave him a head start, and ordered him to run across the prickly pear cactus-covered flat area east of the river.
With the Indians hot on his heels, Colter undoubtedly made an all-time record that day for both sprints and long distance events. He outran the Indians over a 6-mile course until he gained the cover of timber along the Madison River. Once in the stream, he may have hidden either under a driftwood jam or in a beaver lodge. The hide-out saved him from the disappointed and mystified Indians.
When night came, Colter left his refuge and headed east, naked and weaponless. Over a week later, he reappeared, sunburned, emaciated, and with swollen feet, at the Missouri Fur Company trading post, Fort Raymond, at the confluence of the Yellowstone and Big Horn Rivers, more than 200 miles east of here.
Colter’s Run has inspired novels and motion pictures. Local businesses sponsor an annual Colter-inspired marathon run, without the nudity and the prospect of being killed by Blackfeet.
Gallatin City I and II
Gallatin City I began as a dream. A group of early settlers envisioned a town here at the headwaters that would become the supply center for the booming gold camps. It was also to be a port for people and goods traveling up the Missouri River by steamship. But the waterfalls downstream made travel impossible for steamships, so the business venture never materialized.
Once it became obvious that steamboats could not operate economically from Fort Benton to the Headquarters (remember the great falls that the Corps had to portage?), the town was relocated from the north side of the river to this location. Sitting astride the main stage and wagon routes, agricultural products from the Gallatin Valley passed through Gallatin City to the gold camps of Bannack, Virginia City, and Helena.
The old hotel once housed people going to and from the gold fields. Sometimes they held dances.
Gallatin City II (1865-1880s) lasted a few decades before people gradually drifted away. In its heyday it had a flour mill, racetrack, stores, and a stage stop. For a few years it was the county seat.
three forks
As the expedition continued to move upstream, they came to a place where three rivers had come together to form the Missouri River. Lewis and Clark had to decide which fork to take to continue their expedition.
July 20-29, 1805. “On July 23, continuing the practice often used before, Clark proceeded on the river while Lewis went overland to explore. Soon Clark’s party, which included Sacagawea, entered a section where the river was divided into many channels by numerous large and small islands.”
Clark wrote on July 25, 1805, “A fine morning. We proceeded on a few miles to the three forks of the Missouri.”
Clark reached the forks two days later, again faced with the critical decision about which fork to take. Noticing the greater flow of one fork and that it appeared to emanate from the western mountains, Clark decided it was the “one best calculated or us to ascend.” Clark explored a portion of the fork and returned to camp on July 27, where he found Lewis’s party waiting for him.
On the following drawing, the Gallatin River is on the right as the Lewis and Clark expedition stopped for breakfast on July 27.
now to the three rivers
Sacagawea recognized the country as the area where her Shoshone relatives lived. She said that they were close to where the river branched into three forks, and she pointed out the place where she had been captured by the [Hidatsa] five years earlier.
What we’re seeing of the rivers might be a little different than what the expedition saw since the rivers often changed how they flowed. We also remembered that the rivers were flowing downstream while we were working our way upstream.
Remember the map of the three rivers coming together earlier in this post to see how Lewis and Clark saw what was ahead of them?
Lewis and Clark both agreed that no one fork was sizable enough to be called the Missouri, so they named the southwest fork, the one they intended to ascend, the Jefferson River. They named the middle fork in honor of secretary of state James Madison, and the eastern fork after the secretary of the treasury, Albert Gallatin.
So why did they choose the southwest fork? I’m not sure, but here’s what I did find out about their choice from the Jefferson River website about Lewis and Clark.
“They discussed the three forks of the Missouri, and since the middle and southwestern forks were of equal size, decided that neither could rightfully retain the name ‘Missouri.’ They planned to ascend the southwestern fork and so named it the Jefferson River, in honor of President Thomas Jefferson.”
At three forks, “they could see the intimidating peaks of the Rockies. With the view of these mountains ahead, the explorers were concerned about how they would cross them.” (quote from Bureau of Reclamation website)
Now we’re saying goodbye to the Missouri River and hello to the Jefferson River.
From the time they had left Fort Mandan, the explorers had expected to encounter Indians from the Blackfeet and other western tribes. All along the way, they’d seen evidence of Indian activity—a large recently vacated encampment site, trails, smoke signals—yet no Indians had appeared.
By the time they reached the three forks, Lewis and Clark were especially eager to meet Sacagawea’s people. Knowing that soon the river would no longer be navigable, they hoped to secure some horses from the Shoshone. Horses would be crucial in the overland trek they’d have to take to reach the navigable streams of the Columbia River watershed.
We spent almost a week in this area, so the next post highlights our time around here and the town of Three Forks.
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