[analphilosopher] Keith Burgess-Jackson: Two Hundred Years Ago

[analphilosopher at lists.powerblogs.com]

Posted by Keith Burgess-Jackson:
Two Hundred Years Ago
http://www.analphilosopher.com/posts/1123384213.shtml


   As I wrote the other day, Lewis and Clark have reached the three forks
   of the Missouri River. They decided to follow the westernmost branch,
   which they named the Jefferson. Now they have come to three more
   forks. One, which they called Philanthropy River (now the Ruby River),
   flowed into the Jefferson from the southeast, so that could be ruled
   out as the river to follow. Another, which they called Wisdom River
   (now the Big Hole), flowed from the west, but upon inspection by
   Lewis, it was discovered to flow from the north. So Lewis decided that
   the middle fork, which they called the Jefferson (now the Beaverhead),
   was the one to take. To inform Clark, who was behind with the boats,
   Lewis left a note on a stick. This was common practice for the
   captains. Unfortunately, a beaver chewed down the stick, which was
   green, and made off with the note. When Clark arrived at the
   confluence of the Wisdom and the Jefferson, he naturally followed the
   westernmost branch. For two days, he and the men struggled to get the
   boats up the fast-moving river. The river was covered with tree
   branches, so the men had to hack their way through in places. The
   water was cold. The rocks at the bottom cut the men's feet. Finally,
   one of Lewis's party, George Drouillard, found the waterbound party
   and informed them that they were to have taken the middle fork. This
   must have overjoyed the men, who immediately turned their boats around
   to float back (with the current). One of the boats--laden with trade
   goods and equipment--swung around and knocked Joseph Whitehouse down.
   I'll leave the rest of the account to Lewis, Clark, and the other
   journalists. See [1]here.

References

   1. http://libtextcenter.unl.edu/examples/servlet/transform/tamino/Library/lewisandclarkjournals?&_xmlsrc=http://libtextcenter.unl.edu/lewisandclark/files/xml/1805-08-06.xml&_xslsrc=http://libtextcenter.unl.edu/lewisandclark/LCstyles.xsl