August 2017, Vol. 43 No. 3
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AUGUST 2017 VOL 43 NO 3 LEWIS AND CLARK TRAIL HERITAGE FOUNDATION • David Nicandri on Lewis’s Homesickness at Fort Clatsop • An Interview with Historian Elliott West • Lewis and the Grizzly Bear • The American Prairie Reserve • Letters, Review, News from the Trail the Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal VOLUME 11 - 2017 The Henry & Ashley Fur Company Keelboat Enterprize by Clay J. Landry and Jim Hardee Navigation of the dangerous and unpredictable Missouri River claimed many lives and thousands of dollars in trade goods in the early 1800s, including the HAC’s Enterprize. Two well-known fur trade historians detail the keelboat’s misfortune, Ashley’s resourceful response, and a possible location of the wreck. More than Just a Rock: the Manufacture of Gunflints by Michael P. Schaubs For centuries, trappers and traders relied on dependable gunflints for defense, hunting, and commerce. This article describes the qualities of a superior gunflint and chronicles the evolution of a stone-age craft into an important industry. The Hudson’s Bay Company and the “Youtah” Country, 1825-41 by Dale Topham The vast reach of the Hudson’s Bay Company extended to the Ute Indian territory in the latter years of the Rocky Mountain rendezvous period, as pressure increased from The award-winning, peer-reviewed American trappers crossing the Continental Divide. Journal continues to bring fresh Traps: the Common Denominator perspectives by encouraging by James A. Hanson, PhD. research and debate about the The portable steel trap, an exponential improvement over snares, spears, nets, and earlier steel traps, revolutionized Rocky Mountain fur trade era. trapping in North America. Eminent scholar James A. Hanson tracks the evolution of the technology and its $25 each plus postage deployment by Euro-Americans and Indians. Full Color, perfect bound, 8 x 11 inches ISBN: 978-0-9973143-1-1 Bad Pass Trail: Gateway between the Wind and Yellowstone Rivers To order visit our website at by Mike Bryant www.mmmuseum.com This 30-mile corridor, in use since prehistoric times, connects two important watersheds and provides a or call 307-367-4101 Toll Free 1-877-686-6266 detour around the 1,000-foot-deep Big Horn Canyon. Use of the trail by mountain men is documented from 1805 through the end of the rendezvous era. MUSEUM of the MOUNTAIN MAN Sublette County Historical Society P.O. Box 909 | 700 E. Hennick St. | Pinedale, Wyoming 82941 tel. 307-367-4101 | [email protected] In this Issue: Message from the President ....................................................3 Greetings from the New Editor ..............................................7 Lewis and Clark Roundup .......................................................8 Pure Water: Meriwether Lewis’s Homesickness at Fort Clatsop ...................................................................10 By David Nicandri Ft. Mandan Winter by Michael Haynes, p. 10 The WPO Interview: Dr. Elliott West, Part 1 .........18 Dr. Elliott West, p. 18 Exit, Pursued by a Bear ...................................................24 By Kenneth C. Walcheck Painting by Michael Haynes, p. 24 Letters .................................................................................29 Review: Future Issues: WPO intends to publish themed issues on the forts of the Lewis and Clark Trail; Diffendal,Great Plains Geology ..............................................31 filmic treatments of Lewis & Clark, including reviewed by John Jengo documentaries; the fate of other explorers; Sacagawea; the Nine Young Men from Kentucky. If you are interested in contributing on these Along the Trail: subjects, please let editor Clay Jenkinson know. More Flooding on the Lower Missouri ...... Inside Back Cover Covers - Front: Painting by Michael Haynes. Back: Fort Clatsop enveloped in forest - photo courtesy of Bob Duke. We Proceeded On welcomes submissions of articles, proposals, inquiries, and letters. Writer’s guidelines are available by request and can be found on our website, lewisandclark.org. Submissions should be sent to Clay S. Jenkinson, 1324 Golden Eagle Lane, Bismarck, North Dakota 58503, or by email to [email protected]. 701-202-6751 The Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc. P.O. Box 3434, Great Falls, MT 59403 406-454-1234 / 1-888-701-3434 August 2017 Membership Information Fax: 406-727-3158 Volume 43, Number 3 Membership in the Lewis and Clark Trail www.lewisandclark.org We Proceeded On is the official publication Heritage Foundation, Inc. is open to the public. of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Information and applications are available by OUR MISSION: Foundation, Inc. Its name derives from writing Membership Coordinator, Lewis and As Keepers of the Story~Stewards of Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, P. O. Box the Trail, the Lewis and Clark Trail a phrase that appears repeatedly in the Heritage Foundation, Inc. provides collective journals of the expedition. © 2017 3434, Great Falls, MT 59403 or on our website, national leadership in maintaining the lewisandclark.org. E. G. Chuinard, M.D., integrity of the Trail and its story through stewardship, scholarship, education, Founder, We Proceeded On We Proceeded On, the quarterly journal of the partnership and cultural inclusiveness. ISSN 02275-6706 Foundation, is mailed to current mem bers in February, May, August, and November. Articles Editor appearing in this journal are abstracted and OFFICERS Clay S. Jenkinson indexed in Historical Abstracts and America: President Bismarck, North Dakota History and Life. Philippa Newfield, San Francisco, CA Volunteer Proofreaders Vice-President H. Carl Camp, Jerry Garrett, and Annual Membership Categories: Jim Sayce, Seaview, WA C. O. Patterson Student: $30 Secretary Barbara Kubik, Vancouver, WA Publisher Basic: $49 Washington State University Press Treasurer Basic 3-Year: $133 John Toenyes, Great Falls, MT Pullman, Washington Family: $65 Immediate Past-President Editorial Advisory Board Heritage: $100 Steve Lee, Clarkston, WA Explorer: $150 Wendy Raney, Chair Barbara Kubik DIRECTORS AT LARGE Pullman, WA Vancouver, WA Jefferson: $250 Chuck Crase, Prospect, KY Discovery: $500 Karen Goering, St. Louis, MO Jay H. Buckley Glen Lindeman Lifetime: Ella Mae Howard, Miles City, MT Provo, UT Pullman, WA Steward: $995 Jane Knox, Storrs Mansfield, CT H. Carl Camp J.I. Merritt Captain: $2,500 Mark Nelezen, Oshkosh, WI Pennington, NJ President: $5,000 Louis Ritten, La Grange Park, IL Omaha, NE Clay Smith, Port Townsend, WA Robert C. Carriker Robert Moore, Jr. The Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Kris Townsend, Spokane, WA Foundation, Inc. is a tax-exempt nonprofit Spokane, WA St. Louis, MO Jerry Wilson, Versailles, IN corporation. A portion of your dues may be tax Carolyn Gilman Gary E. Moulton deductible. Donations are fully deductible. STAFF Lincoln, NE Washington, DC Lindy Hatcher, Executive Director Shelly Kath, Library Tech./Admin. James Holmberg Philippa Newfield Lora Helman, Accountant Louisville, KY San Francisco, CA Erin Stypulkoski, Ad Sales Manager The views and opinions expressed in articles ACK SSUES (1974–current) and features published in We Proceeded On B I are those of the authors and contributors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Lewis All back issues of our quarterly historical and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, its journal are available. Some of the older officers and board, or staff. issues are copier reproductions. Orders for We Proceeded On is published four times a year in February, May, August, and November a collection of all back issues receive a 30 by Washington State University Press in percent discount. Order your missing issues Pullman, Washington, for the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, P.O. Box to complete your set. Call 1-888-701-3434, 3434, Great Falls, Montana 59403. Current mail your request to P.O. Box 3434, issue: August 2017, volume 43, No. 3, ISSN Great Falls, MT 59403, or order at 02275-6706 [email protected]. Incorporated in 1969 under Missouri General Not-For-Profit $10 originals or cds Corporation act. IRS Exemption Certificate No. 501(c)3, $4 shipping & handling Identification No. 510187715. 2 We Proceeded On E Volume 43, Number 3 A Message from the President eries. In other words, points on the the owners of businesses and directors geotourism map will alert travelers to of historic sites. Local residents will “everything that makes it fun to follow also contribute their stories, in their in the footsteps of Lewis and Clark,” own voices, and participate in guiding according to Mark Weekley, superin- the long-term vision and strategy for tendent of the LCNHT. the LCNHT. Superintendent Weekley is partner- ing with Solimar International, a firm Stewardship Council Phillip Gordon and President Philippa Newfield devoted to the development and mar- How will all this come together? keting of sustainable tourism, to create First the geotourism project will estab- As has always been the case, the and implement a geotourism program lish the Stewardship Council to help Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foun- for the LCNHT. The goal of the pro- guide the program as it is implemented. dation (LCTHF) is focused on the gram is to secure input from the many The Council will be composed of local now: protecting the Lewis and Clark and diverse partners along the trail. representatives from the many part- National Historic Trail (LCNHT) and This broad representation is essential ners along the trail. These local rep- encouraging people to explore it—and to the success of the program’s Interac-