The Lewis & Clark Expedition

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It seems that quite by accident we have been following the Lewis & Clark expedition trail across the United States. Since we are both history buffs, we have found this quite interesting. Now we are hooked. To learn and see what these men (along with one indian woman name Sacajawea) experienced is unbelievable. Even if you are not a history buff, you will truly enjoy this area of the country. Read more about their adventure by going online.

In 1801 Thomas Jefferson became the third president of a very young United States of America. The new president employed 27 year old Meriwether Lewis as his private secretary. In 1802 the president asked young Meriwether to head an expedition from the St. Louis area westward. Jefferson wanted Lewis to explore the Missouri River from it's origin to it's destination, find a passage over the Rocky Mountains and float the Columbia River Gorge to the Pacific Ocean. He contacted his previous commander from the Army, William Clark and asked him to join him on the journey. Clark was honored. They put together a team of 48 men and called this group " The Corps of Discovery".

Lewis and Clark's famous expedition across the American West took them near Glacier National Park in 1806, before Glacier was a National Park. Captain Meriwether Lewis took three men with him to find the headwaters of the Marias River on the east side of the Rockies. The clouds blocked their view of the Marias Pass, which, had they found it, probably would have simplified their journey over the mountains.

President Thomas Jefferson desperately wanted to build a railroad through the west to connect the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Hints about a perfect mountain pass to run a railroad over the Rockies kept explorers searching around Glacier for many years. Although many of the region's American Indians knew the location of Marias Pass, it wasn't well known by American explorers because the Blackfeet Indians guarded it closely. Railroad scouts asked American Indian guides for clues and were generally led over safer, but steeper mountain routes. We drove over Marias pass leaving Glacier National Park, and were surprised to find it very flat and very little climbing uphill in order to reach the summit and down the other side. This was the perfect location for a railroad indeed. In fact, there are tracks there now and trains still travel this route daily.

The American Indians knew the regions's passes and trails and used them to journey from one hunting ground to another. The Indians did not want to show the explorers where the pass was located in order to protect their precious buffalo hunting grounds.

In 1889, an explorer for the Great Norther Railway named John F. Stevens finally figured out where the vital Marias Pass lay. Marias was important because it is the lowest mountain pass between Canada and Mexico, so its low altitude and easy grade made it perfect for trains to cross the Continental Divide.

The railroad line crossed the mountains in 1891, spawning a number of work camps. Two of these eventually became the towns of Belton (West Glacier) and Midvale (East Glacier).

About this time, word began to spread about the plight of the Blackfeet. With the last bison in the area killed in 1882, there was rampant starvation on the Blackfeet Reservation during the winters of 1883 and 1884. James Willard Schultz, an American who had long traveled with them and had become a full member of one band, decided to help his friends the Indians. He wrote to George Bird Grinnell, the influential editor of Forest and Stream magazine. Through his magazine and his powerful government friends, Grinnell helped increase government aid to the Blackfeet.

Grinnel was introduced to the area by Schultz and he declared it, "The Crown of the Continent". Visiting many times between 1880 and 1900, he initiated the movement to declare the area a national park. Grinnell is celebrated today as the "Father of Glacier National Park".

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Photos

Glacier National Park
It is impossible to capture this beautiful place on film.