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Published: September 4th 2007
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Here we visited the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. This is an amazing place. It is a premier stop for anyone interested in the history of our country. Through film, dioramas and interactive displays , you will experience the journey of the Expedition as they explore this new land. It tells the story of how the expedition found the "Great Falls" and how they made wagons from large cottonwood trees to pull the boats out of the water and take them around the falls. This was no easy task as they had to be portaged approximately 18 1/2 miles around 5 sets of falls.
The men cut down the large cottonwood trees, took 8 - 10 inch thick rounds from the trunks and made round wheels with a hole in the center to put a log through to use as an axel. They now had themselves a very heavy wagon on which to transport their all wooden hand carved 80 foot canoes and boats they had made months earlier in Mandan, North Dakota before leaving that area on the expedition. Their journey originally began in St. Louis. You can just imagine how heavy these boats were and they were carrying
Portaging the boats and supplies around the Great Falls
The wagons made from Cottonwood trees were used to pull the boats up the banks of the Missouri River and around the falls - a journey of 18-1/2 miles one way on foot. Notice the wheels that were cut from tree rounds and then a tree limb was placed in the center of the wheel and used as an axel. thousands of pounds of supplies. They had wooden trunks full of gifts to give to the indians they encountered along the way to prove to them that they were peaceful people just out to explore the west. They had wooden barrels of corn, flour, gunpowder, sugar, salt, meat, and hundreds of packages of animal pelts and skins used for keeping things warm and waterproofing their supplies along with their own personal clothing bags and many other items. So, you can see that pulling these large heavy items uphill and out of the water was no easy task. Most of these men were wearing moccasins on their feet and the hills were covered with sharp rocks and pear cactus which left their feet raw and bleeding. They did not complain, but kept on going to reach their goals.
One of the falls here is over 80 feet high and Meriweather Lewis exclaimed it "the grandest sight I ever beheld". Some of the falls measure more than 300 feet across. Today there are several dams built up and down the falls to control the water flow. Their job of exploring the Missouri River to it's origination, finding a pass through the
Uphill was not easy
Notice the 80 foot long canoe carved from tree trunks. The outsides were sanded smooth and any cracks or spots which could potentially leak were filled with pitch. Notice the sections in the canoe for storing supplies. Also notice the moccasins on their feet and the cactus on the banks. You have to respect these people. Nothing could be allowed to get in the way of reaching their goal - the Pacific Ocean. Rocky Mountains and then following the Columbia River to the Pacific ocean was very tedius but also a very rewarding one. The men of the expedition named this area "The Great Falls of the Missouri", thus the name of the city, Great Falls, Montana.
Sacajawea was a beautiful 16 year old Shoshoni indian girl married to one of the interpreters in the group. She was 8-1/2 months pregnant when they left on this journey and gave birth to a son enroute. She proved very valuable to the expedition as she spoke most of the indian languages along the way. Her presence in the group proved to the indians they encountered that this was a peaceful group of people just exploring the west and were not a threat to the indians or their hunting grounds. She communicated with the indians for the corps and she proved to be an excellent mother to her child carrying the baby in a cradleboard on her back. She not only cared for her child but she took care of collecting valuable roots, artichokes, licorice, wild onions, and berries for the expedition members to eat when they made camp at night. She was well respected
The Moccasins
You can see that the thin leather soles of these moccasins gave little or no support. They lived in these shoes for over two years. It was something that could be made easily from animal skins so when they wore out, they were easily replaced. and liked in the group. Without her, the expedition would have had many violent encounters with the indians along the way. A wonderful book to read is "The truth about Sacajawea" by Kenneth Thomasma. Sacajawea (pronounced Sak ah ja wee ah) is spelled two different ways in history books. The other spelling Sacagawea (pronounced Sah cog ah wea ah) is also found in the journals of Lewis and Clark and it is the pronunciation used at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center. It is said that Sacajawea died after her second child was born. She was just 25 years old. William Clark later adopted both of the children of Sacajawea and her husband, Mr. Toussaint Charbonneau, a french canadian guide on the trip. There were rules established in the beginning of the journey that Sacajawea would never be left alone with only one man in the group. There were always two men present other than her husband who had been abusive to her in the past and at least once on the trip. Lewis and/or Clark and one other man stayed with her always to protect her from harm. They desperately needed her on the journey to communicate with the
Round Buffalo Skin Boats
Round Boats were made from tree branches that were stripped of their bark, tied together with strips of leather and then covered with Buffalo hides. They were waterproof and easy for one person to control. Sacajawea road this boat much of the time. To clean the buffalo hides, they would rub the inside of the hides with the guts and insides of the animal to clean them and make them smooth. This is not a job I would like to do! indians. She proved invaluable to the men on this journey.
We both flew here many times during our flying days with Western Airlines. The city has changed a lot in the last 35-40 years but it is a beautiful place on this earth. Many of the places we frequented back then are still thriving businesses here. This is an amazing little town. The hotel where we stayed has changed hands but the "J- Bar- T" is still here and it has a casino now. Jakers restaurant is still a thriving restaurant as well serving excellent cuisine.
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