Columbus and Other Heroes of American Discovery

by N. D'Anvers

Returning in haste to his camp after this miraculous escape, Clarke found that his companions had suffered terribly in the storm. Many of the men were bleeding from wounds received from the hail; and after the rain and wind had ceased, the heat had been so excessive that even strong soldiers had succumbed to it. Some men sent back next day to look for Clarke’s gun, compass and umbrella, which he had left behind in his hasty retreat, found only the compass, covered with mud and sand, at the mouth of the ravine, and reported that huge rocks now choked up what had been an empty defile when the leader’s party had taken refuge in it.

Beyond the Great Falls the navigation of the Missouri was extremely arduous. The channel was often narrow, and much obstructed by shallows, inlets, and impediments of every description. Here and there, some village perched on a bluff overlooking the stream broke the almost solemn loneliness of the scene; but the quaint booths composing these villages were chiefly deserted, their owners, the Snakes or Shoshones, spending the greater part of their time in hunting. Onward, however, pressed the eight canoes, and about the middle of July the first spurs of the Rocky Mountains were reached, hemming in the river ever more and more, sometimes even almost shutting it in from light and air, so closely did the perpendicular cliffs on either side approach each other.

On the 19th July, the grand range of rocks from which the Missouri issues, forming one of the most magnificent mountain passes of the world, was reached, and the first part of the journey may be said to have been performed. Naming the pass the “Gates” of the Rocky Mountains, our heroes made their way through it in their canoes, each stroke of the paddle revealing fresh beauties and ever-increasing solemnity. “The convulsion of the passage,” says Rees, alluding to the first breaking forth of the Missouri from its mountain cradle, “must have been terrible, since at its outlet there are vast columns of rock torn from the mountain, which are strewed on both sides of the river—the trophies, as it were, of the victory.”

The Gates of the Rocky Mountains form a gorge of between five and six miles long, and beyond it the scenery is of very great beauty. Anxious now to reach the sources of the Missouri and the headwaters of the Columbia, Lewis and Clarke paused but to note the chief features of the neighborhood, and shortly reached a spot where the great river they had followed so far divides into three forks. To these they gave the names of Jefferson, Madison and Gallatin, after three great politicians of the young republic, and, after some hesitation between them, selected the first, flowing in a south-westerly direction, as the most likely to be the true Missouri. The event proved that they were right. The Jefferson led them through the very central recesses of the Rocky Mountains, and on the 12th August, 1805, a small gap between the lofty mountainous ridges was reached, from which issued the springhead of the mighty Missouri.

The exact position of the source of the river, the course of which they had followed for no less than 3,000 miles, was carefully noted by the explorers, and found to be N. lat. 45°, W. long. 112°; and, after congratulating each other on the great success achieved, the journey was resumed with fresh ardor and enthusiasm.

It was now of the utmost importance to obtain guides, as the expedition was totally at a loss as to the direction to be taken to reach the Columbia. Traces had again and again been seen of the encampments of Snake Indians, and a fairly good native road traversed the mountains; but the red men had evidently heard rumors of the approach of the pale skins, those scourges from the South and East who had already driven so many tribes westward.

In the absence of guides, it was decided to follow the Indian road to the summit of the mountains; and the same day which witnessed the discovery of the source of the Missouri, was also the date of the first visit of white men to the summit of the ridge forming the watershed between the Pacific and the central table-lands of North America. Pausing but a few minutes to gaze upon the wonderful panorama stretching away to the South Sea, for which so many previous explorers had sought in vain, the Americans began the descent of the Rocky Mountains, and at a distance of about three-quarters of a mile from their summit, they came to a small “creek of clear water running to the westward.” Subsequent observations proved this to be the Columbia; but, unable without assistance to be sure of its identity with the second river to be explored, the leaders of the party still followed the Indian road, and on the 13th July were rewarded for their patience by coming upon a small party of Indians, who fled at their approach.

Eagerly giving chase, Captain Lewis and several of his men succeeded—though the men escaped—in surprising a woman and a little girl, who, recognizing the hopelessness of getting away, sat down on the ground and bent their heads, ready for the death-blow which they thought they must expect from the strangers. Greatly touched by this pathetic action, Lewis laid down his weapons, and, taking the woman by the hand, made signs to her that she was to be unharmed. She appeared to understand him, and, giving her a few trifling presents, the leader persuaded her to go and fetch another woman who had been with her when he first came in sight of the party. In a few minutes the two returned, and, after painting the cheeks of his three captives with vermilion, a sign among the Snake Indians of peace, Lewis induced them to lead him to their camp, that he might confer with their chiefs.

After a march of two miles, with the Indians leading the way, a troop of some sixty warriors, mounted on good horses, was sighted. The mediators hastened to meet the chief, explaining who the white men were, and a scene of some absurdity ensued, the Indians embracing the Americans, and covering them with grease and paint. This wild welcome was succeeded by the smoking of a pipe of peace in common, Captain Lewis first taking a whiff and then passing it round to his hosts. The friendship between the Snakes and Americans thus ratified, the chiefs conducted their white brothers to their camp, where a grand consultation was held as to the best means of reaching the Columbia, and tracing its course to the Pacific.

The information given was not very satisfactory. The river, said the Indians, flowed through a country where timber for building canoes and food for filling the stomach were alike scarce. No one cared to undertake the task of guiding the explorers on their perilous journey, and although, after a good deal of persuasion and bribery, ten men were induced to promise their assistance, it was in such a grudging fashion as to promise but little success.