I knew that Julie and Mike were in Colorado so I sent them a note to see what direction they were headed in. Lucky us, they were headed west, and were going to pass by close to where we were! We met up with them in Bozeman and spent a fun evening together before we took off in different directions the following morning. We’ll be seeing them again in Terlingua, TX in late October for the International Chili Cook-off- l’m looking forward to having a blast!
While in Bozeman we went to the Museum of the Rockies. They have revolving exhibits in addition to one of the world’s largest collection of dinosaur fossils. They do a lot of research at this location as well. Jack Horner, the resident paleontologist, was an advisor on all three Jurassic Park movies.
The current temporary exhibit features Napoleon Bonaparte. This exhibit left a lot of questions in my mind and I didn’t feel it was as complete as it could have been. I think maybe it assumed a level of knowledge that I certainly didn’t have. I had no idea what Napoleon had to do with Montana, and I didn’t get the answer until I got to The Lewis and Clark Museum. Napoleon was emperor when when we purchased the Louisiana Territory from France. The Louisiana Territory also included all or part of the following states: Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, Wyoming, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, Colorado, Minnesota, New Mexico and Texas. It was enormous, and obviously a crucial transaction for us as a country.
After leaving Bozeman, we headed to Great Falls, which was along the path that Lewis and Clark took and it has a great Lewis and Clark interpretive center.
In 1803, President Jefferson assigned them the task of following the Missouri River all the way to the end, looking for an easy northwest passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific. They were to document everything they saw and did. Both ends of the river had been explored before, but not the thousand miles in the middle. Leaving from the St. Louis area, they formed the Corp of Discovery, choosing more than 30 soldiers from all over the country who had skills that they thought would be needed along the way.
Bear in mind that they are traveling UPstream, using poles and oars to push the boats along.They made it as far as Mandan, near present-day Washburn, SD, before having to stop for the winter. While there, they gathered information from the local Indians about what challenges they would face in the spring. They were told about the fork in the river and that they would know which fork to take by the Great Falls just a little further along the correct fork. They also found out that they would eventually need to get horses from the fearsome Shoshone because the river would become too shallow to navigate. And that's when they decided to hire Toussaint Charbonneau and his wife Sacagawea, a Shoshone who had been captured by the Hidatsa tribe.They needed an interpreter to insure that the Shoshone would trade with them. Interesting fact- Sacagawea’s name means bird woman and is correctly pronounced “Sah-KAH-ga-we-a”.
Before leaving in the spring, they dug huge holes in the ground and hid some of their supplies so that they could pick them up on the way back.
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| Great Falls of the Missouri River |
Once they arrived at Great Falls, they received the first of three major disappointments along their journey.
The Indians had mentioned Great Falls, but they didn't mention the other 4 sets of falls, all in an 18 mile stretch of river. Instead of a half day's portage around the falls, it took them almost a month, and 4 trips to lug their equipment and boats 18 miles up the steep terrain.
After surviving that grueling time they forged ahead for another two months before they climbed the final ridge of the continental divide. They were filled with excitement in anticipation of seeing the Pacific Ocean when they reached the mountain peak. Unfortunately, all they saw were more mountains. As far as they eye could see there were mountains, dashing their hopes of an easy passage to the Pacific.
Soon thereafter they came upon the Shoshone, as they expected. Here’s where Sacagawea played a dual role. Her very presence informed the Indians that the group she is traveling with is peaceful because women would never have been allowed to travel with a war party. And, now’s when they needed her as an interpreter. As an added bonus, once they entered the Shoshone camp, they discovered that the Chief was Sacagawea’s brother.
This was a great exhibit, which used actual audio to demonstrate how difficult it was to communicate. Five people were involved in the negotiations and conversations with the Shoshone (Sacagawea did not speak English).
Supplied with horses and fresh supplies, the explorers once more headed towards the Pacific Ocean. Finally, after 18 months and 4100 miles, they arrived oceanside, set up camp for the winter, then turned around and headed back the way they came. After passing over the continental divide on the way home, they split into two groups so that more territory could be explored.
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