Independence Creek

THE OVERLOOK

By Tom Clavin

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          This week, the United States celebrated its 247^th Independence Day. Few of those holidays have been more significant than the one in 1804 because it was the first one celebrated by Americans west of the Mississippi River. This occurred thanks to the Corps of Discovery expedition led by Lewis and Clark.

          The year before, President Thomas Jefferson had asked Congress to fund an expedition through the Louisiana Territory to the Pacific Ocean. He did not attempt to make a secret of the Lewis and Clark expedition from Spanish, French, and British officials, but rather claimed different reasons for the venture. He used a secret message to ask for funding due to poor relations with the opposition Federalist Party in Congress. Lawmakers subsequently appropriated $2,324 for supplies and food.

Jefferson then commissioned the Corps of Discovery and named Army Captain Meriwether Lewis its leader, who then invited his former commander, William Clark, to co-lead the expedition with him. Lewis had demonstrated remarkable skills and potential as a frontiersman and had also served as the president’s personal secretary. Jefferson wrote about Lewis, “It was impossible to find a character who had such a complete knowledge of science in botany, natural history, mineralogy & astronomy, joined the firmness of constitution & character, prudence, habits adapted to the woods & a familiarity with the Indian manners and character, requisite for this undertaking.”

But more knowledge sure wouldn’t hurt. President Jefferson sent Lewis to Philadelphia to study medicinal cures under Benjamin Rush, a physician and humanitarian. He also arranged for Lewis to be further educated by Andrew Ellicott, an astronomer who instructed him in the use of the sextant and other navigational instruments. From Benjamin Smith Barton, Lewis learned how to describe and preserve plant and animal specimens; from Robert Patterson, refinements in computing latitude and longitude; and Caspar Wistar covered fossils and the search for possible living remnants. At Jefferson’s home at Monticello there was an enormous library (later to be the foundation of the Library of Congress), including books on the geography of the North American continent, and Lewis had full access to it.

The keelboat used for the first year of the journey was built near Pittsburgh in the summer of 1803 to Lewis's specifications. The boat was completed on August 31 and was immediately loaded with equipment and provisions. While in Pittsburgh, Lewis bought a Newfoundland dog named Seaman to accompany them. Newfoundlands are working dogs and good swimmers; commonly found on fishing boats, and they can assist in water rescues. Seaman proved a valuable member of the party, helping with hunting and protection from bears and other wildlife. He was the only animal to complete the entire trip to the Pacific Ocean and back.

Lewis and his crew set sail that same afternoon as the keelboat was completed, traveling down the Ohio River to meet up with Clark near Louisville, Kentucky, in October. Once the winter had fully waned, their priorities were to explore the vast territory acquired by the Louisiana Purchase and to establish trade and U.S. sovereignty over the Native Americans along the Missouri River. Jefferson also wanted to establish a U.S. claim of "discovery" to the Pacific Northwest and Oregon territory by documenting an American presence there before European nations could claim the land. Jefferson believed that he would have a better claim of ownership to the Pacific Northwest if the team gathered scientific data on animals and plants. And there was a big-dream objective: Find an all-water route to the Pacific coast.

The U.S. mint prepared special silver medals with a portrait of Jefferson and inscribed with a message of friendship and peace. The soldiers were to distribute them to the tribes that they met. The expedition also prepared advanced weapons to display their military firepower. Among these was an Austrian-made .46-caliber repeating rifle with a 20-round tubular magazine that was powerful enough to kill a deer. The expedition was stocked with flintlock firearms, knives, blacksmithing supplies, and cartography equipment. They also carried flags, gift bundles, medicine, and other items that they would need for their journey.

The planned route of Lewis and Clark's expedition took them up the Missouri River to its headwaters, then on to the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River. This may have been influenced by the purported transcontinental journey of the Yazoo tribesman Moncacht-Ape about a century before. Jefferson had a copy of Antoine-Simon Le Page's book in his library detailing Moncacht-Apé's itinerary, and Lewis carried a copy with him during the expedition. Alas, Le Page's description neglects to mention the need to cross the Rocky Mountains, and it might be the source of Lewis and Clark's mistaken belief that they could easily carry boats from the Missouri's headwaters to the westward-flowing Columbia.

The Corps of Discovery departed from Camp Wood at 4 pm on May 14, 1804. Under Clark's command, they traveled up the Missouri River in their keelboat and two pirogues to St. Charles, Missouri, where Lewis joined them six days later. The expedition set out the next afternoon. While accounts vary, it is believed the Corps had as many as 45 members, including the officers, enlisted military personnel, civilian volunteers, and Clark's African-American slave, York. From St. Charles, the expedition followed the Missouri through what is now Kansas City and Omaha.

On July 4, the men had stopped near the mouth of a creek flowing out of the western prairie, in Kansas. Lewis and Clark named it Independence Creek. The captains had the expedition’s cannon fired and doled out an extra ration of whiskey. No fireworks, but still a festive July 4 celebration.

Today, Independence Creek is an historic site five miles north of Atchison. A pedestrian bridge over it serves as a link on a five-mile hiking and biking trail which features a Kanza Indian earth-lodge dwelling. By the way, while we’re on the subject of pioneers – it was in Atchison that Amelia Earhart grew up.

Tom Clavin is the bestselling author/co-author of 18 books, including the recent New York Times bestseller Follow Me to Hell To purchase a copy, please go to your local bookstore or to Bookshop.org, Amazon.com, BN.com, or tomclavin.com.