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FAQ and Fun Facts
How long was the expedition in North Dakota?
The expedition spent 214 days in North Dakota on two separate visits. The group spent 146 days on their outbound trip in October of 1804, when it set up a winter camp near Washburn. The second visit was on its return from the Pacific. The expedition stopped again in August of 1806, which was when Sakakawea was returned to her home. One quarter of the expedition was spent in what is now called North Dakota.
Were Lewis and Clark the first white men in North Dakota?
Fur traders and trappers from Canada and other areas had been coming to the area for around 60 years prior to Lewis and Clark’s arrival. The Mandan Village was a large trading Mecca and in 1803 more people lived in the villages than in St. Louis.
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What did they eat?
Expedition members carried some food supplies with them like pork, flour, dried soup, lard and liquor. While in North Dakota, the Corps found bountiful game like buffalo, elk, deer and antelope. It also obtained food like corn, squash and beans from the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians. While in North Dakota, the men were documented as sometimes eating up to nine pounds of meat per day!
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Why is the winter camp, located in Washburn, named Fort Mandan?
The camp is located in present day Washburn, North Dakota, but the fort is named after the Mandan Indians who were known for being peaceful and hospitable.
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| North Dakota Tourism/Ren Davis |
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Where did the Mandan and Hidatsa peoples live?
The Mandan and Hidatsa’s village site remains are still easily visible at the Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site, near Stanton. Stanton is about 30 miles west of Washburn.
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What sort of animals were in North Dakota in 1805?
Lewis and Clark found hundreds of thousands of buffalo, elk, deer (including mule deer), antelope, prairie dogs and beaver in North Dakota. Near Bismarck, men of the expedition wounded their first grizzly bear, but it escaped before they could find it.
Were there any injuries during the expedition?
Captain Meriwether Lewis was accidentally shot near present-day Williston on August 11, 1806. He was shot by one of the crew members (Pierre Cruzatte) during a hunting expedition. Lewis was dressed in buckskins at the time and Cruzatte was known to be very nearsighted. Lewis was shot in the buttock, and no arteries or bone were severed. Clark wrote that Lewis was fully healed by September.
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Lewis and Clark Tidbits
Louisiana Purchase:
When purchased from French Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte in 1803, it more than doubled the size of the United States.
The US originally sought to purchase only the port city of New Orleans from France.
Purchased for $15 million, it proved to be one of the greatest land deals in history.
Purpose of the expedition:
A primary goal was to establish American claims to trans-Mississippi West.
An important goal was the scientific study of flora and fauna, cultures and geography.
Finding a water route through North America to the Pacific Ocean was a primary concern.
Compensation for the Corps of Discovery:
- Lewis and Clark received 1,600 acres of land each, with $40 and $30 a month respectively.
- Lewis was named Governor of Louisiana and Clark the Superintendent of Indian Affairs for the same territory.
- Enlisted men received 320 acres each, with monthly payment of $8 for sergeants, $7 for corporals, and $5 for privates.
- Despite his impressive contributions, York, Clark’s slave, is not given any compensation, or his freedom.
- Toussaint Charbonneau, Sakakawea’s husband, was a French Canadian trader and hired for his interpretation skills. Although he was not held in particularly high regard by neither Lewis nor Clark, he was handsomely rewarded. Despite her contributions to the expedition, Sakakawea, as a woman, did not receive any separate compensation.
Miles traveled per day:
- On the trip north to the Mandan villages, the expedition averaged seven to 10 miles per day.
- On the trip back from the Mandan villages, the expedition made approximately 30 miles a day.
- Greatest distance traveled in a day was more than 50 miles, going downstream.
Navigation skills:
- Lewis trained under Andrew Ellicott, one of the top navigational experts in the US.
- The expedition made extensive use of the sextant, quadrant and other navigational devices to determine its position.
- Compasses were used to find and determine the magnetic north and differentiate between true north.
Keelboat:
- Meriwether Lewis had a specially made 55-foot keelboat constructed for the voyage up the Missouri River.
- 55 feet in length with a reinforced hull, it was intended to survive water hazards - such as tree limbs and sandbars.
- Shares similarities with boats of Spanish design in the late 18th century.
Pirogue:
- Lewis often used the terms “canoe” and “pirogue” interchangeably.
- The first pirogues Lewis purchased for the expedition leaked badly and caused the loss of supplies.
- Because they could unexpectedly tip, pirogues were sometimes bound together to increase stability.
Bull Boat:
- A circular bison-skin covered boat used by the Mandan and Hidatsa on the Missouri River and its tributaries.
- Proved a remarkably stable boat in rough water and high winds, as William Clark discovered on the Yellowstone River.
- The bison-skin covered willow frame boats were strong enough to hold two or three people.
Fort Mandan:
- Lewis and Clark’s 1804-1805 winter headquarters was located across from the Knife and Missouri river confluence.
- The fort had two rows of huts placed at an angle, with a palisade facing the river, sentry posts and small swivel cannon.
- The walls were 18 feet high and meant to, if need be, hold off an attack.
- A reproduction of the fort lies just west of Washburn.
Trade Items:
- Tribes on the upper Missouri particularly valued blue-colored beads.
- Trade items included tobacco, thimbles, scissors, arm bands, silk, vermillion and knives.
- Emphasis on the trade and gift items was more on the visually attractive than the utilitarian.
- Beads remained a standard trade item until the 1850s, when the fur trade declined.
Food:
- Most often expedition members consumed elk and bison as a matter of preference, although they supplemented their diet with other animals as well.
- As a result of extreme physical exertion, each person ate upwards of 6-7 pounds of meat a day, the equivalent of 24-28 hamburgers.
- The Corps’ diet was supplemented with vegetables, berries, and pemmican.
Medical treatments:
- ”Thunderclappers,” powerful laxatives invented by Philadelphia physician Benjamin Rush, was used with “regularity.”
- Bleeding of those ill was a common, if misguided, method of cure.
- Mercury was used for a number of ailments, though its toxic effects were not fully known at the time.
Common medical problems:
- The most common medical problems were frostbite and syphilis.
- Common ailments on the trip were malaria, dysentery and rheumatism.
- ”Sore eyes” was also a common complaint, thought to be caused by blowing sand and/or the reflection of sunlight off of the water.
Moccasins:
- Due to the limitations of their own footwear, moccasins were worn by all in the expedition after time spent at Mandan and Hidatsa villages.
- The moccasins had to be replaced every few days as a result of long walks on rough terrain.
- Moccasins, of course, had no arch support, but did not need it because of the soft soles’ ability to conform to the land.
Toe ball:
- Mandan and Hidatsa children played toe ball, a version of modern hacky-sack.
- The bird motif was of an old Hidatsa design.
- The Deerskin ball is stuffed with buffalo hair and decorated with porcupine quills.
New species:
- The expedition discovered and catalogued 178 new plants and 122 new species and subspecies of animals.
- Among the animals catalogued were big horn sheep, mule deer, grizzly bear, prairie dogs and pronghorn antelope.
- Botanists named some of the new plants discovered in honor of Lewis and Clark, such as Lewisia rediviva (bitterroot) and Clarkia pulchella (ragged robin).
Grizzly bears:
- Prairie grizzlies were referred to as “white” or “yellow” bears.
- Undoubtedly, the grizzly left the greatest impression of all of the animals seen and catalogued.
- Members of the expedition killed a grizzly bear south of Bismarck.
Cottonwoods:
- Cottonwoods made a great impression on the expedition for their size, ease of use, and strength.
- Cottonwoods were used in the construction of boats such as pirogues and dugouts.
- Fort Mandan, winter home of the Corps of Discovery, like Mandan earth lodges, boasted cottonwood construction.
Fossils:
- One of the assigned duties of the Corps of Discovery was to record and obtain fossil remains.
- A 60 million-year-old petrified wood sample found near Fort Mandan was sent back to Thomas Jefferson.
- Native peoples collected fossils for hundreds of years, using them as ornaments and items of spiritual significance.
Notable failures:
- No water route to the Pacific Ocean was ever found, dashing hopes for opening Far Eastern trade via a shorter route.
- Licensing of fur traders proved unsuccessful and led to significant problems with Native peoples upstream.
- Indian policy also proved less than successful in the long run, as westward expansion provoked ongoing conflict until 1890.
- Conflict with the Blackfeet Nation on the return trip resulted in nearly 70 years of hostilities with the United States.
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