Tag Archives: Indians

More on Lewis and Clark

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What an incredible journey they had! I will continue on from the last blog I wrote on this. 

So many times they nearly lost their lives—by Indians, grizzly bears, falling off cliffs (this happened to Lewis twice), illness, etc.

Most of the time they had plenty to eat, because of the expert hunters they had with them, who shot deer and buffalo. But some of the time, when they were in the mountains, they had little. They ate dogs and their horses. Lewis got to like dog meat, but Clark did not. They also, being always on the river, caught fish.

Both Lewis and Clark were good at healing people with natural means. When the squaw Sacagawea was sick, Lewis used barks, laudanum and sulfur water from a spring, and within a day her fever vanished. Other times they used choke cherry juice to heal. When they were among the Nez Perce and Shoshone Indians, they became so popular—many sick Indians lined up to be treated. The explorers didn’t really think too much of their power, but later when so many Indians praised them they knew they were doing some good. But truthfully, I think it was more of a mental thing—the Indians believed they had healing power, so their belief is what made the difference.  Clark loved to do tricks for the Indians (with gun powder). I think he loved the praise. Many of the Indians called him “Red Head Chief” because he had red hair and they looked up to him.

It is so sad that 80 years later American troops were given the orders to wipe out these same Indians to make room for western white settlers. Yes, the Nez Perce Indians disappeared off the face of the earth.

When Lewis and Clark and their group arrived at the Pacific they built five small log cabins to live in and store their supplies. It only took them a couple of months to do it! They stayed there on the west coast during the winter and then left to return home in the spring. The return trip was easier because they had mapped it out. But for a good bit of the journey they split up so they could explore new ground. Oh, they were adventurous!

When they got back, everyone was amazed to see them. They had given them up for dead. But all were safe except one who had died early in the journey from sickness. Well, they piled gifts of land and money on Lewis and Clark and all the explorers. And they made Lewis the governor of Louisiana. But he hated the job—and wasn’t much good at it. He wished he was back exploring more land. It wasn’t long before Lewis died. Some thought it was suicide, but many thought he was murdered. So tragic.

Clark also became a governor, and he was a good one. He lived a long and prosperous life, having married twice and had seven children. Clark ended up freeing his slave York (who went with him on the journey). But York didn’t like his freedom and wished he was back with Clark. Sad that that was how it was with many freed slaves who were born into slavery. They just didn’t know how to adjust to it.

Sacajawea, unlike other stories that she died along the expedition, this book tells us that she lived longer than anyone else. She had a baby named “Pomp” and she gave him to Clark to be educated. That baby in fact became educated at a good school. His real name was Jean Baptiste Charbonneau. His father, Toussaint Charbonneau, was a French-Canadian fur trapper who joined the Lewis and Clark Expedition as an interpreter with Sacagawea his squaw wife. Well, Pompy was educated at St. Louis Academy, then went to Europe and learned German, Spanish and French, then he became a trapper like his father. It has been written that he grew into a rugged, adventurous man, leaving his mark in the taming of the west.

Update: Lewis and Clark Reading

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I have been reading this wonderful book on Lewis and Clark by John Bakeless. The first few chapters were a little boring—with a lot of background stuff. But once I got into the reading of the expedition it was quite good. I am thrilled with all their adventures. Every day they are faced with a new challenge. But they were prepared for most of it. They kind of knew what they would face with the Indians, the Missouri river, and the wild animals. So, they brought along many things to trade with the Indians; and they recruited a few expert hunters. They were always well fed with fresh meat—buffalo and deer, and other small animals.

I was so impressed with Lewis, with his knowledge of the wild—how he knew of all the natural berries and herbs to use for eating and health. Several times he used wild herbs and berries (choke cherries) to restore health to those who got sick.

I am about half-way through the book now. I just finished reading about how they encountered grizzly bears when they were in the area of present Montana. They were especially ferocious, and big—some up to 1,000 pounds. They commented that since the grizzlies had never experienced the loud and deadly rifle shots, they did not fear them. And their hides were so tuff that it took 5 or 6 shots to kill them.

I was amazed in my reading of the bravery of the men, how they continued on even after being chased by huge wounded bears for miles. And it was amazing, miraculous that no one was killed by the bears. In fact, in the entire expedition there was only one death; they were well prepared and very good survivors.

When I say “they,” there were more of them than I originally thought. It wasn’t just the two men. There were about 30 or 40 of them—most were soldiers in the army. And there were also a couple Indian squaws, including the famous Sacagawea who was the best interpreter, and also very helpful with many things.

Well, that’s all I will write today. I’m gonna do some more reading of this book and drink more coffee at my favorite hangout. Good day to you!

The Merciless Indian Wars: How America Got Started

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A Depiction of the Trail of Tears. About 4000 Indians died while being forced to move from their homes.

I’ve been reading the book, Killing Crazy Horse: The Merciless Indian Wars in America. It’s been quite informative for me. Those Indian wars were not at all like it has been portrayed on TV. It was so gruesome, so bloody!

I learned that for the most part, the beginning of the conflict with the Indians had most to do with our (the white man’s) desire to expand and own land. And we were unwilling to share with or negotiate peacefully with the Indians; so, we took steps to run them off. I was surprised that most of our Presidents not only did not like the Indians, but were all in favor of either moving them out of the way or exterminating them. And the whites in those days regarded the Indians the same way as they regarded the blacks: as less than human. In fact, many of the Indians that were captured were used as slaves just like the blacks.

As the book tells the story, the Indian wars began in the south, in Florida and Georgia. That was the territory of the Creek Nation—the name of the Indians there. Well anyway, as more and more of the white man moved in to that area conflicts arose. The white man did not always respect the Indians, and the Indians in turn were raiding the white man, and also other Indian tribes—mainly just to stay alive. Soon, as the conflicts increased, our Presidents at that time—Madison, Monroe, and Jackson took it upon themselves to order the U. S. military to either move the Indians or destroy them. One of terrible tragedies for the Indians occurred when thousands of Cherokee Indians were forcibly moved from their homeland in the southeast; they forced them to walk over a thousand miles across mountains and in cold weather to west of the Mississippi. Over 4,000 died along the way of starvation, and frostbite. It was called the “Trail of Tears.” The Army was supposed to treat them well, but their orders were disregarded. Many of the Indians were peaceful and compliant even as they suffered; but some of the tribes, later, like the Apache and the Comanche had strong chiefs and did not lay down so easily.

It was apparent to me that the Indian wars were not at all just. In fact, there didn’t seem to be any rules of war. Most of the fighting was not only to the death, but the fighting on both sides was angry and cruel. They fought not only to kill but to torture and humiliate and massacre.  And it seemed like both sides enjoyed killing the weaker and innocent—the women and small children. On one occasion, when a group of 700 Army troops came into an Indian camp expecting to find Crazy Horse and his men, they were surprised to find that they were all gone, except 100 women and children. Well, they left no one alive. Scalps were taken, heads were severed, and they were all horribly mutilated. I guess I was wrong to think that only the Indians took scalps.

Well, don’t you know that Crazy Horse had his revenge. At one massacre of 81 U. S. soldiers, all of them were left naked in the bitter cold, “eyes torn out, noses cut off…teeth chopped out…brains taken out… hands and feet cut off…private parts severed,” etc. It is easy to see that there was something evil going on in these wars. There was more than just hatred. I think there must have been Satanic and demonic spirits controlling them. Who could do such things? I had no idea that this went on. And the savagery was not just by the Indians. It was by both sides. And it was not just men against men; it was on all, women as well as children, even infants.

We have been so shocked to hear about the terrible things ISIS has done. Well, now I know that that kind of brutality has been going on for centuries. And I am so ashamed now to learn how this nation got its start, with so many of our Presidents and leaders approving and directing the Indian killings.