The Lewis and Clark Expedition
"the water…contains a half…Glass of ooze" (First plaque from left)<br><br>"The water we drink or the Common water of the missourie at this time, contains a half a Comm Wine Glass of ooze or mud to every pint-"<br>William Clark<br>June 21, 1804<br><br>The Missouri River of Lewis and Clark's era was wild and unpredictable. It earned the nickname "Big Muddy" due to the abundance of sand, sediment, silt, and clay. In a constant state of change, the river cut side channels, chutes, eddies, boils, sandbars, backwaters, and oxbows - strong currents in some places, slow in others. The flowing water cut into riverbanks, undercutting shorelines and felling trees into the constantly moving water.<br><br><span>Over time, the river meandered back and forth across the flood plain, touching the base of each bluff in tight serpantine [sic] curves. Sometimes these tight "u" shapped [sic] curves would "pinch-off," leaving an oxbow lake stranded from the river. Today the river is a bit different from the times of Lewis and Clark. Channels are maintained for navigation and flood control. Dams further up the river provide power generation, irrigation, recreation, and flood control.<br></span><br>Homeland of the Kanza Indians (Second Plaque from left)<br><br>As early as the 1600s, the Kanza (or Kaw) Indians migrated from their home east of the Mississippi River and up the Missouri River into what is now northeastern Kansas. In the 1700s, the Kanza occupied two villages on the west bank of the Missouri: one on Independence Creek in present-day Doniphan County and the other near present-day Fort Leavenworth.<br><br>In the early 1800s, the Kanza lived in the Kansas River valley. Two treaties, one in 1825 and another in 1846, forced them to give up their northeastern Kansas lands. The 1,600 Kanza were relocated to a reservation near Council Grove.<br><br>In 1873, the Kanza, for whom the state is named, were removed from Kansas to Indian Territory (now Oklahoma).<br><br>By 2003, the Kanza numbered 2,647. Headquartered in Kaw City, Oklahoma, the Kaw Nation provides its members with social, educational, cultural, and health care benefits under the governance of the Kaw Executive Council.<br><br>Allegawaho Memorial Heritage Park, 3 1/2 miles south of Council Grove, marks the tribe's last home in Kansas.<br><br>[Kaw Chief painting caption reads] Mon-Chonsia, or The White Plume, was recognized by Indian Superintendent William Clark and the Office of Indian Affairs as the principal chief of the Kanza nation in the St. Louis Treaty of 1825.<br><br>[Photo caption reads] Group of Kaw Indians in full dress, circa 1870.<br><br>[Background illustration caption reads] "Dog Dance" in a Kanza lodge at Blue Earth Village...<br><br><span>[Map caption reads] Kanza villages and agencies, 1724-1873.<br></span><br>The Lewis and Clark Expedition (Third Plaque from left)<br><br>In 1804-06, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led about 40 soldiers and boatmen on an epic journey. President Thomas Jefferson commissioned this "Corps of Discovery" to find a route to the Pacific Ocean through the newly acquired Louisiana territory. Along the way, they mapped the land, recorded its resources, and contacted its native inhabitants.<br><br>The landscape has changed since Lewis and Clark explored it: rivers have been dammed, forests cut over, prairies plowed under, and roads built to the horizon. Although remnants of wilderness still exist, imagine this land as Lewis and Clark first saw it two centuries ago.<br><br>The United States purchased the Louisiana territory - more than 830,000 square miles - from France in 1803. President Jefferson selected Meriwether Lewis (far left) to lead an expedition there.<br><br>With Jefferson's permission, Lewis asked his friend and former commanding officer, William Clark (left), to be co-leader. Although opposite in temperament, they worked harmoniously throughout the two-year journey.<br><br>"walked on Shore above this Creek" (Fourth Plaque from left)<br><blockquote>"…Capt. Lewis walked on Shore above this Creek and discovered a high moun from the top of which he had an extensive view, 3 paths Concentering at the moun..."<br>William Clark<br>July 4, 1804</blockquote><br>The U.S. Army expedition led by Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark paused here on July 4, 1804. It is possible that the mound that Clark described is the bluff that rises above this site.<br><br>In his journal, Captain Clark enumerated the members of the expedition, concluding with:<br><blockquote>"1 Corpl & 4 Privates in a Perogue to be sent back from Plate river<br>Mr. Dueron [Dorion] inteptr for the Sues<br>Capt. Lewis my Self & York<br>in all 46 men July 4<br>4 horses & a Dog"</blockquote><br><i>[Captions:]</i><br><span>Lewis' Newfoundland dog Seaman accompanied the expedition. Seaman was a strong swimmer, exceptional hunter, and stalwart guard. His contributions made him a valued member of the party. Most expedition members came to refer to Seaman as "our dog."<br><br>Lewis and Clark bestowed names to landmarks across the West. In what is now Atchison County, they named two </span><span>local streams. One, Independence Creek, remains on maps even today. The other, 4th of July 1804 Creek, was renamed White Clay Creek after Atchison was settled in 1854. The map pictured above is from 1843.<br><br>Credit to: </span><a href="https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=44807">https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=44807</a> , <a href="https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=44816">https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=44816</a> , <a href="https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=44812">https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=44812</a> , <a href="https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=44801">https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=44801</a>
iNaturalist Observations
