Lewis, Fort Mandan, April 7, 1805 : The Lewis and Clark expedition

Résumé du document

This text, written by Captain Meriwether Lewis at Fort Mandan on April 7th, 1805, may be regarded as one of the main turning points of the expedition. Indeed, the long and harsh winter they endured when they could not move on westward to the Missouri River since it was blocked with ice and when they mostly depended on food provided by the Indians to survive, does not seem to have worn down the Corps of Discovery's optimism. They have taken advantage of this period of motionlessness to reinforce some essential standards, which allow Lewis to think that they have taken no chances to cope with the unknown in the best conditions.

The permanent part of the expedition is eventually formed where everyone occupies a precise place with a precise role to perform for the Corps to carry on safely. We will see how, through Lewis's writing, this expedition comes within the scope of Jefferson's policy and sets up the starting point of a new era by shaping some of the great American myths. In fact, these men are on the verge to explore a pristine part of North America, following Jefferson's instructions to establish the control of the United States over the newly bought Louisiana territory.

Extraits

[...] His prospects for the United States embraced the whole continent, and shaped the dream of one nation which would extent to the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and which would be linked by a same belief, the belief in the idea of liberty which would unite every state, every man, woman and child in one people. We can find in the Corps of Discovery one of the best embodiments of this concept of strength through unity. In his text, Lewis expresses great optimism concerning the chances of the expedition to succeed, but it appears clearly that it has nothing to do with luck. [...]

[...] Lewis, who wrote this text on April 7th was fully aware of his mission and part. In the passage, he, who is a man of education, parallels his expedition with those of previous renowned explorers like James Cook or Christopher Columbus. About to plunge in wilderness, he knows that each of their decision, encounter, and discovery is building the future of the Republic. The expedition, which was not the first one to explore the continent, would be the first one to cross it from one border to another. [...]

[...] It is ironic for us nowadays for it illustrates clearly the fact that Lewis and Clark deeply believed to be the first human beings to travel in this part of the continent. The word “civilized”, even if it does not express the same connotations as today, well reinforces Lewis's sense of mission. In fact, one of the main objectives of Jefferson's instructions was to establish friendly contact with Indians in order to establish trading relations subsequently. However, the Natives had to be informed that from then on they lived in the United States of America which were led by the “Great Father”, Thomas Jefferson, which implied, in an underlying way, that they had to accept “civilized” standards. [...]

[...] When Thomas Jefferson mounted the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Wide Wild West, he modelled it according to Enlightenment science standards. They were in charge to make some observations, to gather some animal, vegetal and mineral specimens, and to categorize them, for the American government to establish its authority over the newly bought territory. Nevertheless, the real purpose of the Corps of Discovery was to discover a water route to the Pacific Ocean to foster commerce for Jefferson had in mind that the large and empty territory had to be peopled. [...]

[...] But some books, for instance, Carver's Travelling the Interior Part of North America led him to serious misconceptions, such as the fact that woolly mammoths could possibly still exist or that the expedition might encounter blue-eyed Indians speaking the Welsh language. Lewis had inherited those erroneous ideas while being instructed, and we may find them turned into anxiety on the threshold of the unknown: good or evil it had in store for us was for experiment yet to determine.” The manifold steps described by Lewis before the departure from Fort Mandan indicate that the expedition closely refers to Jefferson's instructions as a guideline: gave to Richard Warfington ( ) our dispatches to the government ( ) and a number of articles to the President of the United States. [...]