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Historical Background

Heading for the Three Forks

Not far upstream from the Great Falls, the river, confined by steep cliffs in gorges, became increasingly narrow and swift and in some places shallow. Furious waters and rapids made navigation nerve-wracking. Except for the minimum number of oarsmen, everyone had to walk along the shore—an unpleasant alternative for men whose feet were already badly lacerated. Even worse was the frequent need for them to tow, a disagreeable enough task without the summer heat.

On July 17 the river entered long Missouri Canyon, hemmed in by mountain walls. It marked the beginning of a long stretch of spectacular river-mountain scenery where the river ran in a series of closely confined canyons. The visual delight afforded slight solace to the weary crew, who labored every mile of the way.

After breakfast on the morning of the 18th, seeking the Shoshonis or some trace of them, Clark, despite his torn feet, set out ahead of the boats overland with Joseph Field, John Potts, and York. Shortly thereafter, the boats reached a stream nearly as large as the Missouri that flowed into it from the north, or west, side. Lewis named it the Dearborn River in honor of Secretary of War Henry Dearborn. Unfortunately, the former did not realize it was the river the Minitaris had said would lead to an excellent shortcut across the Continental Divide to Lolo Creek, gateway to the crossing of the Bitterroot Mountains.

Entrance to Gates of the Mountains, Mont., date unknown. This feature, now in Helena National Forest, is the greatest canyon of the Missouri River, but in contrast to the stretch of river near the Great Falls does not have any falls or impassable rapids. (Source and date unknown.)

The next evening, the 19th, the boat party entered a stretch of "remarkable clifts" that soared perpendicularly to a height of 1,200 feet. For a distance of 5-3/4 miles the river ripped its way through solid rock just the width of a channel about 150 yards wide. Spots where a man could step ashore were virtually nonexistent, so towing was impossible. The depth of the water precluded use of the setting poles. It was fortunate that, though the current was strong, rowing was feasible. Although the expedition had been in the Rocky Mountains since the Great Falls, Lewis called the area the "Gates of the Rocky Mountains."

The party left the gates on July 20, not far from present Helena. The river soon broadened out onto an untimbered valley plain, about 11 miles in width, bounded by two nearly parallel snow-topped ranges. Many islands were encountered. On July 22 Sacagawea recognized the country. She assured Lewis that her tribe lived on the river and said the Three Forks were not far ahead. That evening, Lewis reunited with Clark and his party of three. The next morning, however, Clark, Charbonneau, Frazer, and the Field brothers continued ahead again on land.

Three Forks of the Missouri, looking downstream. The river in the left background is the Jefferson. It joins with the Madison, which forks not far from its mouth, in the upper left center. Slightly further downstream, they merge with the Gallatin, the smallest of the three rivers, to form the Missouri (far upper left). (Bureau of Outdoor Recreation, U.S. Department of the Interior.)

Decision at the Three Forks

On the morning of July 25, Clark and his four footsore companions reached the Three Forks of the Missouri—the first white men ever to visit there. Two days later, the boat party arrived. Reconnoitering the area to determine which fork to take and nursing the ill Clark, the group stayed there until July 30.

LEWIS termed the Three Forks "an essential point in the geography of this western part of the Continent." Within a short distance of each other, three rivers joined to form the Missouri almost 2,500 miles from its mouth. [105] On July 28 the two captains gave them the names they have retained ever since. The eastern fork was named the Gallatin after Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin; the middle one, the Madison, for Secretary of State James Madison; and the western one, which they were to choose to take, the Jefferson "in honor of that illustrious personage Thomas Jefferson."

At this point, the captains faced their second geographical puzzle. As at the junction of the Marias and the Missouri, if they made the wrong decision, the success of the expedition might well be irretrievably compromised. The three streams that converged at the Three Forks discharged an almost equal amount of water and all ran with strong velocity, though the eastern fork (Gallatin) was more rapid but not as deep or wide as the other two. As it turned out, the decision was a far easier one than at the Marias. As a matter of fact, when the captains arrived separately at the Three Forks, each decided on his own almost at once that the western fork (the Jefferson) was probably the river they should follow.

WHEN Clark and his four companions reached the Three Forks on the morning of July 25, Clark left a note at the junction of the middle (Madison) and western (Jefferson) forks telling Lewis of his proposed reconnaissance route and requesting him to wait there. The Clark party proceeded up the Jefferson 20 miles and camped on the north, or west, bank. The next day, leaving Charbonneau and Joseph Field in camp suffering from battered feet and fatigue, Clark and the two other men climbed a mountain 12 miles farther to the west. Clark saw no evidence of Shoshonis or other Indians, but the topography convinced him that the stream he was on was the mainstream extension of the Missouri. The three men picked up the other two at camp and they all crossed the Jefferson and headed back to the Three Forks.

The next day, the 27th, though all five were suffering from blisters on their feet and punctures by prickly pears, they traveled eastward and struck the Madison about 20 miles upstream. Following it down stream to its junction with the Jefferson, they rejoined Lewis and the main, or boat, party at their nearby camp on the Jefferson. By this time, Clark was feverish and totally exhausted.

One of the earliest sketches (1867) of the Three Forks of the Missouri, viewed upstream. The Missouri is in the left extreme foreground. The first river beyond to the left is the Gallatin, which joins the Jefferson-Madison to form the Missouri. The place where the Madison merges (from the left) with the Jefferson is visible in the distance, just right of center. Lewis gazed at this panoramic scene from atop the cliff at the bottom left. (Lithograph and pencil sketch by A. E. Mathews, in Pencil Sketches of Montana, Plate XI. Montana Historical Society.)

THE Lewis contingent had arrived at the point where the Gallatin joined the Missouri at 9:00 a.m. that same morning and set up camp. Lewis proceeded up the former half a mile and ascended a high limestone cliff on the northeast side to obtain a view of the neighboring country. A panorama of mountains and plains filled his eyes. His careful study of the course of the three streams as far as he could see them convinced him that the Jefferson offered the best route to the west. He recommended the Three Forks as the location of a trading post, a judgment confirmed later in the day by observation of large numbers of beaver, otter, and other game. [106] After Lewis returned to camp, the party then moved up to the junction of the Madison and Jefferson, found Clark's note, and proceeded up the Jefferson a short distance beyond the junction before making camp on the south bank and awaiting Clark's return.

AT 3:00 p.m. that afternoon, the 27th, Clark arrived, feverishly ill. Lewis, recognizing the necessity to minister to him and the desirability of further reconnaissance, decided to stop for a couple of days. The next day, he dispatched two men up the Gallatin to investigate it. The commanders compared the information they brought back with what Clark had gained on his survey of the Jefferson and Madison, their celestial observations, and their interpretation of the information the Minitaris had given them. The captains agreed that only the Jefferson could lead anywhere near the headwaters of the Columbia; the others slanted in the wrong direction, to the south and east, to the vicinity of present Yellowstone National Park. The Jefferson appeared to have its origin in the snowclad mountains to the west and southwest. Again, as at the Marias, Lewis and Clark made the right deduction about which stream to follow.