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Historical Background

Clark proceeds to Camp Fortunate and the Three Forks

While Lewis had been exploring the unknown country of the Upper Marias, Clark had been investigating some new terrain himself. He, too, set out from Travelers Rest on July 3, 1806. With 18 enlisted men, [140] York, Charbonneau, Sacagawea, her baby, and 49 horses and a colt, he moved up the Bitterroot Valley. July 4 was celebrated with a "sumptious" dinner of venison and roots, but no whisky was available for the occasion.

The westbound route was employed as far as Ross's Hole. From there to Camp Fortunate, one recommended by the Flatheads was utilized that Clark estimated would save 2 days. It deviated considerably from the old one. Instead of moving through Lost Trail Pass and proceeding down the valleys of the Salmon and the Lemhi, then through Lemhi Pass, this time, on July 6, the explorers negotiated the Continental Divide at Gibbons Pass, not far to the north east of Lost Trail Pass, and moved into the Big Hole River Valley. [141] Sacagawea, who knew the country, served as a guide. Camp Fortunate, at the forks of the Beaverhead—164 miles by Clark's estimate from Travelers Rest over an "excellent road"—was attained on the afternoon of July 8. [142]

The nicotine-starved men, who had been without real tobacco for about 3 months, were so impatient to reach the supply they knew was in the cache that they barely took time to obey Clark's order to remove the saddles from their horses first. Clark saved some of the tobacco and later sent it with Ordway to the Lewis group. All the other articles were safe but somewhat damp. Six of the seven canoes, sunk in the pond, were undamaged. One that had a hole in the side and a split bow, probably inflicted by an Indian, was cut up for firewood and paddles.

No time was lost in refloating, repairing, relaunching, and loading the six boats. Early on the morning of July 10, part of the contingent set out in them for the Three Forks while Sergeant Pryor and six men took the horses overland to the same destination. The two groups stayed close together as they moved down the Beaverhead and Jefferson. The downriver journey, aided by the current, was far more rapid than on the westbound trip despite navigational obstacles. On the third day at noon, the main party arrived at the Three Forks an hour later than Pryor.

Yellowstone River exiting from the mountains north of present Yellowstone National Park at the point where the river turns east, near today's Livingston, Mont. Clark and his contingent on the return trip from the Pacific reached the stream at this place just after crossing Bozeman Pass, which is to the right and out of the drawing. (Lithograph and pencil sketch by A. E. Mathews, in Pencil Sketches of Montana, Plate VII. Montana Historical Society.)

Clark probes the Yellowstone

Clark wasted no time. He directed that all the baggage and equipment he would need for his Yellowstone exploration be removed from the canoes. After lunch, Sergeant Ordway, carrying a letter from Clark to Lewis, and nine men [143] pushed down the Missouri to rendezvous with the Gass detachment of the Lewis party at the Great Falls. Late in the afternoon, Clark and the rest of his group moved overland with the 49 horses and colt on what was to prove to be one of the easiest—almost idyllic—phases of the entire journey to the Pacific and return. With him were 12 persons: York, Charbonneau, Sacagawea, her baby, Sergeant Pryor, and seven privates. [144] The expedition was now divided into three nearly equal parts: Lewis (including the Gass detachment at the Great Falls), Ordway, and Clark.

Sacagawea, who as a young girl had often visited this part of the country during the summer with her people, knew it well and guided Clark. As the party proceeded rapidly over plains and hills up the lush Gallatin and East Gallatin Rivers, large herds of deer, elk, antelope, and other game were viewed on the plains and in the river bottoms, including "emence quantities of beaver" as well as otter.

Following a well-traced buffalo road, on July 15 the group crossed Bozeman Pass and dropped down to the Upper Yellowstone at a point 9 miles from the pass near present Livingston, Mont. There the river turned abruptly eastward after exiting from the rugged, snow-capped mountains of the Gallatin Range to the south, in today's Yellowstone National Park. Clark estimated the distance from Three Forks to the place he struck the Yellowstone River as 48 miles, all except the last 18 of which he noted were navigable by canoe.

Clark was disappointed that the trees along the Upper Yellowstone were not large enough for canoes that could carry any more than three people—too small for his purposes. He was also concerned as he moved downriver along the north bank at numerous signs that the Crow Indians, who frequented the area, were near and were keeping the party under observation.

The nimble-footed dexterity of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in high and dangerous spots amazed the two captains. The species was first seen near the mouth of the Yellowstone in April 1805, but large numbers were in evidence in the Missouri River Breaks region. Apparently the first to be killed were the four Clark shot while he was descending the Yellowstone in 1806. (Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife (Joe Mazzoni).)

On July 18 Gibson suffered a painful wound when his horse threw him. The next morning, he had to be placed on a litter carried by a gentle horse. As the day wore on, however, his agony intensified so much that he had to be removed from the mount, and left behind with two men to rest for an hour or so. In the evening, 4 miles beyond at a point on the north side of the river about halfway between present Laurel and Columbus, Mont., Clark found some cottonwoods of the appropriate size for canoes and decided to camp there, even though Charbonneau reported seeing across the river in the distance an Indian, the first seen on the Yellowstone.

During the 5-day stay, Indians made away with 24 of the 50 horses, which had been turned out to graze. Two dugout canoes, 28 feet long, were constructed and lashed together for stability. On the morning of July 24, Sergeant Pryor, Shannon, Windsor, and Hall set out overland along the river with the remaining horses, headed for the Mandan villages with the message to Heney. Clark, his group dwindled to only eight, pushed downriver in the canoes, passing the site of Billings before the sun set. [145]

Pompeys Pillar, sometime before 1900, surrounded by native growth and probably similar in appearance to how it looked to the Clark party in 1806. The Yellowstone River runs behind the pillar. (Mrs. Don C. Foote (L. A. Huffman).)

The following afternoon, a stop was made on the south side of the river near a remarkable sandstone formation. It was located about 250 paces back from the river and measured some 400 paces in circumference. Clark estimated its height at 200 feet. He named it "Pompy's Tower" after Sacagawea's infant son, whom he had nicknamed "Pomp" or "Little Pomp," but today it is known as Pompeys Pillar. Clark and some of the others climbed the only accessible side, the northeast. Near a spot on the path leading to the top where Indians had etched animal and other figures in the rock, Clark inscribed his name and the date. Although somewhat altered, they are still readable today. On the grass-covered soil of the summit, the natives had piled two heaps of stones. The surrounding countryside was visible for a distance of 40 miles. The plains were alive with buffalo, elk, and wolves. Beyond, were the Rockies and other mountains.

The rest of the trip down the Yellowstone was comparatively uneventful. Early on August 3 Clark arrived at its juncture with the Missouri, where plans called for him to meet Lewis. But conditions were miserable. The mosquitoes drove everyone crazy; Pomp's face was badly swollen from bites. No buffalo were present. Elk were plentiful, but the meat was difficult to dry in the sun, and even then it spoiled easily. Late the next afternoon, leaving a message informing Lewis of his plans, Clark pushed down the Missouri. The trouble with mosquitoes continuing on successive days, he went farther than he had originally contemplated.

On the morning of August 8, to everybody's surprise, Sergeant Pryor and his three companions came floating downriver in two Mandan-type bull boats. Pryor reported that, the second night out, Crow Indians had stolen all the horses, and prevented completion of the mission. Demonstrating their self-sufficiency and mastery of life in the raw wilderness, the unhorsed men—outdistanced more each day by the main body—kept calm. They walked to Pompy's Tower, killed some buffalo, and stretched the skins over a light wooden framework to make two circular bull boats, each about 7 feet in diameter. All four individuals rode in one; the second was a reserve in case the first sank.

The reunited party, taking along the bull boats, continued down river. Three days later, on August 11, two trappers, Joseph Dickson and Forrest Hancock, who were on their way from the Illinois River to the Yellowstone, were met. They were the first white men anyone in the expedition had seen since mid-April 1805.