He Had Two Canoes
Loaded With Merchandise Which He Was Taking Up The River To Trade
With The Indians.
Among the items of news gathered from him,
according to the private journal of one of the Lewis and Clark party,
was that General James Wilkinson was now Governor of Louisiana Territory,
and was stationed at St. Louis.
This is the Wilkinson who fought
in the American Revolution, and was subsequently to this time accused
of accepting bribes from Spain and of complicity with Aaron Burr
in his treasonable schemes. Another item was to this effect:
"Mr. Burr & Genl. Hambleton fought a Duel, the latter was killed."
This brief statement refers to the unhappy duel between Aaron Burr
and Alexander Hamilton, at Weehawken, New Jersey, July 11, 1804.
This interesting entry shows with what feelings the long-absent
explorers met Mr. Airs: -
"After so long an interval, the sight of anyone who could give us
information of our country was peculiarly delightful, and much of
the night was spent in making inquiries into what had occurred during
our absence. We found Mr. Airs a very friendly and liberal gentleman;
when we proposed to him to purchase a small quantity of tobacco,
to be paid for in St. Louis, he very readily furnished every
man of the party with as much as he could use during the rest
of the voyage, and insisted on our accepting a barrel of flour.
This last we found very agreeable, although we have still a little
flour which we had deposited at the mouth of Maria's River. We could
give in return only about six bushels of corn, which was all that
we could spare."
Three days later, the voyagers met a trading-boat belonging
to Mr. Augustus Chouteau, the founder of a famous trading-house in
St. Louis. From this party the captains procured a gallon of whiskey,
and with this they served out a dram to each of their men.
"This," says the journal, "is the first spirituous liquor any of them
have tasted since the Fourth of July, 1805." From this time forward,
the returning explorers met trading parties nearly every day;
and this showed that trade was following the flag far up into
the hitherto unexplored regions of the American continent.
The explorers, hungry for news from home, would have tarried and
talked longer with their new-found friends, but they were anxious
to get down to civilization once more. Their journal also says:
"The Indians, particularly the squaws and children, are weary of the
long journey, and we are desirous of seeing our country and friends."
This quotation from the journal gives us our first intimation that any
Indians accompanied Big White to the United States. He appears to have
had a small retinue of followers men, women, and children - with him.
Below the mouth of the Platte, September 12, Lewis and Clark
met Gravelines, the interpreter who was sent to Washington from
Fort Mandan, in 1805, with despatches, natural history specimens,
and a Ricara chief.
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