Lewis & Clark for the 21st Century

JOURNAL 5/18/03

Journal Reflections on the Lewis & Clark Expedition
By Ed Brenegar
5/18/03

The Lewis & Clark expedition’s story begins with the vision of Thomas Jefferson. It was his desire to see beyond what was known about the North American continent by Western Europeans. He sought for more than a water passage to the Pacific. He sought to bring the West and the people of the West into the future of the new American republic.

***

Meriwether Lewis grew up in the shadow of Monticello. As a child he knew Thomas Jefferson. He also grew up with a fascination with the frontier west of his home outside Charlottesville. The frontier was close; outside his back door. It was full of wild animals and a rugged terrain yet to be subdued for human habitation. It was an alien world he longed to discover. As a young boy, he would venture into the woods, learning how to be in a hostile environment.

As I have looked into the story of Lewis & Clark I have discovered four leadership lessons that are relevant to modern 21^st. century leaders, professionals and business people. The fact that the story is so well documented helps us to understand better what took place.

What I see here are four areas for leaders to develop that will make it possible to travel through the unknown territory of the time we are in. These questions of The Great Unknowns are about personal performance, the context for leading, the results or effects we wish to achieve, the path to those achievements, the people we join and encounter, and ultimately the persons we become as a result.

We have to place this into the context of change that leaders face everyday. We look at it from this perspective of leadership that is personal, organizational and in a “geographical” context is constantly changing. Nothing stays the same. The landscape of leadership is constant shifting.

The four lessons of leadership in the Lewis & Clark story.

§ Vision for Grand Achievement

§ Preparation for the Unknown

§ Relationships for the Journey

§ Character for Surviving and Thriving in Danger, Difficulty and Disappointment.

***

Vision

How do people look to the future? From whence comes their vision? A vision is a question that beckons us to find the answer. It is a gap between some known point today and a destination in the future that we can partially see, but not quite. As we begin to clarify it, we begin to reach out, to grasp at things beyond our reach, to strive to go where we have never gone before, to venture into the unknown, into uncharted territory for ourselves. Our vision shows us the steps we need to take. Then we must take them.

If the way is unclear, and no map exists, then we venture forth, charting our own course by trial and error. By the mistakes we make, we learn the right course to take. At least if we learn from them. There is no straight line from our first inclination of a vision to its fulfillment..

A vision doesn’t occur over night. It may start as a flash of inspiration. However, it is nurtured through reflection, inquiry, frustration, longing, experimentation, discussion and a few epiphanies. If we are serious about our visions, we become disciplined in developing them. Is this the difference between a vision and a dream? A vision develops into a plan of action, and a dream lingers as a longing or aspirations that guide our desires and choices, but never the all encompassing path to follow.

The Lewis & Clark expedition was the product of the vision of Thomas Jefferson developed over many years. It was more than a romantic sentiment than colored his perceptions about the world of colonial Virginia, the War for Independence and the emerging American republic. No. Jefferson’s vision served to coordinate many of his interests and avocations with a focus toward the future of the US of A. The West was more than a possible watercourse across the continent. More than a natural preserve of unknown plants, animals and geologic landscapes. More than a native, aboriginal peoples. For Jefferson, the West was the future of America. The context for growth, development and fulfillment of the Vision captured by him in the Declaration of Independence.

Thomas Jefferson is probably the most literate, practical and accomplished man to serve as President. There may have been better Presidents. But none carried the breadth of vision or determination to see the American republic sustain its experiment in freedom as he did.

Meriwether Lewis’ vision on the other hand was different. Lewis grew up in the shadow of Monticello. He grew up knowing Thomas Jefferson and coming under his influence as his vision of Westward exploration began to seek an outlet in an expedition. Lewis grew up in Albemarle County where the frontier was outside his back door to the West. The mountains that ran along side the Shenandoah Valley were filled with the kinds of danger and adventure that is enticing to a young boy. The Great Unknowns were not just personal –who am I? What kind of life will I have? But physical. What’s on the other side of that ridge? Where does this stream go, begin?

In the 200 years that have passed, the personal questions must still be answered by each individual. However the geography of the Great Unknowns have largely been answered. As Frederick Jackson Turner wrote a century ago, the frontier as Meriwether Lewis, William Clark & Thomas Jefferson knew it is now closed. Yet the frontier of human endeavor continues. Through better mapping technologies we can pinpoint the route the Corps of Discovery took. Through ever more sophisticated scientific methods and technology, we can know more about the land, the plant and animal life and the human history of the frontier than anyone would have guessed even a generation ago.

§ Preparation for the Unknown

§ Relationships for the Journey

§ Character for Surviving and Thriving in Danger, Difficulty and Disappointment.

Journal 9/20/02

Journal Reflections on the Lewis & Clark Expedition

By Ed Brenegar

9/20/02

Explorers by definition travel through unknown territory. To do so they need instruments for measuring their exact location and reference points for fixing their position.

When Lewis & Clark set out from St. Louis in May of 1803, they embarked upon a journey that required the very best of them. They had to be expert navigators. They had to manage a complex operation of moving men and material up the Missouri River through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean and back safely and efficiently. They had to be astute ambassadors of the American people to native peoples who didn’t know what America was, much less who Thomas Jefferson was. The path they traveled was into unknown territory filled with risk, doubt and danger.

This story is one of the great stories of human exploration and of American history that we have. In this tale, Lewis & Clark demonstrate characteristics of leadership management and organizational acumen that in future generations would be common place in the endeavors of American business. It is not accurate to say that Lewis & Clark are the model of American entrepreneurial spirit. However, we can observe in their expedition the characteristics of leadership that are proven time and again to be essential for organizational success.

Their story has been told in print, in film and in song. It is one that resonates with people because they see in these men who are not much different than themselves characteristics that they either see in themselves or wish were theirs.

The adventure that they had not only transformed their lives, but laid the foundation for American to become what we know it to be today.

American in 1803 was quite different than it is in the 21^st. century. The nation was 27 years old. Most of its population lived within a couple hundred miles of the Atlantic Ocean. There were foreign competitors in every corner. The French in the South. The British in the North, and the Spanish in the Southwest. Each wanted a claim to the continent and its vast resources yet untapped. The map of American in 1803 was partial, incomplete, and virtually unknown to European settlers past the 100 meridian. 

In 1803, the Rocky Mountains were unknown, uncharted and unimagined in the minds of European and American geographers and politicians. Conventional thought held that the West coast was a mirror image of the East. In this time, travel was conducted on foot, on horseback, and on the water of streams, rivers and lakes. To cross vast stretches of land took time. It required planning, ingenuity and lots of good fortune.

American in 1803 was not a world military, economic or cultural power. All the promise of the future was yet to be fully envisioned much less realized. It was not a given that this new nation would become the dominant world superpower of the 21^st. century.

To fully appreciate the leadership accomplishment of the Lewis & Clark expedition is to understand how very different the early 19^th. Century was to the early 21^st. Yet, the similarities of their time with ours are compelling.

In 1803, conflict between world powers and dictators reigned. Emperor Napoleon of France was in his ascendancy challenging the great powers of Britain, Spain and Russia. In 1800, Thomas Jefferson had been elected President in a controversial election …

Journal 7/31/02

Journal Reflections on the Lewis & Clark Expedition

By Ed Brenegar

7/31/02

The story of the Lewis & Clark Expedition is the greatest of American exploration. Their venture into the unknown of the West has been well told by many writers, none better than in Stephen Ambrose’s Undaunted Courage. Several years ago, I picked up the book on audiotape as I left for a business trip. Listening to the story inspired me as it has so many others

What initially impressed me was not the Lewis & Clark story itself, but the effect that it had had on Ambrose and his family. It has become a central fixture in their family’s life for over 25 years. I wanted the same experience of sharing our nation’s history with my family. To share the experience of coming close to Lewis & Clark by being present where their journey took place began to have greater meaning for us. So a couple years ago, my wife and I decided that we would plan a family vacation where we would spend our time on part of the Lewis & Clark trail. In preparing for this trip, we read, studied, looked at pictures and talked about the experience of the Corps of Discovery. I wanted for my children to be able to relate the physical environment they were in to the story. To know that Lewis & Clark camped on this spot would make the story would come alive for them.

As I prepared for this trip, I began to see things in the different tellings of the story that intrigued me. I work professionally in the area of leadership development and planning. A picture began to emerge of the Lewis & Clark expedition from the perspective of their leadership methods and accomplishments. I went looking for material on this topic. And so far, I have found none. What exists is in the story told by many authors, and the men’s’ journals. There are many books on Sakagawea. A few on Clark’s slave, York. One or two on Lewis’ dog, Seaman. Some excellent academic works on aspects of the journey, like John Logan Allen’s on geography, James Ronda on Indian relations, and others on their discoveries in natural history. None though on why they were able to successfully complete their expedition, and how it is relevant to us today.

When I began to see that:

1. the Lewis & Clark expedition was incredibly successful, beyond expectations, 

2. there are clear reasons for their success,

3. and, those reasons are principles of leadership that are universal, practical, and transferable to a modern context, then I knew that I need to write about this.

I realized that in the operation of the expedition, Lewis & Clark, and their Corps of Discovery functioned virtually as the first 21^st Century Leadership Team. What is it that I see that leads me to this conclusion?

1. The collaborative nature of their leadership as co-leaders of the expedition, and of their willingness to submit major decisions to democratic vote, including the Indian woman, Sakagewea, and the slave, York. 

2. They were technologically innovative, in the use of scientific instruments, the construction of an iron-framed boat that failed, an air-powered rifle, and the constant adaptation to the harsh environment they encountered. 

3. They were entrepreneurial in their approach to the unknown lands of the Louisiana territory. They adapted to changing circumstances well without losing their focus on their ultimate goal. They approached the collection of information about every aspect of their journey with the clear purpose of creating a new basis of knowledge about territory that was unexplored by European peoples. 

4. They prepared well. The lists of material they developed, and the questions they raised, and the time spent training their Corps for the expedition did much to insure a successful expedition. 

5. They were very disciplined. They set high standards for the behavior and conduct of their troops, and it showed in times of difficulty when a rash or an emotional response would have stopped the expedition in its tracks. 

6. They transformed what the world knew about this unknown territory, setting the stage for the great western expansion of the 19^th century. Their success instituted change. 

7. They embraced respect for differences, and were inclusive in decision-making. 

FOUR LESSONS

From these accomplishments four clear lessons can be derived that are relevant to contemporary people.

1. In the words of the old Boy Scout motto, “Be Prepared.” These men did not begin to prepare for this journey, a few short months before leaving. In many respects their whole lives had been a preparation for this venture. The last year merely filled in gaps of knowledge that provided the final abilities needed for success. The question for us in our time is what does it mean to be prepared. In light of Lewis & Clark, it means marshalling all that you have learned for the moment you need it.

2. Set high standards. The journey up the Missouri River was very difficult. The crossing of the Lemhi Pass brought disappointment, followed by hunger and more physical hardship. The winter at Fort Clatsop tested their patience. In each instance, the high standards set by LEWIS & CLARK for the Corps, and established as routine and culture during their time of training and their first segment of the journey to Ft. Mandan served them well as they did not faint from the hardship they endured. 

3. Blaze a trail of adventure and discovery. It is clear that what motivated these men was the adventure of going to a place few white men had ever been, and cataloging the flora, fauna, geology, weather and people whom they met. This same spirit of adventure can be experienced with modern leaders, if they see that what is before them is leading their organizations into uncharted territory. 

4. Go with friends. The clearest impression that I have is that the expedition was a success because the friendship between Lewis and Clark made them a formidable team. 

Journal 7/18/02

Journal Reflections on the Lewis & Clark Expedition

By Ed Brenegar

Great Falls, Montana

7/18/02

The story of Lewis & Clark is a great American story. In many ways LEWIS & CLARK are the model for those who follow, who developed the American character. Almost a century after Lewis & Clark, Fredrick Jackson Turner claimed that the frontier was closed. But the last 100 years has repeatedly shown that the American spirit of adventure and discovery still lives. The L& C expedition achieved all it could possibly have done, or have within their power. The only “failure”, so to speak, was not finding the Northwest Passage water route that Thomas Jefferson so hoped to be there. That hope was based on an assumption that was based not on facts known, but on hopes.  Lewis & Clark answered that question and many more. Their expedition increased the knowledge about Indian tribes, and the flora & fauna of the Northern Plains, Rocky Mountains and the Northwest, that is still valuable today. Millions of people have followed them West, whether American born or immigrant, but came because of the spirit of adventure and discovery first exhibited in them.

The question that has repeatedly come to me is why were they able to be so successful in this endeavor? What were the conditions and attributes of the Corps of Discovery’s expedition that made it possible for them to venture into unknown territory and succeed in their mission? Not only did they succeed in their mission, they did so with only one loss of life, very little conflict with the native people they encountered, and with the Corps intact as a unit throughout.

I began to research a trip to Montana to visit some Lewis & Clark sites because of Stephen Ambrose. Like so many people, Lewis & Clark came alive through his book, Undaunted Courage. What inspired me initially was not the Lewis & Clark story, but something else he said. I first encountered the book on audiotape on a business trip. Ambrose’s introduction recounts how he came to read Lewis & Clark’s journals, and the subsequent trips that he and his family made to Montana to be in “the last best place” with Lewis & Clark. The Ambrose family embrace of Lewis & Clark moved me. I knew I wanted the same kind of bonding family experience with my wife and children. So after a trip with my wife to Bozeman in 2000, we began to talk about someday coming to Montana on a family vacation and seeing some of the Lewis & Clark sites. At that point in time, what I knew about the expedition was basic and general, much like most Americans. As I began to read more about them, I became enthralled with the story, and with being able to be there with my family in places that are virtually unchanged since the days that Lewis & Clark would pass by there. The most compelling of these places is the Upper Missouri region in North Central Montana, in an area known along the river as the White Cliffs and the Missouri Breaks. In my research on the internet, at the Visit Montana website, I found several canoe outfitters, who could guide us along. But there was one outfitter whose approach was distinctive. Mike Nottingham of Upper Missouri River Expeditions has a replica 19^th century keelboat, like those that came up and down the Missouri after Lewis & Clark, serving the U.S. fur trade. Mike and his crew, each in period dress, led us down the Missouri from Virgelle to the Judith River, on his keel boat, telling us about Lewis & Clark the fur trade and contemporary Montana. The leisurely pace - there is no motor – provides a peaceful, quite floating experience that allows plenty of time for conversation and reflection about what you are seeing and its meaning in the context of Lewis & Clark and the opening of the West. Before the trains came over a half-century later, the river was the quickest way to go West, and where cities and economies grew up. All along the river there are remnants of the late 19^th/early 20^th century homesteads that use the river as their source of connection to the outside world. Today, the river is a place of isolation, except for the canoeists and ranchers, whose only evidence is the occasional herd of cattle grazing in the bottom land next to the river. Today, the river is much like it was in Lewis & Clark’s day, quiet, isolated, desolate in places, and not providing any indication that the complex wall of ridges we call the Rocky Mountains await to the West.

The portion of the river we traveled corresponds to Lewis & Clark’s westward journey of late May, early June 1805, and Lewis’ return voyage of late July 1806. On their trip up the river, the Corps of Discovery encountered rain and cold. They were required by conditions to pull their two pirogues and canoes along the shore. The current would have been swifter and the river level higher in their day, as modern dams around Great Falls, up river, control the flow of the river for the generation of electrical power and flood control. While some of the Corps would have joined Lewis on shore hunting, the rest would have pulled their river craft upstream on alternating river bottom of barnacled stone and gooey mud that locals today refer to as Gumbo. The difficulty the Corps had going upstream must have been incredible. We think today, because they were on the river that they floated or paddled to the West.  It would seem that many o f these men walked from Camp Dubois across the Mississippi from St. Louis to the headwaters of the Jefferson river in western Montana, near the Lemhi Pass, with wet mockasinned feet. No modern day, high tech hiking boot or river sandal, just a leather wrapped foot, constantly wet from walking in the river. All this came home to us on our keelboat trip. Both nights we camp either at a Lewis & Clark site or across the river from one. The area is basically unchanged. To read their journals and reflect upon their experience in the place it happened lends itself to visualizing their being there. In doing so, what struck me was the absolute isolation that they had from the support systems that they knew in the East. They were on their own. They had to be resourceful, responsible, attentive and neither fantasy nor pessimism driven. They had to have an optimistic practicality to the functioning of each day. Because each bend in the river brought new knowledge and new experiences, they had to be prepared for adapt to the changes that were their daily lot. They were explorers, venturers, into the unknown, and with that came a certain outlook that either insured success or failure. 

Part of what amazes me is that the portion of the river that we were was so desolate. The Eagle Rock Sandstone, also called Virgelle Sandstone, is very fragile. In a more wet climate, these hills and formations would have been worn away centuries ago. However, because this is apart of what Lewis called The Great American Desert, everything west of the 100 meridian, it is very dry. With only 11-12 inches of rain a year, it is a fragile, harsh environment for human, animal and plant life to exist. This is the land Lewis & Clark were going through – harsh, desolate, isolated – and yet, holding the promise of the western expansion of the U.S., made inevitable by Jefferson’s Louisiana Purchase. Did the awake each morning with emotions high for what they would discover that day? Probably not. They awoke, most likely, resolute to go as far as they could for that day. Focused, determined, not looking back, they went forward through a territory of which they knew very little.

L& are unique in almost every category - as explorers, as visitors to Indian tribes, as military leaders, as scientists, and as venturers into the unknown. The more I’ve read, listened, discussed and heard about Lewis & Clark, the more I’ve reached the conclusion that they are American’s first 21^st century leadership team. They make shared decisions; they are focused on performance; they are adaptable and flexible; they are inclusive and open to opinions of others; when confronted with a major decision that affects the whole team, the conduct a non-binding vote to gain the perspective of the Corps. They led, not be command and control, but by intelligence, character, preparation and friendship. This is truly one of the great American adventure and organizational success stories.

Lewis & Clark are unique in almost every category: as explorers, as visitors to Indian tribes, as military leaders, as venturers into the unknown, as scientists and mapmakers. 

The more I’ve read, listened, discussed and heard about Lewis & Clark, the more I’ve reached the conclusion that they are American’s first 21^st century leadership team. They make shared decisions; they are focused; they are adaptable, flexible; they are inclusive and open to opinions of others; when confronted with a major decision that affects the whole team, the conduct a non-binding vote to gain the perspective of the Corps. They are in charge, but don’t manage by control, but by leadership. They succeed through intelligence, character and relationship building.

JOURNAL 1/5,6/02

Journal Reflections on the Lewis & Clark Expedition

 By Ed Brenegar

1/5,6/02

 

Are leaders explorers? Are they people who seek to stretch boundaries in Waddie Mitchell’s words, “some folks always need to push their borders out beyond the furthest milestone on a never ending quest to find new ways and trails to blaze and in the process stretch that realm of what is built and one and known?…”

What is required to be an explorer? What character? What intelligence? What skills? What fortune? What philosophy do geographical explorers share? Is there a mythology that drives them?

There is the myth or the goal of discovery? To go where no one has ever gone, to achieve something that one has achieved, to set one’s mark on history, to be the first. But is “this” type of being first the same as being first in a sports endeavor, or in business? I don’t think so.

Is there a myth of leadership? Thousands of business books would testify that it is about heroic individuals, overcoming great odds to be successful. They would have you believe that they are modern day L&C venturing into unknown territory.

It is safe to say that at the beginning of any new venture, we neither know all the dangers or difficulties we will face, nor the opportunities and achievements that can come. We begin with an idea, a notion of something we want to achieve. We develop a plan. Conduct our preparations, and set forth in the faith that we are ready, able and fit with the resolve to finish what we have set out to do.

We would not be far off the mark to say that when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and the Corps of Discovery pushed off for the journey up the Missouri River to the West that they did not know all the dangers and difficulties or disappointments they would encounter. Nor did they know the impact their expedition would have on the future development of the Western United States, or in the fields of botany… . They had an idea in mind of what they sought to achieve. It was a vision given to them by Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States, former Secretary of State and author of the Declaration of Independence. His description of his hope for the expedition is captured in his letter to Congress … January 18, 1803

JEFFERSON'S LETTER TO CONGRESS 1-18-1803

PRESIDENT THOMAS Jefferson's Letter to Congress Requesting Funds for the Lewis & Clark Expedition

JANUARY 18, 1803

"Gentlemen of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:

"As the continuance of the act for establishing trading houses with the Indian tribes will be under the consideration of the Legislature at its present session, I think it my duty to communicate the views which have guided me in the execution of that act, in order that you may decide on the policy of continuing it, in the present or any other form, or discontinue it altogether, if that shall, on the whole, seem most for the public good.

"The Indian tribes residing within the limits of the United States, have, for a considerable time, been growing more and more uneasy at the constant diminution of the territory they occupy, although effected by their own voluntary sales: and the policy has long been gaining strength with them, of refusing absolutely all further sale, on any conditions; insomuch that, at this time, it hazards their friendship, and excites dangerous jealousies and perturbations in their minds to make any overture for the purchase of the smallest portions of their land. A very few tribes only are not yet obstinately in these dispositions. In order peaceably to counteract this policy of theirs, and to provide an extension of territory which the rapid increase of our numbers will call for, two measures are deemed expedient. First: to encourage them to abandon hunting, to apply to the raising stock, to agriculture and domestic manufacture, and thereby prove to themselves that less land and labor will maintain them in this, better than in their former mode of living. The extensive forests necessary in the hunting life, will then become useless, and they will see advantage in exchanging them for the means of improving their farms, and of increasing their domestic comforts. Secondly: to multiply trading houses among them, and place within their reach those things which will contribute more to their domestic comfort, than the possession of extensive, but uncultivated wilds. Experience and reflection will develop to them the wisdom of exchanging what they can spare and we want, for what we can spare and they want. In leading them to agriculture, to manufactures, and civilization; in bringing together their and our settlements, and in preparing them ultimately to participate in the benefits of our governments, I trust and believe we are acting for their greatest good. At these trading houses we have pursued the principles of the act of Congress, which directs that the commerce shall be carried on liberally, and requires only that the capital stock shall not be diminished. We consequently undersell private traders, foreign and domestic, drive them from the competition; and thus, with the good will of the Indians, rid ourselves of a description of men who are constantly endeavoring to excite in the Indian mind suspicions, fears, and irritations towards us. A letter now enclosed, shows the effect of our competition on the operations of the traders, while the Indians, perceiving the advantage of purchasing from us, are soliciting generally, our establishment of trading houses among them. In one quarter this is particularly interesting. The Legislature, reflecting on the late occurrences on the Mississippi, must be sensible how desirable it is to possess a respectable breadth of country on that river, from our Southern limit to the Illinois at least; so that we may present as firm a front on that as on our Eastern border. We possess what is below the Yazoo, and can probably acquire a certain breadth from the Illinois and Wabash to the Ohio; but between the Ohio and Yazoo, the country all belongs to the Chickasaws, friendly tribe within our limits, but the most decided against the alienation of lands. The portion of their country most important for us is exactly that which they do not inhabit. Their settlements are not on the Mississippi, but in the interior country. They have lately shown a desire to become agricultural; and this leads to the desire of buying implements and comforts. In the strengthening and gratifying of these wants, I see the only prospect of planting on the Mississippi itself, the means of its own safety. Duty has required me to submit these views to the judgment of the Legislature; but as their disclosure might embarrass and defeat their effect, they are committed to the special confidence of the two Houses.

"While the extension of the public commerce among the Indian tribes, may deprive of that source of profit such of our citizens as are engaged in it, it might be worthy the attention of Congress, in their care of individual as well as of the general interest, to point, in another direction, the enterprise of these citizens, as profitably for themselves, and more usefully for the public. The river Missouri, and the Indians inhabiting it, are not as well known as is rendered desirable by their connexion with the Mississippi, and consequently with us. It is, however, understood, that the country on that river is inhabited by numerous tribes, who furnish great supplies of furs and peltry to the trade of another nation, carried on in a high latitude, through an infinite number of portages and lakes, shut up by ice through a long season. The commerce on that line could bear no competition with that of the Missouri, traversing a moderate climate, offering according to the best accounts, a continued navigation from its source, and possibly with a single portage, from the Western Ocean, and finding to the Atlantic a choice of channels through the Illinois or Wabash, the lakes and Hudson, through the Ohio and Susquehanna, or Potomac or James rivers, and through the Tennessee and Savannah, rivers. An intelligent officer, with ten or twelve chosen men, fit for the enterprise, and willing to undertake it, taken from our posts, where they may be spared without inconvenience, might explore the whole line, even to the Western Ocean, have conferences with the natives on the subject of commercial intercourse, get admission among them for our traders, as others are admitted, agree on convenient deposits for an interchange of articles, and return with the information acquired, in the course of two summers. Their arms and accoutrements, some instruments of observation, and light and cheap presents for the Indians, would be all the apparatus they could carry, and with an expectation of a soldier's portion of land on their return, would constitute the whole expense. Their pay would be going on, whether here or there. While other civilized nations have encountered great expense to enlarge the boundaries of knowledge by undertaking voyages of discovery, and for other literary purposes, in various parts and directions, our nation seems to owe to the same object, as well as to its own interests, to explore this, the only line of easy communication across the continent, and so directly traversing our own part of it. The interests of commerce place the principal object within the constitutional powers and care of Congress, and that it should incidentally advance the geographical knowledge of our own continent, cannot be but an additional gratification. The nation claiming the territory, regarding this as a literary pursuit, which is in the habit of permitting within its dominions, would not be disposed to view it with jealousy, even if the expiring state of its interests there did not render it a matter of indifference. The appropriation of two thousand five hundred dollars, "for the purpose of extending the external commerce of the United States," while understood and considered by the Executive as giving the legislative sanction, would cover the undertaking from notice, and prevent the obstructions which interested individuals might otherwise previously prepare in its way."

TH: JEFFERSON
Jan. 18. 1803

Lewis & Clark for 21st. Century Leaders

Lewis & Clark for 21^st. Century Leaders
An Introduction
By Dr. Ed Brenegar

"There's an old saying, “If you can keep your wits while everyone else is losing theirs, you’re just not paying attention.”

We are living in uncertain times. During a time of great change we need to find a way to proceed on into the future with confidence and insight.

In times like these we often turn to history and persons of wisdom to provide us perspective. In these few pages, I’d like to look back in time to see if we can find wisdom for the path forward.

It's often said that there are three kinds of people in the world - those who make things happen, those who watch things happen, and those who go around saying “What happened?" 

For me, the stories about people who make things happen are the ones that are most inspiring. I want to tell you about two men who are prime examples for me - two men who made things happen in the face of the Great Unknowns, and who can show us how to do the same.

Let me first ask you all: What comes to mind when I say the words "Lewis and Clark"? 

How many of you have ever spent time traveling the Lewis & Clark trail? 

One summer, our family went out West from our home in North Carolina to travel part of the Lewis & Clark trail. 

As we prepared for our own journey of discovery, a question kept jumping out at me. “Why were Lewis & Clark a success?” “What did they do to accomplish the achievements they did?”

These ordinary men and their partners in the journey encountered incredible physical difficulties in traveling from St. Louis to the Oregon coast. They faced disease, danger and crushing disappointment. 

Yet, they kept their heads, and finished with extraordinary achievements that are still of value today.

When I think of the challenges I face, the high expectations to be a good father, husband, businessman, citizen, and friend, nothing I face is to the degree of difficulty that Lewis & Clark faced. I realize just how much I take for granted.

I am not as a very physically coordinated person. My wife doesn’t let me near power tools. I am probably the only person I know who has been to the ER with a cheese grate injury. So, I view the Lewis & Clark story as one who is good from the neck up, and who marvels at their physical accomplishments.

The aspect of Lewis & Clark’s leadership that I want to share with you concerns their character. 

When our family traveled the Lewis & Clark trail, we spent part of the time floating down the Missouri, camping where Lewis & Clark camped, being in the physical surroundings of the story. I was amazed at how different it was from what I expected.

Everyday from St. Charles, Missouri to the Continental Divide at the Lemhi Pass on the Montana/ Idaho border they traveled against the current of the mighty Missouri River. Let me tell you that river’s current is strong. These men pulled their boats loaded with tons of gear up that great river. They did it without manufactured ropes. They did it without hiking boots. They did it on brute strength and determination. Everyday they would cover on average 12 miles walking up stream in gooey mud, on sharp rocks with feet wrapped in deerskin. And they did this day-in and day-out, everyday for months on end.

The physical stamina, much less the psychological and spiritual resilience they needed, must have been remarkable. 

The difficulties that we face in our organizations, communities and around the globe are daunting as well. We need to believe that no matter how tough things become, that we can find a way to succeed. We need to practice the same resourceful optimism.

Now where does resourceful optimism come from?

Lewis & Clark demonstrate for me a personal character that is the effect of being clear about where you want to go- having a compelling vision, being ready for the journey – building on your strengths and acquiring new knowledge and skills, and having a set of relationships marked by honesty, collaboration and high standards of performance. This character of resourceful optimism carried them through to the end of their journey. 

As an average guy, the inspiration that I gain from Lewis & Clark is to cinch up my belt and capture a greater vision of achievement. While everyone is in retreat, lowering their standards, hunkering down waiting for better times to return, I find the only option for me is to proceed on with resourceful optimism.

As I have sought to practice resourceful optimism in my own life, I have found new strengths, richer friendships and more enjoyment in the challenges I face. I believe the same can be true for each of us today.

There is a world of wisdom out there. We all need guides to help us along the path. Together, let’s discover new territories for achievement. 

THE JOURNAL OF MERIWETHER LEWIS 8-18-1805

From the Journal of Meriwether Lewis

Bitterroot Valley, Louisiana Territory (Montana)

United States of America

August 18, 1805

“… This day I completed my thirty first year, and conceived that I had in all human probability now existed about half the period which I am to remain in this Sublunary world. I reflected that I had as yet done but little, very little, indeed, to further the happiness of the human race or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I viewed with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence, and now soarly feel the want of that information which those hours would have given me had they had been judiciously expended. but since they are past and cannot be recalled, I dash from the gloomy thought, and resolved in future, to redouble my exertions and at least indeavour to promote those two primary objects of human existence, by giving them the aid of that portion of talents which nature and fortune have bestoed on me; or in future, to live for mankind, as I have heretofore lived for myself.”

JEFFERSON'S INSTRUCTIONS TO MERIWETHER LEWIS

Jefferson's Instructions to Meriwether Lewis

jUNE 20, 1803

"To Meriwether Lewis, esquire, Captain of the 1st regiment of infantry of the United States of America.

"Your situation as Secretary of the President of the United States has made you acquainted with the objects of my confidential message of Jan. 18, 1803, to the legislature. You have seen the act they passed, which, tho' expressed in general terms, was meant to sanction those objects, and you are appointed to carry them into execution.

"Instruments for ascertaining by celestial observations the geography of the country thro' which you will pass, have been already provided. Light articles for barter, & presents among the Indians, arms for your attendants, say for from 10 to 12 men, boats, tents, & other travelling apparatus, with ammunition, medicine, surgical instruments & provision you will have prepared with such aids as the Secretary at War can yield in his department; & from him also you will receive authority to engage among our troops, by voluntary agreement, the number of attendants above mentioned, over whom you, as their commanding officer are invested with all the powers the laws give in such a case.

"As your movements while within the limits of the U.S. will be better directed by occasional communications, adapted to circumstances as they arise, they will not be noticed here. What follows will respect your proceedings after your departure from the U.S.

"Your mission has been communicated to the Ministers here from France, Spain, & Great Britain, and through them to their governments: and such assurances given them as to it's objects as we trust will satisfy them. The country of Louisiana having been ceded by Spain to France, the passport you have from the Minister of France, the representative of the present sovereign of the country, will be a protection with all its subjects: and that from the Minister of England will entitle you to the friendly aid of any traders of that allegiance with whom you may happen to meet.

"The object of your mission is to explore the Missouri river, & such principal stream of it, as, by it's course & communication with the water of the Pacific ocean may offer the most direct & practicable water communication across this continent, for the purposes of commerce.

"Beginning at the mouth of the Missouri, you will take observations of latitude and longitude at all remarkable points on the river, & especially at the mouths of rivers, at rapids, at islands & other places & objects distinguished by such natural marks & characters of a durable kind, as that they may with certainty be recognized hereafter. The courses of the river between these points of observation may be supplied by the compass, the log-line & by time, corrected by the observations themselves. The variations of the compass too, in different places should be noticed.

"The interesting points of the portage between the heads of the Missouri & the water offering the best communication with the Pacific ocean should be fixed by observation, & the course of that water to the ocean, in the same manner as that of the Missouri.

"Your observations are to be taken with great pains & accuracy to be entered distinctly, & intelligibly for others as well as yourself, to comprehend all the elements necessary, with the aid of the usual tables to fix the latitude & longitude of the places at which they were taken, & are to be rendered to the war office, for the purpose of having the calculations made concurrently by proper persons within the U.S. Several copies of these as well as of your other notes, should be made at leisure times, & put into the care of the most trustworthy of your attendants, to guard by multiplying them against the accidental losses to which they will be exposed. A further guard would be that one of these copies be written on the paper of the birch, as less liable to injury from damp than common paper.

"The commerce which may be carried on with the people inhabiting the line you will pursue, renders a knolege of these people important. You will therefore endeavor to make yourself acquainted, as far as a diligent pursuit of your journey shall admit,
with the names of the nations & their numbers;
      the extent & limits of their possessions;
      their relations with other tribes or nations;
      their language, traditions, monuments;
      their ordinary occupations in agriculture, fishing, hunting, war,
      arts, & the implements for these;
      their food, clothing, & domestic accommodations;
      the diseases prevalent among them, & the remedies they use;
      moral and physical circumstance which distinguish them
      from the tribes they know;
      peculiarities in their laws, customs & dispositions;
      and articles of commerce they may need or furnish, & to what extent.

"And considering the interest which every nation has in extending & strengthening the authority of reason & justice among the people around them, it will be useful to acquire what knolege you can of the state of morality, religion & information among them, as it may better enable those who endeavor to civilize & instruct them, to adapt their measures to the existing notions & practises of those on whom they are to operate.

"Other objects worthy of notice will be
     the soil & face of the country, it's growth & vegetable
     productions, especially those not of the U.S.
     the animals of the country generally, & especially those
     not known in the U.S.  the remains & accounts of any which
     may be deemed rare or extinct;
     the mineral productions of every kind; but more particularly
     metals, limestone, pit coal & saltpetre;
     salines & mineral waters, noting the temperature of the last
     & such circumstances as may indicate their character;
     volcanic appearances;
     climate as characterized by the thermometer, by the
     proportion of rainy, cloudy  & clear days, by lightening, hail,
     snow, ice, by the access & recess of frost, by the winds,
     prevailing at different seasons, the dates at which particular
     plants put forth or lose their flowers, or leaf, times of
     appearance of particular birds, reptiles or insects.

"Altho' your route will be along the channel of the Missouri, yet you will endeavor to inform yourself, by inquiry, of the character and extent of the country watered by its branches, & especially on it's Southern side. The North river or Rio Bravo which runs into the gulph of Mexico, and the North river, or Rio colorado which runs into the gulph of California, are understood to be the principal streams heading opposite to the waters of the Missouri, and running Southwardly. Whether the dividing grounds between the Missouri & them are mountains or flatlands, what are their distance from the Missouri, the character of the intermediate country, & the people inhabiting it, are worthy of particular enquiry. The Northern waters of the Missouri are less to be enquired after, because they have been ascertained to a considerable degree, and are still in a course of ascertainment by English traders & travellers. But if you can learn anything certain of the most Northern source of the Mississippi, & of it's position relative to the lake of the woods, it will be interesting to us. Some account too of the path of the Canadian traders from the Mississippi, at the mouth of the Ouisconsin river, to where it strikes the Missouri, and of the soil and rivers in it's course, is desirable.

"In all your intercourse with the natives treat them in the most friendly & conciliatory manner which their own conduct will admit; allay all jealousies as to the object of your journey, satisfy them of it's innocence, make them acquainted with the position, extent, character, peaceable & commercial dispositions of the U.S., of our wish to be neighborly, friendly & useful to them, & of our dispositions to a commercial intercourse with them; confer with them on the points most convenient as mutual emporiums, & the articles of most desirable interchange for them & us. If a few of their influential chiefs, within practicable distance, wish to visit us, arrange such a visit with them, and furnish them with authority to call on our officers, on their entering the U.S. to have them conveyed to this place at the public expense. If any of them should wish to have some of their young people brought up with us, & taught such arts as may be useful to them, we will receive, instruct & take care of them. Such a mission, whether of influential chiefs, or of young people, would give some security to your own party. Carry with you some matter of the kine pox, inform those of them with whom you may be, of it's efficacy as a preservative from the small pox; and instruct & encourage them in the use of it. This may be especially done wherever you may winter.

"As it is impossible for us to foresee in what manner you will be received by those people, whether with hospitality or hostility, so is it impossible to prescribe the exact degree of perseverance with which you are to pursue your journey. We value too much the lives of citizens to offer them to probably destruction. Your numbers will be sufficient to secure you against the unauthorised opposition of individuals, or of small parties: but if a superior force, authorised or not authorised, by a nation, should be arrayed against your further passage, & inflexibly determined to arrest it, you must decline it's further pursuit, and return. In the loss of yourselves, we should lose also the information you will have acquired. By returning safely with that, you may enable us to renew the essay with better calculated means. To your own discretion therefore must be left the degree of danger you may risk, & the point at which you should decline, only saying we wish you to err on the side of your safety, & to bring back your party safe, even if it be with less information.

"As far up the Missouri as the white settlements extend, an intercourse will probably be found to exist between them and the Spanish posts at St. Louis, opposite Cahokia, or Ste. Genevieve opposite Kaskaskia. From still farther up the river, the traders may furnish a conveyance for letters. Beyond that you may perhaps be able to engage Indians to bring letters for the government to Cahokia or Kaskaskia, on promising that they shall there receive such special compensation as you shall have stipulated with them. Avail yourself of these means to communicate to us, at seasonable intervals, a copy of your journal, notes & observations of every kind, putting into cypher whatever might do injury if betrayed.

"Should you reach the Pacific ocean, inform yourself of the circumstances which may decide whether the furs of those parts may not be collected as advantageously at the head of the Missouri (convenient as is supposed to the waters of the Colorado & Oregon or Columbia) as at Nootka sound or any other point of that coast; & that trade be consequently conducted through the Missouri & U.S. more beneficially than by the circumnavigation now practised.

"On your arrival on that coast, endeavor to learn if there be any port within your reach frequented by the sea-vessels of any nation, and to send two of your trusty people back by sea, in such way as shall appear practicable, with a copy of your notes. And should you be of opinion that the return of your party by the way they went will be eminently dangerous, then ship the whole, & return by sea by way of Cape Horn or the Cape of Good Hope, as you shall be able. As you will be without money, clothes or provisions, you must endeavor to use the credit of the U.S. to obtain them; for which purpose open letters of credit shall be furnished you authorizing you to draw on the Executive of the U.S. or any of its officers in any part of the world, in which draughts can be disposed of, and to apply with our recommendations to the consuls, agents, merchants or citizens of any nation with which we have intercourse, assuring them in our name that any aids they may furnish you shall be honorably repaid, and on demand. Our consuls Thomas Howes at Batavia in Java, William Buchanan of the Isles of France and Bourbon, & John Elmslie at the Cape of Good Hope will be able to supply your necessities by draughts on us.

"Should you find it safe to return by the way you go, after sending two of your party round by sea, or with your whole party, if no conveyance by sea can be found, do so; making such observations on your return as may serve to supply, correct or confirm those made on your outward journey.

"In re-entering the U.S. and reaching a place of safety, discharge any of your attendants who may desire & deserve it: procuring for them immediate paiment of all arrears of pay & cloathing which may have incurred since their departure and assure them that they shall be recommended to the liberality of the legislature for the grant of a souldier's portion of land each, as proposed in my message to Congress: & repair yourself with your papers to the seat of government.

"To provide, on the accident of your death, against anarchy, dispersion & the consequent danger to your party, and total failure of the enterprise, you are hereby authorised, by any instrument signed & written in your own hand, to name the person among them who shall succeed to the command on your decease, & by like instruments to change the nomination from time to time, as further experience of the characters accompanying you shall point out superior fitness: and all the powers & authorities given to yourself are, in the event of your death, transferred to & vested in the successor so named, with further power to him, & his successors in like manner to name each his successor, who, on the death of his predecessor shall be invested with all the powers & authorities given to yourself.

"Given under my hand at the city of Washington, this 20th. day of June 1803."

Th:Jefferson, Pr. U.S. of America.

New Evidence validates Lewis & Clark airgun

Robert Beeman writes to let L&C fans know that new evidence points to the Girandoni airgun that he has owned for three decades is Lewis' airgun that he took on the expedition. Visit Dr. Beeman's website and venture through a magisterial collection of information on airguns.

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