Excerpts from: Medical Aspects of the Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806)

Abstract

T HE Lewis and Clark Expedition (1804–1806), sent by President Thomas Jefferson to the Columbia River, has had so important an effect on the subsequent history of the Pacific Northwest that all aspects of this epochal journey are of great interest. As leader of the Expedition, President Jefferson selected Captain Meriwether Lewis (1774–1809), of the United States Infantry. Lewis was an educated man with unusual qualities of leadership, and had been Jefferson’s private secretary. He asked that William Clark (1770– 1838), a 2nd lieutenant in the United States Artillery and a brother of George Rogers Clark, the well known Indian fighter, be appointed co-leader. Both men were born near Charlottesville, Virginia. Clark served as equal to Lewis in command of the Expedition and the leaders are referred to as Captains Lewis and Clark in historical records. Clark was a frontiersman and soldier of much experience and contributed greatly to the success of the venture. No regular physician was provided, but Lewis had sufficient medical knowledge to treat many of the ills of his company and Clark knew the simple medical practices of frontier life. After collecting the necessary supplies and selecting a personnel of 27 men, the captains placed the Expedition into winter quarters at River du Bois, near St. Louis, late in 1803. Rigorous training during the winter fitted the men for the anticipated hardships of the journey. The party, with 15 or 16 additional men1 who were to go only part of the way, started up the Missouri River in three boats on May 14, 1804. Its instructions were to make a geographical exploration of the country they