Montana and Great Falls
September 19, 1998
Lewis, Clark and the Corps of Discovery spent almost a month in the Great Falls, Montana area -- it took that long to portage around the five major falls of the Missouri River. Now many of the falls that formed a barrier to their dugout canoes are covered with water behind hydroelectric dams. It would be a “piece of cake” to canoe the lakes behind the dams now. Lewis and Clark guessed that it would take only one-half day to portage the falls, but dugout canoes are very heavy and there were several falls. It must have been a very frustrating experience. They were in something of a hurry to travel west before winter snows caught them in the mountains.
When eating pancakes at the Farmer’s Market on Saturday morning, we chatted with some locals at our table. “The weather has been on the warm side this year,” one lady explained. “Some years we have already had snow by this time.” (The Corps of Discovery encountered a snow storm in the Bitterroot Mountains in mid-September, 1805.) A snow would force us south along with the Canada Geese and other migrating birds. An older gentleman, sporting a Texas Aggie cap, sat across the breakfast table from us. I asked him if he was an Aggie. “No, I got this hat for only $1.50 and could not pass up the good buy,” he said.
A couple of other ladies at the table explained all the neat things to do in town. “Don’t miss our new Lewis and Clark center. Be sure to visit the shortest river in the world and the spring that supplies it. The bird-watching is good at Benton Lake National Wildlife Refuge and Freezeout Lake National Wildlife Management Area. A drive down-river to old Fort Benton would be worth your while. Be sure to take a walk along the river trail. The boat ride through the canyons of the Gates of the Mountains on the Missouri River is great fun. If you find the time, I recommend a trip down-river to the Great Falls. But stay here awhile and enjoy our city; it is a nice place to live.”
While on a morning jog along a Missouri River Trail, I observed the source of the Missouri River. It comes from the sprinklers watering the grass in the park along the river. Several of these sprinklers were directing streams of water directly into the river. OK, so maybe these sprinklers were not the source of the river, but it was certainly contributing some of the water that flows to the Gulf of Mexico.
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| Pat at the Farmer's Market |
After buying huckleberry syrup, green beans, new potatoes, sweet corn, squash, a rhubarb pie, a loaf of fresh cracked wheat bread and a very sweet cantaloupe, mostly from a Hutterite farmer’s daughter at the Saturday morning Farmer’s Market, we dropped by a downtown tire store. A slow leak in a tire required some attention. A Canadian nail proved to be the culprit. In the street beside the store, a fire truck blocked the traffic. Policemen and firemen were directing their attention to the Savings and Loan building next door. A small crowd of secretary-type folks stood in the parking a lot across the street, watching the action. “I would advise you not to walk near there,” cautioned the clerk at the tire store. “There has been a bomb threat. It happens fairly often. They caught two guys who were making the threats. They were Savings and Loan employees. Found out they could get the day off when there was a bomb threat. It was easy vacation time until they got caught and are now serving a sentence of 80 hours of community service after pleading guilty to blackmail. But several other threats have been made since they were sentenced. Haven’t caught the new guy yet.”
The new Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center, which opened early this summer, lived up to its reputation, plus some. The city of Great Falls contributed 50% of matching money with the Federal Government to build the five million dollar center. It is located on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River and features the Expedition’s portage around the Great Falls. But it also interprets many other features, people, cultures, wildlife, etc. that the Corps encountered during the trip. It is certain to become a major tourist attraction as its reputation spreads. Interestingly, it is run by the National Forest Service instead of the National Park Service. A volunteer explained that the Forest Service had an office in Great Falls and the Park Service did not have an office there, so it was politically expedient to cooperate with the Forest Service.
During our late-afternoon, introductory visit, we had time for a ranger’s talk on the crossing of the Bitterroot Mountains by the Expedition. She explained the amazing coincidence that happened when the Corps met with Indians to procure horses to carry them across the Bitterroot Mountains. The Indians were cautious and concerned about Corps intentions until Sacajawea -- the female interpreter for the Corps -- appeared and recognized the Chief (Cameahwait) as her brother. After an emotional reunion, the chief agreed to the sale of horses. Lewis and Clark quickly realized the importance of having a woman traveling with the Corps – Indians along the trail could determine that the Corps had peaceful intentions because war parties traditionally did not include women.
As our ranger continued, she demonstrated the style of buckskin clothing members made for themselves after their regular clothing wore out. She asked for a volunteer to come from the audience to model the outfit. Usually, kids in the audience eagerly volunteer for such stunts, but our audience was composed only of cautious old codgers like ourselves. After repeated requests and no volunteers, she was about to draft a volunteer when a woman in the back of the audience volunteered. She came forward and modeled the buckskin, a buffalo robe, and a powder horn was hung around her neck. Then, to my amazement, I recognized the woman! We had met before. I nudged Pat and asked if she recognized the woman. She looked at me with wide eyes – could it be? Like the Corps of Discovery, we were experiencing our own amazing coincidence in Montana.
After finishing her modeling stint, the woman passed by us as she was returning to her seat. I waved, she looked at us, her brow furrowed, then her eyes lit up “The Sterlings!” she exclaimed. It was a lady that we had met at the Trail of Tears State Park along the Mississippi River in 1997. It was Lovis and her husband, Fred Brodbeck. We had all visited the Army Corps of Engineer Dredge Potter operating on the Mississippi River. We have kept in contact with each other by email since and they had informed us that they were planning to drive the Lewis and Clark trail this summer. In my last communication with them, I suggested that they call us when they arrive in Montana and maybe we could meet again. But we met by coincidence before they could call. We spent a couple of days together at the Interpretive Center, visiting the Great Falls, eating out and riding bikes along the river. It was great fun becoming reacquainted and sharing our common interests.
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| Pat and Fred Brodbeck at Visitor's Center |
Later Lovis and Fred left for Glacier National Park, while Pat and I have continued our explorations. When watching Canada Geese, ducks and cormorants at Sacajawea Island in the Missouri River, we read from an interpretive plaque of an adventure that Merriweather Lewis had on the island. So here comes another bear story. Lewis had just had an encounter with a “polecat” and was hunting a buffalo. The following are the words and spelling of Lewis from his original Journals:
“...I scelected a fat buffaloe and shot him very well, through the lungs; while I was gazeing attentively on the poor animal discharging blood in streams from his mouth and nostrils, expecting him to fall every instant, and having entirely forgotten to reload my rifle, a large white, or reather brown bear, had perceived and crept on me within 20 steps before I discovered him; in the first moment I drew up my gun to shoot, but at the same instant re-colected that she was not loaded and that he was too near for me to hope to perform this operation before he reached me, as he was then briskly advancing on me; it was an open level plain, not a bush within miles nor a tree within less than three hundred yards of me; the river bank was sloping and not more than three feet above the level of the water; in short there was no place by means of which I could conceal myself from this monster untill I could charge my rifle; in this situation I thought of retreating in a brisk walk as fast as he was advancing until I could reach a tree about 300 yards below me, but I had no sooner terned myself about but he pitched at me, open mouthed and full speed, I ran about 80 yards and found he gained on me fast, I then run into the water the idea struk me to get into the water to such debth that I could stand and he would be obliged to swim, and that I could in that situation defend myself with my espontoon (lance); accordingly I ran haistily into the water about waist deep, and faced about and presented the point of my espontoon, at this instant he arrived at the edge of the water within about 20 feet of me; the moment I put myself in this attitude of defence he sudonly wheeled about as if frightened, delcined the combat on such unequal grounds, and retreated ....”
Apparently running from a grizzly bear is not always a bad defense strategy.
If we can trust the words of Merriweather Lewis, this is another true bear story.
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