Much more is said about the great success of the Lewis and Clark Corps of Discovery expedition west than about the hardships and dangers they faced daily without a second thought. In reality, due to these constant difficulties and dangers, they were lucky to reach the Pacific coast and return alive.
Some of the hardships they endured were lack of privacy, routine illnesses, poor hygiene and medical treatment, boils/sores, accidental injuries, knife/gunshot wounds, falls/spills, biting insects (in abundance), snakes poisonous plants, thorny plants, bad weather, extreme temperatures, violent storms, hail, flooding, loss, stress, starvation, lack of sleep, exhaustion, pain, encounters with carnivorous wild animals (bears), depletion of trade goods, and potential death.
Ten difficulties and dangers summarized
1. Without privacy. Camping and living outdoors. Also, tight spaces in boats, canoes and stockades. Finding the time and place for personal needs when not camping: e.g. resting, sleeping, resting, healing, making or mending your clothes/shoes, taking care of yourself to get healthy, cutting your hair, beard, nails fingers and toes and have enough places to bathe and use the latrine if it exists.
2. Disease. Sores, boils, dysentery, gastric upset, flatulence, sunburn, dehydration, colds, flu, frostbite, constipation, menstrual obstruction, headaches, appendicitis, toothache, mouth sores, dental problems, possible pneumonia, cholera, venereal diseases and smallpox. Also, bad hygiene practices, such as not having personal or prophylactic toothbrushes, which can cause health problems. Furthermore, certain medical treatments, such as bleeding, did not cure diseases. Also, her water was not always sterile, and Sacagawea had no pampering for her baby.
3. human conflict. Disagreements caused by stressful conditions: for example, not doing your part of the job, meddling in the personal affairs of a crew member, meddling in disagreements between the natives themselves, not understanding different cultures and their ways of life , however long and tense, either did not negotiate with the tribes, or was too competitive with them.
4. be lost. Taking the wrong trail or tributary, having a guide get confused by the ever-changing terrain, or going too far from camp alone or without proper weapons or backup. Note: a young crew member was lost for two weeks while he recovered two stray horses.
5. bad weather. Heavy rain, high winds, heat, sun, thunderstorms, hail, lightning, flash floods, river snags, weather-induced boat spills, freezing rain/temperatures (-45oF in North Dakota), ice/sleet/ snow. Note: Clark along with his slave and hired interpreter and his wife Sacagawea and his baby narrowly escaped a flash flood. They had sought shelter from storms under the jutting rocks, but instead found themselves in a rapidly growing flood. Clark lost his compass, shooting bag, and tomahawk. Sacagawea lost her child’s crib (rear carrier).
6. bad decisions (only a few). Making bad decisions under a lot of pressure or unfavorable circumstances: for example, failing to avoid known unfriendly tribes, being openly angry with others for many reasons, for example, lost or stolen property, being jealous of friends/relationships, feeling insulted , or by being distracted from necessary routine tasks or the purpose of the trip.
7. Exhaustion. From heat stroke or strenuous work (pulling the keelboat upstream or hauling boats/supplies around waterfalls or rapids), from carrying cargo or game, from walking on a slippery/muddy/rocky bank of a river, from climbing hills/trees , from doing heavy work, such as building and sealing mud palisades, or making underground hideouts and canoes, and from loss of sleep.
8. starvation. Lack of food in the mountains (ate candles and foals there), lack of grass/tree bark for horses, getting lost without food, weakened by low food supply when/where game was not available. Note: each crew member could eat about nine pounds of meat a day. Sacagawea helped the corps with this situation by finding and collecting many wild edibles.
9. Injury. Cuts, bruises, scrapes, scrapes, cactus pricks, sprained legs/arms, broken bones, insect/mosquito bites (sometimes the mosquitoes were so thick they got in the eyes, ears and mouth), falls from Horses, Horse Falls/Tripping into Herd or Rider, Possible Snake Bites, Prickly Plant Bites, Punctured Moccasins, Sore Feet/Bleeding Legs, Aches/Pains in Body (Feet/Back/Shoulders), Bites / injuries to the claws of wild animals and wounds from knives or gunshots.
10 potential death (accident, injury or illness). Falls from high cliffs and horses, illness, flash floods, river drowning, boat spills, sudden storms, or wild animals eg snakes, cougars, wolves, buffalo, grizzly bears (numerous close calls occurred during the trip). Notes: A tribe wanted to kill the body for its loot, but didn’t. Various other tribes could have beaten the corps at different times if they really wanted to. One member of the corps died on the westbound leg of the trip, apparently of appendicitis. Everyone else made it all the way alive.
Although much of the corps’ success can be attributed to 1) its careful preparation beforehand, 2) its vast supplies to start with, and 3) its self-sufficient, diverse, and well-trained members, many historians claim they could not have done that. long successful journey without the generous help of the Native American tribes they met along the way. The historians are right. The body could not have made this dangerous journey of exploration without the help of the Indians. Still, the body overcame numerous difficulties and dangers on its own.