Existing comment:
Preparing for the Unexpected:
Meriwether Lewis and his men were headed for lands unknown to them. The west was a wilderness to almost everyone except the American Indians who lived there, so Lewis had to bring everything he needed or plan to do without. Somehow, Lewis had to prepare for the unexpected -- new people, new languages, new places and unknown dangers. The Armory and Arsenal at Harpers Ferry supplied critical items: rifles for 15 men, pipe tomahawks, knives, tools, spare gun parts, a specially designed boat and gifts for American Indians.
"My detention at Harper's Ferry was unavoidable for one month, a period much greater than could reasonably have been calculated on; my greatest difficulty was the frame of the canoe which could not be completed without my personal attention... experiment was necessary also to determine its dimensions. I therefore resolved to give it a fair trial and accordingly prepared two sections of it with the same materials of which they must of necessity be composed when completed for service on my voyage."
-- Meriwether Lewis, to President Thomas Jefferson on April 20, 1803
Diplomatic Gifts:
President Jefferson asked Lewis to build friendly relationships with the American Indian tribes that he met. Tribal chiefs expected to be offered gifts. Lewis got knives and pipe tomahawks at Harpers Ferry to give as gifts.
Lewis relied on the gunsmiths at the Harpers Ferry Armory to prepare and refit rifles and gun parts necessary for the expedition.
Pipe tomahawks, similar to this one, were popular gifts with the tribes along the Missouri River.
From March 16 to April 18, 1803, Captain Lewis with the armory gunsmiths at Harpers Ferry to prepare supplies. One of his special projects was to make a collapsible boat frame. He planned to use the boat when the crew needed to pass the Great Falls of the Missouri River.
Meriwether Lewis made a final visit to Harpers Ferry on July 7 & 8, 1803 to inspect the supplies that had been prepared for his journey. |