(Part of a continuing series of travel commentaries)
By J. Daniel Rogers
The Great Plains brings all landscapes down to their essence—earth and sky. No hills, no trees. It is not boring, or blank or incomplete, the prairie is the foundation, the prototype. For me, it is the place to start.
The essence of the Plains. Photo by Dan Rogers.
All simple and true things are oversimplifications. The Great Plains is not only flat land and ever-changing sky. There are rivers--sometimes very large rivers--and hills and valleys. Stands of trees and forest follow along the river and stream courses. The land is never really flat and sometimes mountains crop up (the Black Hills) while bare mesas define some regions. Today, wherever it is feasible agriculture defines the landscape of the Plains. In some areas new oilfields have popped up.
To the east grasslands give way to ever thicker forest. The Rocky Mountains rise up at the western edge of the plains. The landscape transition to the mountains is something of a shock. Almost no foothills, prairie becomes mountain with little warning. On a recent trip to the Great Plains I marveled at the first sight of the mountains. My traveling partner, Garry Rogers, a landscape ecologist specializing in arid lands, said, “look at the snow!” I couldn’t believe it. “Snow?” As we drove west across the sweltering plains on June 6 I just didn’t think it could be snow. Viewed from 50 miles away, I thought it must be haze or fog on the mountains. Garry was right and I was wrong, it was snow and lots of it. I have lived on the Southern Plains and traversed the Northern Plains, I have hiked prairies and mountains around the world, but mountains still surprise me.
A couple hundred years ago Lewis and Clark led their expedition up the Missouri River. On May 26, 1805 they saw the mountains for the first time. This is what Lewis wrote:
In the after part of the day I also walked out and ascended the river hills which I found sufficiently fortiegueing. on arriving to the summit one of the highest points in the neighbourhood I thought myself well repaid for any labour; as from this point I beheld the Rocky Mountains for the first time these points of the Rocky Mountains were covered with snow and the sun shone on it in such manner as to give me the most plain and satisfactory view. while I viewed these mountains I felt a secret plaesure in finding myself so near the head of the heretofore conceived boundless Missouri; but when I reflected on the difficulties which this snowy barrier would most probably throw in my way to the Pacific, and the sufferings and hardships of myself and party in them, it in some measure counterbalanced the joy I felt in the 1st moments in which I gazed on them; but as I have always held it a crime to anticipate evils I will believe it a good comfortable road untill I am compelled to believe differently. [Moulton 1983, Volume 4]
A first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains. Photo by Dan Rogers.
I suspect that Lewis knew at that moment the dream of a water route to the Pacific was not even a remote possibility. He must have known it before then. He and Jefferson were aware of the Rocky Mountains and that the expedition would need to travel from the Missouri River across the mountains and to the Columbia River. After all, how can you travel up a river and expect it to connect to an ocean (the Pacific)? Rivers begin in a series of smaller and smaller streams, or sometimes emerge from a lake. Perhaps there will be a westward flowing river system nearby, but access would certainly require portages and the eventual construction of a canal. Two hundred years later it is easy to wonder what President Jefferson, Captain Lewis, and many others were thinking.
Of course, the contrast of prairie and mountain was nothing new to the Native tribes of the region. The Blackfeet, the Assiniboine, the Crow, the Sioux, and others and many generations of their ancestors often traveled from grassland to forest, from plains to mountains. And, indeed Native guides led the Lewis and Clark expedition from the Missouri River drainage to the Columbia River drainage and eventually to the Pacific. The first view of the mountains that shocked Lewis was routine to others, including even a few European trappers who had traveled up the Missouri over the previous 30 years. I have only twice seen that view, traveling from the east to the west.
On June 1st Garry and I met in St. Louis and began our drive along the Missouri River towards those mountains. Everywhere we went we were reminded of the Lewis and Clark expedition, such as the L & C Ford/Lincoln dealership in Yankton, South Dakota or the L & C Cafe in Washburn, North Dakota, plus lots of monuments and points of interest. In Nebraska City, Nebraska we stopped at the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center, a fine museum and activity center dedicated to the Corps of Discovery. An exhibit about the flora and fauna along the river was especially interesting. We both enjoyed the replica of the Lewis and Clark keel boat in front of the visitor’s center. The original was designed by President Jefferson and Captain Lewis. Presidents these days don’t set down and help design expedition equipment. Mr. Jefferson was a scholar and intensely interested in the history, geology, flora, and fauna of unknown regions—not to mention making the U.S. a global power. He did a lot more for the expedition than design equipment, he also intensely instructed Lewis on making scientific field observations.
Garry Rogers and the keel boat. This replica of the Lewis and Clark keel boat was made for an early 2000s documentary. The original has not survived. The expedition keel boat has its own commemorative history, having been featured on the US nickel during the early 2000s. Photo by Dan Rogers.
At the Lewis and Clark Visitor Center I picked out a couple postcards in the gift shop to send home. I asked about stamps at the counter. The staff person said, “Oh, I’m going by the post office later. I’ll get stamps for you and mail the cards. No charge.” Welcome to the Great Plains! Everywhere we went we met helpful and kind people curious about why we were visiting their town.
Paying attention to the Lewis and Clark expedition is a good way to reflect on what has changed and what has remained the same over the last 200 years. For me the point of the trip was to visit some key places on the Great Plains and develop a sense of place. Mountains are interesting, but prairie comes first for me. After driving for a couple weeks about all I learned for sure is that I must come back.
____________
[A few months ago Lotte Govaerts wrote in this column about her travels in North Dakota to Fort Union and other important places. In subsequent posts I will follow-up with my perspective on some of the same places.]
References/Further reading
Lewis and Clark Visitor Center
Gary E. Moulton, ed. 1983. The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition., Volume 1, Atlas, and Volume 4, April 8 - July 27, 1805. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Christian, Shirley. 2009. Before Lewis and Clark: The Story of the Chouteaus, the French Dynasty That Ruled America’s Frontier. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
Ronda, James P. 1984. Lewis and Clark Among the Indians. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.
.jpg){kind=link}