Sad news

Scout has been having hinge problems. She been creaking and groaning when I put one side up nearly as badly as my hinges do some days. Then one day that ol' hinge didn't line up right at all. I called scout's clinic and was told to bring her in right away. The person I talked to said he had never fixed that kind of problem before however he knew he could fix her up . I trust him, he's done good by scout in the past so I brought her in, after a partial enema. Mother's garage is now littered with the flotsam & jetsam of a chunk of my life.

Sympathy cards are pointless since scout can't read and without her I'm homeless. For now I'm mooching off mother. If the sky ever dries up I'll work off my room and board doing some much needed house repair.

Or I may try mooching off friends – you know who you are and have been warned! For those of you impervious to mooching, I plan on visiting with you regardless.

Northward

For the last few days I've been exploring the area around Council Bluffs, IA and Omaha, NE. There actually is a real council bluff that is no longer on the river while Council Bluffs is on the river. The real council bluff is where L&C finally made contact with Indian leaders. My exploring has led to some interesting information, for me.

In Omaha, besides reading interesting signage, getting very lost and sampling, of course, some local brews, I visited the Joslyn Art Museum. If ever you find yourself in Omaha, stop and take a look. A surprise discovery for me was recognizing that I like some modern art quite a bit. Also, I was able to recognize art by the same artist! (Not modern) Thank you, sis, for wandering through an art gallery with me last time we met and sharing your skills.

 

The last few L&C visitor centers have focused on the discovery part of the expedition's journey. I was surprised to read that raccoons were unknown before Lewis made record of them. No raccoon's out east?

A young one tried to join me in Scout. It woke me up several times climbing on this and that trying to get in. It even opened up the fitting around my electrical wire. Two nights of it was enough so I moved on to a much busier campground where dogs woke me up instead. At least they weren't trying to get inside.

Several of Clark's August entries mention annoying mosquitoes. I haven't had those little buggers yet though I have had ticks about the size of pin heads trying to hitch a free ride.

All the stuff I read about L&C before leaving and all the stuff I've along the way talk about the trip as one of exploration and discovery. Heck, Jefferson even called it the Corps of Discovery. So, I have been exceedingly interested in little bits here and there that tell a somewhat different story. L&C had maps of the Missouri River they acquired from traders already here. They probably had maps that went all the way through Montana so they weren't heading off into unknown territory. I guess what makes that interesting to me is my shift in focus. These guys are not an army version of Danial Boone, they are recorders and appraisers, out to get a feel for what the country is worth and size up the Indians for strength and potential attitude. ( One Indian leader is reported to have said the British keep their word and Americans break theirs.) Suddenly, those thousands of settlers immediately pouring west make sense.

And I now understand Fort Atkinson much better than I did when I visited it. Ft Atkinson is located at another spot Clark marked as a good defensive position. It sits on THE council bluff and was the meeting place of many councils involving Indians. Most of the fort's history belongs to a different story so I imagine I'll be visiting it a different time.

Now I'm in yet another Lewis and Clark park, this one in Iowa. There is a L&C reenactment going on this weekend, a fortuitous coincidence. There is also supposed to be life-threatening storms tomorrow. In either case, I guess there's going to be a show.

Ft Osage

Its been hard to photograph the Missouri River that I have thus far followed. Like any large river I've seen its simply there, rolling, or in the case of the Mo I've seen, roiling, along. And the folks who live near aren't prone to talk of it. So I've been trying to look at stuff associated with it. One of those things is Ft. Osage.

The fort is not strictly a L&C thing though it is directly related to Clark. Upon returning, Clark was sent back with instructions to build a fort to protect the river, it being, or going to be, the main route west until the RR replaced it. Clark didn't stay after the fort was started however since he had a hand, I stopped to look.

This is another well-done site. The visitor center is new, so new it is an environmental showplace, grass roof etc. The fort itself has been restored with great care and I had an informative brochure to tell me about various buildings. It had just enough information to remain interesting and some of it was new information; like whipping was used for discipline until 1822. What they didn't tell me was also interesting. For instance, the flagpole was high over the walls because two 20ft poles were carefully lashed together to make one quite tall pole. Since this fort was so carefully restored, I'm guessing originally it had been lashed. Hemp growing and cordage was a favored industry along the river so maybe I want it to be true.  (Hemp also used lots of slave labor, hence most pro-slavery advocates lived along the Missouri where hemp was grown.)

One thing I found amusing was calling the trading post a factory, until I read that the trader was called a factor. Mike was serving as the factor when I visited. He is fun to talk with and very well informed. He was also selling trade goods so the grandbabies are stuck with more stuff that caught my eye as well as my mind.

During the gold rush I'm guessing most of us know the miners aren't the ones who became rich, it was the shop-keepers, saloon-keepers and the guys that sold food. Something else I hadn't thought about was, besides the little beasties, trappers & traders getting skinned too; I do know the Indians were. For instance, a trade mirror cost the supplier 8 cents, the trader paid 80 cents and the Indian paid a hide worth around $2.

Prices for hides surprised me. Some were worth as little as 10 cents and others were worth dollars. Size wasn't always the guide on price nor was fur. Another thing to add to my browse list.

I have satisfied a thing or two on the look-it-up list. Back in Jefferson City's museum there was a display about Lincoln University. It was started after the Civil War by a white officer from one of the black regiments. Black soldiers donated several thousand dollars to start the school. The school was started in Jefferson City because that's where someone was willing to sell the officer a broken-down building to use. It managed to continue as a black school until the early 1950's when the federal government said no dollars unless it integrated so it did. Hmmm. My cynical self started wondering how black it remained. Part of that wonder is based on poet-integration pictures on display that showed mostly white people.

Well, a quick search told me its doing really well – its in the top 5 schools for both economic and racial diversity. Of course it could actually mean other schools are doing really poorly but that's a TMI.