Astoria and a Faithful Companion
Eyes that could melt your heart. Did Meriwether Lewis purposefully go looking for a dog, a faithful traveling companion for this great exploratory adventure across terra incognito? Or did the soft gaze of a pair of brown eyes looking up from a whiskered muzzle make him stop and contemplate the advantages of a canine companion?
Today during our visit to the re-created Fort Clatsop, the winter home of the Corps of Discovery for 1805-06, we met a member of the original expedition. Well, almost. We met Dolly, a 130-pound Newfoundland dog – the same breed of dog Lewis brought on the journey and wrote of several times in his journals. Lewis recruited his furry traveling companion, Seaman, while purchasing supplies for outfitting the expedition. He never wrote of a regret in doing so. Often the journal entries applaud contributions of the four-legged member – his prowess at hunting and retrieval, his alert disposition as a sentry. Also noted with alarm was his injury from a beaver bite and his abduction by local Indians.
The question has arisen whether or not Seaman made it back to St. Louis with the expedition. There is no note of his death along the way, nor is there mention of him upon the return. There is a straw to grasp, however, for those that want of a happy ending. In 1814 Timothy Alden published “A Collection of American Epitaphs and Inscriptions with Occasional Notes.” Included in this collection is an entry of a dog collar from an Alexandria, Virginia museum. The inscription reads “The greatest traveller of my species. My name is SEAMAN, the dog of Captain Meriwether Lewis, whom I accompanied to the Pacifick ocean through the interior of the continent of North America.” Speculation also exists that the donor of the collar may have been William Clark.
We start our homeward travels soon, and perhaps we may find a furry companion eagerly awaiting our return with welcoming barks and a lolling tongue. We can reminisce on our travels and discoveries in the comfort of our own homes, perhaps with a floppy-eared companion sleeping at our feet. A companion with soft brown eyes that can melt your heart, and make you scoot over a little so they can settle in on the sofa next to you. Woof.
Eyes that could melt your heart. Did Meriwether Lewis purposefully go looking for a dog, a faithful traveling companion for this great exploratory adventure across terra incognito? Or did the soft gaze of a pair of brown eyes looking up from a whiskered muzzle make him stop and contemplate the advantages of a canine companion?
Today during our visit to the re-created Fort Clatsop, the winter home of the Corps of Discovery for 1805-06, we met a member of the original expedition. Well, almost. We met Dolly, a 130-pound Newfoundland dog – the same breed of dog Lewis brought on the journey and wrote of several times in his journals. Lewis recruited his furry traveling companion, Seaman, while purchasing supplies for outfitting the expedition. He never wrote of a regret in doing so. Often the journal entries applaud contributions of the four-legged member – his prowess at hunting and retrieval, his alert disposition as a sentry. Also noted with alarm was his injury from a beaver bite and his abduction by local Indians.
The question has arisen whether or not Seaman made it back to St. Louis with the expedition. There is no note of his death along the way, nor is there mention of him upon the return. There is a straw to grasp, however, for those that want of a happy ending. In 1814 Timothy Alden published “A Collection of American Epitaphs and Inscriptions with Occasional Notes.” Included in this collection is an entry of a dog collar from an Alexandria, Virginia museum. The inscription reads “The greatest traveller of my species. My name is SEAMAN, the dog of Captain Meriwether Lewis, whom I accompanied to the Pacifick ocean through the interior of the continent of North America.” Speculation also exists that the donor of the collar may have been William Clark.
We start our homeward travels soon, and perhaps we may find a furry companion eagerly awaiting our return with welcoming barks and a lolling tongue. We can reminisce on our travels and discoveries in the comfort of our own homes, perhaps with a floppy-eared companion sleeping at our feet. A companion with soft brown eyes that can melt your heart, and make you scoot over a little so they can settle in on the sofa next to you. Woof.
