Lewis Clark Patrick Gass the Problem Interpretation Communication Encountered Explorers Indians Expedition

Lewis Clark, Patrick Gass the problem interpretation (communication) encountered explorers ( Indians) expedition.

When Thomas Jefferson wrote Meriwether Louis on June 30, 1803 to instruct upon some of the conditions that the pending expedition imposed, he made several relevant considerations. The president emphasized that it was an important objective of the mission that knowledge should be acquired in regards to the people who inhabited the target regions of the expedition. He encouraged Meriwether to acquaint himself with the tribes and their religion, wealth, productions, arts, and language, among others. He also advised Meriwether that his behavior toward the inhabitants should be ?in the most friendly and conciliatory manner? (Jefferson 1803) insofar as he would be demonstrated similar conduct. Before going into any other details, it should be mentioned that the referenced expedition is of course the Lewis and Clark Expedition commissioned by Thomas Jefferson and commanded by the two aforementioned. Meriwether and William's assignment was to evaluate and map out the west territory, beyond the Mississippi River, a mission that would eventually serve to shape the United States. Additionally, as substantiated by the Indian removal which took place in the nineteenth century, the Lewis and Clark Expedition was thought not as merely exploratory strategy for commercial inauguration but indeed pursued for territorial expansion.

Given that one of the main objectives of the mission was gathering of information of the native tribes, some form of communication deemed thus imperious for the mission to succeed. This is why members of the Corps, such as George Droulliard, Pierre Cruzatte, Francois Labiche, who were part American Indian, were relied on as interpreters, given their knowledge of Indian language. Further, Droulliard was familiarized with sign language which, although rudimentary, served the mission's purpose. Moreover, Sacagawea, a Lemhi Shoshone born Indian woman accompanied Lewis and Clark for much of their journey to the Pacific Ocean until 1806. However, challenges did exist due to the fact that, as many as dozens of tribes inhabited the region and lots were culturally and linguistically different from one another. This indeed would be acknowledged by Co-captain William Clark in one of his notes regarding the Sioux tribes: This Nation is Divided into 20 tribes, possessing seperate interests. Collectively they are noumerous say from 2 to 3000 men, their interests are so unconnected that Some bands are at war with some Nations [with] which other bands are on the most friendly terms. (132) What's more, William noted on how peculiar it had been for him to come across a nation of Indians he had never met before: Those who become Members of this Society must be brave active young men who take a Vow never give back let the danger be what it may, in War Parties they always go forward without screening themselves behind trees or anything else to this vow they Strictly adhier during their lives. (130) It is understood then that the Corps of Discovery had to implement different communicating techniques in accordance with the variety of Indian nations. Because some of the tribes were not merely reluctant but indeed hostile do develop relationships with strangers, interrelations were further challenged. Added to that was the problem of interpreting that depended much on the proficiency of the interpreter to accurately reproduce Indian statements while subsequently relaying messages to the natives.

Having said these, what will be addressed in this essay are some of the problems that Meriwether and William, along with the rest of the members of the Corps, encountered in establishing communication with the native tribes who inhabited the course of the Mississippi river during the years of the expedition. In this respect, the commanders' personal observations will be considered, as well as any relevant information regarding the cultural and linguistic characteristics of the native tribes. It should be mentioned that the editing version of the commanders' journals that has been made reference to in this paper is the 1904 two parts volume that reveals the manuscripts exactly as written by Meriwether and William. Thus, where information has been cited, the subsequent grammatical errors appear uncorrected since this how they were added in the edited version.

Thomas Jefferson himself was not oblivious to Indian culture and was cognizant of the importance of linguistic researching. He would eventually relish on the disappearance of many of the Indian tribes' languages. Jefferson wrote in Notes of the State of Virginia that ?it is to be lamented then, very much lamented, that we have suffered so many of the Indian tribes already to extinguish, without our having previously collected and deposited in the records of literature, the general rudiments at least of the languages they spoke. (qtd. In Cutright 7) He had general ethnological interests but was also involved with ?procuring Indian vocabularies, ? (qtd. In Cutright 7), an enterprise that no doubt enforced the initiative for an expedition.

Knowledge of the Indians on a more general basis had started to be collected since the time France, Britain, or Spain first established connections with native tribes. It was known thus that Indians practiced trade among themselves and gift giving as diplomatic affairs. To ensure similar negotiation tactics in the manner that Indians understood diplomacy, Lewis was instructed by Benjamin Rush, a renowned physician at the time and personality, and other members of the intellectual elite to negotiate effectively. Although, writing to Benjamin Rush, President Jefferson acknowledged that ?Capt. Lewis is brave, prudent, habituated to the woods & familiar with Indian manners and character, (qtd. In Jackson 18) he nevertheless sent Meriwether to Philadelphia to receive training on health issues as well as diplomacy with Indians. This was a way to secure safe passage as much as it represented a tactic for opening up and broadening diplomatic relations. Ceremonial gifts were part of an entire arsenal of ancient diplomatic protocols that the Indian tribes assimilated which made it imperative for Lewis, as commander of the Corps, to become acquainted with such processes.

Peace medals were specifically designed by the U.S. As well as Britain, France, and Spain as symbols of covenant between nations. Peace and Friendship? had been inscribed on the reverse of the medals along with clasped hands so as to imply the bond claimed by the European -- Americans, the fraternity and the equality between the latter and the Indian nations of the West. These medals were graded differently and were given to Indians according to their rank. Presents for chiefs and Indian people were thus considered intermediary methods of communication that would at least determine the Corps' presence to be deemed with less hostility. And Lewis himself was aware of the importance to facilitate their being on Indian lands with gift giving. In fact, Lewis's initial estimation of expenses attached to the expedition summed up the total amount of 2.500 dollars, of which the biggest sum of 696 dollars was to be spent on acquiring presents for the Indian tribes (Jackson 9). However, it was often that Meriwether and the natives misunderstood each other based on what each of the group perceived of the trade and gift giving. The two commanders believed they could appoint chiefs by their own understanding of the European -- American system. In regards to the interaction with the Otoe and the Missouri Indians, William wrote in his journal that ?the names of the chiefs made [we acknowledged] this day are as follows…, ? (98), a note which does not only imply that the commanders believed it was within their rights to acknowledge Indian authorities but clearly indicates their confidence in naming chiefs. What they failed to understand was that Indians followed completely different norms and they little but resented Meriwether and William's non-Indian concepts. Furthermore, William's observations that the Indian chiefs ?wer happy to find that they had fathers which might be depended on, (98) serve to demonstrate that the commanders believed that chiefs would comply and agree on authoritarian dependence. In fact, their hope for having a ?great white father? [Thomas Jefferson] to depend upon was merely viewed as beneficial in terms of commercial bonds. Meriwether and William had also been granted printed certificates prior to their departure on which they were instructed to write names of the chiefs as were acknowledged. They were convinced that this would further substantiate legal authority. However, it was noted in William's journal that Indians did not know what to make of such documents and were indeed reluctant to receive them:

one of those Indians after receiving his Certificate deliv. It again to me the Big Blue Eyes the chief petitioned for the Ctft. again, we would not give the Certf., but rebuked them very roughly for haveing in object goods and not peace with their neighbors. this language they did not like at first, but at length all petitioned for us to give back the Certificate to the Big Blue Eyes he came forward and made a plausible excuse, I then gave the Certificate [to] the Great Chief to bestow it to the most worthy, they gave it to him, we then gave them a Dram and broke up the Council, & #8230; (114)

This note serves to understand that Indians had conflicted beliefs over what agreement between them and the representatives of the United States assumed. It is indeed relevant to observe in this respect that communication was not only challenged by linguistic barriers, but by cultural and traditional beliefs as well. Rather than valuing pieces of paper which apparently had been more or less coerced to accept, the natives organized adoption ceremonies which they perceived as genuine authoritarian enactment. The latter however were greeted by the Corps with the afferent respect but did not attribute the ceremonies with the same significance the Indians did. This created a void which, whether they knew it or not, placed the commanders on a different side than that of the Indians. The two involved parts, the Indians and the Corps of Discovery seemed to agree however different on the same issues.

Part of the non-Indian concepts were the two commanders' suggestion that one chief for each nation should be appointed ?first chief. For the commanders, the offering of the peace medals meant that, as representatives of President Jefferson who subsequently represented the United States, they recognized the authorship of the Indian chief while the latter was expected to submit to the parenthood of the country. The first medal by which Meriwether and Lewis appointed a ?first chief? was given to Weuche, a Yankton Nakota Indian. This has been acknowledged by Woodger and Toropov as a ?continual and unfortunate error in judgment made by the captains, who were slow to appreciate that the Indians had their own system of deciding who were the most important chiefs. (xxi) While, among the people of the tribe, the medal was the symbol that outside nations were recognizing their chiefs' statute as well, from the United States' perspective, this was merely a tactic and not a genuine recognition of rights. Moreover, there were expressed concerns from the Indians' part occasionally that seemed to refute the idea that a medal would be self sufficient in itself for the native peoples, instead implied that the latter were in need of something more substantial. Chief Weuche cautioned the commanders that ?now you gave me a medal & cloaths but we are poor as the trader did not come to bring us goods for Some time. (Ordway 121) This suggests yet another conflict of ideas whereas as least some of the Indians wanted more of the expedition than what they were being offered while the commanders tried to explain that ?they had only come to make the road open for the traders to come & that in a Short time their would be pleanty of traders on with Goods and would Supply their wants on better terms than ever they had got them before. (Ordway 121) It is likely then that such differences disabled translucent communication when each of the parts had their own definition of authority and divided perceptions. How Meriwether and William treated the Indians' concerns may imply that the former had little knowledge of the natives' problems.

Charles Floyd, a sergeant and member of the expedition, was the only man to die during the prolonged journey toward the Pacific. Following his death on August 20, 1804, the two commanders were obliged to name another member of their crew to take on the deceased's duties. That person was Patrick Gass, the one who would eventually coin the term Corps of Discovery in his journal. Gass's notes were in fact the first ones to be published, prior to Meriwether and William's journals. What is interesting to note about Gass's own observations in relation to our purpose of addressing communication with Indians, is that the former makes regular references to how tobacco and the likes was often given in exchange of being allowed to traverse certain areas or, in the case below, leave an Indian camp. In a note from Friday the 28th of September, 1804, Gass would state:

This morning we dragged the river all round where the boat lay, but could not find the anchor. At 9 o'clock we made preparations to sail; some of the chiefs were on board, and concluded to go some distance with us. When we went to shove off, some of the Indians took hold of the rope and would not let go. This conduct had like to be attended with bad consequences, as Captain Lewis was near giving orders to cut the rope and to fire on them. The chiefs, however, went out and talked with them: they said they wanted a carrot of tobacco, and that if we gave them we might go. The tobacco was given them, and we went off under a gentle breeze of wind. (Gass 46)

This passage can lead one to believe that the Indians may have cut the rope that tied the anchor of the Corps' boat, hoping it would drift off and prevent thus the Corps' departure. Of course, this is a demonstration of a mere tactical maneuver that the Indians resorted to, in hope of retaining some of the tobacco provisions. However, it does show that Indians were unpredictable in their behavior and that, having dinned or spent the night in an Indian camp, did not make the two commanders less vigilant as to their temperament. Gass further noted about a future occurrence when Indians stole an axe from the cook's instruments which ?of course in some degree diminished our confidence and lessened the amiable character. (53) Indeed, these difficult to foresee behaviors determined the commanders and the rest of the members to take caution in their behavior and manner of addressing the Indians. All the more so, as, as recent as the 25th of September, 1804, they had already come across a more difficult situation. As commanders Meriwether and William approached and conversed with some of the Indians belonging to the Teton Lakota tribe, the latter did not allow for the Corps' departure. Sergeant Ordway (who was also an important member of the expedition) wrote in his private journal some relevant considerations in this respect:

Cap Lewis and Cap Clark went out to Speak and treat with them. Gave the 3 Chiefs 3 niew meddals & 1 American flag Some knives and other small articles of Goods & Gave the head chief The Black Buffalow a red coat & a cocked hat & feather & .C. likewise Some Tobacco. We had no good interpreter but the old Frenchman could make them understand tolerable well. But they did not appear to talk much until they had got the goods, and then they wanted more, and Said we must stop with them or leave one of the pearogues with them as that was what they expected. (138)

As the situation tensioned, William asked his men to be prepared and armed for whatever consequences. It was chief Black Buffalo who eventually tempered the situation. Nevertheless, the event ?confirmed the warlike reputation of the Teton Lakota, and their resistance to white encroachment, [that] was to last for another 80 years. (Woodger and Toropov xxi) It can be further argued that the incident substantiates the challenges in communication that appeared when the Corps were met by remonstrant tribes. What the latter's behavior appears to reveal is that there was a tendency to treat the commanders in similar manner in which they would treat competitive tribes. However, when they were confronted with threats of being cut off from their ?white fathers'? protection, they would soften their demeanor. It is important to notice that, in many occasions, it was the chiefs who intervened. No doubt, they were aware that tensions would bring about the dissolution of commerce bonds which the Indian peoples relied and hoped for. In this respect, communication was facilitated by the commanders being able to resort to convincing tactics that it was better off for the Indians to maintain diplomatic relations with the United States and not to interfere with the expedition's plans of moving to another region. But it would not be an understatement to suggest that the commanders found it difficult to address the native tribes when so many of them seemed to put spokes in the wheel, though not intend on jeopardizing the mission itself but rather hoping they would benefit more from the Corps' stay. It must also be considered that the Indians must have marveled at the displays which were laid in front of them by the Corps and that surely surpassed the technologies they had. This was all part of trying to convince the Indians that similar benefits are in prospect for them insofar as they agree to recognize the ?great white father? Of the whites as their own. It was in fact a procedure to enhance the dependency of the Indians who, no doubt, would have liked to benefit from such superior technology. But, as David Lavender suggested, the Indians were not always eager to believe that what Meriwether and William promised would also occur. After all, ?why should the Indians be loyal to an unseen chief of seventeen nations that were said to exist somewhere off the rising sun?

(Lavender 118) What Meriwether and William needed to realize was that the Indians were confronted with many problems, such as poverty, war with other tribes, diseases, etc. that needed to be addressed directly, for which they needed help to deal with. This is what they believed that Jefferson should address and it made them insecure that the Corps would have come to promise so many a great things only to bring medals and pieces of paper that did not comfort the natives. This is again a challenge in communication between what the expedition expected of the Indians and what the Indians perceived of the former's presence on their lands.

Much of what the mission relied on for communication was the interpreters' knowledge of the Indian languages and their ability to commute sentences. Some of these interpreters were not necessarily members of the mission but random individuals who would be met along the way: resident fur traders at the Indian villages -- characters to be reckoned with -- such as Mr. Fairfong, the Oto interpreter, Pierre Dorion, the Sioux interpreter; Joseph Graveline, the Arikara interpreter (who was to play a significant role in the Expedition's success); Rene Jessaume, the Mandan interpreter; and Toussaint and Charbonneau [Sacagawea's husband], the Hidatsa interpreter (who was also a player in the success of the enterprise). (Saindon 427) These interpreters held a significant role in the mission because they were able to act not as merely linguistic intermediaries. Indeed, considering their knowledge of the Indian languages, it is very likely they were also accustomed to dealing with tribes, especially when it meant having to deal with so many different of them. These interpreters would often serve as guides as well, which further enabled the expedition's success. Nevertheless, it was not always that effective communication was established insofar as Meriwether's objective was to acquire information about the lands, the environment, the peoples, information that needed to be transmitted with at least a minimum of translucency in order to be understood and worked around. In his biography of captain Meriwether, Richard Dillon remembered some of the challenges that the former encountered. He stated that ?Captain Lewis found that Indian traders like Auguste Chouteau possessed the most information on upriver matters but lacked the leisure or the literacy to convey it to him in intelligible form. (Dillon 72) Chouteau was a trader on the Missouri river, which explains why Meriwether thought he possessed relevant and important information about the region. Met with such challenges, Meriwether had to come up with different ideas to obtain information that he wanted and deemed as imperious for the mission's goal; which is why he would create lists of questions that were passed around to individuals who, according to him, were able to inform accurately. Thus, the difficulty he encountered with different interpreters he counteracted it ?via his questionnaires? upon which ?Lewis received a mass of information which he crowded into his notebooks and passed on to his colleagues of the American Philosophical Society. (Dillon 72) The interpreters were nevertheless important to the mission and, as Meriwether and William advanced in their journey, they came to the awareness that many challenges were counterfeited by having them around. Albert Furtwangler remembered that ?to reach Fort Mandan the band of soldiers had been expanded to include French -- speaking boatmen and engages; then it grew a different way, to include a Shoshone woman and her newborn son, and, later, other Indians who came as guides. (88) Furthermore, Furtwangler emphasized on the dangers that lay ahead of the entire group, considering that, having Indian interpreters or guides, did not necessarily protect them against unfamiliar tribes, some of which, to their knowledge and personal experiences, were violent in nature.

Perhaps the most challenging of their experiences with Indians happened when, four months after traveling and not meeting any natives on their way, a Shoshone man was spotted in the proximity of the Continental divide. This was a part of the region where no white people had ever crossed and there was thus no knowledge of what the Indians' reaction could be. These had not yet been met by either Europeans or Americans, which is to say that they did not know how to deal with white foreigners, unlike other tribes that had already been trading for many years when Meriwether and William reached them. Following the spotting of the Shoshone Indian, and his fleeing, some other Indians had been seen at the river but who as well fled. However, the group would later find that the Shoshones had actually been running away from them because they ?had just suffered a punishing raid at the hands of Atsina warriors and were bound to view any stranger with considerable suspicion. (Ronda 140) This, in relation to the fact that Drouillard and Shields had shouted the word ?tab-ba-bone, ? In translation meaning strangers, further frightened the Shoshones Indians. As Ronda would write further, this came in relation to their impaired linguistic communication:

Lewis had probably asked either Charbonneau or Sacagawea for a word meaning ?whiteman. Since that word did not exist in the Shoshoni vocabulary, the explorer was given the term for stranger or foreigner. The Indian kinship world was divided between relatives who were friends and strangers who were potential enemies. Shouting ? tab-ba-bone? To an already fearful Shoshoni was hardly the way to begin a successful talk. (140)

In an effort to demonstrate to the natives that there was no danger regarding the Corps, members of the group left signs of clothing, paper, and linen as they walked but were unable to find the Indians or the Indians did not want to be found. These challenging pursuits of trying to establish communication with the Indians frustrated the members of the expedition who were already experiencing tiredness. In Sergeant Ordway's journal, the Shoshones are initially described as ?uneasy & afraid. (268) What this implies is that Meriwether had to make himself and the members of his mission trusted in order to enable communication with these natives. Ordway mentions that ?when Cap Lewis first came near them they appeared frightened until he & them with him lay down their arms & made motions of friendship. (268) Meriwether thus succeeded through his gesturing to traverse the language barrier that not even the Indian interpreters could cross. Gass himself would note on Sunday 22nd of September that ?we were at a lost for an interpreter, none of our interpreters being able to understand them. [Flathead nation of Indians] ? (141) Thus, where language itself was a barrier, the commanders needed to make sure that appropriate and effective body language and gesturing would achieve understanding and bonding. But whereas this in itself was sufficient for the group to mimic some of their needs and wants, it was not enough in terms of gathering information about the inhabitants in the area. Since none of the interpreters were able to understand the languages, Meriwether had a difficult time trying to find out more about these natives, as Gass further related in his journal: The most of the men of this band [Flatheads] are at present on a war expedition against some nation to the northwest, that had killed some of their people; as we understood in our imperfect communication with them. (143) The expedition thus extracted information from what they saw with their own eyes and from what they could obtain by relating to the Indians in sign language. It is also possible and indeed likely that, having communicated with various Indian communities already, the expedition was now more confident and effective at the same time to enable understanding. Indeed, Furtwangler emphasized on this matter: Making gestures across a barrier of language was not new to Lewis or Clark. Much earlier in their excursion they had become practiced at communicating and even securing some firm understandings with people who spoke words they could not make out and who practiced very puzzling customs. (110-111) This is more so relevant as one of the members of the expedition was himself accustomed to sign language. He was George Drouillard, the half American, and half Shawnee Indian that had been with the Corps since the beginning.