Fergus County Democrat. [volume] (Lewistown, Mont.) 1904-1919, 1905-05-30
The Past Week Marks the One Hun
dredth Anniversary of PASSAGE
Through the Judith Basin.
HISTORIC INCIDENTS OF THE TPIP
How and When the Judith and Man,
of the Streams We're Christened
--Inter eSting Bit of History.

About II o'clock on the morning OF
May 2Sth, 1905, a strange procession
approached the point of confluence of
the Missouri and Musselshell rivers.
and after crossing the narrow bed of
the latter stream made camp on the
small, grassy valley bordered by
scraggy cottonwood trees that the
visitor may yet see in the triangle
formed by the junction of the two
rivers. This spot marks the extreme
northeastern boundary of what is now
Fergus county and the advent of this
since famous gronp of travellers is the
first recorded visit Of white men to
this section. Other adventurous trap
pers and hunters may have previously
ascended the Missouri river thus far
in quest OF game and furs, but if such
is the case no record of the fact is
preserved, and this May day visit Of
the intrepid expedition of Lewis and
Clark isindeed an event of much more
than ordinary interest to the inhabi-
tants of todayof Fergus county, as it
marks the beginning Of our history
The daily record kept by Captain
William Clark tells us that upon the
arrival Of the expedition at the mouth
OF the Musselshell, they were reason
ably positive that it was the river
bearing-that name, which had been
given it by the Minnetaree. OF as we
call them today, the Grosventre In
dians. An expedition went up the
MuSSelShell river discovered and
named the creek we have known so
many years as crooked creek, the
name given it by the expedition being
Sacajawea creek, in compliment to the
the indian wife of Chaboneau, the in
terpreter, and the only woman ac-
companying the expedition. A recent
enactment of the legislature has re-
stored the original name to the
stream, and very properly so.
1t is evident that the expedition
camped here for the night as the jour
nal does not relate that further
move was made. We can well inn
agine the night camp of an expedi-
tion Of this character: the care and
precaution that must have been ex-
ercised to prevent surprise by In
dians and the other dangers that be-
set those journeying in this unknown
land, and beside this regard for safety
the arrangements for the little COM
fort to be obtained even in the wilder
ness. In the larger tent at the head
OF the company street we see the two
leaders calmly discussing the work a.
head of them, ,dissecting as it were the
stories told them by the Indians who
had roamed through this trackless
waste,or poring over the rough sketch
envolyed from the imagination engen-
dered by those tales told mostly in
the language of gesticulation, or
through the imperfect Interpretation
of Chaboneau and Drewyer. Later
we see them in the act of taking Sc
lestial observations to verify the eX-
act location of the camp for the daily
report to his eXcellency the president.
At the hour of retiring the sergent
os the guard appears at their head
quarters to make his evening report.
A little apart from the camp of the
commanders is the lodge of Chabon-
eau, the interpreter, who lounges idly
by the fire while his Indian wife,
Sacajawea, prepares the evening
meal, their little half-breed boy romp-
ing around the lodge in childish en-
tertainment much as his white coun-
terparts would do. The sergents'
tents are near to those of the COM
manders and next to them we see the
quarters of the priyates of the expi-
dition. Surrounding camp fires where
roasts of elk and buffalo meat send
out their savory odors are these
original productions of the type which
followed them to win the west to civ
ilization. Rough and ready are these
sons of the wilderness, but their very
bearing proclaims the sincerity and
steadfastness that made it possible
for their commanders to ultimately
achieve that which is now regarded as
one of the sublimest featS both of di-
plomacy and of diScOveryin our history.
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