"We are in view of the Ocian": Lewis & Clark Quiz

Answer: Whiskey Rebellion (1794)

Farmers in Western Pennsylvania were angered by an excise tax on the illegal distilling of whiskey imposed in 1791 and began taking out their frustrations on tax collectors. Fearing that the unrest would spread, President George Washington organized a militia on August 7, 1794. Meriwether joined the militia and eventually rose to the rank of Captain.

The Whiskey Rebellion was the first anti-government movement in the fledgling United States.

Answer: Alexander Mackenzie

Mackenzie's 1802 book "Voyages from Montreal through the continent of North America to the Frozen and Pacific Oceans in 1789 and 1793, with an Account of the Rise and State of the Fur Trade", described the first European crossing of the North American continent. Disappointed that he had not found the fabled 'Northwest Passage', Mackenzie nonetheless urged the British government to develop a route to the Pacific in order to increase their trade with the Orient. Jefferson feared that this might result in the entire Northwest coming under British control.

Answer: A powerful laxative

Pity the poor person who took a 'Thunderbolt'! Used to 'cure' almost any ailment, it was an explosive, fast-acting laxative that rendered the user weak for several days. A mixure of such ingredients as coloynth, mercurous chloride, jalap resin, and gamboage, a milder form of the original 'Thunderbolt' was used until the 1940's.

Answer: A giant sloth

In 1797, at a meeting of the American Philosophical Society, Jefferson presented these fossils for study and believed them to be from a prehistoric lion. Further study found them to be the remains of a giant sloth, and although the name 'Megalonyx (Great Claw) jeffersonii' is not taxinomically correct, it has remained in use.

By the way, no living prehistoric animals were found by the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

Answer: 41

The crew was made up of three sergeants, eight French boatmen, and 30 soldiers.
Only one person died during the entire time of the expedition - Charles Floyd, a sergeant and a relative of William Clark, died on July 31, 1804.

Answer: Wolverine

Among the new animals encountered by Lewis and Clark were the coyote, the Rocky Mountain pack rat, the prairie dog (one live specimen reached Jefferson's home at Monticello), and the grizzly bear.

Answer: It was where William Clark inscribed his name

Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was the son of Sacagawea and her husband, Toussaint Charbonneau. Born in 1805, the baby became a favorite of William Clark and he named an unusual rock outcropping along the Yellowstone River 'Pomp's Tower.' Clark climbed the 'Tower', enjoyed the extensive view, and carved his name into the rock.

His graffiti remains the only physical evidence of the Lewis and Clark expedition on the entire trail. On the same day that he signed a the bill designating Pompey's Pillar as a National Monument, President Clinton gave William Clark his long overdue promotion to Captain and made York and Sacagawea honorary sergeants in the U.S. Army.

In 1814, Nicholas Biddle wrote the first extensive book on the expedition and accidentally changed the name from 'Pomp' to 'Pompey.'

Answer: He was shot in the butt by a one-eyed fiddle player

Lewis and Clark had separated to explore two different rivers. Clark was on the Yellowstone River and came across some elk. The men hadn't had much meat and were eager to add elk steaks to their larder. Unfortunately, Pierre Cruzatte, the one-eyed fiddle player, shot Clark instead of an elk. Clark thought he had been shot by Indians, but soon found out that the bullet lodged in his breeches came from a U.S. Army rifle.

Answer: Waikiki Beach

Waikiki Beach received its name in 1818 when the body of a Hawaiian sailor washed shore and was buried there by his shipmates. The beach is part of Cape Disappointment, where Lewis and Clark first viewed the Pacific Ocean.

Answer: Neither Lewis or Clark fulfilled their promise to publish an account of their travels

Thomas Jefferson pleaded with the captains to publish their journals. "The humblest of citizens had taken a lively interest in the issue of this journey and looked forward with impatience for the information it would furnish," Jefferson wrote in 1807.

However, it was not until 1814 that Nicholas Biddle wrote the first account of the journey; by then, public interest had waned and sales were small. Today, the journals are available to everyone through Project Gutenberg.