Lewis and Clark in the Illinois Country: The Little-Told Story

Lewis and Clark in the Illinois Country: The Little-Told Story. By Robert E. Hartley (Westminster, CO: Sniktau Publications, 2002. Pp. 246. Illustrations, notes, bibliography, index. Cloth, $30.00, paper, $20.00).

Two hundred years prior to the publication of this book Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, leaders of the Corps of Discovery to the Pacific, were concluding their visit with Clark's older brother, George Rogers, in Indiana Territory and preparing for the next stop on their journey, Fort Massac. The men were expected at the post, near presen-day Metropolis, Illinois, early in November, and they arrived on the eleventh of that month. Upon reaching the Illinois Country, the two captains would remain there for the next six months, until 14 May 1804. What did Lewis and Clark do during their stay? Who did they meet? What did they learn? These are all questions that Robert Hartley attempts to answer in his study of Lewis and Clark from November 1803 through May 1804.

The purpose of the captains' stop at Fort Massac was to, after inspecting the fort, choose recruits for their upcoming journey to the Pacific. In fact, each of the captains' stops throughout the Illinois Country was made in order to procure various necessities for their journey. In addition to male recruits, the captains searched Illinois for maps, advice, intelligence, and supplies during their six month stay, and according to Hartley, Illinoisans can "claim a full measure of pride" (199) for providing quality men, maps, advice, intelligence, and supplies to the captains.

The main argument Hartley makes is that "from people... along the western frontier of America, the explorers gathered exhaustive and accurate information that helped meet the challenges of their extraordinary adventure." (21) Hartley successfully argues this point with a narrative that is well researched and written. He tells of five men that "contributed generously to the captains' education about the immediate region and beyond." (69)

The first man Hartley describes is John Edgar. In approaching Edgar in 1803, Lewis and Clark encountered the richest man in Illinois. Edgar was a merchant "at the center of business in the Mississippi Valley," (80) and had the necessary connections to make him the first man sought by the captains.

One man that Edgar likely referred the captains to was William Morrison. Historians have come to call Morrison the "Merchant Prince" (59) for, at age seventeen he was the most well known merchant in the Mississippi Valley. His wares included trader and trapper supplies, dry goods, hardware, groceries, and Indian trade goods. Hartley substantiates Morrison's importance to the expedition by citing William Clark's field notes from winter camp. These notes mention several visits made by Morrison in which he provided tools and provisions needed for the twenty-eight-month journey.

The third man Hartley describes is William Whiteside. A successful farmer and politician, Whiteside provided beef to the winter camp commissary and expressed to Clark the desire of several area men to join the expedition. Also of interest to the expedition was a collection of letters in Whiteside's possession from early Missouri River explorer John Thomas Evans. It is probable that Whiteside and Clark discussed the content of these letters during one of Whiteside's many visits to the winter camp because the information described the hostilities of some of the Indians the expedition would encounter.

The next man Hartley describes is Indian trader Nicholas Jarrot. Fleeing political upheaval in his native Vesoul, France, Jarrot came to the Illinois Country in 1795 and established a retail firm at Cahokia. From this firm Jarrot traveled annually to Prairie du Chien, "a major crossroads on the trade highway of the time" (107), to trade with several bands of Midwestern Indians. Jarrot, drawing from his experience as an Indian trader, cautioned Lewis and Clark on the potential dangers that lay ahead on the Missouri. Of further benefit to the expedition, Jarrot allowed the use of four hundred acres of his land on the Wood River for the winter camp, known as Camp Dubois. Jarrot offered this land knowing that it "contained timber for building shelters and had plentiful wild game for feeding the corps." (97)

Hartley devotes the most content to the fifth man, John Hay, and considering all of the functions Hay performed for the captains, there is no dispute in Hartley calling him "The Indispensable Man." (124) Given that Hay's mother was French and he received a college education, Hay was very fluent in both English and French. He was able to translate documents of early French explorers and serve as Lewis's interpreter in St. Louis. Hay used his own personal experience to provide much information to the captains regarding Indians, especially the Mandans. From his travels, "he knew the tribes, how to trade with them, and the circumstances under which they would remain friendly." (132) Hay also assisted the captains in packing the Indian trade goods days before the expedition left winter camp. The library of John Hay was another asset to the expedition. It was known throughout the region for its current volumes on history, travel, personal memoirs of trading voyages, and maps. Lewis had ready access to these books on several occasions. With all of the information gained from Hay, it is no coincidence that the name of no other Illinoisan appears more frequently in the captains' notes from December 1803 to May 1804 than that of John Hay.