Seaman

A list of articles about Seaman and an index of selected stories from the expedition journals

Articles

    Lewis’s Dog Seaman

    A working expedition member

    by

    The Shoshones, like all other Indian people, had owned, bred, trained, used, and loved dogs from the dimmest days of their own origins. What was it, then, about this dog that thrilled them so? Lewis called it sagacity.

    The Newfoundland Dog

    Seaman's breed

    by

    The original Newfoundland was smaller, the body more slender, forehead more arched, the muzzle sharper, and “nearly all of a totally black colour, excepting a bright rust coloured spot above each eye.”

    Seaman’s Fate

    Loyal to the end?

    by

    What happened to this famous Newfoundland dog? Did he complete the expedition? Or did he perish somewhere along the Missouri River? Was he with Lewis when at Grinder’s Stand?

    Seaman’s Creek

    Clues to his name

    by

    Twenty-eight and one-half miles upriver from their camp of 4 July 1806 the Indian road crossed a stream Lewis named after William Werner. At mile 31, they camped near the mouth of a stream the captain named after his dog, Seaman.

Seaman in the Journals

    September 11, 1803

    Hunting swimming squirrels

    Friendly, WV The boats enter the Long Reach of the Ohio River. Lewis describes squirrels swimming across the river and has his dog, Seaman, captures several. When fried, Lewis finds them fat and tasty. Clark is at Louisville recruiting personnel.

    November 16, 1803

    Seaman not for sale

    Mouth of the Ohio, IL The captains scout the western shore of the Mississippi where a Shawnee Indian tries to buy Lewis’s dog, Seaman. In Washington City, Thomas Jefferson defines the boundaries of Louisiana and plans more expeditions.

    April 22, 1805

    A frightened buffalo calf

    Towing the boats in high winds, the expedition makes only eleven miles passing present Williston, North Dakota. A bison calf, perhaps afraid of Lewis’s dog Seaman, looks to Lewis for protection.

    April 25, 1805

    Lewis on the Yellowstone

    Seaman disappears during the night but fortunately returns in the morning. Lewis and a small detachment then advance to the Yellowstone River while Clark commands the boats.

    April 26, 1805

    Yellowstone River celebration

    Joseph Field scouts up the Yellowstone River while Lewis explores its mouth. Clark catches up with the boats, and all together again, they celebrate reaching the Yellowstone with a dram and dancing.

    May 19, 1805

    Seaman bitten

    The men tow the boats up the Missouri stopping about seven miles below the Musselshell River at the bottom of present-day UL Bend in Eastern Montana. Lewis’s dog Seaman is bitten by a wounded beaver.

    May 29, 1805

    Bison terrorizes camp

    When a bison runs amok, Lewis’s dog Seaman saves the day by diverting it away from camp. They pass “Judieths River” and camp above the “slaughter river” where numerous dead bison have washed ashore.

    June 19, 1805

    Sacagawea relapses

    Below the Great Falls of the Missouri, the men prepare for the portage and Sacagawea relapses. At the White Bear Islands, Clark determines he will find the best route to haul the heavy dugout canoes.

    June 27, 1805

    Sightseeing at the falls

    Ordway‘s group views the Falls of the Missouri and Giant Springs while the wagons are taken back to the lower end of the portage. Gass reports hail stones as large as seven inches.

    July 15, 1805

    Leaving the Falls of the Missouri

    Above Ulm, MT After laboring since 2 June 1805, the expedition is finally leaving the Falls of the Missouri. They make about twenty-six river miles.

    July 21, 1805

    Clark waits for Lewis

    Canyon Ferry Lake, MT Clark’s group scouts ahead in search of Shoshones, but his party’s feet are so bruised and cut they must come back to the river and wait for Lewis who struggles with the canoes to make fifteen miles.

    July 26, 1805

    Charbonneau nearly drowns

    Three Forks of the Missouri, MT Clark and two others climb a mountain to survey the Jefferson River. While crossing that river, Clark saves Charbonneau from drowning. Miles below, Lewis and the main party work the boats past “Howard” Creek and suffer from barbed grass and prickly pears.

    April 11, 1806

    Seaman stolen

    On this wet spring day at the Cascades of the Columbia, the men tow four dugout canoes through the “big Shoote.” Hostilities ensue when a few local Indians start stealing things—even Lewis’s dog Seaman.

    May 23, 1806

    New to science

    At Long Camp in present-day Kamiah, Idaho, toddler Jean Baptiste’s health improves and Seaman pursues a wounded deer. Hunters bring in a Columbian ground squirrel and great grey owl, both new to science.

    July 5, 1806

    Seaman's Creek

    Blackfoot River and Ross’ Hole, MT Lewis continues on the Road to the Buffalo crossing several creeks. He names one Werner’s Creek and another Seaman’s Creek. Clark’s group crosses the West Fork Bitterroot River wetting several items. After another ford, Clark camps where they met the Salish last fall.

    July 7, 1806

    Over Lewis and Clark Pass

    Lewis and Clark Pass and Big Hole Valley, MT Lewis follows the Indian Road to the Buffalo cresting the Rocky Mountains. In the Big Hole Valley, Clark’s group spends most of the morning searching for their horses. Sgt. Ordway’s detachment finds five but fails to catch up to Clark.

    July 15, 1806

    Finding the Yellowstone

    White Bear Islands and Yellowstone River, MT Clark crosses present-day Bozeman Pass and finds the Yellowstone River. Ordway makes good progress taking the canoes down the Missouri River. At the Falls of the Missouri, McNeal fends off a grizzly bear by clubbing it with his musket.

Discover More

  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.