Memorial Day Sunday Morning

Here we sit in our easy chair all smug and comfortable.  We decided to attend the Saturday night church service in town, so we have all day to ourselves.  However, it is not a day to be outside. There was heavy fog when we rose at 6:30 AM and  presently, the fog seems to have cleared at ground level, but it is windy and very dark  It just makes one want to remain inside

Last night I spent a lot of time reviewing the diary of Lewis and Clark.  I knew on the return trip, one member (Colter) left the Corps and returned to Yellowstone.  I was curious about when he left the Corps.   So naturally, it was easier to use Google to learn that tidbit verses finding it in the diary.  I learned a lot more about Colter than I expected.

Colter and his partner ran into a war party of Blackfeet.   They killed Colter's partner when he wouldn't come to shore.  Then they stripped Colter naked and told him to "run".   After a few miles, Colter realized that only one Indian brave was close to catching him.   You can do a Google on Colter and read the story on Wikipedia about how he eventually escaped and returned to a fort 12 days later, still naked!

After three close calls with the Blackfeet, Colter decided that it was time to settle down near St. Louis.   It should be mentioned that prior to the run in with the Blackfeet, Colter explored the Yellowstone and Teton NP areas.   When he reported his findings to civilization, they thought he had lost his mind and called the area "Colter's Hell".

So much for today's history lesson.

Gene