Kids of Discovery Event - Hartford, Illinois

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"KIDS OF DISCOVERY"
Camp River Dubois
Lewis & Clark State Historic Site
Route 3 at Poag Road
Hartford, IL 62048
618-251-5811

Saturday June 13, xx
10 am - 4 pm
Free - donations encouraged

Junior volunteers are sought after to join the Corps of Discovery, but kids of all ages are welcome. These volunteers will be instructed in many of the skills needed by the men of the actual Corps of Discovery on their historic expedition. This event is a great hands on learning opportunity and children who participate in each of the activities are awarded a certificate.

Activities vary from year to year. Activities that visiting children participated in past events included:

ROPE MAKING
"Rained last night, very cloudy this morning. Some men work at making a tow rope out of the Elk skin." Capt. William Clark, Aug. 29-31, 1804. Large quantities of rope were needed by the expedition for such purposes as securing the boat, cordelling (walking along the shoreline and pulling the boat with ropes,) and for portaging (transporting the boat by land past river obstacles.) The ability to make rope was an essential skill needed for the journey's success. Hands on rope making with an old-fashioned rope machine was featured at this demonstration.

MAP SKILLS
"I drew a map for the purpose of Correcting from the information which I may get from the Countrey to the NW." Capt. William Clark, Jan. 7, 1804. To avoid getting lost the men of the Corps of Discovery used compasses and other navigational skills to determine their location. The Captains also used scientific instruments to aid them in creating the maps they brought back of the Louisiana Territory. Participants at this station used a compass and follow directions to find landmarks in the field.

FOOD
"Drewyear (Drouillard) returned with 3 Deer & 5 Turkey I send Shields with Mr. Griffeth to purchase me some butter on the other side of the river" Captain William Clark, Dec. 23, 1803. The Corps of Discovery subsisted on a large variety of food. Some of the food was brought with them, including hardtack, "portable soup," and spices. Other food was gathered by trade or as gifts from the Native American tribes or local inhabitants they encountered, and by foraging or hunting game. Period food cooked over an open fire was demonstrated and samples were available to taste at this station.

TEAM SKILLS - PORTAGING
"called the hands aboard and proceeded to a ripple of McKee’s rock where we were obleged to get out all hands and lift the boat over about thirty yards, the river is extremely low." Capt. William Clark, Aug. 30, 1803. Portaging was a necessary skill for the men of the Corps of Discovery. Unlike today where our rivers are managed by dredging, flood barriers, and locks and dams, the expedition encountered many natural obstacles that they had to find ways to get around. It was necessary for the men to act as a team in order to accomplish the many tasks they needed to perform. Participants had to use teamwork to move heavy objects in this demonstration.

CONSTRUCTION SKILLS
"fixed a place to build huts Set the men to Clearing land and Cutting logs." Capt. William Clark, Dec. 13, 1803. During the winters when traveling became impractical, the Corps of Discovery built small forts such as Camp River Dubois. Expedition members such as Patrick Gass and John Ordway were skilled carpenters whose expertise allowed the expedition to build the necessary shelters to protect the Corps of Discovery from the winter elements.

MILITARY DRILLS
"The practicing party will in futer (future) discharge only one round each per day, which will be done under the direction of Sergt. Ordway, all at the same time and at the distance of fifty yards off hand." Captain Meriwether Lewis, Feb. 20, 1804. The Corps of Discovery was a military expedition and drills were common at Camp River Dubois in order to maintain discipline and to weed out men that Lewis and Clark considered unfit to make the journey. Participants learned the basics of "left, right, left" and "about face" at this station.

DANCING
"a Man arrives from Mr. Hay at Koho (Cahokia); with letters & an invitation to 2 balls (dances) at St. Louis." Capt. William Clark, Feb. 9, 1804. The Captains of the expedition didn’t spend the entire winter at Camp River Dubois. In fact Lewis spent most of his time in St. Louis or Cahokia. The Captains were local celebrities in St. Louis and were much in demand to attend many social functions.

ANIMAL IDENTIFICATION
"he (Drouillard) Saw three Bar on the other side of the Prairie." Capt. William Clark, Dec. 27, 1804. Documenting new species of animals and plants was an important part of the Corps of Discovery’s mission. Overall, the expedition first described 122 animals and 178 plants. The ability to identify animals and plants also aided the expedition in gathering food. A variety of furs and animal tracks awaited identification by visitors at this station.

FLAGS
"I send you 19 small flags." Captain Meriwether Lewis, May 2, 1804. The Corps of Discovery took with them a number of flags as gifts to the Native American tribes and as a symbol of the new sovereignty of the United States over the lands of the Louisiana Purchase. The ability to display our nation's flag properly and with due respect was considered an important responsibility of the members of the expedition. The basics of folding the American flag were demonstrated at this station.

JOURNALING
"The sergts. In addition to those duties are directed each to keep a separate journal from day to day of all passing occurrences, and such other observations on the country etc. as shall appear to them worthy of notice." Captain Meriwether Lewis, May 26, 1804. The keeping of journals was one of the primary functions of the expedition. Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, Sergeants Charles Floyd, Patrick Gass, and John Ordway, and Private Joseph Whitehouse all kept journals which provide the information used today to determine the experiences of the Corps of Discovery some 200 years ago. Participants used actual quill pens and ink wells to record their experiences or write a letter at this demonstration.