A list of articles about Seaman and an index of selected stories from the expedition journals
Articles
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 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.”
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?
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
Swimming squirrels
The boats enter the Long Reach of the Ohio River where Lewis sees squirrels swimming across the river. He has his dog, Seaman, capture several and when fried, he finds them fat and tasty.
November 16, 1803
Seaman not for sale
At the mouth of the Ohio, Lewis and Clark scout the western shore of the Mississippi River where a Shawnee man tries to buy Lewis’s dog, Seaman. In Washington City, President Jefferson 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
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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
The expedition finally leaves the Great Falls of the Missouri. They make about twenty-six river miles passing the Smith River, Square Butte, and blooming prickly pears. Lewis’s dog Seaman helps kill a deer.
July 21, 1805
Progress slow and laborious
In the present Helena Valley, Clark’s group scouts for Shoshones. His party’s feet are so bruised and cut they must come back to the river and wait for Lewis. The boats struggle to make fifteen miles.
July 26, 1805
Charbonneau nearly drowns
Clark surveys the Jefferson River and saves Charbonneau from drowning. Still on the Missouri, Lewis moves the boats past “Howard” Creek where the main party suffers 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
Crossing rivers and creeks
Lewis continues east on the Road to the Buffalo naming Werner’s and Seaman’s creeks. Clark’s group crosses the West Fork Bitterroot River wetting several items and later camps in present Ross’s Hole.
July 7, 1806
Over mountain and dale
Lewis follows the Road to the Buffalo over the Rockies, and Seaman is bitten by a beaver. While Clark’s group crosses the Big Hole Valley, four of his men spend the day searching for lost horses.
July 15, 1806
Yellowstone arrival
Clark crosses present Bozeman Pass and arrives at the Yellowstone River. Lewis organizes things at camp above the Great Falls of the Missouri, and McNeal fends off a grizzly bear by clubbing it.
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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.
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- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
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- Yellowstone Public Radio
Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).