Friends
Journal 2005 03 18
Friends
The warmest day of the year on the prairie at forty-six degrees. Clothes and any article that could use airing out are spread out to air out.
Men are busy hulling and milling corn to carry west with them.
Their Indian friends are fascinated by the corn mills and all the goods airing out.
Charbonneau formally signs on as a civilian employee of the expedition after repenting two days ago and asking the Captains if they would forgive his brash demands and accept his services as previously agreed to. The Captains quickly agree and Charbonneau moves his family and lodge inside the Fort once again.
Six new canoes are finished. Lewis sets about separating loads among the six canoes and two larger pirogues. The basic principle operating here is minimizing exposure to loss. Now if Mr. Murphy, of Murphy’s Law, shows up and a canoe is lost, only one-eighth of the cargo is lost. Before had either of the pirogues been lost half of the cargo would have been lost.
And another interesting human development is emerging in the work of the Captains. I have not written this “daily” journal for several days now. I have had little time to write. I have read. I have worked. I have not written.
Captains Lewis and Clark are rare examples of shared leadership actually working. In reality, human nature rarely allows shared leadership to fully function. Here it did. Although legally Lewis was commissioned as a captain, his request for Clark to be commissioned equally was not granted and Congress commissioned Clark a lieutenant to insure proper command order. This decision by Congress caused Lewis much consternation because of his desire for shared leadership with his most trusted comrade in arms, William Clark. Lewis had promised Clark a captain’s commission and decided that he would treat William Clark as his equal. The matter was settled among them never to be raised again. Clark received lieutenant pay for his enlistment. Lewis received captain pay.
It is a tribute to the friendship of Lewis and Clark that they could accept the decision of those in authority and agree to share leadership for the good of the order as they set into unknown land. Not in rebellion to those in authority, but in trusted friendship, locked in spirit and arms as they risk their lives to fulfill their mission. Each man fully trusting the other with everything he had, including his life! The great historian, Stephen Ambrose, best know for his many works regarding the men who fought and won World War II, was captivated by Lewis and Clark. Their westward exploration became the focus of his young family’s summer vacations. Later, it became a privileged honor for friends and university students to accompany the Ambrose family on their annual summer excursions into territory covered by the Corps of Discovery. Ambrose’s “Undaunted Courage” is my favorite account of the journey of the Corps of Discovery. I highly recommend it for those who may only read one book about this epic American exploration.
Ambrose wrote another small book called “Comrades”. In it are a series of essays about great friendships. It was spurred by his own great friendships and his study of some of the great friendships of history. Of course, his affection for Lewis and Clark is illustrated in his retelling of their affection for one another.
I started writing this daily account of the journey after the letters of offer and acceptance were exchanged between Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They are an illustration of the mutual respect and affection that can be attained between friends. Their trust was formed in the rigors of military life and in the crucible of combat. Each trusted the other with his life and honor. It is a wonderful story to be emulated by all.
I’m sure we will visit it in detail later in these accounts.
Today, suffice it to say Meriwether Lewis and William Clark appear to be polar opposites in personalities. Lewis was described as “mercurial”, given to great joy and deep somberness. Clark was a man of great steadiness. Unruffled, sober in nature and able to meet any challenge William Clark’s feet were firmly planted on solid ground and his hand was unshaken by circumstances whirling around him. The perfect foil to Lewis’ highs and lows. The success of the journey was found in the perfection of their friendship.
Clark wrote in his journal virtually every day. Lewis did not. I don’t consider myself mercurial. But I certainly am not as steady as William Clark either. As you see my humanness enter into these writings (or lack thereof!), you see a reflection of the humanness of the men in charge of the expedition.
I’m also feeling very short of the perfection of the friendship these two men shared. I have many great friends. Without the life and death of battle testing our lives and nature we cannot easily determine those around us who we are called to be joined with in life and possibly death.
May God slay our human nature, fear of death and need for safety as we obey Him and follow Him into a life of adventure and great exploitations in His Great Kingdom.
“Go and make disciples of all nations!” His common commission to all. May we enter into the exploration required by His commission discovering in the furnace of many dangers, toils and snares the friend who becomes “closer than a brother”.
Friends
The warmest day of the year on the prairie at forty-six degrees. Clothes and any article that could use airing out are spread out to air out.
Men are busy hulling and milling corn to carry west with them.
Their Indian friends are fascinated by the corn mills and all the goods airing out.
Charbonneau formally signs on as a civilian employee of the expedition after repenting two days ago and asking the Captains if they would forgive his brash demands and accept his services as previously agreed to. The Captains quickly agree and Charbonneau moves his family and lodge inside the Fort once again.
Six new canoes are finished. Lewis sets about separating loads among the six canoes and two larger pirogues. The basic principle operating here is minimizing exposure to loss. Now if Mr. Murphy, of Murphy’s Law, shows up and a canoe is lost, only one-eighth of the cargo is lost. Before had either of the pirogues been lost half of the cargo would have been lost.
And another interesting human development is emerging in the work of the Captains. I have not written this “daily” journal for several days now. I have had little time to write. I have read. I have worked. I have not written.
Captains Lewis and Clark are rare examples of shared leadership actually working. In reality, human nature rarely allows shared leadership to fully function. Here it did. Although legally Lewis was commissioned as a captain, his request for Clark to be commissioned equally was not granted and Congress commissioned Clark a lieutenant to insure proper command order. This decision by Congress caused Lewis much consternation because of his desire for shared leadership with his most trusted comrade in arms, William Clark. Lewis had promised Clark a captain’s commission and decided that he would treat William Clark as his equal. The matter was settled among them never to be raised again. Clark received lieutenant pay for his enlistment. Lewis received captain pay.
It is a tribute to the friendship of Lewis and Clark that they could accept the decision of those in authority and agree to share leadership for the good of the order as they set into unknown land. Not in rebellion to those in authority, but in trusted friendship, locked in spirit and arms as they risk their lives to fulfill their mission. Each man fully trusting the other with everything he had, including his life! The great historian, Stephen Ambrose, best know for his many works regarding the men who fought and won World War II, was captivated by Lewis and Clark. Their westward exploration became the focus of his young family’s summer vacations. Later, it became a privileged honor for friends and university students to accompany the Ambrose family on their annual summer excursions into territory covered by the Corps of Discovery. Ambrose’s “Undaunted Courage” is my favorite account of the journey of the Corps of Discovery. I highly recommend it for those who may only read one book about this epic American exploration.
Ambrose wrote another small book called “Comrades”. In it are a series of essays about great friendships. It was spurred by his own great friendships and his study of some of the great friendships of history. Of course, his affection for Lewis and Clark is illustrated in his retelling of their affection for one another.
I started writing this daily account of the journey after the letters of offer and acceptance were exchanged between Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. They are an illustration of the mutual respect and affection that can be attained between friends. Their trust was formed in the rigors of military life and in the crucible of combat. Each trusted the other with his life and honor. It is a wonderful story to be emulated by all.
I’m sure we will visit it in detail later in these accounts.
Today, suffice it to say Meriwether Lewis and William Clark appear to be polar opposites in personalities. Lewis was described as “mercurial”, given to great joy and deep somberness. Clark was a man of great steadiness. Unruffled, sober in nature and able to meet any challenge William Clark’s feet were firmly planted on solid ground and his hand was unshaken by circumstances whirling around him. The perfect foil to Lewis’ highs and lows. The success of the journey was found in the perfection of their friendship.
Clark wrote in his journal virtually every day. Lewis did not. I don’t consider myself mercurial. But I certainly am not as steady as William Clark either. As you see my humanness enter into these writings (or lack thereof!), you see a reflection of the humanness of the men in charge of the expedition.
I’m also feeling very short of the perfection of the friendship these two men shared. I have many great friends. Without the life and death of battle testing our lives and nature we cannot easily determine those around us who we are called to be joined with in life and possibly death.
May God slay our human nature, fear of death and need for safety as we obey Him and follow Him into a life of adventure and great exploitations in His Great Kingdom.
“Go and make disciples of all nations!” His common commission to all. May we enter into the exploration required by His commission discovering in the furnace of many dangers, toils and snares the friend who becomes “closer than a brother”.
posted by @2007 Dick Cinkovich | 10:49 PM
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