Preparing to Proceed On

Journal 2005 07 15
Preparing to Proceed On

Much has occurred since I last put fingers to keyboard on July 2nd. The portage is complete, the party has recovered from a fierce hailstorm that cut and bruised many of them and Lewis has been forced by a lack of pine tar to abandon his experimental boat of steel and elk hides.

I have been busy. I have read and not written. I am chided and inspired by these travelers so long departed. They are busy, they work hard and yet find time everyday to complete their journals for scientific accuracy as they record their personal thoughts and observations. They knew their journals would be of interest. I don’t believe they could have imagined their words would continue to captivate the heart of men two centuries later. I can write more, I can emulate the work and endurance these men exhibited.

Lewis planned on his steel-framed invention carrying a lot of gear. Instead, two new canoes must be made. Cottonwood trees are cut. Carving dugout canoes begins. The first two split and two more are begun. The men break thirteen ax handles as they hack canoes out of the large trees. Chokecherry wood proves too soft for the ax handles but is the strongest wood available for the purpose. The Corps gains new canoes of 25 and 33 feet.

Hardship and danger continue to be constant members of the expedition. The portage was officially called complete on July 2, 2005. The Captains refer to it as “horrendous”. No long weekend follows. No personal days off. No sick days. No earned vacation. Overtime was not even in their vocabulary. (Although, there was an expectation of reward for a successful completion of the journey beyond the normal pay for their ranks.) Mosquitoes seemed to know the men were gathered and seem to gather with them. Even strong winds do not disperse them. Bears threats require constant vigilance. Hail, lightning and thunder pick up their seasonal paces and add to the watch the men keep.

In the midst of all the hard work the men celebrate Independence Day on July 4th with music, singing, dancing and the last of their whiskey. Then it is back to work making the pemmican they learned to enjoy from the plains Indians. This early version of today’s powerbar was made of meat, fat and ripe currants.

Lewis notes the amounts of meat required to feed Upper Camp for one day- four deer, or one elk and a deer, or one bison.

This summary of two weeks activity reminds me of the constant drive to productivity required for advancing. Pastor Norm is not free to direct our daily activity as the Captains were. The church does not enjoy the same military command structure the Corp of Discovery did. I’m not convinced that it shouldn’t. What would the camp, the church, look like if the pastor were able to act with the shepherdly authority he is charged with? I fear that we are not free from sin by allowing the camp to operate without the Godly direction of the chief shepherd enabling the work of the church to advance as Father would direct. May we repent from independence and allow the camp to advance.