Wounded but I Hope not Mortally
Journal 2006 08 11
Wounded, but I Hope not Mortally
James Webb, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy and American patriot, has written a series of great books based on his life and lineage of military leadership and community service. ( www.jameswebb.com ) His family served our nation in battle since the Revolutionary War. In “Something to Die For” he describes a battle through the eyes of a Marine Expeditionary Unit officer fulfilling his command as his life is slowly ebbing from wounds sustained in the engagement. It is one of the most moving pieces I’ve read. And it puts duty, honor and self-sacrifice in their rightful place. Self sacrifice is the food of duty and honor.
Before the sun sets on this day two hundred years ago Meriwether Lewis will demonstrate this same self-sacrificial fulfillment of duty and honor. He however will not be required to die. This single act alone could mark Lewis as a great leader. Taken in the stream of the expedition it is but another rung on a ladder of great achievement. The spectacular has become familiar. Today is a spectacular day along the human frontier.
Lewis’ camp is completing their work on the perogue and their new buckskins these past two days. Clark’s camp is about similar activities as he describes geography, flora and fauna. Lewis and his men “…set out very early this morning. it being my wish to arrive at the birnt hills by noon in order to take the latitude of that place as it is the most northern point of the Missouri,…” Crossing some t’s and dotting some i’s on the return trip. The kind of thing you do on the way home if you have time.
Lewis’ party also needed fresh meat. A bison was found in the river and the small canoe was left to skin it and bring meat. At about 9AM the men caught up with Lewis and informed him that the meat was rancid. About 11:30AM Lewis saw a herd of elk and directed his men to take some. He headed downriver hoping to get to his goal before noon so he could complete his measurements and not lose a day. Unfortunately he arrived “…about 20 minutes after noon and of course the observation for the (image placeholder)'s meridian Altitude was lost;…””… jus opposite to the birnt hills there happened to be a herd of Elk on a thick willow bar and finding that my observation was lost for the present I determined to land and kill some of them accordingly we put too and I went out with Cruzatte only.”
The following events played out on the prarie. “I was in the act of firing on the Elk a second time when a ball struck my left thye about an inch below my hip joint, missing the bone it passed through the left thye and cut the thickness of the bullet across the hinder part of the right thye; the stroke was very severe; I instantly supposed that Cruzatte had shot me in mistake for an Elk as I was dressed in brown leather and he cannot see very well;…” I have a .54 caliber lead ball in my hand. It is the size of a small marble. Single .54 caliber lead balls still kill large animals when put into the vital zone. Mighty grizzly bears were been shot with single lead balls and killed by these same men.
“…under this impression I called out to him damn you, you have shot me,…” Getting no response from Cruzatte, who does take an elk himself, Lewis records, “I called Cruzatte several times as loud as I could but received no answer; I was now preswaded that it was an indian that had shot me as the report of the gun did not appear to be more than 40 paces from me and Cruzatte appeared to be out of hearing of me; in this situation not knowing how many indians there might be concealed in the bushes I thought best to make good my retreat to the perogue, calling out as I ran for the first hundred paces as loud as I could to Cruzatte to retreat that there were indians hoping to allarm him in time to make his escape also; I still retained the charge in my gun which I was about to discharge at the moment the ball struck me. when I arrived in sight of the perogue I called the men to their arms to which they flew in an instant, I told them that I was wounded but I hoped not mortally, by an indian I beleived and directed them to follow me that I would return & give them battle and releive Cruzatte if possible who I feared had fallen into their hands;…” He never says so, but Lewis must have been thinking that the Indians had somehow caught him after his battle with the young braves up the Maria’s River. Meriwether Lewis reveals the heart of his character as calls his men to arms to defend themselves and rescue Cruzatte from his attackers. Severely wounded yet he runs one hundred yards and attempts to lead the counterattack.
Unable to run any further, Lewis struggles back to the perogue where “my self with a pistol my rifle and air-gun being determined as a retreat was impracticable to sell my life as deerly as possible.” This is the second time in sixteen days Lewis has had to set his mind that if he is to be overtaken it will be at great price. How well armed would we feel with a muzzleloader with one lead ball, a pistol with a smaller, slower lead ball and a BB gun? He probably had a knife in his belt and his espontoon may have been near at hand.
After about twenty minutes of what he describes as anxiety “the party returned with Cruzatte and reported that there were no indians nor the appearance of any; Cruzatte seemed much allarmed and declared if he had shot me it was not his intention, that he had shot an Elk in the willows after he left or seperated from me. I asked him whether he did not hear me when I called to him so frequently which he absolutely denied. I do not beleive that the fellow did it intentionally but after finding that he had shot me was anxious to conceal his knowledge of having done so.” Which of us would have been so magnanimous? I’d like to think me, but I doubt it. Some less than complimentary adjectives would have been floating through my head towards Cruzatte.
“…the ball had lodged in my breeches which I knew to be the ball of the short rifles such as that he had, and there being no person out with me but him and no indians that we could discover I have no doubt in my own mind of his having shot me. with the assistance of Sergt. Gass I took off my cloaths and dressed my wounds myself as well as I could, introducing tents of patent lint into the ball holes, the wounds blead considerably but I was hapy to find that it had touched neither bone nor artery.” Life is better than fiction. We thought Sylvester Stallone was tough as John Rambo stitching his own arm with the fishing kit found in the handle of his “Rambo” survival knife. Where would Meriwether Lewis fit on this same scale of toughness?
Still in command Lewis directs the men “…to dress the two Elk which Cruzatte and myself had killed which they did in a few minutes and brought the meat to the river.” Usually we would be looking for the next in command to take the lead. Sgt. Ordway does not do anything other than serve his Captain and carry out his orders.
Unbelievably Lewis lays on his stomach on top of the cargo on one of the canoes and his party proceeds on! “…at 4 P. M. we passed an encampment which had been evacuated this morning by Capt. Clark, here I found a note from Capt. C. informing me that he had left a letter for me at the entrance of the Yelow stone river, but that Sergt. Pryor who had passed that place since he left it had taken the letter;…”
“…we came within eight miles of our encampment of the 15th of April 1805 and encamped on N. E. side. [6] as it was painfull to me to be removed I slept on board the perogue; the pain I experienced excited a high fever and I had a very uncomfortable night.” No morphine, no Aleve, not even an aspirin. I bet Lewis had an uncomfortable night.
Captain Clark meets two trappers headed to the Yellowstone to seek their fortune and adventure. They have already survived an encounter with the Teton Sioux. They are not the better for it. Clark hears an account of the problems between Indian tribes and sets his mind to bringing peace between them when he arrives.
We do not read much in the accounts of the Corp of Discovery regarding the accidental shooting of Captain Lewis by their favorite fiddle player and skilled riverman Pierre Cruzatte. We find out in this account that he was nearsighted in his good eye which brings me to the conclusion that one should never hunt with a one-eyed near sighted boat man when you are wearing buckskins! I was wearing my camo in the snow while hunting this year. It is the type designed for duck hunters and is mostly the light tan of swamp reeds and too much the color of elk hide. I decided then that even with an orange safety vest it was not the best choice for fall fashions in the woods.
“My deep desire and hope is that I shall never fail in my duty, but that at all times, and especially right now, I shall be full of courage, so that with my whole being I shall bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death, then, will bring more. But if by continuing to live I can do more worthwhile work, then I am not sure which I should choose. I am pulled in two directions. I want very much to leave this life and be with Christ, which is a far better thing; but for your sake it is much more important that I remain alive. I am sure of this, and so I know that I will stay. I will stay on with you all, to add to your progress and joy in the faith, so that when I am with you again, you will have even more reason to be proud of me in your life in union with Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:20-26 GNB)
Like Lewis, like Paul, like Christ. May we be so brave.
Proceed on.
Wounded, but I Hope not Mortally
James Webb, former Assistant Secretary of the Navy and American patriot, has written a series of great books based on his life and lineage of military leadership and community service. ( www.jameswebb.com ) His family served our nation in battle since the Revolutionary War. In “Something to Die For” he describes a battle through the eyes of a Marine Expeditionary Unit officer fulfilling his command as his life is slowly ebbing from wounds sustained in the engagement. It is one of the most moving pieces I’ve read. And it puts duty, honor and self-sacrifice in their rightful place. Self sacrifice is the food of duty and honor.
Before the sun sets on this day two hundred years ago Meriwether Lewis will demonstrate this same self-sacrificial fulfillment of duty and honor. He however will not be required to die. This single act alone could mark Lewis as a great leader. Taken in the stream of the expedition it is but another rung on a ladder of great achievement. The spectacular has become familiar. Today is a spectacular day along the human frontier.
Lewis’ camp is completing their work on the perogue and their new buckskins these past two days. Clark’s camp is about similar activities as he describes geography, flora and fauna. Lewis and his men “…set out very early this morning. it being my wish to arrive at the birnt hills by noon in order to take the latitude of that place as it is the most northern point of the Missouri,…” Crossing some t’s and dotting some i’s on the return trip. The kind of thing you do on the way home if you have time.
Lewis’ party also needed fresh meat. A bison was found in the river and the small canoe was left to skin it and bring meat. At about 9AM the men caught up with Lewis and informed him that the meat was rancid. About 11:30AM Lewis saw a herd of elk and directed his men to take some. He headed downriver hoping to get to his goal before noon so he could complete his measurements and not lose a day. Unfortunately he arrived “…about 20 minutes after noon and of course the observation for the (image placeholder)'s meridian Altitude was lost;…””… jus opposite to the birnt hills there happened to be a herd of Elk on a thick willow bar and finding that my observation was lost for the present I determined to land and kill some of them accordingly we put too and I went out with Cruzatte only.”
The following events played out on the prarie. “I was in the act of firing on the Elk a second time when a ball struck my left thye about an inch below my hip joint, missing the bone it passed through the left thye and cut the thickness of the bullet across the hinder part of the right thye; the stroke was very severe; I instantly supposed that Cruzatte had shot me in mistake for an Elk as I was dressed in brown leather and he cannot see very well;…” I have a .54 caliber lead ball in my hand. It is the size of a small marble. Single .54 caliber lead balls still kill large animals when put into the vital zone. Mighty grizzly bears were been shot with single lead balls and killed by these same men.
“…under this impression I called out to him damn you, you have shot me,…” Getting no response from Cruzatte, who does take an elk himself, Lewis records, “I called Cruzatte several times as loud as I could but received no answer; I was now preswaded that it was an indian that had shot me as the report of the gun did not appear to be more than 40 paces from me and Cruzatte appeared to be out of hearing of me; in this situation not knowing how many indians there might be concealed in the bushes I thought best to make good my retreat to the perogue, calling out as I ran for the first hundred paces as loud as I could to Cruzatte to retreat that there were indians hoping to allarm him in time to make his escape also; I still retained the charge in my gun which I was about to discharge at the moment the ball struck me. when I arrived in sight of the perogue I called the men to their arms to which they flew in an instant, I told them that I was wounded but I hoped not mortally, by an indian I beleived and directed them to follow me that I would return & give them battle and releive Cruzatte if possible who I feared had fallen into their hands;…” He never says so, but Lewis must have been thinking that the Indians had somehow caught him after his battle with the young braves up the Maria’s River. Meriwether Lewis reveals the heart of his character as calls his men to arms to defend themselves and rescue Cruzatte from his attackers. Severely wounded yet he runs one hundred yards and attempts to lead the counterattack.
Unable to run any further, Lewis struggles back to the perogue where “my self with a pistol my rifle and air-gun being determined as a retreat was impracticable to sell my life as deerly as possible.” This is the second time in sixteen days Lewis has had to set his mind that if he is to be overtaken it will be at great price. How well armed would we feel with a muzzleloader with one lead ball, a pistol with a smaller, slower lead ball and a BB gun? He probably had a knife in his belt and his espontoon may have been near at hand.
After about twenty minutes of what he describes as anxiety “the party returned with Cruzatte and reported that there were no indians nor the appearance of any; Cruzatte seemed much allarmed and declared if he had shot me it was not his intention, that he had shot an Elk in the willows after he left or seperated from me. I asked him whether he did not hear me when I called to him so frequently which he absolutely denied. I do not beleive that the fellow did it intentionally but after finding that he had shot me was anxious to conceal his knowledge of having done so.” Which of us would have been so magnanimous? I’d like to think me, but I doubt it. Some less than complimentary adjectives would have been floating through my head towards Cruzatte.
“…the ball had lodged in my breeches which I knew to be the ball of the short rifles such as that he had, and there being no person out with me but him and no indians that we could discover I have no doubt in my own mind of his having shot me. with the assistance of Sergt. Gass I took off my cloaths and dressed my wounds myself as well as I could, introducing tents of patent lint into the ball holes, the wounds blead considerably but I was hapy to find that it had touched neither bone nor artery.” Life is better than fiction. We thought Sylvester Stallone was tough as John Rambo stitching his own arm with the fishing kit found in the handle of his “Rambo” survival knife. Where would Meriwether Lewis fit on this same scale of toughness?
Still in command Lewis directs the men “…to dress the two Elk which Cruzatte and myself had killed which they did in a few minutes and brought the meat to the river.” Usually we would be looking for the next in command to take the lead. Sgt. Ordway does not do anything other than serve his Captain and carry out his orders.
Unbelievably Lewis lays on his stomach on top of the cargo on one of the canoes and his party proceeds on! “…at 4 P. M. we passed an encampment which had been evacuated this morning by Capt. Clark, here I found a note from Capt. C. informing me that he had left a letter for me at the entrance of the Yelow stone river, but that Sergt. Pryor who had passed that place since he left it had taken the letter;…”
“…we came within eight miles of our encampment of the 15th of April 1805 and encamped on N. E. side. [6] as it was painfull to me to be removed I slept on board the perogue; the pain I experienced excited a high fever and I had a very uncomfortable night.” No morphine, no Aleve, not even an aspirin. I bet Lewis had an uncomfortable night.
Captain Clark meets two trappers headed to the Yellowstone to seek their fortune and adventure. They have already survived an encounter with the Teton Sioux. They are not the better for it. Clark hears an account of the problems between Indian tribes and sets his mind to bringing peace between them when he arrives.
We do not read much in the accounts of the Corp of Discovery regarding the accidental shooting of Captain Lewis by their favorite fiddle player and skilled riverman Pierre Cruzatte. We find out in this account that he was nearsighted in his good eye which brings me to the conclusion that one should never hunt with a one-eyed near sighted boat man when you are wearing buckskins! I was wearing my camo in the snow while hunting this year. It is the type designed for duck hunters and is mostly the light tan of swamp reeds and too much the color of elk hide. I decided then that even with an orange safety vest it was not the best choice for fall fashions in the woods.
“My deep desire and hope is that I shall never fail in my duty, but that at all times, and especially right now, I shall be full of courage, so that with my whole being I shall bring honor to Christ, whether I live or die. For what is life? To me, it is Christ. Death, then, will bring more. But if by continuing to live I can do more worthwhile work, then I am not sure which I should choose. I am pulled in two directions. I want very much to leave this life and be with Christ, which is a far better thing; but for your sake it is much more important that I remain alive. I am sure of this, and so I know that I will stay. I will stay on with you all, to add to your progress and joy in the faith, so that when I am with you again, you will have even more reason to be proud of me in your life in union with Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:20-26 GNB)
Like Lewis, like Paul, like Christ. May we be so brave.
Proceed on.
posted by @2007 Dick Cinkovich | 7:17 PM
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