“A Beautiful Day”
Jet boats easily scooted us upstream on the Snake River today. The high-powered boats gave us a unique opportunity to explore Hell’s Canyon in warm, dry comfort. We navigated rapids with exposed rocks sometimes only inches away from our vessel.
Along the way we viewed rocky mountain bighorn sheep, mule deer, common mergansers, great blue herons, kingfishers, and as we stopped on a sandy beach for a short snack break, we all had the opportunity to view a golden eagle soaring above the craggy ridgeline. (top photo)
At Cache Creek, our lunchtime stop over, we enjoyed the opportunity to meet Sadie Mae, shown in the second photo. She offered a warm welcome to all that cared to scratch her velvety soft ears.
Meriwether Lewis enjoyed canine company as well. He bought a large (they don’t come any other way), black, male Newfoundland dog in Philadelphia for the sum of twenty dollars. The dog, Seaman, accompanied the Expedition and was noted in the journals several times. A creek in Montana was named in his honor.
At one point, upon retrieving a wounded beaver, Seaman was bit on the hind leg and an artery was cut. Lewis wrote, “ I fear it will yet prove fatal to him.” Fortunately, it did not. Seaman had other adventures, including being stolen. Lewis dispatched three men in pursuit of the thieves with orders to fire on the perpetrators if they offered resistance in surrendering his dog. After a two-mile pursuit, Seaman was abandoned and subsequently returned to Lewis.
Tomorrow we will continue cruising the Snake River, towards the Pacific Ocean, “In the Wake of Lewis and Clark,” and in the paw prints of Seaman as well. Woof.
