Dugout of Trouble:

The Corps of Discovery set out without a map or knowledge of possible dangers to find a route to the Pacific Ocean. We’ve all heard frontiersmen tales, but have you heard the story of Seaman, the Newfoundland who played tug of war with Lewis and Clark’s rigging and saved their expedition?

“Captain Lewis and I left Pittsburgh with a party of 11 hands 7 of which are soldiers, a pilot and three young men." Noise and excitement signaled the start of our expedition.

“During this expedition, my responsibility was to keep them safe and bring them home. President Jefferson thinks mastodons among other things may be roaming around in the great unknown. I did not necessarily start the expedition with this resolve. I pledged myself to this goal about three months in somewhere above the Missouri River.”

For months I listened to Sargent shout, ‘hush puppy,’ and throw me the breading from his fried fish. Then, he didn’t.

I thought, “Something was wrong, so wrong,” I could feel it in my grumbling gut, but I am getting ahead of my story.

“First, I need to introduce Captain Lewis. An awkward fellow, Lewis was my person. Lewis loved drawing and writing in his journal. While I sniffed out a good spot along the river bank, Lewis had his nose in the pages of his journal. As night fell, he laid his journal aside and pointed out stars naming each as if he knew them personally. I lay by his feet to warm them. I heard a noise, then a loud thud. I waded along the muddy bank to explore a loud chomping noise. Out of nowhere, a feral beast lunged at my snout. I dodged and grabbed his tail. I swung him against a rock on the shoreline, and he went limp in my mouth. The fight quickly over. I happily brought the beaver back to camp in my mouth dropping the animal at Lewis’s feet. Sopping wet, I shook my two layered coat out. Lewis stood quickly, and held out the leather journal and growled. Later, drooling over the smell of the meat cooking, I scooted closer to him on my belly. That chomping nuisance was no comparison to what I would soon be up against.

“One night something happened to Sergeant. Everyone gathered around him. While someone kept a fire going to keep Sergeant warm others took turns sleeping. Clark stayed at the young man’s side both night and day. Late in the day, Lewis and I walked toward the two sleeping men. I let out a bark, and Clark stirred and raised his head, but the sergeant did not move. Then Clark’s animal instinct took over and he put his head back and howled. In that moment, I knew Sergeant was dead. It was then that I knew, I had to keep the rest of them safe.

The beaver was not the only meat I provided the expedition. While traveling the Ohio River, Lewis thought it would be a good idea for me to get squirrel for dinner. My water-proof coat and webbed feet make me a good swimmer. There were a number of squirrels swimming back and forth across the Ohio I captured the squirrels while they were swimming, killed them, and delivered them to Lewis. I caught as many each day as Lewis required, and carried them in my mouth straight to him in the boat. They were fat and delicious when fried.

In addition to providing food, I kept them safe from intruders. My large size and fierce teeth, for the most part, scared the local people. I became so valuable to Lewis he would not sale me when a tribe tried to buy me.

Lewis said, "…one of the Shawnees a respectable looking Indian offered me three beverskins for my dog of course there was no bargan, I had given 20$ for this dogg myself."

One night. I heard scraping and branches breaking. As skirted along the stakes of our tent. I noticed a rather large rump in my view and when it stood to scratch it's back, I could tell, it had a few hundred pounds on me. But that wasn’t going to stop me. I stood my ground and made myself as large as the shadow, nimbly dogging claws left and right like they were the sticks Clark would tease me with. The men arrived with guns. The animal had 10 rounds in him and was still roaring. The bear chased me to the river, I spun and stood on my hind legs at my full height. At that moment, the great creature declined the fight and spun around and took off. I barked at his retreating rump.

All on one day, Lewis is nearly bitten by a rattlesnake, attacked by a wolverine, charged by a bison and eaten by a grizzly bear. That night, in his journal he said, “The entire animal kingdom has conspired against me!”

Lewis patted me on the head and declared, “if not for you, Seaman, they might have dun me in.”