Thomas Mickell Burnham Archives - Lewis & Clark Research Database https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/key-figure/thomas-mickell-burnham/ A digital archive of treaties, documents, artwork, and 360° trail panoramas from the Corps of Discovery Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:34:32 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Violent Encounter with the Blackfeet https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/journal/violent-encounter-with-the-blackfeet/ Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:34:32 +0000 https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/journal/violent-encounter-with-the-blackfeet/ I sliped behind a rock and spoke to the effect that I would shoot them if they did not give back my horse. It was at this moment that the fellow with the two horses turned and shot at me — being bearheaded I felt the wind of his ball very distinctly.

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]]> During the return journey, Lewis led a small party to explore the Marias River drainage. They encountered a band of eight Piegan Blackfeet warriors and camped together uneasily. At dawn, the Blackfeet attempted to steal the expedition’s horses and rifles.

“I sliped behind a rock and spoke to the effect that I would shoot them if they did not give back my horse.”

In the ensuing fight, Reubin Field stabbed one warrior and Lewis shot another. This was the only violent death caused by the expedition during its entire journey. Lewis’s party then rode over 100 miles in 24 hours to escape potential Blackfeet retaliation — one of the most harrowing episodes of the return journey.

This encounter had lasting consequences for American relations with the Blackfeet, who remained hostile to American traders and trappers for decades.

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]]> Lewis Crosses the Continental Divide https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/journal/lewis-crosses-the-continental-divide/ Tue, 10 Feb 2026 17:34:30 +0000 https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/journal/lewis-crosses-the-continental-divide/ At the distance of 4 miles further the road took us to the most distant fountain of the waters of the Mighty Missouri in surch of which we have spent so many toilsome days and wristless nights. Thus far I had accomplished one of those great objects on which my mind has been unalterably fixed for many years. Judge then of the pleasure I felt in allying my thirst with this pure and ice-cold water.

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]]> With a small advance party, Lewis reached the Continental Divide at Lemhi Pass — the boundary between the Louisiana Territory and the Oregon Country. He drank from a spring that was “the most distant fountain of the waters of the Mighty Missouri.”

“Thus far I had accomplished one of those great objects on which my mind has been unalterably fixed for many years. Judge then of the pleasure I felt in allying my thirst with this pure and ice-cold water.”

But the view from the summit shattered any remaining hopes for an easy portage to Pacific waters. Instead of a gentle slope to a navigable river, Lewis saw range after range of snow-capped mountains stretching to the horizon. Jefferson’s dream of a short portage between the Missouri and the Columbia was an illusion.

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]]> The Lewis and Clark Expedition https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/art/the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/ Mon, 09 Feb 2026 19:03:25 +0000 https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/art/the-lewis-and-clark-expedition/ One of the earliest known artistic depictions of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, showing the explorers setting out into the unknown western wilderness. A mid-nineteenth century romantic interpretation of the…

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]]> One of the earliest known artistic depictions of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, showing the explorers setting out into the unknown western wilderness. A mid-nineteenth century romantic interpretation of the journey that helped shape public imagination of the expedition.

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