The Most Famouse American Female In United States History

[W. Gray]

I was awe struck about the number of statues. It would be interested to know who would come in second to that.

When I first learned of Lewis and Clark many years ago I received the impression that they had gone where no white man had gone before.

Generally, this was not true. Only a couple tribes had never seen a white man before. Even the Indians on the Pacific coast where they wintered had been trading with the white man and some even cloth hats and coats.

Some of the tribes were aware of rifles and muskets and one tribe even had a mule.

The expedition took the equivalent of 15 minivans of equipment up river with them when they left St. Louis.

They took a collapsible iron boat with them. Iron struts and straps were to be taken out of the box, hooked together with nuts and bolts, and locally shot animal skins wrapped around the frame. They got the iron together but the skins leaked so they buried the iron. Historians are still trying to find and unearth it.

They buried all their refuse to hide any evidence of where they were camping. This was a security measure so that it would hinder hostile tribes from finding them. They were so good at concealing their whereabouts that only one piece of evidence exists today and that is at Pompey's Pillar where William Clark's signature is etched in the stone wall.
   
Another oddity they took was an air rifle. It fired a bullet projectile with air. I forget how they pumped it up (maybe some else knows) but they wound up using it to impress the Indians who had never seen a gun fired without making noise.

[Diane Amberg]

 An air rifle? May I assume they didn't use a tire pump? 

[kdfrawg]

Please see the following about air rifles:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Girandoni_Air_Rifle

[W. Gray]

Thanks Kermit,

The one Lewis and Clark used was made by Isaiah Lukens, a Philadelphia clock and gun maker and fired a .31 caliber bullet.

The reservoir in the butt was filled to 700 to 900 pounds per square inch. Compare that to your automobile tire pressure of around 30 pounds per square inch.

The web site you gave said it took 1500 strokes of a hand pump to fill the Italian gun.

It was probably something similar for the Lukens gun.

No wonder they saved it for special occasions.

[kdfrawg]

Uh-huh. I'd hate to be pumping up my gun when the cavalry charged.

[Jody]

HOW MANY WOMEN HAVE BEEN ON COINS?

[Jody]

hOW MANY WOMEN  HAVE BEEN ON   AMERICAN COINS?

[Diane Amberg]

 Real women or any "woman?"

[Wilma]

Sacajawea, the Statue of Liberty, who else?

[Diane Amberg]

Susan B. Anthony