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What we learned:
from Peter Geery,
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Bicentennial Discovery Expedition Reenactment
JJ January 12, 2004 SCHOOL ASSEMBLY Barretts Elementary School
Peter Geery gave his all this day, bringing in so much authentic Lewis and Clark items, that were used on the Bicentennial Discovery Expedition Reenactment, for our boys and girls to touch and thereby feel his passion for the Expedition. He made history come to life that day for us. He stayed long afterwards and we will always remember the feel of the buffalo hide, how he started a fire, the difference between guns used during those times, uniforms, living on the river, and how different it was to do this Expedition now than it was in Lewis and Clark's day.
WHAT WE LEARNED -----------------STUDENT SURVEY ------------------SUDDEN TRAGEDY
Click on these three links for some additional great information.
Meriwether Lewis and the Iron Frame Boat
Today's Re enactment Experience
Additional Pictures from Camp Dubois
Directions to Camp Dubois and the Great River Road area around it
Pictures of other Reenactors and special links
There were three boats, a white and red Pirogue and a
Keel boat. They are really heavy. The boats being used do have motors, since
during the time of the original voyage, the river so so different. It
was much wider and the current was much, much slower. Motors were not
invented then, but are absolutely necessary for today's crew to make the journey, in the rapidly moving current,
over a three year span.
Click on picture for a larger view. |
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Boat & picture of L/C |
Navigational Tools |
Wood Bowl - Lantern |
Toiletry Items on 'Skins' |
The current 45 members started out wearing skins since they thought they were
the most historically accurate. After further serious study, they realized
they had uniforms to identify that they were in the Army.
A big hit to the boys and girls was his hat. It was tall, so the Corp could
be seen and known to all as members of the Army. It was
made out of Beaver to deflect the rain and had black bear on the side for
protection against the Indians. Feathers got caught on everything as
they traveled so they changed the feather to a white deer tail, if they were
a leader, and painted it red, if they were a member of the artillery.
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Mr. Geery's Flintlock |
Mr. Geery's Sword |
Soldiers |
Flint and Steel |
In the original Expedition, 5 men slept in a tent. The current one has
two people sleeping in a tent and that looks really cramped to us. It
is so cold now and some of them use rope beds with sacks full of straw and
cover at night with buffalo and elk hides. In the bitter cold, they are toasty warm.
One of the most interesting experiences was their entrance into a city.
In Lewis and Clark's time, they always fired a cannon to announce their arrival.
The current travelers do as well. This time they fired, not knowing
that Vice-President, Al Gore, was in town and the Corpsmen were immediately
surrounded by Secret Servicemen.
We got to see the flag that was used during the original Voyage, it had 15
stars and 15 stripes for the colonies. It was also the flag that was
flying when the "Star Spangled Banner" was written.
The flag is always at the back of the boat. When they come into Indian
territory, they fly a white banner so the Indians would know they came in
peace.
The largest boat burned down in January and they have had to build it all
over again in St. Charles, Missouri at the Land and Boat Center.
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Asking Permission |
Two Man Tent
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Wolf Pelt |
After School Group
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The men have lunch everyday of dried fruit, meat, dried corn and water.
The Expedition Reenactment will end in 2006.
They eat from wooden bowls. Metal draws out heat and food would
get cold really fast. The bowls do get bacteria and have to be bleached
out every few days.
The current Expedition members wear skins because the uniforms get rotten
very fast and are not as warm.
The children were amazed that there were still Sioux Indians around.
The guns were a big hit. The most surprising difference was the
print on what type it was.
We really enjoyed seeing how they started their fires and used no electricity
or batteries and they always finished everyday with journaling and had musicians
along.
Life on the River is different today. The River is
so different from the time of Lewis and Clark. It is much narrower and
so fast that the Expedition could not take place today. Even though
the Reenactment boats are very authentic, they do have a motor to be able
to go up-river.
The 45 men who are committed to this Reenactment will be gone for 3 years
from their families. They have to take turns to be able to keep their regular jobs. These people are committed to creating the experience as close to that of Lewis and Clark's as they possibly can.
These people are not necessarily young but some are also over 60.
They are from all walks of life, love history and are passionately dedicated
to making this Voyage as authentic, right down to the last item in the tent
as possible. They study and correspond by email daily to make sure every
detail is accurate.
Journaling is as much a part of this Reenactment as it was before.
The bacteria level of the River is so high that illness is much more likely
than it was in Lewis and Clark's day.
They use every item down to the last string of a rope to survive.
It is really cold and hard on today's Re-enactors, since we have evolved and
are not used to living in the elements.
Rope and straw make a good bed and being covered with buffalo and elk hides
keep you toasty warm.
Lunch is daily.
Buffalo are really smart. They graze only the top of the grass, so that
in the winter they will find lots of grass under the snow. The prickly
pears and other grasses they eat will reseed the prairie through excrement.
They are mostly all hide, it is reallllllly heavy. Their meat is really
lean.
The flags have evolved and were very different in Lewis and Clark's time.
The fancy uniforms they wore were to represent the Army, but were not necessarily
good for the trip.
The high hats were to help them be noticed and not shot at.
They ate the equivalent of 27 Big Macs in meat per day.
I think it is not accurate that the men will be away from their families for 3 years. He said they had multiple people for the same Corp member because it was so hard to get someone to leave their families for 3 years. Many have jobs, even though he (Mr. Geery) was retired.
I thought it was interesting about firing the cannon as they arrived at a port. Also the men aren't allowed to smoke cigarettes, only pipes and cigars like they did in Lewis and Clark's day.
There are Indian tribes who will be participating in the Reenactment also.
We found out later that Peter has had a stroke and also has diabetes and has of course been living out on the river for months and months and months. He sliced off the tip of his finger on the river when someone ran up and said "oh look at this". Due to the highest level of bacteria in the history of the River, he was forced to come back for awhile or face amputation and possible death. He so looked forward to returning to the Expedition.
At the presentation Peter Geery explained that they are doing the Lewis and Clark journey over again but not exactly the same way.
They made boats for the 200 the anniversary for Lewis and Clark. They are doing everything basically the same.
They have a lot of things that could be useful now but we don't use them now. They used lanterns.
They couldn't do things that easily because they don't have the modern day tools.
They have a blacksmith and they don't really have fancy stuff.
Everyone on the expedition had to help somehow. They had to hunt for their food and cook it over a fire. They didn't have a stove.
If Lewis and Clark had an expedition with an RV it would have been easy.
The Re enactment is like the old days. They are not using anything electrical because they did not have electricity then.
It would be a lot harder to keep living like Lewis and Clark. But some of the tools and things they used then would be helpful to have now.
They have to write in their journals every day. I was surprised that they ate two hot meals a day.
It was cool tolook more closely at the things Peter Geery brought to show us.
I liked the furs and the telescope.
I was surprised that they had a thing for polishing buttons.
Peter Geery's presentation made it easier to imagine the real trip.
When you see pictures and objects and hear how they were used, it's easier to imagine.
I think it would be fun to see more of the places along the Lewis and Clark trail.
How did this hands on demonstration by a real life re enactor help me to
understand the Lewis and Clark Expedition better?
You could see all the personal belongings each man had to pack with him.
They even took a canon with them...that must have been hard to move around;
it's easier to imagine how the real trip was when you see pictures and objects and learn how they were used;
it showed things they brought along and some things I didn't know they brought;
it was great to see them in person! Mr. Geery helped me to understand the Lewis and Clark Expedition better;
I learned how tools were made and used during the Expedition;
I know what they wore and what they did. (food/meat/skins/clothes);
seeing the costumes, furs and weapons helped me understand the Expedition;
it helped me by him showing us the boats and their names;
it was really cool to be able to touch all the different things that the reeenactors were using and how different they were from the things we use today;
it made things stick in my head better since I got to see it and hear someone whose actually doing it;
I realized how
hard it would have been for Lewis and Clark. If we tried it and didn't
like the hardships, why should they? They didn't even have a motor.
What was the most interesting fact I learned?
The first grizzly bear they found they killed with just one shot. The second one wasn't so easy. It took many shots to kill, I think he said 11 shots;
they had a tool for polishing buttons to keep their clothes from getting messy with the polish; they had 3 huge barrels of food: one of dried meat, one of dried fruit, and one of some kind of bread/crackers;
It must have gotten kind of boring to eat the same thing all the time;
The coolest thing I learned was that Lewis and Clark wore their American clothing and not skins from the animals;
That Lewis' maps were only about 55 miles off, he used dead reckoning;
I learned that they rode a type of canoe;
The river is much smaller then it use to be;
How the guy closest to
the tent's door always got soaked.
What fact I learned surprised me the most?
The Re enactors had to use motors on their boats to get upriver;
That they ate two hot meals a day;
The men on the Reenactment hunted at Schnucks and Dierbergs!
They brought swords with them! They also had a huge gun and they had pipes! (They used the flint! They made sparks to light their pipes! They also used tobacco and they sometimes used a magnifying glass and the sun to light their pipes!);
That the Re enactors used motors on the boats instead of rowing themselves;
That Lewis and Clark could not have made the trip now with the river being so narrow and the current up river so strong;
That motors were not invented in Lewis and Clark's time;
That Lewis came down from another state to come to St. Louis;
The difference between the two guns was the imprint in the side of the gun;
How they started a fire.
What about the presentation made me want to learn more about living
outdoors, history and Lewis and Clark?
The whole presentation made me want to know more about the expedition of Lewis & Clark;
It would be fun to see more of the places along the Lewis and Clark trail; there were a bunch of new plants and animals and I would like to see them;
Outdoors, history and Lewis and Clark; after I saw his tools, I was interested in learning about expeditions;
I liked how Peter Geery described everything. It made me want to learn about trails and treks! How he had the slides of part of the reenactment, their camps and boats;
His slides of the huge herds of buffalo he saw on the reenactment of the Discovery Expedition;
That just the color of a
part of the hat or the trim on their coat determined what rank you were; the
pretty pictures of nature.
What did I like most about the presentation?
I liked the slide show the best because I could see pictures of the boats they used and all the people that were there;
Being able to look closely at the things he brought to show us;
I liked how he told about making a fire out of flint;
I liked his tools and skins a lot. I also liked how he described the expedition and how he put together the photos! How he showed us how the flint lock musket worked; seeing the gun and the sword and how they worked;
I thought every thing was just great;
I liked the slide show the best;
His humor!
What do I wish had been
different?
I wish we had more time for the presentation. I'm sure Mr. Geery could have told us stories all day. I would have liked that!
Nothing;
I wish he had more slides of real pictures;
Wish there was more description about the tools;
I wish he wouldn't have been so rushed;
I wish the pelts hadn't been so stinky.