Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

Picture courtesy of Jim Kuntz

"Set out at 7 oClock after a hard rain & Wind, & proceed on verry well under sale...The wind favourable today...we made 18 miles...wind & rain Closed the Day..."
William Clark, May 26, 1804

The Lewis and Clark Expedition passed by New Haven on May 26, 1804, and Sept. 20, 1806. On the upriver journey, the expedition camped on May 25 at the mouth of La Charrette Creek. Just above the creek was the small French settlement of La Charrette, which was the westernmost white settlement on the river at that time.

Not long after the Corps set up camp, a boatload of trappers and traders led by Regis Loisel arrived from a post "Situated in the country of the Suxex [Sioux] 400 leagues up." These voyagers (the first among several the expedition would encounter) had useful intelligence about the Indian tribes farther up the river.

Early on the morning of May 26th the Corps set out at 7 after a hard rain and wind. A favorable wind enabled the expedition to "proceed on verry well under Sale," according to William Clark. Before departing, the captains established a routine of sending out hunters to search the woods for fresh game. Two of the hunters sent out this day, George Drouillard and John Shields, were instructed to walk a day and then hunt a day. As it turned out they lost contact with the boats and would not rejoin the expedition for six days.

The flotilla passed Beef Island and Creek just below present-day New Haven, and "Shepherd's Creek," today's Big Berger Creek ("berger" is the French word for "shepherd"). The expedition then camped on an island near the southern extreme of Loutre Island just below present-day Hermann.

The expedition passed the site of New Haven again on Sept. 20, 1806, on their return voyage to St. Louis. They once more stopped at the village of La Charrette where they were given beef, flour and pork, and purchased two gallons of whiskey from a local citizen.

John Colter was one of the "nine young men from Kentucky" who joined the Corps of Discovery in October 1803. He proved useful to the expedition as a hunter. In the years following the expedition, Colter led a remarkable life as a trapper and trader. His discovery of "Colter's Hell" (Yellowstone Park) and his amazing escape from the Blackfeet Indians in 1809 made him a legend. About 1810, he married and settled down on a farm near New Haven where the English naturalist John Bradbury met him in 1811 while on a river expedition. Bradbury said that Colter accompanied them for several miles up river and "seemed to have a strong inclination to join the expedition but having been lately married, he reluctantly took leave of us." Colter died from jaundice in 1813 and was buried somewhere near New Haven. His actual burial place is still somewhat of a mystery.

Comments (1)

Jim Kuntz: ... During the War of 1812, John Colter joined the military once again. He was a member of Nathan Boone's Mounter Missouri Rangers. Acording to the military records, Pvt. Colter died May 7th 1812. Was buried on a high bluff cemetery overlooking the Missouri River. The exact location of the site is a mystery. 1 July 03, 2006

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