Imagining the Lewis and Clark Expedition competing in the Olympics

The members of the Corps of Discovery would likely be surprised to learn the modern day US Olympic headquarters is at the foot of the same Rocky Mountains they crossed more than two centuries earlier.

Library of Congress.

The different members of the Corps of Discovery came from varied, unique backgrounds, and because of those backgrounds brought a variety of useful skills to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Many of the skills and abilities possessed by Corps members translate well to the different events of the modern-day Olympics. As such, we’ve compiled a list of Olympic events, and which members of the Corps of Discovery had the best shot at bringing home gold!

A Lewis and Clark Team USA

The different members of the Corps of Discovery came from varied, unique backgrounds, and because of those backgrounds brought a variety of useful skills to the Lewis and Clark Expedition. Many of the skills and abilities possessed by Corps members translate very well to the different events of the modern-day, 2020 Tokyo Olympics. As such, we’ve compiled a list of Olympic events, and which members of the Corps of Discovery had the best shot at bringing home gold!

50 M Rifle 3 Positions– George Drouillard, Joseph Field, and Reuben Field

Firearms and skill in using them was an integral part of the Lewis and Clark expedition. In the modern day Olympics, there are several shooting events, including an event where participants shoot rifles from fifty meters out in three positions: standing, kneeling, and laying prone. The event requires immense skill with one’s firearm, and perhaps even more importantly, the ability to keep cool under the pressure of difficult and meaningful moments. For this event, I’ve selected the best hunters of the Corps of Discovery: George Drouillard, and the brothers Joseph and Reuben Field.

All three men were the hunters sent out the most by Captains Lewis and Clark. Furthermore, all three regularly accompanied Meriwether Lewis on difficult and dangerous reconnaissance missions. Of Drouillard, Lewis wrote he was, “A man of much merit,” had “uncommon skill as a hunter and woodsman,” and that he “encountered, on various occasions, with either Captain Clark or myself, all the most dangerous and trying scenes of the voyage, in which he uniformly acquited himself with honor.” Of the Field brothers, Lewis penned a similar passage, “Two of the most active and enterprising young men who accompanied us. It was their peculiar fate to have been engaged in all the most dangerous and difficult scenes of the voyage, in which they uniformly acquited themselves with much honor.”

All three men had proven skill with firearms. All three had proven ability to acquit themselves well in stressful, even dangerous situations. George Drouillard, Joseph Field, and Reuben Field certainly had the skills to be medal contenders at the modern rifle events.

100m Dash – George Drouillard and Reuben Field

Athletic skill was a prime element Captains Lewis and Clark considered when choosing men for the Corps of Discovery. There are many different athletic events in the modern Olympics, such as both short sprints and longer races, hurdles, and relays. One of the most popular races is the 100 meter dash, which helps determine the fastest humans in the world. On June 8, 1806, some members of the Corps competed in foot races with a group of the Nimiipuu, and Lewis wrote, “several foot rarces were run this evening between the indians and our men. the indians are very active; one of them proved as fleet as 〈our best runner〉 Drewer and R. Fields, our swiftest runners.” As the fastest members of the Corps of Discovery, George Drouillard and Reuben Fields would be well suited to pulling double duty, not only competing in the rifle events, but also in athletic events such as the 100 meter dash.

Trap – Francois Labiche

Besides the various shooting events that involve rifles or pistols, there are also shotgun events called skeet and trap which involve firing at flying clay targets. In skeet shooting, the competitor shoots at 25 targets while moving between 8 shooting locations, arranged in a large half circle. In trap shooting, the competitor fires from 5 stations at clay targets thrown in random directions. Francois Labiche was a French and English translator on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, and one of the better hunters in the Corps of Discovery. He was also clearly adept at hunting flying targets, as on November 3, 1805, William Clark wrote, “This morning Labich killed 3 Geese flying.” As trap shooting is more alike to actual hunting, with targets flying in random directions, we’ve selected Francois Labiche to compete in the trap event.

10,000m Run – John Colter

John Colter was one of the more legendary members of the Corps of Discovery, with his fur trading experiences after the expedition perhaps even more famous than his service with Lewis and Clark. One of the most famous stories about John Colter involves him running for his life from a group of Blackfeet warriors. As Colter later related the tale to a writer named John Bradbury, “At that instant the horrid war whoop sounded in the ears of poor Colter, who, urged with the hope of preserving life, ran with a speed at which he was himself surprised. He proceeded towards the Jefferson Fork, having to traverse a plain six miles in breadth, abounding with the prickly pear, on which he was every instant treading with his naked feet.” Colter indeed escapes his pursuers and lives to tell his tale. Interestingly enough, the 10,000 meter run in the Olympics comes out to just over a six mile run. As Colter did a version of this run historically, he’d be well suited to competing in the modern day 10,000 meter run.

Canoe Slalom – Pierre Cruzatte

About four fifths of the distance travelled by the Lewis and Expedition was by water, and the best waterman in the Corps of Discovery was Pierre Cruzatte. One of Cruzatte’s finest hours as a waterman was on October 24, 1805, when the Corps travelled the rapids through the Dalles on the Columbia River.

Captain Clark wrote of the event, “as the portage of our canoes over this high rock would be impossible with our Strength, and the only danger in passing thro those narrows was the whorls and Swills arriseing from the Compression of the water, and which I thought (as also our principal watermen Peter Crusat) by good Stearing we could pass down Safe, accordingly I deturmined to pass through this place notwithstanding the horrid appearance of this agitated gut Swelling, boiling & whorling in every direction (which from the top of the rock did not appear as bad as when I was in it; however we passed Safe to the astonishment of all the Inds: of the last Lodges who viewed us from the top of the rock.”

One of the most important skills in the modern day canoe slalom event is the ability of the waterman to read the ebb and flow of the rapids. This was one of Pierre Cruzatte’s best abilities, and would certainly give him an edge in any competition involving downhill water.

What experiences in your life helped you to build useful skills? Would any of those skills translate well to a competition like the Olympics? If so, what Olympic events would you choose to participate in?