My Travels with Capts. Lewis and Clark, by George Shannon
Snagged my breeches on a nail and tore a hole I got out the little red housewife kit stuffed with needles threads and such that Ma gave me when I left home I had a devil of a time poking the thread into the needle eye but at last I got her through and stitched up the tear A neat job too July 28 08 Uncle Liam saw me stitching Tonight after supper he handed me two pairs of holey socks to mend I am half glad for his socks as they took Uncle's mind off my lessons No sign of the geography book How Ma s sister came to marry Uncle Liam I will never understand July 30 08 Uncle Liam dished out rice and beans for supper I spied chunks of pork in his bowl but search as I might I found none in mine When I asked why Uncle said You eat like a horse boy I can't hardly afford to keep you in beans Uncle complains of a toothache Aug 3 03 Uncle Liam s tooth still nags him The barber could pull it but my uncle says he won't spend good money on a bad
I turned my room upside down looking for Geography Made Easy No luck Aug 4 03 Uncle shook me awake in the night His rotten tooth was paining him bad and he said I must yank it I fol lowed him to the kitchen where he gulped down some whiskey Then he handed me the pliers pressed his back to the wall and opened wide Uncle's breath stank worse than old Red Dog s back home and the lantern gave poor light but at last I found the culprit way in the back of his mouth and got a grip I pulled Uncle Liam hollered We kept this up for a while but nothing came of it Next I braced my foot against his gut and twisted and wrenched that tooth in a most horrible manner but it would not be yanked At last Uncle shoved me aside He staggered off to bed saying it is a good thing I am not a tooth puller's apprentice For once I agree with my uncle Aug 5 08 The barber pulled the tooth Uncle Liam brought it home He says he paid so much for this tooth it would be a shame to toss it out so he set it on the mantle for a decoration propped up against the frame holding a lock of hair from Ma s poor dead
Aug 6 08 Peter is fevered Uncle says I must run to the wharf in his stead to fetch a batch of hinges At last I am to escape this musty shop No sooner had I set foot on the wharf than a hairy black beast lunged at me and knocked me down I grabbed the monster's throat I was near to choking the life out of it when a man shouted Seaman off The beast leaped from me A tall yellow haired man in a military jacket put out a hand and hauled me to my feet He asked if I was hurt I said I was not but backed away saying I'd never been up close to a bear The man laughed This is no bear he said Seaman is a Newfoundland log a breed known to be most gen tle and intelligent He added that he was puzzled as he had never known his dog to leap on anyone before The man gave me his name then Captain Meriwether Lewis His shaggy dog eyed me very eager He put me in mind of my old Red Dog hoping for sup per scraps and I guessed the reason for the attack From my breast pocket I drew one of the dried beef sticks I've taken to carrying to ease my hunger pangs between meals I held it out Seaman took it and we became fast friends Capt Lewis said Young man would you care to see a great marvel I cared to and he led the way down the
stopping beside a half finished boat I designed her myself the Captain said proudly She is 55 feet long When complete she will have a cabin at the stern and benches for twenty two men pulling oars I asked where he was bound in such a fine craft and his eyes lit up If the whiskey guzzling sluggard of a boatbuilder ever finishes her up he said I will shove off for the Pacific Ocean A thousand questions bubbled up inside my head but I had no chance to ask them for the Captain caught sight of this same boatbuilder and charged off to speak with him Uncle's hinges were waiting and so I went my way Cannot sleep for thinking of Capt Lewis I have studied enough geography to know that a ship going to the Pacific Ocean sails around the tip of South America The Captain must be addle headed to think of making an ocean voyage in that small boat Aug 11 08 Peter is still fevered Today Uncle sent me to the wharf of the boat As I neared it Seaman bounded over to greet me I rubbed the dog's head and listened to Capt Lewis telling the boatbuilder Sir I must travel down the Ohio River and up the Mississippi River to the mouth of the Missouri River before winter sets in Yet
