Last night, a presenter came to our campground after dinner. He portrayed Jean Baptiste Deschamps, the foreman of the French boatmen recruited to row, pole or tow Lewis and Clark’s boats upstream. This guy was a true performer and had us mesmerized with his stories. He truly brought history to life. Notice how he wears English/French clothes from the waist up, and Indian wear from the waist down. You can see the tattoos on his legs between the loin cloth and leggings.
Today we boarded a bus at 7:30 am and headed off to see “The Historic Daniel Boone Home” and Village. I had to look up the tie between Daniel Boone and Lewis and Clark. Apparently Daniel Boone and most of his family settled in the St Louis, Missouri area when he got older. His son was given this land by the Spaniards who owned at the time and wanted anyone but the English to occupy it (the Boone’s were American). Daniel was 69 years old when Lewis and Clark arrived in the area recruiting men and supplies for the trip up the river. He was a bit too old to join the adventure, but still living on the edge of the frontier and worthy of a visit from Lewis and Clark.
