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SEAMAN - LEWIS' NEWFOUNDLAND DOG
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Lewis purchased the
Newfoundland dog for $20.00 in 1803 |
Man’s best friend accompanied the expedition and alerted the
Discovery Team of unexpected guests.
From the Journals of Meriwether Lewis:
April 22, 1805 : " walking on shore this
evening I met with a buffaloe calf which attached
itself to me and continued to follow close at my heels untill I embarked
and left it. It appeared allarmed at my dog which was probably the cause
of it’s so readily attaching itself to me"
 Map
PLUS Lewis and Clark timeline of region (PDF)
May 29, 1805: Some were curious "last night we were all allarmed by a large
buffaloe bull, when he came near the tent, my dog saved us by causing
him to change his course"
June 27, 1805 :" a bear came within thirty yards of our camp last night and
eat up about thirty weight of buffaloe suit which was hanging on a pole,
my dog seems to be in a constant state of alarm with these bears and
keeps barking all night"
As the Corps explored the Louisiana Purchase, Lewis’ dog was
quickly adopted by the crew and became known as "Our Dog".
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Statues Featuring
"Seaman" the
Discovery Dog on the Lewis and Clark Trail |
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St. Louis,
Missouri |
St.
Charles, Missouri
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Jefferson City, Missouri on the
Missouri State Capitol Grounds |
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Case
Park - Kansas City, Missouri |
Fort Atkinson State Historical Park, Fort Calhoun, Nebraska |
Lewis
and Clark Interpretive Center,
Sioux City, Iowa
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Washburn, North Dakota at the
Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center
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Overlook Park, Great Falls, Montana |
Fort
Clatsop National Memorial |
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Seaside, Oregon |
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For many years the name of the dog was thought to be "Scannon". While
deciphering the travel journals of Lewis and Clark a mistake was made
because of the blurred ink. It was this error that influenced many
Newfoundland dog owner to name their Newfs, Scannon. Then while
researching the journals Donald Jackson was doing a study of Lewis and
Clark place-names in Montana, he found that Captain Lewis, had named a
tributary of the Blackfoot River "Seaman’s Creek." After further study
he found that the true name of the dog was indeed "Seaman". This
discovery didn’t happen until 1916 so there are many Newfoundland dogs
that were named Scannon in honor of the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Learn more about the Newfoundland breed>>
Lewis & Clark's Corps of Discovery ate over 200 dogs while traveling the
Lewis and Clark Trail? However, Lewis' Newfoundland dog - SEAMAN- was
spared.
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