For Lewis and Clark there would only be a little bit of practical knowledge, some theoretical nonsense, and a small supply of mostly worthless medications. – Dr David J Peck, Or Perish in the Attempt: Wilderness Medicine in the Lewis and Clark Expedition.
Dr David J Peck is a retired American physician, and this book is a fascinating look at how people of this era cared for themselves. Far from being dry and technical, Peck makes everything accessible for nitwits like me while not boring his brethren in the medical field, either.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery, was commissioned by President Thomas Jefferson, charged with exploring the Missouri River. It took off from St Louis in May 1804, reached the Pacific Ocean via the Columbia River in November 1805, returning to St Louis in September 1806. The expedition had the ups and downs, the adventures and misadventures you would expect and, along with Apollo 11, ranks as two American expeditions that deserve the title Man’s Greatest Adventure.
…a little bit of practical knowledge, some theoretical nonsense, and a small supply of mostly worthless medications.
Neither Meriwether Lewis nor William Clark – or any other member of the Corps of Discovery, for that matter – were physicians. Lewis was dispatched to Philadelphia to study under Dr Benjamin Rush, young America’s preeminent physician, for a while before taking off, but as Dr Peck notes Lewis and Clark were more or less left to fend for themselves on the medical front.
Lewis and Clark’s knowledge of medicine is not a whole lot different than our life’s journey. Over the years we acquire some practical knowledge and gain some theoretical nonsense. While we can study at fine schools and take instruction from ancient texts and modern gurus, there comes a time when we must explore our own Missouri Rivers and see where it takes us. Sometimes we must wing it.
This is exactly what Lewis and Clark did leading the Corps of Discovery. They headed out with some supplies but their sharpest blade was their wits. They spent their entire time winging it and they did so splendidly. Not only did they reach the Pacific Ocean and return back to St Louis, the expedition was a medical triumph, too, with only one death, Sgt Charles Floyd, very early on, probably from appendicitis.
The key to the success of the Corps of Discovery was they knew exactly where they were going, had the courage to go there and had the patience, despite every exhausting, exacerbating obstacle, to see their journey through to the very end.
Those are lessons for us. We can prepare to live only so much. Eventually, there will come a time when we will have to set off and wing it and while we can sidestep it, we can’t avoid it and we mustn’t be afraid of it. We must embrace it and if we have the wisdom to know where we are going and have the courage to go there and the patience to see it through, our path will take us exactly where we were meant to go.
The Thought for the Day runs regularly. Gaylon began stockpiling quotes in 1988.
