In 1804, Lewis and Clark set off on an epic trek across the young United States, chasing the promise of a western waterway. While textbooks celebrate their cartographic triumphs, the journey was also a raucous romp packed with booze, bizarre encounters, and downright outrageous antics—exactly the kind of material that makes up our list of 10 debauched stories about Lewis and Clark.
10 Debauched Stories: A Wild Ride
10 Thomas Jefferson Was Sure They’d Find Giant Monsters
Officially, the Corps of Discovery was dispatched to locate a navigable passage across the western half of the continent. In private, President Thomas Jefferson harbored a far more fantastical agenda. He warned the men that they should keep an eye out for mammoths—specifically, woolly giants that, in his imagination, roamed the plains at roughly six times the size of an elephant.
Jefferson also warned them of ten‑foot‑tall lions, which he christened “megalonyx.” He described these beasts as “as pre‑eminent over the lion in size as the mammoth is over the elephant.” Convinced that extinction was a myth, Jefferson believed every creature that had ever vanished was merely hiding somewhere in the untamed West.
The president had examined fossilized bones of these long‑dead behemoths and became convinced that they still prowled the frontier, awaiting discovery by intrepid explorers. His enthusiasm for monster‑hunting added an unexpected layer of excitement to the expedition’s official scientific mission.
9 They Loaded Up On Whiskey And Treatments For STDs
The Corps travelled with a contingent of military men, and their supply list read like a party planner’s dream: somewhere between 120 and 300 gallons of hard‑liquor, primarily whiskey, were earmarked to keep morale high. By the time the party reached the Pacific, the barrels were nearly empty, prompting strict rationing protocols. Any soldier caught siphoning more than his allotted share faced a brutal punishment—fifty lashes across bare skin.
In addition to the spirit, the pack mule‑laden wagon carried a full medical chest stocked with the era’s best treatments for venereal diseases. The leadership assumed that, given the frequent interactions with native women, the men would inevitably contract syphilis and gonorrhea, so they pre‑emptively stocked remedies for those ailments.
And, oddly enough, a box of crayons made the journey as well—perhaps for map‑making, morale, or simply to keep the troops occupied during long river hauls.
8 The Ate More Than 200 Dogs
As provisions grew thin, the men’s diet became a desperate scramble for any edible creature they could catch. Squirrels, fish, and river turtles made frequent appearances on the menu, but the most prolific protein source turned out to be the dogs that accompanied many native families.
Captain William Clark recorded in his journal a candid confession: “Our party, from necessity, have been obliged to subsist for some length of time on dogs. We have become extremely fond of their flesh.” By the expedition’s end, the tally of canine meals topped two hundred, a grim testament to the harsh realities of frontier survival.
The practice was not merely a matter of hunger; it reflected a cultural exchange where the soldiers adopted local customs, however grim, to stay alive on the uncharted trail.
7 They Met A Tribe Who Could Swear In English
During the trek, the Corps encountered a tribe that had already acquired European firearms and assorted trade goods, indicating extensive contact with earlier traders. The tribe’s pride swelled with these acquisitions, and some members had picked up a handful of English words from their commercial partners.
One particularly enthusiastic tribesman approached Lewis and Clark, eager to showcase his newfound vocabulary. He shouted a string of colorful profanity, proudly declaring, “Son of a bitch! You damned rascal!”—a phrase he had heard from traders and now wielded with gusto.
The moment highlighted the fluid cultural exchange taking place on the frontier, where language barriers could be smashed with a single well‑timed curse.
6 The Natives Tried To Rub The Black Off Of An African Slave
Among the Corps traveled an African-American slave named York, a towering, muscular man who quickly became a figure of fascination for many of the tribes they met. For numerous indigenous peoples, York was the first black‑skinned individual they had ever seen, prompting bewildered attempts to understand his appearance.
Some tribe members gathered dirt and tried vigorously rubbing it onto York’s skin, hoping to “wash the black away.” When their efforts proved futile, many shifted from curiosity to reverence, treating York as a near‑mythical being.
York’s presence sparked a complex mix of admiration and desire. Women of the tribes often invited him into their tents, and some men even encouraged their wives to share a night with him, believing it to be an honor. In certain instances, native men stood guard outside the tent while York and their wives made love, proudly acknowledging the experience.
5 They Named A Mountain “Cock Rock”
As the expedition charted new terrain, the explorers took to christening landmarks after politicians, comrades, or striking physical features. While traversing what is now Oregon, the party stumbled upon a massive stone monolith that rose dramatically above the surrounding forest.
Struck by its unmistakable silhouette, they dubbed the formation “Cock Rock.” Though “cock” can denote a rooster, the name was deliberately chosen for its more risqué connotation, as the rock resembled a gigantic stone phallus.
Modern maps have since softened the moniker to avoid giggling schoolchildren, but the original name remains a vivid reminder of the Corps’ candid sense of humor.
4 They Nearly Blew All Of Their Provisions On Prostitutes
By the time the party reached the Pacific Ocean, the practice of trading supplies for intimate encounters had become routine. The men would barter food, ammunition, and other goods for nights with native women, treating the exchanges as a customary part of frontier life.
While wintering at Fort Clatsop, the habit escalated. The soldiers’ appetite for such transactions threatened to exhaust their dwindling stores, prompting Lewis and Clark to issue a stern directive: cease the barter of provisions for sexual services, or the entire expedition would starve.
The order curbed the excesses, but the episode underscores how the Corps’ survival strategies sometimes blurred the line between necessity and indulgence.
3 They Took So Much Mercury That You Can Track Their Journey By Their Bathroom Breaks
As the trek progressed, venereal disease ran rampant among the men. By its end, most soldiers had contracted at least one form of syphilis or gonorrhea, prompting the leadership to administer the era’s most potent remedy: mercury‑based treatments.
Beyond its use for infection, mercury was mixed into a potent laxative known as “thunderclappers.” The heavy metal accumulated in the men’s bodies, and modern researchers have theorized that the mercury excreted in their waste could, in theory, trace the party’s route across the continent.
This grim pharmacological legacy illustrates the harsh medical realities of early 19th‑century exploration, where the line between cure and toxin was razor‑thin.
2 One Of The Men Shot Lewis In The Buttocks
One crisp morning along the Missouri River, Meriwether Lewis spotted a majestic elk and, eager for a trophy, roused Private Cruzatte to join the hunt. Cruzatte, partially blind in one eye and nearsighted in the other, followed Lewis into the woods.
As Lewis took position on a rise, Cruzatte’s aim mistakenly struck what he believed to be the elk—but the projectile hit Lewis squarely in the rear. The startled explorer shouted, “Damn you! You have shot me!” while Cruzatte, realizing his error, denied responsibility for the rest of his life.
Lewis spent the next few days nursing a painful wound, likely avoiding any further hunting excursions with Cruzatte.
1 Lewis Committed Suicide By Repeatedly Shooting And Stabbing Himself
After the expedition concluded, Meriwether Lewis sank into a deep depression. The brief hero’s welcome he received quickly faded, and his journals remained unpublished for nearly a century, leaving his legacy in limbo.
According to a tavern keeper’s account, Lewis rented a room, attempted suicide by firing a pistol at himself, and when the first shot failed, he tried again. Still unsuccessful, he shouted for water and healing, but the proprietor, frightened, ignored his pleas.
Left unattended, Lewis lay with two bullet wounds, eventually falling asleep. When the tavern staff finally checked on him the next morning, they found him “cutting himself from head to foot.” After a harrowing twelve‑hour ordeal involving bullets, a razor, and a nap, Lewis finally succumbed to his self‑inflicted injuries.