Robert C. Betts - Lewis & Clark Research Database https://lewisandclarkresearch.org/contributor/robert-c-betts/ A digital archive of treaties, documents, artwork, and 360° trail panoramas from the Corps of Discovery Wed, 11 Feb 2026 01:27:39 +0000 en-US hourly 1 The Experiment on the Missouri: The Keelboat and Lewis and Clark https://lewisandclarkresearch.org/research-articles/the-experiment-on-the-missouri-the-keelboat-and-lewis-and-clark/ Wed, 11 Feb 2026 01:27:39 +0000 https://research.lewisandclarktrust.org/research-articles/the-experiment-on-the-missouri-the-keelboat-and-lewis-and-clark/ A detailed study of the keelboat used by the Lewis and Clark Expedition on the Missouri River, examining its design, construction, and critical role in transporting the expedition's supplies.

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]]> Betts provides a comprehensive examination of the 55-foot keelboat that served as the expedition’s primary vessel during the ascent of the Missouri River from Camp Dubois to Fort Mandan in 1804. The article traces the boat’s construction in Pittsburgh in the summer of 1803, drawing on Lewis’s frustrated correspondence about delays and cost overruns with the boat builder. Betts analyzes the vessel’s design features, including its storage lockers that could be raised as defensive shields, its sail, oars, and setting poles, and the modifications made during the journey. The article details the extraordinary physical demands of moving the keelboat upstream against the Missouri’s powerful current and the various methods employed — rowing, poling, cordelling (towing with ropes), and sailing. Betts also discusses the keelboat’s return journey to St. Louis in spring 1805, carrying specimens, maps, and reports to President Jefferson.

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