Lewis Accidentally Shot by Cruzatte
During an elk hunt, Captain Lewis was accidentally shot in the left buttock by Pierre Cruzatte, the expedition's one-eyed boatman, who apparently mistook him for an elk because of his brown leather clothing. At first Lewis feared a Blackfeet attack. The ball passed through flesh without striking bone, and Lewis dressed the wound himself. Cruzatte denied firing, but a ball matching his short rifle was found in Lewis's leggings. Lewis spent the following weeks recovering face-down in a canoe, and this entry effectively marked the end of his journal writing for the expedition.
In one of the expedition’s most bizarre incidents, Lewis was shot in the left buttock by the one-eyed Pierre Cruzatte during an elk hunt. Lewis initially believed it might be a Blackfeet attack.
“I instantly supposed that Cruzatte had shot me in mistake for an Elk as I was dressed in brown leather.”
The ball passed through the fleshy part of his buttock without hitting bone. Lewis dressed the wound himself and spent the next several weeks lying face-down in a canoe. Cruzatte denied firing the shot, but Lewis found a ball in his own leggings that matched Cruzatte’s short rifle.
This was Lewis’s last journal entry for several weeks as he recovered from the wound. It was also, effectively, the end of his journal writing for the expedition — a circumstance that has frustrated historians ever since.
Read this entry in modern English AI-translated
In one of the expedition's most bizarre incidents, Lewis was shot in the left buttock by the one-eyed Pierre Cruzatte during an elk hunt. Lewis initially believed it might be a Blackfeet attack.
"I instantly supposed that Cruzatte had shot me by mistake for an elk, as I was dressed in brown leather."
The ball passed through the fleshy part of his buttock without hitting bone. Lewis dressed the wound himself and spent the next several weeks lying face-down in a canoe. Cruzatte denied firing the shot, but Lewis found a ball in his own leggings that matched Cruzatte's short rifle.
This was Lewis's last journal entry for several weeks as he recovered from the wound. It was also, effectively, the end of his journal writing for the expedition — a circumstance that has frustrated historians ever since.
This modernization is AI-generated for accessibility. The original above is the authoritative version.
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