Lewis and Clark among the Grizzlies

by Paul Schullery

Lewis and Clark's expedition was full of adventures, but few were as exhilarating as their moments with grizzly bears. The author has combed the journals to provide readers with Lewis and Clark's own words on the Ursus horribles and offers new insight into the role of the grizzly bear in this tale of Western exploration and discovery.

Genres: History, American History, Nature, Science, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 2002

About the author

Paul David Schullery is an American author and photographer. The main focus of his work is centred on nature and our relationship with it. Schullery studied American History at Wittenberg University and Ohio University, receiving his M.A. and B.A., respectively.

Reviews

[Jason · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book. More policy than history, but it was good.

[Doug · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this nicely bound paperback off the shelf at the bookstore at Yellowstone NP. It is my first exposure to this prolific northwest author, fly fisherman and western historian. Here he has taken the Journals of Lewis and Clark and those from the other diarists of the Corps of Discovery and isolated those references to the bears of the upper Missouri and the northwest in general. He recounts their encounters and then elaborates on the significance of them. Lewis and Clark did this country a great service by making an sincere attempt to present the west scientifically as possible in 1805-6. Unfortunately the "hype" and lurid romanticism of later 19th century accounts tended to distort our perception of these Urses Horriblus creatures to the point that only recent years have brought us to true understanding of these remarkable beasts. He shares his knowledge of the variations of the species in size, colorizations and temperament and points out that both Lewis and Clark and their co-travelers realized that there were only two species of bears in the continental US. The smaller Black bears of the east and far western coastal area and the northwest large bear we commonly call The Grizzly Bear. Unfortunately because of the 200 years of slaughtering the great bear, all we are left with in the wild are small fragmented remains of a great wide population that ranged from central North Dakota, through the Upper Missouri area into the Rocky Mountains. This has prompted me to radically increase my study of an exciting era and area of our national heritage.

[Bob · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like Schullery's mix of logical analysis and joyful wonder about this topic, similar to that of 1-2 of his other books I've read. I never get bored with stories and speculation about grizzly bears, and it's cool to think of them as they were historically, most abundant across the Great Plains and mountain valleys. The author effectively sets the record straight about the score in the battle between explorer and bear: even with their shitty weapons, they still were clearly the agressors and killed a large number of bears, ultimately with no loss of life or limb. Still, I am left with the feeling that the ratio of words and speculative analysis here is disproportionately high compared to the amount of focus on grizzlies in Lewis and Clark's journals. I don't know; I haven't read those journals yet. But this feeling of not-fully-polished sometimes over-analysis of a limited set of descriptions is what left me a bit unsatisfied.

[Mark Schomburg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book uses the Lewis & Clark journals to try to answer the question of how common grizzly bears were across North America. By referring to several transcripts of the journals by different authors, and to the original sources too, the author is able to discern actual grizzly bear sightings from sightings of other types of bears. Since there has been continual confusion as to what constitutes a "grizzly" in different places and at different times, Schullery makes it his task in this work to identify the reliable accounts, and therefore let us know how common the grizzly was in the lands visited during the Lewis & Clark exploration. Sometimes it splits hairs, and it is not always exciting to read, but given the investigative goal the analysis is good and should satisfy a reader with a true interest in history of the northwest.

[Judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I always enjoy good books about Lewis & Clark. This one concentrates on their episodes with bears, especially grizzlies. In 1805 grizzlies were abundant. The corps killed them for both meat and grease for cooking. Schullery offers interesting interpretations of the bear encounters. It is amazing that they successfully killed these bears with small rifles and lead--sometimes it took ten shots to do so.

[Barry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lewis and Clark probably should have been eaten by grizzlies. This book selects parts of their journals that discuss grizzly bear encounters and then discusses what was really going on at the time.

[Abby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting and informative--has inspired me to try some of the journals of the Corps of Discovery too.