On that expedition English went word-drunk and it was to stay intoxicated out west for decades to come. Lewis and Clark and their men became dab hands at naming: they used physical characteristics — “Crooked Falls” and “Diamond Island”; incidents — “Colt-Killed Creek”; names of members of the expedition — “Floyd’s River,” “Reuben’s Creek”; ladies back home were toasted in geography — “Fanny’s Island,” “Judith’s Creek.” And Jefferson himself, as was fitting, got a place — “Jefferson’s River.”
