In late 1803 after leaving Ft. Massac on the Ohio, Lewis & Clark realized one thing upon turning into the current of the Mississippi heading upstream to the confluence of the Missouri, they needed more manpower. Muscle and strong backs were a necessity to move these boats across the flow from bank to the opposite bank zigzagging upriver avoiding the current of a wild winding river.
In the days of wooden boats without engines, the rivers were not channelized and may be twice as wide as our rivers of today. They flowed wherever there was least resistance and many times the channels changed from season to season. As the rivers rose over their banks, the current ran wild, resulting in hidden dangers of snags and sunken logs called sawyers below the surface. Men who had a trained eye to spot the hazards were on the bow at all times as a lookout directing the pilot.
The detachment upon entering the Mississippi were approximately 20 besides the Captains and York to move 2 boats against the current. The methods of that day exhausted the full measure of a man, muscle and willpower. The techniques were rowing, poling, cordeling (pulling with ropes from the water or shoreline), and the only relief was if the wind was favorable to set sail, which everyone knew was never often enough.
Almost half of those on board would depart for Ft. Adams upon reaching St. Louis. Lewis had been promised 8 soldiers from the garrison at Southwest Point in Tennessee but since they hadn’t arrived at Massac, Drouillard was sent to fetch and round up the missing squad wherever he could find them. It was Drouillard’s first test from Lewis as an independent mission. The question was, would he be successful?
The garrison at Kaskaskia had to be the answer. The Captains knew there could be resistance by the commanders of that outpost. Fortunately, they had a trump card, a letter from the War Department to requisition what they needed whether men or supplies. The number of men was not to exceed 12.
In addition to the letter Lewis carried, Sec. Dearborn had given directions to the commanders of both Ft. Massac & Ft. Kaskaskia to render “all aid in your power” to Captain Lewis & his party. In a separate letter to Capt. Bissell at Kaskaskia, he also instructed the post to furnish Lewis and his party with the best boat, 1 Sergeant, and 8 good men to assist Lewis and return before the ice of the season prevented passage.

Whether the Expedition acquired that many soldiers remains uncertain, but The Captain's successful raid of the willing available at Kaskaskia bolstered the ranks. Estimated to be at least a dozen men. Clark, taking charge of the party, forged ahead leaving the outpost on December 3rd. Lewis left on horseback 2 days later, destination; St Louis to enter negotiations with the Spanish governor.
Upon arriving at Cahokia on the 7th of December, Capt. Lewis became acquainted with John Hay, the Postmaster, and Nicholas Jarrot. Jarrot was a fur trader at Cahokia and knew both French & English enough to be Lewis’ interpreter to the Spanish Commandant. Mr. Jarrot also owned 400 ac. of timbered property at Wood River which he offered to Lewis & Clark for their use to establish winter quarters during their stay. It became the future site of Camp Dubois.
The following day, Lewis took Jarrot & Hay with him as interpreters to meet the Spanish Governor Delassus who didn’t speak English. The meeting was cordial between the two representatives, but the governor denied Lewis entry up the Missouri until he had authorization from his superiors. Capt. Lewis was coy about his mission and urgency since he had already lost the traveling season.
In a letter to his superiors, the Spanish Governor wrote: “...I believe that his mission has no other object than to discover the Pacific Ocean, following the Missouri and to make intelligent observations, because he has the reputation of being a very well educated man and of many talents.” He offered his services to Lewis as his orders would allow.
Lewis, satisfied with his meeting, returned to the American side of the Mississippi to report to Clark, who was now at Cahokia. After their meeting, Lewis circled back to St. Louis to gather more information and contacts while Clark continued on to Wood River to survey Jarrot’s offer for use of his site. On December 13th after Clark & the Detachment landed at Wood River, they began the arduous task of clearing the site and building cabins.
The Detachment continued to cut and raise logs for the camp’s huts through the month of December, finally finishing the roofs on the 24th. On the 22nd, Drouillard with 8 men and 2 horses finally arrived. Then on Christmas day, Clark was gratified to have Drouillard commit to a decision to join the enterprise for $25/mo. Clark’s first entry in the new year recorded, “On January 1st several men from the country come to challenge my men to a shooting match.” Clark put up a dollar as a prize. The Captain was hoping for a respectable showing by his men in their first direct challenge.