Distinctly Montana Magazine

w w w . d i s t i n c t l y m o n t a n a . c o m 59 V Trail open May 27–September 18 | Reserve your seat at RideTheHiawatha.com | 208.744.1234 | I-90 Exit 0 at the ID/MT line. 7 SK Y-HIGH TRESTLES. 10 A M A ZING TUNNEL S. 15 DOWNHILL MILES. 1 A M A ZING STORY TO TELL . LOVED BY USA TODAY, THE R AILS TO TR AILS CONSERVANC Y, MOTHER NAT URE , AND E VERYONE WHO RIDES IT. PEDAL 15 MILES DOWNHILL. SHUTTLE BACK. CHECK "MOS T A M A ZING RIDE" OFF YOUR BUCK E T LIS T. 3 ULTIMATE ADVENTURE ROUTE TO THE RIDE THE HIAWATHA TR AIL O N AUGUST 20TH, 1804, Ser- geant Charles Floyd made history as the only party member to die on the Lewis and Clark expedition. The group bur- ied their friend on a bluff, but soon had to elect a new sergeant for the journey. Former Army Ranger Private Patrick Gass re- ceived the most votes and took to his new duties with ease. He was a skilled carpenter who over- saw the production of dugout ca- noes, winter encampments, and would be left in charge of the main group while the captains split into smaller parties to ex- plore on the return trip. All sergeants on the Corps of Discovery were required to keep a diary of the trip, and Gass obliged despite not having received a basic education until adulthood. Upon returning from the expedition, Patrick Gass approached schoolteacher David McKeehan to help prepare Gass's journal to be published. Meriwether Lewis was struggling to write his own book during this time and exchanged heated letters with the publisher, which led to a brief public feud between Lewis and McKeehan. Despite Lewis's objections to what he considered an un- authorized recollection of the expedition's events, Jour- nal of the Voyages and Travels of the Corps of Discovery by Patrick Gass was picked up by at least six publishers and is still available through the Univer- sity of Nebraska. Gass received 100 cop- ies of the published work and retained the copyright, and the publishers kept most of the profits. Lack of funds from his creative endeavors did not deter Gass, as he continued to serve in the army after the expedition. While serving during the War of 1812, Gass worked for Daniel Boone on the con- struction of Fort Independence and fought in the Battle of Lundy's Lane, during which a splinter of a falling tree blinded him in one eye, leading to an honorable discharge in 1815. Gass worked a series of odd jobs for the rest of his life, until one prompted the then 60-year-old man to finally settle down. He had taken a carpentry job from a man named Ham- ilton, and soon fell in love with the man's 20-year-old daughter, Maria Hamilton. The couple soon eloped and had six of seven children live to adulthood. Patrick Gass is well known for being the longest-living member of the Corps of Discovery—sadly, he would also outlive his wife by 21 years. He often struggled to make ends meet later in life but was never one to complain. Known as a good husband, father, and friend, he passed away at age 99 and is buried near the top of the cemetery in Wellsburg, West Virginia, next to his wife. P A T R I C K G AS S 1 7 71 - 1 8 7 0

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