Seaman (dog)

Seaman, a Newfoundland dog, was a member of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the first trip from the Mississippi River to the Pacific coast and back. He was the only animal to complete the entire three-year trip.[1]

Seaman
Statue of Seaman at Fort Mandan, North Dakota
SpeciesDomestic dog
BreedNewfoundland
SexMale
BornPittsburgh, Pennsylvania (purchased)
Years active1803–1806
Known forParticipation in Lewis and Clark Expedition.
OwnerMeriwether Lewis
OffspringNone known
Weight150 lb (68 kg) (estimated)
A Newfoundland dog named Lion, painted in 1824 by Edwin Henry Landseer.
Statue of Seaman with Lewis and Clark in St. Charles, Missouri
Left to right: York, Seaman, Lewis, Clark, and Sacagawea with her baby Pompey, statue by Robert Scriver, in the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail Interpretative Center, Great Falls, Montana.

Seaman was purchased in 1803 specifically for the expedition by Captain Meriwether Lewis, while he was in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, awaiting completion of the boats for the voyage. He chose a Newfoundland, whose estimated weight is 150 pounds (68 kg) and for which he paid the high price of $20 (equivalent to $391 in 2022): half a month's pay for an Army captain. Working dogs, strong and easy to handle—Lewis describes Seaman as "docile"[2]—, he chose a Newfoundland because they do well on boats, are good swimmers, and can assist in water rescues.[3] His name reflects this.

There is no explicit description of Seaman's color or appearance. He is nowadays universally depicted as black or dark brown, the colors of most modern Newfoundlands,[4] but a survey by an art historian of the breed as it was depicted in paintings of the early nineteenth century found "not a single all-black [that] was called a Newfoundland". "In fact, all the early 19th century illustrations which I have found, and whose color I could authenticate[,] were white with black or dark areas and frecklings."[5]

Seaman on the expedition

Seaman did many things to help the explorers, and they became fond of him. He was "our dog".[6]

I made my dog take as many [squirrels] each day as I had occasion for, they wer fat and I thought them when fryed a pleasant food. ...my dog...would take the squirrel in the water and kill them and swimming bring them in his mouth to the boat.[7]: 274 

He also retrieved geese and deer, and once killed and retrieved an antelope swimming across a river.[7]: 274 

According to Lewis and Clark's report, some Native Americans were impressed by the dog's "sagacity" (wisdom, obedience);[8]: I, 384  they had never seen such a big dog.[9] The dog "patrolled all night" to warn of bears,[8]: I, 233  and once had to drive off a buffalo in their camp while the men slept.[7]: 274–275 

A modern commentator on the Expedition remarked that "Lewis seems to have been happiest when he was alone on shore with his gun, his notebook, and his dog Seaman."[7]: 65 

During the expedition, around May 14, 1805, Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark performed surgery on one of Seaman's arteries in his hind leg that had been severed by a beaver bite.[1] In early 1806, as the expedition was beginning the return journey, Seaman was stolen by Indians and Lewis sent three men to retrieve the dog. Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery ate over 200 dogs, bought from the Indians, while traveling the Lewis and Clark Trail, in addition to their horses, but Seaman was spared.[6]

The final reference to Seaman in the expedition journals, recorded by Lewis on July 15, 1806, states that "[T]he musquetoes continue to infest us in such manner that we can scarcely exist... My dog even howls with the torture he experiences from them."[10][11]

Seaman after the expedition

Seaman survived the expedition, and Lewis took the dog home with him to St. Louis. He is reported to have refused food and died of grief after Lewis's premature death. According to a contemporary historian:

After the melancholy exit of Gov. Lewis, his dog would not depart for a moment from his lifeless remains; and when they were deposited in the earth no gentle means could draw him from the spot of interment. He refused to take every kind of food which was offered him, and actually pined away and died with grief upon his master's grave![12]

According to the same historian, in 1814 Seaman's collar was in an Alexandria, D.C., museum and bore the inscription:

The greatest traveller of my species
My name is SEAMAN
the dog of captain Meriwether Lewis
whom I accompanied to the Pacifick Ocean
through the interior of the continent of North America[12]

The mistaken name "Scannon"

Due to a transcription error in Lewis' journals, the dog was once thought to have been named Scannon. However, during Donald Jackson's 1984 study of Lewis and Clark place-names in Montana—every expedition member got something named after him—he found that Lewis had named a tributary of the Blackfoot River Seaman's Creek (now Monture Creek) and concluded that the true name of the dog was "Seaman".[13][11][14]

Honors

In 2008, Seaman became the official mascot of Lewis & Clark College's Pioneers.[15] He was proposed unsuccessfully for State Historical Dog of Missouri.[16]

Monuments to or including Seaman:

See also

Creative literature about Seaman
  • Yates, Laura Lee (2016). Bound for the Western Sea : The Canine Account of the Lewis & Clark Expedition. There is a companion CD of period and original music, performed by Harry Harpoon & friends, and also titled Bound for the Western Sea. Paonia, CO: Undaunted Press. ISBN 9780997349108.

Children's books about Seaman (by date)
  • Bramstedt, Christine Turpin (1988). Ballad of Seaman : dog of the Lewis and Clark expedition. Alton, IL: Stimark Publications. OCLC 22425384.
  • Smith, Roland (1999). The Captain's Dog : My journey with the Lewis and Clark tribe. San Diego: Harcourt, Brace. ISBN 9780152019891.
  • Karwoski, Gail (1999). SeaMan: The Dog Who Explored the West with Lewis and Clark. Atlanta, Georgia: Peachtree. ISBN 9781561451906.
  • Albers, Everett C.; Eslinger, Kimberly (1999). Lewis and Clark meet the American Indians, as told by Seaman the dog. Bismarck, ND. ISBN 9780967400204.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Albers, Everett C. (2000). Lewis and Clark animal ABC book : as told by Seaman the dog. Bismarck, ND. ISBN 9780967400235.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  • Albers, Everett C.; Holmberg, James J. (2002). The saga of Seaman : the story of the dog who went with Lewis & Clark : Seaman's tale in verse. Introduction by James J. Holmberg. Bismarck, ND: Northern Lights, ND Press. ISBN 9780971718104.
  • Myers, Laurie (2002). Lewis and Clark and me : a dog's tale. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 9780439474849.
  • Eubank, Patti Reeder (2002). Seaman's journal : on the trail with Lewis and Clark. Nashville, Tennessee: Ideals Children's Books. ISBN 9780824954420.
  • Albert, Kathy (2002). Dog of discovery. Austin, Texas: Kids Read Press. ISBN 9780972258128.
  • Young, Robert (2003). Passage : A Dog's Journey West with Lewis and Clark. Eugene, Oregon: Mad Dog Press. ISBN 9780974219608.
  • Lowe, Vicky Daffin; Lowe, Lester D. (2003). Dog gone West : the story of Lewis and Clark and a dog named Seaman. Lewiston, Idaho: North Central Idaho Travel Association. ISBN 9780974390208.
  • Smith, Dona (2004). Cross-Country with Lewis and Clark. Seaman has a journal and narrates the expedition. New York: Scholastic. ISBN 0439434416.
  • Wolf, Allan (2007). New Found Land. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Candlewick Press. ISBN 9780763632885. OCLC 1245636900.
  • Couchman, Linda Jessie; Hailey, Linda Marie; Warner, Linda Sue (2007). Seaman's journey with Lewis and Clark. Ballwin, Missouri: The Quiet Man Foundation. ISBN 9780974934112.
  • Pringle, Laurence P. (2008). Dog of discovery : a Newfoundland's adventures with Lewis and Clark. Read on 4 CDs. There is no printed book. Prince Frederick, MD: Recorded Books. ISBN 9781436163903.
  • Moss, Helen (2019). Seaman and the great Northern adventure. New York: Godwin Books, Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 9781250186355.

References
  1. "Seaman". National Park Service. April 10, 2015. Archived from the original on June 19, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  2. Lewis, Meriweather (September 11, 1803). Journal. Archived from the original on 2021-03-23. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  3. "Central Montana's 3 Famous Dogs". Central Montana Tourism. June 26, 2018. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.
  4. "What color was Seaman?", The Columbia River – A Photographic Journey, Sep 2016, archived from the original on 2020-11-27, retrieved 2021-10-12
  5. Mellencamp, Emma H. (1976). "What Color is a Newfoundland and When?". Newfoundland Tide. 7 (4). Archived from the original on 2018-08-31. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  6. "Seaman – Lewis' Newfoundland Dog". Lewis and Clark Trail. 2011. Archived from the original on April 13, 2021. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  7. Tubbs, Stephanie Ambrose; Jenkinson, Clay Straus (2003). The Lewis and Clark Companion. An Encyclopedic Guide to the Voyage of Discovery. New York: Henry Holt and Company. ISBN 0805067256.
  8. Lewis, Meriwether; Clark, William (1814). Allen, Paul (ed.). History of the expedition under the command of Captains Lewis and Clark, to the sources of the Missouri, thence across the Rocky Mountains and down the River Columbia to the Pacific Ocean. Performed during the years 1804-5-6. By order of the government of the United States. Prepared for the press by Paul Allen, Esquire. There was also a story called:"Lewis and Clark and Me". Philadelphia: Bradford and Inskeep.
  9. Mussulman, Joseph (October 2005). "Lewis's Dog Seaman". Discover Lewis & Clark. Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation. Archived from the original on 2021-08-29. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  10. "Seaman". Public Broadcasting System. Archived from the original on November 8, 2020. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  11. "Seaman". Montana Kids. Montana Office of Tourism. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  12. Holmberg, James J. (February 2000). "Seaman's Fate". We Proceeded On: 7–9. Archived from the original on 2021-08-29. Retrieved 2022-07-23.
  13. Duncan, Dayton. "Answers To Your Questions". Lewis and Clark - The Journey of The Corps of Discovery. pbs.org. Archived from the original on October 5, 2014. Retrieved June 7, 2013.
  14. Jackson, Donald (July 1995). "Call Him a Good Old Dog, But Don't Call Him Scannon" (PDF). We Proceeded On: 5–10. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-09-02. Retrieved 2021-09-02.
  15. "Seaman, the Newfoundland Dog Explorer". Gentle Newfoundland Dogs. Archived from the original on April 19, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2012.
  16. "Mo. House kills bill to name 'State Historical Dog'". St. Louis Public Radio. April 1, 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-10-12. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  17. Nowak, Matt (May 2000). "Lewis Bronze on Display in White House. Statuette of 'Lewis the naturalist' includes his faithful Seaman" (PDF). We Proceeded On. 26 (2): 31. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2018-02-18. Retrieved 2021-09-06.
  18. "Graveyards of Illinois – Cairo City Cemetery". graveyards.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2012. Retrieved April 21, 2012.
  19. "Lewis & Clark Dedication". The Paducah Sun (Paducah, Kentucky). 10 Aug 2006. p. 36. Archived from the original on 12 October 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  20. "Mo. House kills bill to name 'State Historical Dog'". St. Louis Public Radio. April 1, 2010. Archived from the original on 2021-10-12. Retrieved 2021-10-11.
  21. Capt. Lewis and Seaman – Wausa, NE – Figurative Public Sculpture on Waymarking.com, Waymarking, 2012-02-13, archived from the original on 2021-10-29, retrieved 2021-10-12
  22. Washburn, North Dakota: Statue of Lewis and Clark's Big Dog, Roadside America, July 1, 2006, archived from the original on January 17, 2021, retrieved October 12, 2021
  23. Captain Meriwether Lewis and Seaman – Milltown, Montana, Waymarking, 2007, archived from the original on 2021-10-12, retrieved 2021-10-11
  24. Sammon, Phil, Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center: Gone to the Dog, United States Forest Service, archived from the original on 2021-10-12, retrieved 2021-10-11
  25. "Sacajawea Interpretive, Cultural, and Educational Center". National Park Service. 2021. Archived from the original on August 21, 2021. Retrieved August 20, 2021.

Further reading

Teaching material
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