Exertions at this Moment

Journal 2006 07 28
Exertions at this Moment

I could write a chapter, maybe even a book about today’s events. Could say the same about the previous days. Forrest Tucker, best known to many of us as an oddball Sgt. on the sixties TV comedy “F Troop” played a marine in a John Wayne movie, “The Sands of Iwo Jima”. A scene in the movie will stick in my mind forever. Tucker is in a foxhole with two of his buddies as they realize they are running low on ammunition. Tucker volunteers to go back to the beach to get more. He gets the ammo and turns to head back to the foxhole and his buddies when he is offered a cup of coffee. Who wouldn’t take it? I know I would have. After relishing the hot “Joe” Tucker hustles back to the foxhole to find his two friends dead with their M1 rifles out of ammunition. Puts a new meaning into the word duty doesn’t it? Meriwether Lewis, the Fields brothers and George Drouillard awake this morning after their hundred mile ride with a similar choice. Do they head south and east as fast as they can or do they make a more dangerous yet honorable beeline for the agreed upon rendezvous point just below the Great Falls?

Captain Lewis doesn’t hesitate. “The morning proved fair, I slept sound but fortunately awoke as day appeared, I awaked the men and directed the horses to be saddled, I was so soar from my ride yesterday that I could scarcely stand, and the men complained of being in a similar situation however I encourged them by telling them that our own lives as well as those of our friends and fellow travellers depended on our exertions at this moment; they were allert soon…” Duty. Lewis understood that the Blackfeet were highly likely to mount a war party and come after them. He did not want his fine men under the command of Sergeant’s Gass and Ordway surprised by a hostile war party.

There was only one decision for Captain Lewis. “I told them that we owed much to the safety of our friends and that we must wrisk our lives on this occasion, that I should proceed immediately to the point and if the party had not arrived that I would raft the missouri a small distance above, hide our baggage and march on foot up the river through the timber untill I met the canoes or joined them at the falls; I now told them that it was my determination that if we were attacked in the plains on our way to the point that the bridles of the horses should be tied together and we would stand and defend them, or sell our lives as dear as we could.” Lewis determined that he and his men would “sell our lives as dear as we could” to protect the men on the river. Do we understand what “selling their lives” meant? It was a statement of their resolve to fight to the death and extract a great price from any who would attempt to overtake and subdue them. What would we be willing to sell our lives for and how great a price would we attempt to extract for it?

“…we had proceeded about 12 miles on an East course when we found ourselves near the missouri; we heared a report which we took to be that of a gun but were not certain;…” Their “fellow travellers” or a war party in pursuit? How would they know? These Blackfeet had primitive muskets. “…still continuing down the N. E. bank of the missouri about 8 miles further, … we heared the report of several rifles very distinctly on the river to our right, we quickly repared to this joyfull sound and on arriving at the bank of the river had the unspeakable satisfaction to see our canoes coming down…”

Wow! How lucky, how fortunate how Divinely blessed could Meriwether Lewis be? Traveling over one hundred miles in an outright run from danger only to arrive at the river to the sound of, first, his men hunting, and, second, his men sending out a rousing welcome from there rifles as they spotted Lewis and his party on the bluff above the river! Amazing! The men quickly move their gear to the canoes, free their horses and set off down the river where they stop at their first cache and retrieve their goods. Adding to their good fortune and incredible luck they find Sgt. Gass and Pvt. Willard arriving with the last of the horses and gear from the portage around the Great Falls at 1:00pm. They were not expected yet. Lewis thought they would have to send some men after them.

“…having now nothing to detain us …we now reimbarked on board the white peroge and five small canoes and decended the river about 15 ms. and encamped on the S. W. side near a few cottonwood trees,…” Having left post haste the combined river party left behind the two deer, six antelope and seven buffalo the two Sgt.’s had killed that morning. So after a “strict guard” was set up at this camp Collins set out to hunt, killed a buffalo and the tired men ate and rested in relative safety. A thunderstorm and rain further concealed them from any pursuers.

Duty. All the men answered the call. Had Ordway and Gass’ party at the portage not persevered through rain and mud they would have been a day or two behind. But they didn’t rest. They did their duty.

Duty. Had Lewis and his men not put the welfare of their comrades above their own safety they would never have found the good fortune of meeting up with their men at the river basically ready to roll. Lewis had no other thought than to care for his men fulfilling his duty in his leadership.

“I encourged them by telling them that our own lives as well as those of our friends and fellow travellers depended on our exertions at this moment; they were allert soon…” Anybodies lives depend on our actions at this moment? I hope we are living on the edge of danger to the point where our actions are that important. Can we see through our spiritual eyes that this is always true?

Our history is filled with those who fulfilled their duty and in so doing met destiny by faith and are counted as great. Hebrews chapter eleven is called the Biblical Hall of Faith because it remembers those who set their destiny fulfilling their duty by faith in the promises of God. “Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might; for there is no work, nor plan, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave where you go. I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill; but time and chance happens to them all.” (Ecclesiastes 9:10-11 MKJV) Fulfill your duty in faith that God holds your times and seasons in His hands for His purposes in greatness. In so doing you bring life to these words today, “Greater love has no man than to lay down his life for his friends.” (John 15:13) Our Duty. Get the ammo and get back to the foxhole.

Proceed on.