"The Far Horizons" is billed as a history, romance and Western film. The romance is completely fictional, and the part of the history that isn't also fictional is very weak and lacking. This film was made during the 150th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, when the U. S. barely celebrated the Corps of Discovery, as it was also called. With its many distortions, fictional affairs, and gaping holes of significant things left out, this film was a poor tribute to one of the great sagas of American history. Thankfully, the U. S. had a wonderful observance and tribute, with many gala events and very good accurate stories for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial in 2003 through 2006. It's too bad that a very good historical film about Lewis and Clark hasn't been made.
Three major stars of the time have the lead roles. One can't blame Fred MacMurray, Charlton Heston or Donna Reed for the terribly distorted story, but none of their roles were exceptional. With only this hatchet job of history for background, one couldn't appreciate the great achievement that the Corps of Discovery was. There's no doubt that Sacagawea was a great help to the Corps. But, so too was York, William Clark's black man-servant, whom he made a free man after the expedition. Much of the fiction in this film concerns the people. Here are the most glaring errors.
First, William Clark did not woo Julia Hancock away from Meriwether Lewis, as the movie shows. Nor was she even a young woman in 1803, but an 11-year-old girl. Her father was Col. George Hancock. Clark had known the family before the expedition. He married Julia in 1808 - two years after the end of the expedition, when she was 16 and he was 37.
Second, Clark and Sacagawea did not have a romantic relationship. So, there was no animosity between Lewis over Clark over her, as the film implies. Clark and Lewis were friends who had served in the Army together. Although Clark's promotion had not gone through, he and Lewis were co-captains of the Corps.
Third, Sacagawea did not go to the captains to suggest that she guide the expedition. She couldn't speak English. She was a Shoshone who had been captured by the Hidatsa when it raided a Shoshone camp some years before.
Fourth, the Hidatsa had sold Sacagawea to Toussaint Charbonneau. He was a French-Canadian trapper who had worked in the upper Missouri region for several years. Sacagawea was one of two wives he had, and she was now pregnant.
Fifth, Charbonneau knew the tribes along the Missouri, and he spoke some of their language. Sacagawea could speak some French. And, between them, they could communicate with the Indian tribes along the route. So, Lewis and Clark hired Charbonneau to guide the Corps from then on.
Sixth, Sacagawea had her baby as the Corps of Discovery built Fort Mandan to over-winter near the Hidatsa village in present-day North Dakota. When the Corps resumed its journey, Sacagawea and her baby would be a sign to all the tribes along the route that this was a peaceful party. Women and children were never part of a hostile endeavor.
Seventh, the Corps didn't have frequent fights with Indians as the film shows. It was a peaceful mission with peace medals to be given to tribes along the route. Sacagawea's brother, Cameahwait, was chief of the Shoshone in the region of western Montana, and he provided horses for the Corps for its arduous trek across the Bitterroot Mountains of Idaho. The only dispute with Indians occurred on the journey back when Lewis and Clark split up to explore different water routes. Lewis's group killed two Blackfeet Indians who were attempting to steal their horses.
The film shows the captains riding together to Wood River, which didn't happen. Instead, much other activity took place before the start of the journey. While Lewis was studying botany and map-mapping from experts, Clark was recruiting men and a keel boat, and stocking it with provisions in Pittsburgh. He then sailed it down the Ohio River, turning up the Mississippi to the mouth of the Missouri. Lewis joined him at Camp Du Bois for the start of the Corps.
Some key holes in the film are worth noting. The Corps started with 33 men and Lewis's Russian wolfhound, Seaman, in a keel boat and several pirogues. During its journey, a hunting party was out every day to supply the meat for their meals. The men of the Corps ate more than eight pounds of meat each day. They ate mostly deer, buffalo and elk. Lewis catalogued some 300 new plant species. The keel boat left Fort Mandan for St. Louis with the plants, drawings and maps.
One member of the expedition died - Sgt. Charles Floyd, of appendicitis, and was buried on a bluff near present-day Sioux City, Iowa. The heavy winter snow in the Bitterroot Mountains made game scarce, and the Corps had to eat the horses to survive. Once in the Columbia basin, the Corps acquired canoes for the downstream trek. They ate camas root - similar to potatoes, and salmon. The Corps arrived on the north side of the Columbia River near its mouth. But the harsh weather and scarcity of game led them to cross the river and build Fort Clatsop west of present-day Astoria, Oregon. From the Indians they heard of a large beached whale on the coast and a party traveled there and obtained whale fat. Also, the Corps set up salt cairns on the coast for boiling sea water to obtain salt.
From 2000 to 2006, I drove the length of the Lewis and Clark Trail. The National Park Service has several historical sites, museums and visitor centers along the route in all the states from Missouri to the Pacific Ocean. Some of these are world-class interpretive centers.
