Being Innovative With What You Have

In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson decided the land west of Missouri needed to be explored to see if there was a possible water route to the Pacific Ocean — at least that is what he told Congress. Actually, President Jefferson had heard of fertile land, timber, gold, and other resources that he felt should be acquired by the United States rather than let it sit for the French, Spanish, or British to take. He assembled a group of men headed by Captain Meriwether Lewis and his friend, William Clark, to form the Corps of Discovery (generally known as the Lewis and Clark Expedition [1804–1806]) to explore the territory. They had no idea what they would find on the expedition, but they did know the occupants of the territory (various Native American tribes) were not happy with the Americans moving into their territory. The trip would be dangerous as they would encounter hostile Native Americans almost every step of the way. The challenge would be for the Lewis and Clark party of 30 men to travel safely among those Native Americans. At first glance, this seemed impossible. Even though the members of the group had single-shot, muzzle-loading rifles and the Native Americans had only bows and arrows, knives, and clubs, the Native Americans had developed tactics to successfully overcome the presumed advantage of the explorers’ guns. 

One day when shopping for supplies for the expedition, Lewis saw an interesting rifle about which he had only heard: the Girandoni air rifle, invented by Bartholomäus Girandoni in 1779. The gun was unique for that time, because it used air as a propellant rather than gunpowder and was a repeating rifle that fired up to 20 shots before having to reload. The stock of the gun was an air reservoir that, when filled with air from a hand pump, could shoot up to 150 yards. The gun was used extensively by the Austrian army from 1780 to 1815. Since it used air as a propellant, it was not very loud when shot and did not produce any black smoke. This was an unusual rifle in every way. Lewis began to wonder if he could use this “magic” rifle to his advantage.

He devised a plan hoping to confuse the Native Americans they met along the way. When encountering a group of Native Americans, Lewis would present them with gifts and hold a shooting demonstration. He then would shoot a target from about 100 yards away. The Native Americans were mystified when the gun made little sound at discharge and were astonished when Lewis fired shot after shot, hitting the target. Lewis was careful about 2 things: he never let the Native Americans know exactly how many times the gun would shoot without reloading and, most importantly, that not everyone in the group had such a rifle! The Native Americans quickly realized they were no match for 30 men armed with these “magic” rifles.

During the 2+ years of the trip from Missouri to the Pacific Ocean and back, the group was not attacked by a single group of Native Americans. The expedition only lost one man during the trip, and he died of a ruptured appendix! The trip was a success and spurred the geographic expansion of the United States to the Pacific Ocean. 

Lewis and Clark faced overwhelming odds to successfully complete their mission. By being innovators and utilizing what they had, including an unusual air rifle, they not only were able to complete their mission to explore the unknown Northwest and return to tell about it, but also they did so without losing a single man to violence. Being innovative with what we have to make the most of any situation is important in treating wounds as well. As with Lewis and Clark, innovation can bring surprising results. How innovative are you?

Note: Story adopted from Andrews A. The Little Things. Nashville, TN: W Publishing Group; 2017: 75–82.

Terry Treadwell, MD, FACS
woundseditor@hmpglobal.com