Last week, the Archives received a donation from the National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century, an organization that strives to foster an interest in colonial-era research, and to support the preservation of records across the nation. Their donation to our Document Preservation Fund will help preserve the Bates Certificates, from our territorial land records. Shown here is the presentation of the check from Colonial Dames members Patti Petet and Mila Cunningham to Secretary Hoskins, along with Deputy Secretary Claudia Sands and Archives staff John Dougan and Christina Miller. Also pictured is a Bates certificate dated to 1824. (fb)

Shown here are images of the keelboat (referred to in journals simply as “the boat” or “the barge”) custom ordered by Meriwether Lewis for the Corps of Discovery expedition. The hold capacity for the vessel was 12 tons, fitting the inventory Lewis had purchased in St. Louis. This included scientific equipment, ammunition, and provisions such as 150 lbs. of “Portable Soup”, a rubbery mixture with a meaty taste, similar to bouillon cubes. While he was procuring the keelboat in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Lewis made another important purchase for the expedition, a working dog. Lewis selected a Newfoundland dog because of their proficiency in the water and comfort on boats. For this reason, the dog was named Seaman. Seaman proved to be a helpful addition to the Corps, killing and retrieving game, and once driving a bison away from camp. #OnThisDay in 1804, officially reunited with Captain Lewis, the Corps of Discovery, consisting of 45 men and one Newfoundland dog, set off from St. Charles up the Missouri River and into the relative unknown. (fb)