Camp River Dubois and the Lewis and Clark State Historic Site, Hartford, Illinois.

THE LEWIS & CLARK STATE HISTORIC SITE

The exact location of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark's Camp River Dubois (Dubois "wood" in French), their winter campsite, is unknown, and no physical evidence has been found. Guided by Journal entries, Clark's rough sketches, and maps, historians have deduced the look and general location of this historic camp.

The Lewis and Clark State Historic Site has been established south of the actual winter campsite of the Expedition in Hartford, Illinois. It is located on the east side of the Mississippi across from the present mouth of the Missouri River, as the original camp was. However, the rivers have altered their courses, making the actual site inaccessible and impossible to pinpoint.

The replica fort is about six miles from the mouth of River Dubois and has the same basic footprint as in Clark's rough sketches found in his field notes, including two detailed sketches with measurements. Journal entries described a collection of log huts that comprised the camp, similar to today's camp, and its relative position to the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers.

The reconstruction was completed with careful consideration of the raw materials and tools available to the men. Standard military construction techniques, styles, and other military forts of the era were studied, as well as time allocations and the men's level of craftsmanship. Layouts of the expedition's other two winter encampments at Forts Mandan and Clatsop were also considered. The replica is the best estimate of what the 1803-1804 camp looked like.

A BRIEF LEWIS & CLARK HISTORY

Camp River Dubois, near present-day Wood River, Illinois, served as the winter camp for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, also known as the Corps of Discovery Expedition, from December 12, 1803, to May 14, 1804.

Founded at the confluence, Rivière du Bois (Wood River), it was located on the east side of the Mississippi River, so it was still in United States territory. This was important because the transfer of the Louisiana Purchase to France from Spain did not occur until March 9, 1804, and then from France to the United States on March 10, 1804.

At Cahokia, Lewis and Clark had met a well-known French citizen, Nicholas Jarrot, who owned 400 acres on the du Bois, and he agreed to let them camp there. William Clark arrived at Camp Dubois first with a group of men that he recruited from Kaskaskia and Fort Massac on December 12, 1803. There, they constructed a frontier fort. Captain Meriwether Lewis joined the camp several weeks later after gathering information about Upper Louisiana and the west from Cahokia, Kaskaskia, St. Louis, and other locations. Also, during this time, Lewis took the opportunity to smooth relations with the Spanish authorities in St Louis to make the transfer of the Louisiana Purchase easier.

Camp Dubois was a fully operating military camp. Soldiers stationed at the camp were required to participate in training, maintain personal cleanliness, police the camp, and perform other duties spelled out by the United States military. They had inspections, marched, stood guard duty, and hunted to supplement their military rations. Sergeant John Ordway was in charge of the camp during periods in which Lewis and Clark were away.

On May 14, 1804, the Expedition, under Clark's command, left Camp River Dubois on the east side of the Mississippi River and sailed up the Missouri River. It was the first American expedition to cross what is now the western portion of the United States. The expedition returned again to the camp on their return journey on September 23, 1806.

Read the complete story about Lewis and Clark. 

WHAT IS A KEELBOAT?

Meriwether Lewis listed a "Keeled Boat" in his pre-expedition shopping list. After he finally got it, he and the other journalists of the Corps of Discovery simply called it "the boat" (190 times) or, less often (32 times), "the barge." The expedition used a 55-foot Keelboat, which could be sailed, rowed, poled like a raft, or cordelled (a towline especially used on keelboats).

In this historical context, "keelboat" refers to a boat used to carry cargo and/or passengers along narrow river waterways. The boat derives its name from its primary structural component: a long beam stretching along the body's bottom or hull. The feature serves two functions; providing a solid foundation for the boat's structure and helping guide the boat forward as it moves along waterways.

A Cutaway of the Lewis and Clark Keelboat.

Builders created a long, wide cigar-shaped boat that could easily navigate rivers, canals, and other tight water spaces. Its size allowed for bulk carrying, and the ease with which the boat was navigated also made it useful for traveling against the water flow.

Lewis and Clark utilized a keelboat for much of their adventure. Individuals who sought a settlement in different regions also found the vessels useful, and the arrival of a keelboat often signaled the beginning of the regional expansion. If a keelboat transported several people, it usually contained an onboard cabin. Otherwise, the deck was open.

Keelboats were not motorized and thus did not have electrical or other means of self-sufficient power. As a result, sails, poles, or oars were used to propel and navigate the boat. For this reason, the keelboat was often referred to as a "pole boat." As one might imagine, steering a boat that could be up to 80 feet long was often a challenge, and several individuals were usually needed to accomplish this task. In shallow waters, the men often tied ropes to the boat's bow and pulled it along from the shoreline.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.

Wm. Pethick Murders a Young Mother and her 2 year old in 1915. Now, for the Rest of the Story.

On May 6, 1915, a 22-year-old man named William Russell Pethick worked as a deliveryman in Chicago when he delivered groceries to a home owned by the Coppersmith family. Ella Coppersmith, age 28, was home with her two-year-old son Jack. 

Ella attempted to pay Pethick with a ten-dollar bill, and a dispute arose over the change. At one point, Pethick reached for Ella’s blouse, and she hit him in the face. He fractured her skull with a hammer. Pethick grabbed a kitchen knife and stabbed her repeatedly. As she lay dying, her two-year-old son came into the kitchen. 

Thinking the boy could identify him, Pethick killed him by slashing the boy’s throat. Then this happened... Pethick, a necrophiliac, sexually abused Ella Coppersmith's corpse (from Clarence Seward Darrow's court docket; Pethick's lawyer).

The site of the murders at 7100 South Lowe Avenue in the Englewood community of Chicago is a well-maintained, empty lot.

May 20, 1915

NOTE: Clarence Seward Darrow followed the news about the murders and was fascinated by the case. He was convinced that Pethick was mentally ill. He offered to defend the accused, and Pethick’s father gladly accepted. Darrow knew that a jury would very likely convict his client instead of finding him not guilty by reason of insanity.

 

Darrow surprised the prosecution by having Pethick plead guilty on the first day of trial. Darrow then pleaded with the judge to take into account Pethick’s mental defects to mitigate punishment. He brought in experts to testify about Pethick’s mental problems. The prosecution tried to counter the defense’s testimony. In the end, the judge sentenced Pethick to life in Joliet prison instead of the death penalty.

 

In several ways, the case was a dress rehearsal for the Leopold and Loeb case in 1924. Pethick spent 47 years in prison before being paroled on December 21, 1962. According to a news account, Pethick was paroled to the Salvation Army and would live and work at the Men’s Social Service Station in Chicago.

Coppersmith is buried at Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery, Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.

DOUBLE SLAYER OF COPPERSMITHS BELIEVED CAUGHT

Chicago Tribune, May 13, 1915

The murderer of Mrs. Ella Coppersmith and her 3-year-old son, who was slain in their residence at 7100 South Lowe Avenue a week ago today, is believed by the police to be in custody.

The suspect and two companions were arrested yesterday. Secrecy as to the man's identity is maintained by the detectives. The capture was of such importance that Chief Healey was informed of it.

A sore finger on the left hand of the suspect is one of the reasons for believing that he is the slayer of mother and son. A rag that had slipped, or was torn from the murderer's finger, was found on the kitchen floor of the Coppersmith house.

At what station the suspect and his two companions are locked up could not be learned. It was said, however, that they were arrested In a West Madison street "barrelhouse" and taken to an outlying station.

From a habitué of the saloon in which the three men were arrested, the detectives learned the trio robbed a clothing store in South Chicago on Monday night. Part of the proceeds of the burglary was peddled along "West Madison Street.

The police Informant overheard the three men discussing the clothing store "job," and they also mentioned the Coppersmith case.

One of the men - the one with the sore finger - was heard to say he was going to get out of town. "Wagon" and "alley" were words that were heard by the stool pigeon who "tipped" the police. It Is known that a wagon was In the alley at the rear of the Coppersmith home at the time of the murder.

"What are you getting scared about?" one of the men asked the man with the sore finger." The police have pinched three or four fellows for the job, and they don't know where they're at."

After further conversation, they planned to go to Gary, Indiana, last night to do a "job" there. The man who had overheard the talk notified a detective who had once befriended him. The arrest of the trio, all ex-convicts, followed.

Each of the prisoners was questioned about the Coppersmith murder, but all of them denied knowledge of the case except what they had read in the newspapers. The one suspected of the murder said he had been in this city only since last Saturday.

VICTIM'S MATE FIGHTS PAROLE FOR KILLER OF TWO

Chicago Daily Tribune, July 2, 1956

Rape Murderer Serving Life Since 1915. (41 years)

William Russell Pethick, now 62, who pleaded guilty to the 1915 knife slayings of a Chicago mother and her infant son, will seek his freedom from a life sentence in a hearing before the state parole and pardon board on July 10th at Stateville Prison (maximum security) in Crest Hill, Illinois.

The victims of the slayings were Mrs. Ella Coppersmith, 28, and her son, John Jr. They were killed in their home at 7100 South Lowe Avenue on May 6, 1915. Pethick was sentenced on September 28, 1915.

Mate Opposes Plea. Mrs. Coppersmith's husband, John now of Washington, Wisconsin, opposed Pethick's plea for freedom.

In a letter to the board, Coppersmith wrote that only the wiles of the late Clarence Darrow, who defended Pethick, saved Pethick from the hangmen. Coppersmith labeled the killings cruel and senseless.

Fingerprints, which at that time were not widely used as a method of identification, led to Pethick's capture and confession. A ruse was used to get Pethick's fingerprints, and police matched them to bloody ones found in the home.

Returns with Knife. Pethick, then 22, delivered a grocery order to the Coppersmith home. He told the young wife he didn't have change and would return in the afternoon. When he returned, he carried a butcher knife with which he slashed the woman s throat.

Pethick raped her as she lay bleeding on the floor. When the child entered the room, Pethick slashed his throat. He ransacked the home, stealing $100 and a gold wristwatch. Police later recovered the wristwatch from a drain in the shop where Pethick worked.

Compiled by Dr. Neil Gale, Ph.D.