Western Railroad Discussion > Camp Dispointment on BNSF's Highline near Marias

Hope someone can help:

On the BNSF mainline east of Browning, Montana, there is a monument called Camp Disapointment, I have been to it several times and it looks like a small Washington monument. In brief: I belive it is a point some explorers reached and decided to turn back instead of crossing the mountains to the west at Glacier Park. They felt the mountians were either to steep or it was the wrong time of year to make the attempt.

Anyone know who the explores were? and can you confirm the story? I need this for a show in the next few weeks.

Many thanks.

Captain Lewis of Lewis and Clark expedition, in 1806 he turned around at this point on expedition to explore Marias River, disappointed because he hadn't reached 50th parallel. "Marias" incidentally was named for Captain Lewis' mother. Type "Camp Disappointment Montana" in Google and you will have more information than you ever wanted about this point.

http://www.browningmontana.com/campdis.html

Thanks, that a lot of information for such a small monument.

My memory was it was Lewis, but I have long ago mislpaced some notes from the marker that was there.

Well, I have a lot in common with Lewis & Clark...hiked...waited and came away without a train photo...my own camp dissappointment!

I think the disappointment was a little more serious than stated, believe this commemorates the moment when Lewis concluded that a Northwest (water) Passage did not exist (within the USA). That was the most important objective of the expedition, to find out if it existed or not.

Best regards,

Rob L.

Lewis and Clark, Transcontinental Enploration, 1804-1806, by Roy E. Appleman, ISBN# 0-931056-09-8

This book gives the following information:

Camp Disappointment, Montana
Location (approximate): Glacier County, on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, along the south bank of Cut Bank Creek just above the junction of Trail Coulee, about 12 miles northeast of Browining and some 6 miles due north of the Great Northern Railroad and U.S. 2. Access is only possible from the latter by a primitive road that runs northward at the point just west of a monument to Lewis and Clark. The monument is about 22 miles west of the city of Cut Bank and is situated several hundred yards north of the highway.

Lewis, Drouillard, and the Field brothers bivouacked at this place in the period July 22-26, 1806. Lewis apparently named the camp to express his discouragement over the cloudy and overcast weather that prevailed throughout the stay and prevented him from obtaining a good astronomical fix to determine the exact location - - though he remanined longer than he intended and considered safe.

The group broke camp on the morning of the 26th to return to the Missouri. The next day, the party encountered eight Blackfeet and camped overnight with them. The following morning, the Indians jumped Lewis and his men, who killed two of their adversaries and managed to escape.....

--------------------

It was here that Lewis determined they had reached the northern extent of the Missouri River drainage.

Fields, Oregon on the SP, SE of Oakridge was named for the Field brothers, Rueben and Joseph.

Cut Bank Creek and Trail Coulee can be located in the DeLorme Montana atlas, page 85, B5. Roads are shown from near where the monument should be to the Cut Bank Creek and Trail Coulee area.

jb

I'm sure there are many interpretations, but according to Stephen Ambrose's book "Undaunted Courage", Lewis was attempting to find the northernmost branch of the Marias River, as part of a grand scheme to potentially claim portions of what is now southern Alberta, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba for the US. When he reached Camp Disappointment, he saw that Cut Bank Creek turned southwest, thus he was at its northernmost point. He wrote in his diary "I now have lost all hope of the waters of this river ever extending to N Latitude 50 degrees. I still hope and think it more than probable that both white earth river and milk river extend as far north as latd. 50 degrees." (Milk River is in eastern Montana and White Earth is in northwestern North Dakota, both along Empire Builder route).

Remember, this all occured on the return trip from the west coast, in 1806. Lewis and Clark had already pretty well determined that there was no northwest all-water passage in the US.

The men of the Lewis & Clark Expedition by Charles Clarke, ISBN 0-8032-6419-4, page 161:

(Lewis) gave it the name of Maria's River, in honor of his cousin, Miss Maria Wood.

Names on the Land by George Stewart, ISBN 0-938530-02-X, page 216, Mr Stewart writes:

Captain Lewis commemorated his own lady-love with even more flourish:

I determined to give it the name, and in honour of Miss Maria W--d, called it Maria's River. It is true that the hue of the waters of this turbulent and troubled stream but illy comport with the pure celestial virtue and amiable qualifications of that lovely fair one: but on the other hand it is a noble river.

In the early 90's, Canon used a photo of mine in a Trains magazine ad, showing Amtrak's Empire Builder at Camp Disappointment, on that spectacular sag just about a half mile west of the monument. I think the lens was a 600mmf4; made Camp D. appear to be in East Browning!

The area around the monument is still one of my favorite photo locations in Marias Pass.

The monument was erected by GN to comemmorate the actual location of the Lewis encampment, which is six miles north of the railroad. Unfortunately, local teenage revelers have defaced it with spray paint and broken beer bottles.

If railfans want to stand on ground believed trod by the Corps of Discovery, keep heading east on US 2 to Cut Bank. Stand along Cut Bank Creek, slap on a wide-angle lens (in spring or fall, when sun is more southerly) to shoot the big bridge there, and you'll be on the spot where the expedition supposedly camped. Several signs comemmorate the spot (you have to really look for them, unfortunately) but there's plenty of information on the internet.

Personally, I prefer Cut Bank encampments at the Super 8 Motel (formerly Northern Motor Inn) just a few hundred yards away. Indoor pool, spa, and a nice view of the big bridge.