Seaman

Seaman, Meriwether Lewis's faithful Newfoundland dog, often drew special attention in the journals of the Corps of Discovery. Lewis wrote that on May 29, 1805, after a large buffalo bull swam over from the opposite shore, climbed over the white perogue to land, and charged toward the fires, the dog saved the men by causing the animal to change its course when it came within 18 inches of some of their heads. Lewis had purchased Seaman in 1803, and the dog proved worthy enough for Lewis to name a nearby creek after him in his journals. That waterway, first called Seaman's Creek, was eventually renamed for George Monteur, a skilled frontiersman who worked as an interpreter for the Hudson Bay Company, safely guided settlers through the western mountains and valleys, and died near this site in the fall of 1877.

Montana · United States