George Shannon rejoined the Lewis and Clark Expedition as it traveled on toward present-day North Dakota. During this period, Private John Newman was accused of speaking in mutinous tones in an attempt to undermine the discipline and loyalty of other members of the expedition, and after a two-hour court martial in which Shannon served as one of eight jurors, Newman was sentenced to 75 lashes and hard labor and was sent back to St. Louis in the spring. Yet life was not always grim: until the liquor supply was exhausted, each man received a gill of rum each evening, encouraging joviality and joshing. Cruzatte and Gibson often played fiddles while others played jaw harps and tambourines, and Shannon sang in a fine tenor voice as the men danced despite the hardships of the day. On April 26, 1805, Meriwether Lewis wrote that he joined the party at camp, found them in good health and pleased to have reached their long-desired spot, ordered a dram for each person, and watched the evening fill with hilarity, singing, and dancing as they seemed to forget their past toils.