Lewis and Clark

"...at 4 pm arrived at a remarkable rock...from its top  had a most extensive view in every direction.  This rock which I shall Call Pompy's Tower is ...only axcessable on one side which is from the N.E...The natives have ingraved on the face of this rock the figures of animals &ct. near which I marked my name and the day of the month & year."  William Clark July 25, 1806

Artist Comments:

This signature is thought to be one of the few physical remnants of Lewis & Clark's famed expedition.  Pompy's Tower (Pillar) is remarkable because of the history on its sandstone walls.  The story begins with scratched and carved lines or figures painted with earthen oxide.  They were the details in the lives of the native people who made the plains their home. 

Clark's signature was the beginning of a flood of markings made by others, documented recently at well over 2,000.  I have included some of the more interesting ones on the embossment for this etching.  As I read the many names, I became aware that there were pictographs and petroglyphs under the more numerous signatures.  What has been lost because of the superimposed autographs?  It's a complicated question.  Where can a line be drawn between what is art or history and what is graffiti?  I must admit that I enjoyed the portrait of a young country as written on the yellow stone walls.

Even as we witness the passage of time as portrayed by Pompy's Tower, we are reminded that we are living in a different time.  Now, we have endless opportunities to express ourselves in unobtrusive ways.  In our encounters with irreplaceable sites and artifacts, our goal should be to appreciate them, learn what they can teach us, and do nothing to detract or devalue these legacies for future generations.

Barbara Coppock