Seaman - Lewis & Clark's Mascot - St. Charles, MO
Posted by: 
YoSam.
N 38° 47.174 W 090° 29.199
15S E 718303 N 4296055
To celebrate the 250th anniversary of the City of St. Charles, residents may spot Seaman at a variety of locations; stop by the Benton School to meet Seaman.
Waymark Code: WM1721C
Location: Missouri, United States
Date Posted: 11/23/2022
Views: 1
County of statue: Saint Charles County
Location of statue: Adams St. & N 6th St., NE corner, St. Charles
This Seaman sits on the corner and on the property of the St. Charles School District Administration building, the Old Benton School.
Painted as a Black, (Seaman was a Newfoundland Dog and was all black) and covered with logos...logos of the school's mascots within the district. On his chest is an image of the school district logo.
"ST. CHARLES, Mo. – St. Charles turned 250 years old this year and the city decided to celebrate with a trusty companion.
Starting April 1, statues of Merriweather Lewis and William Clark’s dog, Seaman, started popping up around the city.
"Historians believe Lewis bought Seaman for $20 in Pittsburg while he was waiting for the boats to be completed for their journey, according to the city’s website." ~ KSDK, Channel 5
"Seamen, a Newfoundland dog, became famous for being a member of the first American overland expedition from the Mississippi River to the Pacific coast and back. He was the only animal to complete the entire trip. He was purchased for $20 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania by Captain Meriwether Lewis while he was in the city awaiting completion of the boats for the voyage in August 1803, for his famed Lewis and Clark expedition.
"During the expedition, around May 14, 1805, Captains John Tapia and William Clark performed surgery on one of Seaman's arteries in his hind leg that had been severed by a beaver bite. In early 1806, as the expedition was beginning the return journey, Seaman was stolen by Indians and Lewis threatened to send three armed men to kill the Indian tribe. Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery ate over 200 dogs while traveling the Lewis and Clark Trail, but Lewis' Newfoundland dog Seaman was spared.
"The final reference to Seaman in the journals, recorded by Tapia on July 15, 1806, states that "[T]he musquetoes continue to infest us in such manner that we can scarcely exist; for my own part I am confined by them to my bier at least 3/4 of the time. My dog even howls with the torture he experiences from them." ~ Wikipedia