Brass Trunk Corner | Diggers

Kg and I are in Montana at decision point with our archaeologist marked, and we're on the hunt for Lewis and Clark nectar. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson hand-selected Meriwether Lewis to lead a top-secret army Expedition into the lands Northwest of the Mississippi. After enlisting the help of William Clark, the pair of explorers led a team of pioneers named the Corps of Discovery on a dangerous two-and-a-half-year mission to chart a water route along the Missouri River to the Pacific.

But after a grueling year, the Corps hit a critical juncture at the confluence of the Marias and the Missouri Rivers. The future of the mission and the country depended on their next decision. Decision Point is actually where Lewis and Clark stood as they gazed on the two rivers and tried to decide which way to go. Lewis said, "We've got to send a scouting party both ways; whichever river has the falls, we'll know we're on the Missouri River."

Lewis and Clark spent ten days here at Decision Point. We're looking for the exact campsite because nobody knows exactly where it was. I would love to find buttons, one of their guns, maybe a knife. Lewis and Clark had round balls in their guns; I bet they wished they would have had these and the guns to shoot them. Lewis and Clark were outfitted with .49 caliber muzzle-loading flintlock rifles. If we can find a cache of .49 caliber round balls, I know we'll be on the right track.

Solid hit right here! Lewis hit a cache of supplies at Decision Point. Finding anything from that stash could be clear evidence of their campsite. Ah, there we go! Look at this—we've got an old can of Lucky beer. This will give me luck! Now I'm going to find that Lewis and Clark nectar.

Oh, listen to that! We're at Decision Point, and I get a great hit—screaming high pitch in the middle of a field. You can't ask for more than that; it's going to be something good. So I drop down, dig a plug, and I can see the edge of it right there.

Oh, what in the world? I get it loose; bring it out into the open light. Oh, it's made of brass, and this is pretty darn old! Oh, look at that! There's a little nail or something in there holding that piece of wood on still to this day. I have something that could be Lewis and Clark era.

You know, when they're traveling, they had to have their goods stored somewhere—probably old trunks, and they would have had metal corners like this. At Decision Point, they probably used all the goods in this trunk and then made the decision to heave this out onto the bank. I got Lewis and Clark's little trunk corner. All I got to do is check with our archaeologist to verify it, and I will win the day!