Awesome old gun but that is not why they were not attacked.
The Louisiana Purchase nearly doubled the territorial size of the United States. Occupying that vast area were numerous Indian tribes. Although we tend to think of Indians as one people, the tribes Lewis and Clark met were actually very different from one another. Indeed, in terms of language, appearance, and way of life they were as dissimilar from each other as the peoples of Europe.
Most of the tribes Lewis and Clark encountered were little known in the United States. Many of these tribes, in fact, had become friends with France, Spain, and England before the United States had become a country. It was very important to gain the loyalty and friendship of these tribes for economic as well as military and political reasons. Therefore, President Jefferson instructed Lewis and Clark to make friends and develop trade relations with these Indians as well as collect scientific and military information about them.
Lewis and Clark fulfilled their roles as ambassadors of good will to perfection. Whenever they encountered a band of Indians, the captains held a conference, distributed presents, and explained to them that they now owed their allegiance to the United States, not France, Spain, or England. The most important of the presents were certificates, American flags, and Jefferson medals, known as peace medals from the clasped hands of friendship on the obverse.
The Corps of Discovery succeeded because of the help of the Indian peoples met along the way. Imagine a chain--its links Indian communities--that stretched from the Mandan villages on the upper Missouri across the Rockies and then along the Columbia River to the Pacific coast. For Lewis and Clark this chain of friendship was a lifeline that enabled them to pass safely through a strange and unknown landscape.
The Corps benefited from the protective custody they enjoyed while within the territory occupied by each tribe they visited. From the Indians the explorers received food, an opportunity to rest, and advice about the route immediately ahead.
The expedition was particularly indebted to the Nez Perce Indians, who the starving explorers met on September 20, 1805, after their ordeal on the Lolo Trail.
Had the Nez Perce been so inclined, the Corps of Discovery could have been erased without a trace. Instead, the Nez Perce fed the explorers and then cared for their horses, which would be needed for their recrossing of the Lolo Trail the following year.
After wintering at Fort Clatsop near the mouth of the Columbia River, the Corps of Discovery arrived back in Nez Perce country on June 10, 1806 to find their horses and other belongings in good shape. The Nez Perce not only supplied the explorers with food, but also furnished guides to lead them safely across the trail.
One reason the various tribes were so helpful to Lewis and Clark may have been their Indian companion, Sacagawea, and her infant son. This Shoshone woman, married to the French trader Toussaint Charbonneau, accompanied the Corps of Discovery from the Mandan villages to the Pacific Ocean and then came back with them.
Indians who might have suspected the explorers were on a warlike mission would have been reassured by seeing Sacagawea and her child with the soldiers. According to William Clark, "The Wife of Shabano our interpreter We find reconsiles all the Indians, as to our friendly intentions. A woman with a party of men is a token of peace."
Lewis and Clark : Indian Country
. The western frontier started at the Ohio River, and there were several expeditions that ended in bloody battles, the early pioneers and settlers were constantly being attacked. These early Indian Wars instilled alot of fear in the Indian tribes, especially the ones that had been driven west. Fear of the US Government retaliating may have also played a big role. But I think the Indians mainly saw them as friendly White Men, that were willing to trade.
