But a group of local women has found a way around that.
Using a bit of imagination, the Women's Living History Project of the Travelers' Rest Chapter of the the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation has come up with a way to take part in bicentennial activities related to the pair of famous explorers.
"It's basically a bunch of upper-class ladies sitting around gossiping," said Bob Brown, executive director of the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula.
The play serves as the Annual Fort Missoula Lecture.
"It's a stretch, I'll grant you," Brown said. "But it should be fun."
"A number of ladies wanted to do something, but with Sacagawea the only woman involved with the expedition, we decided we'd do something in the time period after Lewis and Clark got back," said L.J. Richards, senior curator at the museum and one of the actors in the play.
The women have contributed items for a dowry trunk, found books and articles to research the time period, invented or researched characters complete with background histories, written the play themselves, built a set and sewed their own costumes.
The group has already performed once, at Travelers' Rest State Park, in a play set at a tea party in 1807 in what the Women's Living History members now call "Chapter One."
"Chapter Two" is "After the Wedding" and takes place in 1808. Richards said the group hopes to be invited to give more performances, and will write new material each time.
The plays aren't limited to discussions of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. As the women gossip, the events of the day come up.
"For instance, gas lights were just coming into existence," Richards said. "And so the women talk about how you could possibly have light without a flame, and wonder whether you'll be able to carry the light from one place to another like you could a candle."
It also reflects St. Louis, which was fast becoming a cosmopolitan city, according to Richards. "The fur trade had made many people in St. Louis wealthy, and they were bringing in the latest fashions from New York, London, Paris and Italy," she said. "In this time period, people in St. Louis were either very wealthy, or very poor. There was no middle class to speak of."
Taking part are Richards, Kim Kaufman, Jean Belangie, Colleen Frank, Barb Regan, Evelyn Widhalm and Vicki Correia.
Reporter Vince Devlin can be reached at 523-5260 or at vdevlin@missoulian.com
Play at Fort
"After the Wedding" will be performed at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Historical Museum at Fort Missoula. Admission is free. Call 728-3476 for more information.
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