As reported by History, beyond the Rocky Mountains the new lands of the United States remained a mystery, with Thomas Jefferson himself convinced that the expedition had a good chance of encountering woolly mammoths that still roamed free in the distant west.

It is no surprise to know, then, that with the frontier as unknowable as it seemingly was, the Lewis and Clark expedition armed themselves with an eye-wateringly large arsenal, including 15 rifles that were specially customized and made shorter to aid travel, per the U.S. Army Center for Military History. History reports the expedition also carried many muskets, more than 200 pounds of gunpowder, and 400 pounds of lead from which to make ammunition. The same source also reports that the group also carried many hand weapons such as tomahawks, knives, and, surprisingly, pikes.

But the most useful weapon in the Lewis and Clark armory was Lewis’ state-of-the-art air-powered rifle, a near-silent gun that History claims could fire some 20 rounds before having to be reloaded. Famously, the Corps of Discovery rarely became embroiled in violent encounters. Instead, the weapon was chiefly used during diplomacy with Native Americans, according to Britannica, which claims that the weapon was used to perform a “magic show” along with other European technology such as magnets and compasses.