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The Journey Begins
Lewis and Clark started from St. Louis area camp and headed up the Missouri River. THey met on May 20th with about 50 other men -
Heading into Danger
Group of Indians arrived at the expedition camp. They met two tribes, the Yankton Sioux who were peaceful and the Teton Sioux who were dangerous. -
Standoff with the Teton Sioux
Lewis and Clark prepared to fight the Teton Sioux because they became threatened. Before anything happened both sides pulled away. -
Racing against Winters Appproach
Lewis and Clark had to prepare for winter and cover as many miles before everything froze. They had to find food and shelter quickly. -
Winter Among the Mandan
During the winter Lewis and Clark stayed at fort Mandon. Where they learned alot about the country and the Hidasta. -
Into Grizzly Country
Lewis and Clark were told about the dangerus grizzlies in grizzly country. They encountered two grizzlies and one of them chased Lewis until they killed it. -
Rockies in Sight
Lewis and Clark were very eager to see the rockies and they finally saw the mountians. -
A Fork in the River
Lewis and Clark had to chose between going north or south Lewis took three men south with him. They knew that they were on the MIssouri. -
Around the Great Falls
Lewis reached the Great Falls but there were five sperate falls. Going around the falls would take more time then expected. -
Toward the Continental Divide
Lewis and Clark passed the continental divide but needed horses from the shoshone tribe to cross the Columbia river. -
Among the Shoshone
The expedition members finally found a Shoshone Indian who led them to his tribe. They bargained and traded different things for the horses they needed. The price and trades for the horses went up every time even though the horses weren’t in good condition. -
Deadly Crossing The Bitterroots
The expedition was led into the Bitterroot Valley where they met Flathead Indians who had more horses for them. The members and horses struggled with starvation as they went through the Bitterroots. They set up camp and went down the Clearwater River. -
Ocean in View
The expedition reached the Snake River and then the Columbia where they rested and met with Indians. They reached the estuary of the Columbia which was 20 miles from the coast. Clark had thought that they reached the Pacific so he wrote in his journal “Ocean in view”. Eventually they made it to the Pacific where they spent their winter. -
Winter on the Pacific
The Expedition built Fort Clatsop south of the Columbia where they made clothing, stored food, and worked on maps/journals. They wanted to meet one of the trading ships but when it stopped, the Indians never told them about it so it left. -
Readying for the Return
The members of the expedition were ready to return home and travel back across the continent. They had to get the timing right because they could only get across the mountains when the snow was melted but if their timing was too late, the Missouri River would be frozen. -
Abandoning the Boats
Lewis and Clark started heading up the Columbia River. They were harassed by the Chinookan Indians along the way. Getting around the falls was very challenging. -
Among the Nez Perce
Lewis and Clark were almost out of food so they had to stop and live with the Nez Perce until the weather improved. Lewis studied the nature and Clark helped heal members of the tribe. By June they were ready to set out. -
Crossing the Bitterroots, Again
Lewis and Clark could not find their way through the snow. They had to go back to the Nez Perce and get a guide -
Parting Ways, Skirmishing With Blackfeet
The expedition met the Blackfoot tribe they decieded to camp together. The Indians tryed to take two rifles and a skrimish ensued. They crossed over on to Crow terrortory that night half of their horses were gone but a Crow was never spotted. -
Riding the Missouri
One of the members of the expedition shot lewis because he thought he was a deer. Lewis was not fataly injured