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The Lewis and Clark Expedition begins
Lewis and Clark began preparing for their expedition in the fall of 1803 in their St. Lewis area. William Clark and almost 50 men met up with Meriwether Lewis on May 20. On a 55 foot keelboat, and with two man made canoes, the expedition made its way up the Missouri River. Lewis studied the plants, animals and the rock formations on the shore, while Clark spent most of his time making maps and charting courses on the boat. -
Possible Danger Ahead
On August 2 a group of Oto and Missouri Native Americans came to the expeditions campsite. After a good encounter with these Indians, they feard that their meeting with the Sioux Indians would not go as well. Thomas Jefferson had warned them about this group. Lewis and Clark had arrived at the eastern side of the Great Plains in the last week of August. They were now traveleling into the middle of the Sioux land. -
The Dispute with the Sioux
The Yankton Sioux Indians had warned the expeditioners that the Teton Indians would probably be unfriendly, and they were right. The Tetons were hostile toward Lewis and Clark when they offered them their gifts. As a right of passage, the Indians demanded a boat from the Lewis and Clark. The Tetons began threatening them, so Clark drew out his sword and Lewis got out his swivel gun. There was a standoff, and then they both retreited, but now the expedition had an ememy. -
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A Tough Winter Ahead
Before the Missouri River froze the expedition traveled as many miles as possible. They got to the Mandan's Tribe village four days after the first snowfall.They built a fort there for the winter. Their dwindling food supply forced them to find meat for the men to make it through the winter. The temperature was below 0 and men were constanly on watch. -
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Winter in Fort Mandan
Lewis and Clark spent the winter in Fort Mandan. The voyagers stayed occupied. They hunted buffalo, fixed paraphernalia, and bartered with the Native Americans. The Hidasta Indians were settled near the Mandan tribe. Both tribes taught Lewis and Clark a great deal about the west of America. Lewis and clark employed Toussaint Charbonneau as their translator, who would join the explorers on their journey after they left Fort Mandan, along with his wife, Sacagawea, and son, baby Jean Baptiste. -
Entering Grizzly Country
Lewis and Clark were finally traveling due west, which is where they wanted to go all along. They had now entered grizzly country. The Native Americans had alerted them about these strong animals. Lewis was not influenced. He belived that the grizzly bears did not stand a chance against a man with a firearm. However, on April 29, a grizzly ran after Lewis for approximately eighty yards, until him and a collaborater killed the animal. This event caused Lewis to think differently about grizzlies. -
The Rocky Mountains in the Distance
In the beggining of May, Sacagawea rescued valuable supplies and diaries when she grabbed them out of the river, after wind caused the canoe she was aboard to turn on its side. Lewis spotted the Rocky Mountains at the end of May. It was his first time seeing them. The commanders were anxious to arrive at the Rocky Mountains. However, their progression was plodding down the river, which contained many protruding rocks. -
The River Dilemma
The voyagers reached a river fork on June 3. The commanders thought the Missouri was the southern branch of the fork, and would bring them to the Rocky Mountains. They wanted to get across the Rocky Monutains before it snowed in the fall. The rest of the voyagers had a different thought. They believed the correct option was the northern branch of the fork. Sending men to scout was unsuccessful. Lewis traveled up the southern branch of the fork with three men, seeking the Great Falls. -
The Navigation of the Great Falls
The first caucasian man to view the Great Falls of the Missouri River was Meriwhether Lewis on June 13, 1805. He was surprised to see five individual falls that went on for twelve miles. Lewis and Clark met up on June 16, and six days after, the navigation around the falls began. It was a strenuous task, and it took them over a month to pass around the falls. The Rocky Mountains were in the distance. -
Traveling Onward to the Continental Divide
As the expedition approached the mountains, the more ominous the snowy mountains became. Once the voyagers made it through the Continental Divide, they could follow the Columbia River, which flowed westward. The journey to the Columbia River from the Missouri River needed horses. To acquire the horses, they would need to track down the Shoshone tribe. However, so far, they had not seem the tribe. -
Meeting with the Shoshone
Lewis show a Shoshone Indian for the first time on August 11. The Native showed the voyagers his chief, who happened to be the brother of Sacagawea. In a short time, Lewis and Clark were arranging with the Shosones for horses. As the days went on, buying a horse from the tribe became more difficult, because they wanted more items for each horse. They were told about a trail that went across the Continental Divide from an elderly gentleman in the tribe. -
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The Treacherous Bitterroot Crossing
As they began making their way toward the Divide, it started to snow. Fresh meat was difficult to find, and they did have much food left. The voyagers got to the Divide and went over the other side, into the Bitterroot Valley. Once there, the travelers bought more horses from the Flathead Native Americans, for the trek through the Bitterroot Mountains.The crossing was treacherous. The men and horses were starving after 11 days crossing the Bitterroots. They met the Nez Perce after emerging. -
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The Pacific in Sight
The voyagers rode the Clearwater. On October 10, they arrived at the Snake River, and six days later, the Columbia River. There, they rested and met with Native Americans on the shore. There was an abundance of dried salmon in a village. They navigated down the Columbia River. Clark thought they had reached the Pacific, and rejoiyced. However, it was only the estuary of the Columbia River. They were still twenty miles from the coast. They arrived at the Pacific by the middle of November. -
Winter in Fort Clatsop
Lewis and Clark camped out south of the Columbia. They named it Fort Clatsop. They made moccasins and buckskin clothes, stored food, and made maps and journals while at the fort. -
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Preparing for the Departure
The expedition members wanted to go home, but they had to wait until the snow melted on the mountains. However, the could not wait too long to cross, because the Missouri River would freeze over agin, and they would have to go through another harsh winter in the Plains. In the third week of March, they were ready to go back, and their journey home was about to start. -
Leaving Their Boats
The voyagers left Fort Clatsop on March 23, and started to go up the Columbia River. This was tough, because the current was not in their favor, and they had to navigate around the Falls. The Chinookan Natives attempted to steal supplies from them and harrassed them. It was too hard to navigate around the Falls, so they left their boats and traveled on land with their horses. -
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Living with the Nez Perce
Lewis and Clark got back to the Nez Perce territory when they were just about out of food. They had to wait there until weather conditions improved. While waited, Clark aided sick members of the gorup, and Lewis studied nature and ethnography. By early June, they left the camp with new horses. -
The Second Bitterroot Crossing
Five days after leaving the Nez Perce, the voyagers made their way up the mountains. The mountains were covered in ten feet of snow, but the snow was packed very tightly. They got lost beacause of the snow, and had to go back to the Nez Perce for assistance. They followed the Native guides, and went back up the mountain. They got to the Traveler's Rest on June 30, and left the Indians to explore the Louisiana Territory. -
Lewis and Clark Split up
The expedition crossed the Continental Divide and came down from the mountains from the Great Falls. On July 26, they met the Blackfeet Natives who were friendly, so they decided to camp together. They did not trust the Indians and they were right becuase they stole two rifles and in the disturbance two of Lewis' men died. The expedition left. All the while on July 8 Clark's group crossed the divide and went into the Crow tribe territory. The Crow Indians stole half their horses. -
Coasting down the Missouri
On August 11, Lewis was accidentally shot in his left thigh by one of Clark's men. It was not fatal. Lewis and Clark were reuinited, and the current of the Missouri River carried them towards home.