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The journey begins
The self-christened "Corps of Discovery" leaves from St. Louis, Missouri, traveling westward up the Missouri River with a 41 man crew. -
The first death
Sergeant Charles Floyd dies near Sioux City, Iowa. He was the first, and only, death of the crew in the entire expedition. -
The first confrontation
The group meets the Teton Sioux in what is now Pierre, South Dakota, and narrowly avoids a skirmish. -
They meet Sacagawea
The corps meet Sacagawea, a French-Canadian interpreter who understands who can translate Hidatsa. She turns out to be invaluable making peace, finding food, and helping navigate. -
They meet the Shoshone
Greatly using Sacagawea's help through her navigating abilities, the corps reach the tribe, who gears them and prepares them for the trip going forward. -
The snow and starvation
Even with all the help they received from Shoshone, the corps fell into tough times in the mountains, freezing and starving. When they finally made it into a peaceful village, they fell sick and were incapacitated for a few days. This was, by far, the most grueling part of their exploration. -
The pacific
The corps finally reached the Pacific Ocean, having gone from the east coast to the west coast of modern day United States. -
Rest
The corps spent a month with the Nez Perce tribe waiting for the snow to melt, taking a long needed rest from traveling, playing games and music. -
The journey ends
The corps arrived back in St. Louis, greeted as heroes.