-
Period: to
Lewis and Clark Expedition
-
The Start
The Lewis and Clark expedition began when they and a group of men started upstream on the Missouri River. Clark was in charge of creating maps and charting the routes they took in this unexplored area. Lewis was animals, plant life, rock and soil formation ashore. They each had something different to bring to the table and they completed the knowledge that the other lacked, which is why they made such a terrific team. By the end of July, they had travelled a total of 600 miles. -
Establishing Relationships with Native Americans
Jefferson stressed that they needed to make a friendly impression on the native americans out west. The Oto and Missouri Indians were very peaceful, and they exhanged greetings and gifts. The Sioux tribe would be much different. When encountering Yankton Sioux Indians they were kind but hesitant and warned the travelers about the not-so-peaceful greetings they would recieve farther up river by the Teton Sioux Indians. -
Winter is a Time for Survival
Lewis and Clark made it their mission to get as far they could before winter hit. Soon after the first snow, they arrived at the Mandan tribe's village, which is where they took shelter for the winter. They made plans and built a fort as protection against the freezing winter and attacks from the Sioux indians. Food starts to swindle and the leaders must now take a new course of action in order to last until spring. -
To the Rockies
Since they first set their eyes on them, Lewis and Clark knew that the Rocky mountain chain would be a very dificult journey to overcome. They posed many challenges, including a fork in the road. The group was divided about which path was the Missouri and would lead them to the Rockies. Since it was unknown after numerous attempts, Lewis took it upon himself to take three men with him through the southern path searching for the Great Falls, which would indicate that he was on the right path. -
A Set Back
Near this time, Lewis became the first white man to see the great falls of te Missouri. He was surprisd that there were five in total when the indians had only told him there was one. He realized that getting acreoss them would take a lot more work and a lot longer time than originally planned. They began six days later and the way around the Great Falls would tak them almost a month to get through. -
Troubled Times
Winter was coming and they were making their way to the Continental Divide and their food stash was getting really low, making their way into Bitterroot Valley. Americans met Flathead Indians and bought more than just horse to survive. After just 11 days the horses were already near starvation and the men became so starved that they ate 3 colts. Once they came into contact with Nez Perce they got dried fish and roots. The captains then set up camp at Clearwater River and Snake River. -
The West Coast
On this day Clark thought that they had finlly reached the Pacific Ocean when in reality they were at the estuary of the Colombia. At this point the rough storms, the rolling water and the high winds held the froup down in one area for three weeks because of these dangerous weather conditions. By the middle of November the men made it to the Pacific Ocean with joy. They decided to spend the winter on the west coast instead of trying to make their way home. -
The Rest is on Foot
The group leaves Fort Clatsop and head up the Colombia River and during this time the Chinookan Indians were constantly a threat. Numerous times they attempted to steal from the expeditions food and supplies, which almost caused an outbreak in hostility between the expedition and the tribe. At this point, Lewis and Clark's expedition knoew that getting around the falls would be too great of a challenge so they decided to abandon their boats and go over land to the mountains with horses. -
Friendly Fire
While hunting for food, Clark's group is searching for any type of animal to survive on. Seeing something mcving, Clark shoots thinking that he hit an elk, but itturns out he realy hit Lewis. The hit went through his left thigh and was not fatal. From that point on the groups rejoined together ans contunued their journey on the Missouri River. -
The End
By the time the expedition was almost home they were able to reach upto 80 miles per day. Soon enough the group passed by some traders who told them that they were thought to be dead after all of this time away. Lewis ans Clark made it home two years, four months and ten days after they originally set off on their exploration. Their return was celebrated by one thousand people from St. Louis on the shoreline setting off gun salutes and greeting them with enthusiastic welcomes home.