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Beginning
Lewis & Clark, along with almost 4 dozen soldiers begin their expedition along the Missouri river to explore the new land. -
Meeting
The expedition crew meets the Oto and Missouri INdian tribes in a friendly meeting of gift exchangings. The crew is warned of encounters they might have with another tribe. -
Hostility
The crew meets up with the Teton Sioux Indian tribe, and they have a standoff because of the Teton Sioux's disappointment in the crew's meeting gifts. -
Winter
Winter was approaching, so the crew had to biuld a fort to keep warm and ddefend against the siouxs. The expedition built a fort near the end of November near the Mandan tribe. -
Mandan
The crew was set-up near the Mandan Indian tribe, so they got along with the tribe. They hunted buffalo and traded with the Mandan. Lewis & Clark also learned much about the west from this tribe, and found new specimen of plants and minerals. The crew also got an interpreter and guide, as well as a resupply of stock from the tribe. The guide, Sacagawea, would be vital to the remainder of the expedition. -
Grizzly
Lewis & Clark were warned about Grizzley bears by the Indians, as they went west. Lewis & Clark thought the animal could be easily killed and underestimated the power of the Grizzly bear. This was until the crew was attacked by a pair of Grizzly bears, putting Lewis in danger. -
Rockies
The crew finally caught sight of the Rockies, but Lewis & Clark knew it would be tough crossing the mountains. Sacagawea also saves some valuable notes from the expedition. -
Fork in the river
The crew came to a fork in the river, but no one knew which path was the right choice, so parties searched for answers. When neither of the parties knew which path was the right path, Lewis went with 3 men to find the Great falls. The Mandans told him that these falls would indicate the right path. -
Great Falls
Lewis saw the Great Falls, and knew that he was on the right path. He went back to the crew and told them about the Falls. The crew would have to go aroundthe falls, and this was the most strenuous task of the expedition to date. -
Continetal Divide
The crew was getting closer to the Rockies, and they were aross the continental divide. They would need to get to the Columbia river and this was a problem because they needed horses to get there from the Missouri river, and they had not yet encountered the horse rich Shoshone tribe. -
Shoshones
The crew finally found the Shoshones, and their chief turned out to be Sacagawea's brother. The crew traded with the tribe for horses, at first the prices low, then rising, but they got the animals. The expedition also got information about the mountains, and an easy path. -
Bitterroots
From late summer all the way into mid fall, th expedition made its way through the rockies, across the divide, and into the bitterroots valley. There, the men had a hard time, starving like the horses. They had camp in the valley, but they traded with a group of flathead Indians and Nez Perce. The expedition proceded in October, on the 7th toward the Pacific. -
Pacific
The crew had now made its way down Clearwater river, into the snake river, and were traveling down the Columbia river. There, the crew had met tribes that lived along the river. Clark thought he they had gotten to the Pacific, but it was just the mouth of the river. Storms held the crew for weeks, but finally they made it to the Ocean. -
Winter on the Pacific
The crew settled on the Pacific coast of America. They built a fort there, and spent much of their time making clothing, hunting, storing food, and making maps. -
Returning
The expedition was ready to return, but they had to leave at a certain time because they needed the mountains to be without snow, but also needed to get to the missouri river before it froze. The crew got 5 boats and headed out for the return home. -
Abandoning
On March 23rd the crew left the camp. They traveled in the boats up the Columbia river. The Chinookan Indiansconstantly harassed the party, and so once the expedition reached the Great falls they abandone their boats. They got horses from the friendly Walla Walla tribe, and rode. -
Nez Perce
By June the crew was back in Nez Perce territory. They settled in until the weather got better before crossing the bitterroots valley. Here Lewis got information, Clark healed Natives, the horses rested, and the men kept themselves fed and occupied. -
Bitterroots crossing part 2
The men left the Nez Perce on June 10th and crossed the Valley, but in the mountais there was too much snow to recognizee where they were going. This made the crew go back to the Nez Perce and ask for a guide. They got across, and to a rest, from there Lewis & Clark split up to explore more of the Louisiana purchase. -
Blackfeets and crows
In early July Lewis and his men exited the mountains, and arrived at the Great falls. Here he told his men to forage for items, meanwhile he and 3 men explored into Blackfeet country. They met a group, and the 2 groups settled together. The group of Blackfeet tried to take some rifles, but Lewis and his men stopped them, killed 2, and rode off in fear of being chased. Meanwhile, Clark's men did not leave the mountains until later, but half their horses were stolen by an Indian tribe. -
Down the Missouri
Lewis was shot by a group of Clark's men on accident, as they thought he was an elk. The wounds were not fatal though, and the groups reunited, and traveled down the Missouri river. -
Back to Mandans and the Siouxs
Soon the crew had came back upon the Mandan Village where some of the crew wold stay, like Sacagawea. Soon the creew left the village with Lewis being healed enough. The crew then traveled down river towards the Teton Siouxs who were along the river edges taunting and threatening the expeditioners. -
Return home
The crew was on its final stretch of the expedition, covering about 80 miles a day. They had met traders who told them that many thought the crew was dead. Soon they crossed the Mississippi river into St. Louis where there expedition came to an end. They were greeted with a warm welcome from the people of St. Louis