Lewis and Clark's Great Journey to the West

The Lewis and Clark expedition undertook an amazing journey that was beyond most American's wildest dreams! It was an extremely important event for our nation. The Corps of Discovery made many new scientific discoveries, and their trip helped start the spreading of civilization to the great American West. Without the expedition, the U.S.A. would not be as large and powerful as it is today. The journey that Lewis and Clark made through the wilderness is an exceptional tale of struggle and survival.

President Jefferson, being very interested in scientific matters, decided to create an expedition to explore America. They were to make as many scientific discoveries as possible and send samples back to Jefferson. Jefferson also wanted the expedition to discover an all-water route to the Pacific, as this would make trade and travel much easier. Lastly, they were to seek out the Indian tribes in order to tell them that they were under U.S. rule and that the Americans were their friends (National Geographic 2). There was much to do to get ready for such a trip. Jefferson appointed Meriwether Lewis, his personal secretary, as the expedition captain. Lewis had vast knowledge about plants and animals, and was a captain in the U.S. army. Both of these factors made Lewis ideal as the leader of the trip. Lewis asked President Jefferson to make William Clark his co-captain. His request was denied; instead, Clark was made second lieutenant, the rank that he held in the army. However, Lewis and Clark were such great friends that Lewis took matters into his own hands and kept this fact a secret from the members of the Corps of Discovery. He called Clark "captain" so that the rest of the party always believed that Lewis and Clark were of equal status. The two leaders gathered forty-five men to go on the journey, including woodsmen, soldiers, and boatmen (National Geographic 2). Some of them were only going partway; there were thirty-two members of the permanent party. All of them were free white men, except for Clark's slave, York, and Lewis' Newfoundland dog, Seaman.

Finally, the trip was started on May 14, 1804. The Corps of Discovery were sent off with a huge crowd cheering for them. For a while, the trip was easy because the expedition could stop and sleep at small towns each night. Eventually, however, the group really did start their voyage of discovery. Throughout the course of the trip, the expedition discovered 122 new animals and 178 new plants (Blumberg 1). These included the horned lizard, badger, prairie dog, bearberry plant, evergreen, and bitterroot, most of which are very commonly known today. New minerals were also discovered. Lewis sent many of these things back to President Jefferson for him to study. He sent live animals, such as the prairie dog, as well as dried plants, skeletons, antlers, skins, mineral samples, and many other things.

The expedition met its first Indians after two month's travel. These Indians were of the Oto and the Missouri tribes. They were very friendly, especially with York. His dark skin delighted them. The expedition gave gifts to the Indians and told them that Americans were their friends. They did this so that they could be sure of the Indians' help and cooperation. The Corps then traveled on, and in August 1804, they met the Yankton Sioux. This tribe was friendly and traded with the Americans. However, a couple of days later the expedition traveled through Teton Sioux land. These Indians were hostile and tried to detain the explorer's boats; luckily, they were not successful. Next the Corps met the Arikaras, who were most friendly and helpful. One of the Arikaras even went on with the Corps for a few days in order to smooth the way with the Mandans. This was very generous, as the Arikaras and the Mandans were enemies at the time. However, the Mandans also turned out to be friendly, and the expedition stayed with them over the winter. The group built a fort near the Mandan camp that they stayed in, as it was impossible to travel during that season. During this time Lewis and Clark hired a Frenchman named Charbonneau as an interpreter for the Hidatsa. His wife, Sacagawea, who also came along, could speak French, Shoshoni, and Hidatsa. She proved invaluable to the expedition both because of her language skills and because she gave birth to a baby boy on the journey. This eased the American's relations with the Indian tribes that they met, because the Indians knew that no war party would bring along a woman and a baby. After the winter weather had abated, the group traveled on with the two new additions. The first territory they passed through belonged to the Hidatsas, who were a bit hostile but didn't attack the Corps. In April, Lewis sent the plant, animal, and mineral samples back to President Jefferson (Blumberg 1).

The expedition began to travel where no white man had ever traveled before as the Rocky Mountains came into sight and the Missouri split into two. It was determined that the south branch was the Missouri, so the explorers named the north branch the Marias River. After going up the Missouri for a ways, the expedition had to portage for eighteen miles around the river's five waterfalls. This arduous task took three weeks. After this struggle was over, the Corps continued up the river and through the Continental Divide. The explorers entered Shoshoni country, Sacagawea's home. The explorers met the cautious yet friendly Shoshoni and traded for food and horses that they would use to continue their journey. They also hired an Indian named Old Toby who would guide them over the mountains. However, traveling over the mountains was much more difficult than the explorers had expected. The weather was fierce, and as they didn't have enough food, they were forced to eat some of their horses to survive (Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc. 4). Finally, the explorers emerged from the mountains and reached the friendly Nez Perce. They traded with the tribe for food and made several dugouts while they were recuperating here. On October 7, the expedition started traveling down the Clearwater River. Happily, the current was finally with them instead of against them. After the Clearwater, they reached the Snake River. Next, they came to the Columbia on October 16 and journeyed through the Cascades Mountains. Following that, they were stalled for three weeks by many great storms, but in the middle of November the Pacific was sighted at long last. The sight was bittersweet; there were no traders' ships in sight, and the explorers realized that they would be forced to spend the winter on the coast. While they were staying there, one ship did stop nearby to trade with the native Clatsop Indians, but the explorers were never told about it (National Geographic 2). Their winter was cold, miserable, and boring, but finally in the third week of March they started the return journey home.

The Corps of Discovery finally started home after many months of exploration. They met the Chinookan Indians, who continually tried to steal the expedition's supplies. They also met the people of the Walla Walla tribe, who were very friendly and gave the Americans horses. Next, the explorers stayed with the Nez Perce while they waited for the Bitterroots to be freed of snow. The expedition waited impatiently, and in June they decided to start traveling again despite warnings from the Nez Perce that the mountains couldn't yet be crossed. Upon attempting to cross the mountains the Corps found that the Indians had been right. In the valley, it was springtime, but in the mountains there were ten feet of hard-packed snow. The explorers were forced to turn back and obtain guides from the Nez Perce before attempting the mountains again. Finally, on June 30 they completed their struggle over the mountains and reached Traveler's Rest. Here Lewis and Clark split the Corps into two parties in order to explore more territory. Lewis and his nine men went to explore the Marias River, which was Blackfoot territory. On July 26, they saw eight Blackfoot who seemed friendly. The two groups camped together that night, but Lewis did not trust the Blackfoot and posted sentries all night. Towards morning, one of the Indians tried to steal two of the expedition's rifles. In the fighting that ensued, two Indians were killed before Lewis and his men managed to flee back the way they had come. Meanwhile, Clark and his party explored the Yellowstone River to the south. This territory belonged to the Crows, who were known as the horse thieves of the plain. One morning when the group woke up, half of their horses were missing; however, they never saw a Crow. On August 11, a nearsighted member of Clark's party was out hunting. He shot and hit what he thought was an elk, but unfortunately it turned out to be the buckskin-clad Lewis. Luckily, the wound through Lewis' left thigh was not fatal, though it was painful. Now that the Corps was reunited, they headed home on the Missouri River. When they reached the Mandan village where they had stayed their first winter on the journey, they left Sacagawea and her family behind. On August 17 they left again after taking a break from traveling to allow Lewis to heal and rest his leg. The expedition passed through Teton Sioux territory, and even though one hundred Indian warriors lined the banks of the river, the explorers passed by safely (National Geographic 2). The group started to meet traders who said that everybody had given the expedition members up for dead. At last, on September 23 the Corps of Discovery entered the Mississippi River and later that day arrived at St. Louis to the cheers of the inhabitants of that city.

This amazing trek took the expedition two years, four months, and ten days to complete (National Geographic 2). They went through fear, misery, and hardships of every kind. Most of the members stared death in the face at one point or another on their travels. Nevertheless, it is because of their great struggles that our nation is so great. Lewis and Clark made an exceptional journey through the wilderness, opening up the West to the rest of the New World.

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"Lewis and Clark Expedition 1803-1806, The." 2004. Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Inc. 3 December 2006. .

"Voyage of Discovery, The." NebraskaStudies.org. 4 December 2006. .