In this country's great history, there have been many important expeditions, discoveries, and wonders. One of the most famous and important expeditions in this country's history is that of Lewis and Clark. Within their great journey, the two men met countless obstacles, met many new and intriguing cultures, and saw some of the most incredible land that God had ever made.

After the purchase of the Louisiana Territory from France, President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to lead an expedition on a journey to explore the headwaters of the Missouri River and find an overland route to the Pacific Ocean by way of the Columbia River. By August 31, 1803, Lewis and his party where under way down the Ohio River to meet up with Clark and his group. Together, their group, known as the Corps of Discovery, departed from Camp DuBois near Wood River, Illinois, on May 14, 1804, and proceeded up the Missouri River using a keelboat and two pirogues (Steffen 42).

By late fall, the party reached the Knife River Indian Villages near present day Washburn, North Dakota. There they built Fort Nandan and spent a productive winter gathering information about the Indian

Lewis had March 20, 1806 marked as their day of departure, but do to a violent storm, the group was delayed until the twenty-third. The group now took off on their four thousand mile trip back home. Although the trip was still going to be difficult, they were now setting off on a trip that had been traveled, and they could travel with a little more confidence and ease this time. On September 23, 1806, the team will arrive in St. Louis, completing their eight thousand mile trip (Ambrose 395).

For days the travelers saw no sign of any Indian life. However, on the morning of August 13, 1805, Lewis encountered three Shoshoni women at the headwaters of the Columbia River. They happily led Lewis and his group to their village to meet their chief, Cameahwait. Amazing, Cameahwait and Sacagawea were brother and sister. Cameahwait, Lewis, and Clark talked much about the journey, and Cameahwait advised the men that any further water travel down the Lemhi and Salmon was impossible. With the advise of Cameahwait, the expedition soon headed off with twenty-nine new horse and several Shoshoni guides to help them through this uncharted region (Ambrose 268-273).

Steffen, Jerome O. William Clark Jeffersonian Man on the Frontier. University of Oklahoma

On June 10, 1805 the group arrived at the Great Falls of the Missouri. Expecting an easy one-day portage, the group was amazed to discover four more waterfalls in their path. This discovery brought about the realization that the most direct portage was eighteen miles long. For the next month the group was pummeled by storms of wind, rain and hail, tortured by prickly pear cactus, plagued by rattlesnakes and mosquitoes, and menaced by the grizzly bears. Their large pirogue was too heavy to be portaged so it was left behind. This was acceptable because Lewis had designed and brought along a portable strap-iron framework for a boat that could be covered with animal hides and sealed with pin pitch. Unfortunately, there were no pine trees in the White Bear Islands. After a week of hewing two new canoes, the group got under way again on July 15. They were less than one hundred miles upstream from the Marias River, w

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Approximate Word count = 1468
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)