Lewis And Clark Expedition

In the winter of 1805 , two men named Lewis and Clark found the survival tool ever, Sacagawea. Sacagawea would teach them how to travel the mountains and the forests, the rivers and the plains. They learned which plants were safe to eat, and which were poisonous. They knew how to hunt for rabbits, foxes, elks and deer, and even how to trap longhorn sheep. But if Lewis and Clark didn't find Sacagawea, they probably wouldn't have survived. In passage one it states,"Lewis and Clark headed deeper and deeper into uncharted land. As the trip continued, one of their men became ill and died. They also had to do their best to find food and stay healthy during the winter months." This evidence shows that before Lewis and Clark met Sacagawea , they were barely surviving.

Over the course of the expedition, Lewis and Clark developed a ritual that we used when meeting a tribe for the first time. The captains would explain to the tribal leaders that the their land now belonged to the United States, and that a man far in the east – President Thomas Jefferson – was their new “great father.” We made peace with the natives and they became very essential and useful on our journey. Along the way we met a lady named Sacajawea who was from the Shoshone tribe and she was the person who helped us the most. She guided us through the land and helped us when we were in need. She knew the ways and we were grateful to have her because we may have not made it without

Jefferson’s 3 goals were to find a water route to the northwest, he wanted to claim that land for the Americans, and he wanted to know what the land was like. In my opinion, Lewis & Clark did not achieve all Jefferson’s goals. The text said “First, and most importantly, he wanted Lewis and Clark to find a “water route” to the Pacific Ocean from the Mississippi River” another piece of evidence is “Second, Jefferson wanted to claim the northwestern portion of the continent’s midsection before another country did. Lastly, he thought that knowledge of the area’s geography would be needed for all of the other goals to come true”. This is proof that Lewis & Clark didn’t accomplish all of their goals because their main goal was to find a direct water

(109). Lewis’s impeccable use of imagery, commitment to the expedition, and writing skills, heavily contributed to the greatness all his journals possessed. The journals contained almost every matter of the legendary expedition, although there are periods where there are only sporadic entries. In a letter to Jefferson, Lewis expressed his concerns about going up the Kansas River in the direction of Santa Fe, in fear of not being able to get up to the Missouri River by winter. Jefferson agreed with Lewis’s decision “because the expedition could draw its rations from the U.S. army posts

The members of the expedition were always on the lookout for Indians and hoping they would come in peace. They were armed in case they weren't. For security, Lewis and Clark made camp on river isla nds whenever possible and kept guards there at night. By the end of July they had traveled more than 600 miles up the river and still hadn't met an Indian.

Jefferson then gave Lewis another job which was to lead an expedition into the lands of the great Mississippi.

The film “Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West” by National Geographic was well made and very informative. The documentary even gave you the small bits of information such as how Lewis almost lost his life two days in the journey or how Lewis was a constant victim of mosquitoes. The film also continuously read passages from the journals of Lewis and Clark which helped you have an idea of personality of the explorers. Lewis and Clark were very inspirational and admired by the men because the film said that there is no evidence “that the two ever argued.” They also seemed very effective leaders since the film never mentioned any complaints from the men of their leaders.

It was dangerous and hard. Many times they had to turn back around and take a different route because they had come to a dead end. Finally after fifteen days they stumbled out of the mountains, exhausted and panicked. The weary party still had the Great Salt Lake Desert to cross though.

They stayed at the fort until April 1805. So far, Lew and Clark had discovered 108 new plant species and 68 mineral types. Sacagawea became increasingly important to the expedition as she showed the men things to eat like licorices, white apples, wild artichokes, and many other edible plants and roots. She also saved many important tools and artifacts when the boat tipped in a storm. On June 13, 1805, Lewis reached the great Missouri falls and the crew was forced to carry all their gear, supplies, and canoes up a seventeen-mile trail to the top of the falls. This took them almost an entire month. On August 8, 1805, Sacagawea recognized Beaverhead rock from her childhood and knew they were close to Shoshone lands. On August 17, 1805, the expedition arrives at the Shoshone camp, where Sacagawea recognized the chief as her long-lost brother Cameahwait, and they were given horses to continue their journey. On August 31, 1805, the expedition set out for the Bitterroot Mountains with many horses they had received from the Shoshone. On September 11, 1805, the Corps started the steep climb into the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Mountains they will travel more than 160 miles. On October 16, 1805, they reached the Colombia River where the rapids were so dangerous that nearby Indian tribes stood by to watch the white men drown. In November when they found the Pacific, the

Getting horses was the first Sacajawea’s contribution to the expedition. More than any one, Sacajawea desired to join the journey to Pacific Ocean, which she called “ the Great Salt Lake”4 because she wanted to find her homeland on the way. In American history, this event was the greatest corporation between white men and an Indian. Moreover, Sacajawea became an important part of a historic mission, while the significant role of American woman in society was not recognized. Sacajawea had knowledge of wilderness and skills to survive, so she could teach the men how read the land and use chokeberries to cure fever.

The actual route that they traveled was named “The Trail of Tears”, for it had been the trail where they had cried. Because of the harsh conditions faced on the long journey to the west, around four-thousand died. After a harsh outbreak of smallpox, they were not able to go into certain towns because of the fear of spreading the disease. Disease, famine, and prolonged exposure to the harsh elements were the main reason why they died along the way. The cold weather was brutal and a lot of times they had a hard time crossing the rivers because they were frozen and had chunks of ice floating in them. There was a land route and a water route to get to the west. (See Fig. 1).

Exploration has always been a central theme in the development of the United States. The Louisiana Purchase, in 1803, made the government more eager to expand west. The newly acquired lands were in need of exploration. A team needed to be established to survey and document the new territory. The Lewis and Clark expedition would answer the unknown questions of the west. The expedition would not have been successful without the leadership, determination, discipline of the Corps of Discovery, and the cooperation of the Native Americans. President Jefferson wanted the leader to have the same passion and intensity toward the discovery of the west as he possessed. Jefferson hand-

Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark put their lives on the line only to return with information regarding the Pacific Northwest of the United States territory. Their reasons behind this journey, being to expand the United States to the West, involved the entire nation but debatably, their accomplishments and the reaction of others became a major part of today’s history.

Many people in America know of the historical expedition of Lewis and Clark, but only a few know of the expedition to California led by Jedediah Smith. This expedition took place after Thomas Jefferson signed the papers to acquire a huge region in the west through the Louisiana Purchase. After this expansion many people were eager to explore the west and among those was Jedediah Smith. From his childhood, Smith dreamed one day of exploring the unknown west part of the United States. He once said, "I wanted to be the first to view a country on which the eyes of a white man had never gazed and to follow the course of rivers that run through a new land." In 1824, Jedediah Smith began formulating his famous California expedition that

They slowly made their way up river with their crew spread out on three boats at the start of this expedition. On slow days they covered four miles and on a good day they covered up to twenty miles. On an average it was about ten miles covered a day. The two captains divided their duties. Clark stayed on the keelboat and managed the men, compass readings, and the distance traveled. Lewis went ashore with his dog almost every day to gather plants, take soil samples, and taking note of the good sites for future settlements. By June 26th, they had traveled forty-three days and four hundred miles. By July 21st, they had traveled six hundred forty miles. One of the first Indian tribes they encountered was the Oto Indian tribe. Instructions from President Jefferson were that they would make friends with the Indians. Lewis and Clark were very careful in advising them that their land now belonged to the United States. After leaving the Oto Indians, the