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Lewis and Clark are Sent on their Exposition
Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to find a water route to the Pacific and explore the West. He believed that their were new species, tribes, and locations to be found. -
Winter's Approach
Lewis and Clark tried to cover as many miles of the Missouri River as they could before it froze over. Four days after the first snowfall, they reached the Mandan tribe’s villages. That is where they planned to spend the winter. -
Winter with the Mandan
The people of the expedition repaired equipment, traded with the Indians, and hunted for buffalo. Here, they hired as an interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau, a French-Canadian fur trapper. The ice on the Missouri finally began to break up and it was time to move on. -
Grizzly Country
Lewis and Clark were now in grizzly country. The Indians had warned them about these types of creatures. Lewis was not impressed and thought that a bear could easily be killed with his rifles. That is until one day, him and his men came across a few grizzly bears. -
Rockies in Sight
Lewis and Clark were anxious to see the Rockies, the mountain barrier they knew they would have to cross. In the last week of May, Lewis saw the mountains for the first time. He was filled with joy. -
Fork in the River
The expedition came upon a fork in the river. The branches of the fork were of equal size but the captains believed that the southern branch was the Missouri. This would lead them to the Rockies, which they hoped to cross before the autumn snows. -
The Great Falls
Lewis became the first white man to see the Great Falls of the Missouri River. There were five separate falls, not one as the Indians had said. By June 16 Lewis had rejoined Clark, and six days later the portage began. -
Continental Divide
Once across the Continental Divide, they could ride the westward-flowing Columbia River. But the journey from the Missouri River to the Columbia River was going to require horses. And to get horses, the expedition would have to find the Shoshone tribe. -
The Return
The members of the expedition were all ready to go home. The timing of the return journey would be critical. Only when the snow melted would they be able to get back across the mountains. But if they waited too long to cross, the Missouri River would be frozen by the time they arrived. -
Heroes
The expedition was moving as 80 miles a day. Lewis and Clark began to meet traders who informed them that they had been given up for dead. On the morning of September 23, the Corps of Discovery disembarked at St. Louis. One thousand people of St. Louis greeted the returned Corps with an enthusiastic welcome.
