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Starting Point: St. Louis, Missouri
It was after the Louisiana Purchase. Louis and Clark both attended some ceremonies. They were held in St. Louis, Missouri, on March 10, 1804, and celebrated this event. -
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Lewis and Clark Expedition
After having been gone for two-and-a-half years, the company at last returned to St. Louis, Missouri. They had traveled all the way across the continent. -
A Member of the Expedition Becomes Ill
On the 7th of July, York, Clark's Black "manservant", became ill. Clark said, "[M]y man York sick, I give him a dosh of Tartar." (Tartar was used to induce vomiting.) Later Lewis recorded, "[H]e was much better in the evening." -
A Peaceful Exchange With a Native Tribe
The expedition met with the Oto and Missouri Indians for a peaceful council north of what is today Omaha. They used this method in following councils, which included handing out peace medals, 15-star flags, and gifts. They also showed off all their fancy technology. They informed the Indians that they have a "new father" in the east, and that they have a future of prosperity and peace if they don't make war on the whites or any other tribes. -
The Expedition Experiences a Casualty
Sergeant Charles Floyd died on the 20th of August. Now it is suspected that he had a burst appendix. It was near Sioux City, Iowa, and the captains named the hilltop where he is buried Floyd's Bluff and the nearby stream Floyd's River. -
A Baby is Born
On August 20, 1804, the expedition held a council with the Yankton Sioux. It was a peaceful meeting, and took place near Yankton, South Dakota. A baby was born, and, according to Yankton oral tradition, Lewis wrapped the infant in an American flag and declared that the child was "an American." -
Experience With a Sioux Tribe
On September 25 of 1805, a fight nearly developed with the Teton Sioux near what is now Pierre, South Dakota. The Sioux wanted the expedition to give them one of the boats as a toll for moving up the river. Of course, the expedition didn't want to give up any of their boats. A chief, Black Buffalo, managed to ease the situation, and the expedition stayed with the tribe for three more days. -
Experience at Fort Mandan
In February of 1805, Sacagawea, a young Shoshone woman, gave birth to a baby boy named Jean Baptiste. Lewis helped with the delivery by giving her a potion made of crushed rings from a rattlesnake's rattle. Sacagawea had been captured by the Hidatsas years ago, and then sold to Toussaint Charbonneau, her husband. The two had come along, because the expedition believed they would be useful when they reached the Shoshones. -
An Animal Profoundly Affects the Expedition
On the 29th of April, Lewis killed an enormous grizzly bear with the help of another hunter. These bears had never been described for science before. Before encountering the large creature, Lewis had believed the Indians exaggerated about their size. After having grizzlies chase the men across the plains, he changed his mind. Lewis wrote about how the "curiousity of our party is pretty well satisfied with respect to this animal." -
A Plant Profoundly Affects the Expedition
Lewis discovered that the Great Falls of Missouri actually included four waterfalls upriver. The Corps of Discovery had to go around, over eighteen miles. The heat was overwhelming, and there were thunderstorms and other obstacles. Prickly pear cactuses also impeded their progress. The previous winter the captains had planned the trip to take half a day. Instead it took nearly a month. -
Experience in Present Day Idaho
On August 12 of 1805, Lewis ascended the final ridge towards the Continental Divide, and reached the source of the Missouri, which he described as "the most distant fountain of the waters of the Mighty Missouri, in search of which we have spent so many toilsome days and restless nights." He ascended the Lemhi Pass, which is located at the border between present day Montana and Idaho. Lewis expected to see a plain with a river going straight to the Pacific, but instead he saw only mountains. -
Experience With the Shoshone Tribe
A few days after Lewis reached the Continental Divide, the expedition met a tribe of Shoshones, with whom Lewis negotiated for horses. Horses would be very important in crossing the mountains. The chief of the tribe, Cameahwait, happened to be Sacagawea's brother, whom she was separated from when she was captured and taken prisoner long ago. The negotiations for horses were successful. -
Weather Profoundly Influences the Expedition
On September 11th, the expedition entered the Bitterroot Mountains. It took eleven days for them to cross them. Their guide, Old Toby, lost the trail. When they ran out of provisions, they were forced to butcher a horse for food. To make matters even worse, it snowed. Sergeant Patrick Gass said that the mountains were "the most terrible mountains I ever beheld." -
The Expedition is Significantly Aided by the Help of a Native Tribe
The men were on the brink of starvation, when at last the expedition reached the end of the Bitterroots. They came out near what is now Weippe, Idaho. After debating, the Nez Pierce of the area decided to help the members of the expedition, and the men ate so much salmon and camas roots, that they became sick. The chief, Twisted Hair, helped them make new canoes. -
Experience at Fort Clatsop
The expedition had now traveled all the way to Oregon, where they built their winter quarters near Astoria. The fort is named Fort Clatsop, in honor of a neighboring Native American tribe. They celebrated Christmas there, and received handkerchiefs and the last of the tobacco supply as presents from the captains. -
Someone From the Expedition Killed a Person From a Native Tribe
The expedition had split up, and after camping the night with some Blackfeet warriors, Lewis and his men caught them the next morning trying to steal their guns and horses. They fought, and two of the Blackfeet were killed. Lewis put a peace medal around one of the corpses' necks. He said it was so that "they might be informed who we were."
