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The Expedition Begins
The Corps of Discovery left Camp Dubois in St. Louis, Missouri. The group was made up of 48 men. They departed in a large, 55 foot long keelboat, which could carry supplies weighing up to 10 tons. They also had two smaller boats, and they planned to travel at least 14 miles per day. -
The First Casualty
Sergeant Charles Floyd from Kentucky, was a member of the expedition. He died when his appendix burst, and was buried with the honors of war. The surviving members named a nearby river Floyd's River, and the mountain bluff where he was buried Sergant Floyd's Bluff. Clark wrote: "Floyd Died with a great deel of Composure, before his death he Said to
me, "I am going away" I want you to write me a letter"—" -
Experience with the Teton Sioux
The Teton Sioux tribe wanted a boat from the party as payment for passage upriver. An armed fight almost occured. Chief Black Buffalo stepped in and stopped the fight from happening. The Corps stayed with the Tetons for three days. Ordway wrote: "they then began to Show Some Signs of Stopping or attempting to Stop us." -
Charbonneau and Sacagawea Join the Expedition
The Corps stayed at Fort Mandan from October of 1804 to April of 1805. While there, the Mandan tribe supplied them with food in exchange for trade goods. On November 4, 1804, the captains met Toussaint Charbonneau and Sacagawea, and hired them to be their interpreters and guides. Clark wrote of Charbonneau: " we engau him to go on with us and take one of his wives to interpet the Snake language." -
The Buffalo Hunt
The Mandan tribe held a ceremony called the Buffalo Calling to call in a herd of buffalo to hunt. Some of the members of the Corps joined the Mandans on the hunt, and sometimes stayed out all night on the prairie in very cold temperatures. Clark wrote: "this morning Stood at 40° below 0 which is 72° below the freesing point, we had one man out last night, who returned about 8 oClock this morning." One young Mandan
boy lost his toes to frostbite after hunting. -
Sacagawea Gives Birth
Sacagawea gave birth to Jean Babtiste Charbanneau. Clark wrote: "about five oclock this evening one of the wives of Charbono was delivered of a fine boy." Clark nicknamed the baby Pompy. Sacagawea had a long and painful labor, and was given part of a rattlesnake's rattle, which was said to aid in
childbirth. -
First Meeting with the Shoshone
The Corps spotted three indian women, and one of them ran to alert the tribe. Lewis and the others made contact with them and offered gifts as a sign of friendship. Lewis asked the older of the two women to call back the one that ran, but it was too late. Lewis wrote: "we had marched about 2 miles when we met a party of about 60 warriors mounted on excellent horses who came in nearly full speed." The warriors
soon learned the white men came in peace. -
Shoshone Provide Horses to the Corps
The Corps needed horses to navigate the mountains, to negotiate with the Shoshone. They brought in Sacagawea to translate with the Shoshone chief Cameahwait, who just happened to be her brother. The Corps ended up buying 27 horses for the next phase of the expedition. Gass wrote: "we proceeded on with 27 horses and one mule." -
Journey Through the Bitterroot Mountains
The expedition began its trek into the Bitterroot Mountains, and their Shoshone guide ended up losing the trail. They ran out of food, and were forced to eat one of the horses. They found their way through eleven days later. Gass wrote: "there is a handsome small prairie; where we met one of our hunters with a supply of roots, berries, and some fish, which he procured from another band of the Flathead nation of Indians." -
Members of the Expedition Get Sick
After months of eating meat, the Expedition encountered the Nez Perce tribe and was treated to a feast of salmon. The tribe also provided the Corps with root bread. Whitehouse wrote: "Several of the men Sick with the relax, caused by a Suddin change of diet and water as well as the Climate Changed a little also. The weather was very warm, which could have also caused some health problems. -
Peaceful Trade With the Chinook Indians
The Expedition's first meeting with the Chinooks was peaceful. The Chinook tribe was used to white traders and goods. They offered the Corps deer meat and root bread as gifts. Gass wrote: "The Commanding Officers gave medals to the chiefs, and some other small articles; and they appeared satisfied and some remained with us all night." -
Life at Fort Clatsop
The Corps of Discovery celebrated Christmas at Fort Clatsop. They handed out the last of their tobacco supply as gifts to the Clatsop tribe. One of the chiefs of the villages, Coboway, often visited the fort bearing gifts or advice on how to survive the winter. Lewis wrote: "to this Cheif we left our houses and funiture. he has been much more kind an hospitable to us than any other indian in this neighbourhood." -
Rainy Winter
During their stay at Fort Clatsop, the Corps became very homesick. It rained continuously, and that didn't help. There were only 12 days that winter without precipitation. This caused the insects to be worse than in a cold, snowy winter. Gass wrote: "The year commenced with a wet day; but the weather still continues warm; and the ticks, flies and other insects are in abundance, which appears to us very
extraordinary at this season of the year, in a latitude so far north." -
Uses for Native Plants
The members of the Corps of Discovery had used up their whiskey supply, and had given the last of their tobacco supply to the Clatsops for Christmas gifts. The members used native trees for many things. One use was to make canoes, and another was to make a substitute for tobacco. Gass wrote: "we now experience the want of tobacco and out of 33 persons composing our party, there are but 7 who do not make use of
it; we use crab-tree bark as a substitute." -
Blackfeet Bloodshed
The Blackfeet indians decided to camp with the Corps for a few nights. Lewis told them about the peace treaty with neighboring tribes in exchange of weapons and supplies. The Blackfeet didn't like what they were told, and in the middle of the night they tried to steal the Corp's guns and horses. A fight broke out, and two Blackfeet warriors were killed. Lewis wrote of Rueben Fields: "he seized his gun stabed the indian to the
heart with his knife the fellow ran about 15 steps and fell dead."
