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The Expedition Begins
The leader of the group- Merriwether Lewis- and his second in command- William Clark- had spent the winter of 1803 in St. Louis, Missouri training recruits to go on the expedition west. They trained over a hundred recruits, but only 40 or so were chosen to accompany them. The group left River Dubois, St. Louis on May 14, 1804.Their journey to win over the natives and claim new lands had begun. -
A peaceful exchange
Lewis and Company's jounal entries
A tribe of Kickapoo Indians killed 4 deer and gave them to the crew as a gift- in return the expedition gave them 2 quarts of wine. This was the first peaceful exchange the expedition made with the natives. -
Lewis and Clark take ill
Lewis can be quoted directly from his journal entry on June 3rd as saying: "I have a verry bad sore throat & am tormented with Musquetors & small ticks."
Clark's entry ended with: "I am verry unwell with a fever and a bad cold". -
The Sioux Tribe
The expedition ran into a tribe of Sioux Indians, and among them they found a Frenchman that had been with the indians for 20 years. This Frenchman had a great influence on the indians, and agreed to accompany the quest-goers as a translator when needed. -
Rain halts expedition
At this point, the company had reached rivers that they needed to cross, but the fierce rains and winds halted their progress for many days- a setback that Clark himself said was very bad and profound. -
The first Casualty of the Group
On this day, Sgt. Floyd was thought to have recovered from a bad illness. However, later that night the sickness came back in full swing, and Sgt. Floyd passed away that night. It was the Company's first casualty. -
The Baby is born
On February 11, 1805 Sacagawea had a baby boy in Fort Mandan. She would take her son with her when she later joined the expedition. -
Leaving Fort Mandan
The expedition stopped briefly at Fort Mandan in order to complete reports on their progress and discoveries up to this point. On the 20th of March, they packed up the canoes and set out once again on their journey. -
The Bears
Lewis and Clark expedition ran into two bears- these particular bears were extremely large and dangerous, and it took numerous rounds to kill them before they attacked. However, even with the surrounding bears and the large amount of nearby wolves, there was still enough game to survive. -
Modern-day Idaho
This is when the expedition crossed the Lemhi Pass and entered what is Idaho today. This is where they found the Shoshone tribe and, by default, their future guide/translator- Sacagawea. -
The Nez Perce Indians help out
In late September of 1805, the expedition was running dangerously low on supplies and provisions- this is when they ran into the Nex Perce Indians, who sat them down to a feast of salmon, buffalo, and cammas bread. *not sure on day of September -
The Shoshone Tribe
When the expedition ran into the Shoshone Tribe while at Fort Mandan, one of the leaders of the tribe had a wife- Sacagawea. Because this man was of questionable integrity, they agreed to let her accompany them as a translator, and she joined the expedition as a guide/translator. -
Fort Clatsop
On this particular date, the expedition was forced to prolong their stay at Fort Clatsop because they had only 2 days of provisions and their hunters kept returning with no food- the animals were nowhere to be found. This worried both Lewis and Clark immensely. -
A new plant is discovered
Lewis discovers a plant called Blue Fax that he ships back East. This plant was a major discovery that vastly affected the East because they were able to use it to construct nets and other useful tools. -
An Indian is Killed
The expedition ran into a friendly group of Blackfeet that called themselves Piegans. Lewis spoke to the leader of the trade they had in America, and then he and his expedition went to sleeep. The next morning, the Indians tried to take their weapons, resulting in a struggle. In the struggle, one of the members of the group accidentally shot one of the Indians. This is known as the two medicine fight.
