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The Journey Begins
Lewis and Clark started at the Missouri River after extreme preparations. The fifty-man group set out on three different boats on the journey of westward expansion. -
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Heading Into Danger?
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First Native Encounter
The expedition met their first Native encounter. A group of Oto and Missouri Indians arrived at their camp. The encounter went well, and they exchanged gretings and gifts. -
First Death of Expedition
Sergeant Charles Floyd became the first U.S. soldier to die. He probably died of appendicitis. He wwas the only member of the Corps to die along the journey. -
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Standoff With the Teton Sioux
The Teton Sioux met the expedition with hostility. After an offering of gifts, one of the Teton chiefs demanded a boat as the price of passage. The crisis was over after both sides backed out -
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Racing Against WInter's Approach
Lewis and Clark were desperate to cover as much of the path as possible before Missouri froze. They planned to spend the winter at the Mandan tribe's villages. They promptly began building a fort and they finished just before December began. -
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Winter Among the Mandan
During this winter, the expedition traded, hunted and learned about the country. During this time they also met Sacagawea. -
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Into Grizzly Country
This is the first time they actually headed west. -
Grizzly Encounter
The expedition met a group of grizzlies, and were suprised with their resilience. -
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Rockies in Sight
This is the first time they see the Rockies. A boat gets knocked over and they almost lose important research. -
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A Fork in the River
They reached a fork in the river. They debated whic path to take, and they searched for the Great Falls. -
Dicovering the Great Falls
Lewis and the expedition became the first white people to lay eyes on the Great Falls. To their suprise, the Great Falls were five separate waterfalls. -
Lewis rejoins Clark
Lewis rejoined with Clark, and they started their portage 6 days later. The portage was the most strenuous task of the trip so far, and it took them one month to pass the Great Falls. -
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Around the Great Falls
The expedition finally arrived at the Great Falls, which they had heard many stories of. They spent about a month navigating around the falls. -
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Toward the Continental Divide
The expedition continues their long journey, nearing the Rockies after every step. The path becomes more and more difficult. -
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Among the Shoshone
After many months, the expedition finally met the Shoshone; the first natives they saw since Fort Mandan. The tribe took the lead, and it turned out that the chief was Sacagawea's brother. The expedition finally bought horses, although in poor condition. -
The expedition meets the Shoshone
The expedition finally met the Shoshone tribe. -
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Deadly Crossing: The Bitterroots
As the expedition started their journey to the Continental Divide, food supplies ran low and animals were scarce. They bought more horses and set up camp on the banks of Clearwater River. -
The expedition broke camp
The expedition broke camp and started down Clearwater with the river's current at their backs. -
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"Ocian in View!"
As the expedition rode the Clearwater, they reached Snake River and the Columbia. They rested for a while and bought food. They began to traverse the Cascades, the last mountain range they had to cross.They finally made it to the Pacific in the middle of November. -
Clark celebrates prematurely
Clark thought that they had reached the Pacific , but they were actually at the estuary of the Columbia.