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Left St. Louis, Missouri
They started their adventure at 4 pm in St. Louis, Missouri. They started with 32 people traveling on the Missouri River. For the first part of the journey, they had to battle the dangerous currents of the Missouri. -
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Lewis and Clark Expodition
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First and Only Casualty
Sergeant Charles Floyd was the first and only person to die on this expedition near present day Sioux City. He is thought to have died as the result of appendicitis. He was also the first U.S. solder to die west of the Mississippi. -
Meeting the Sioux
They were first told to try to control the Sioux because they were a pirating nation. Lewis did not gain the support of the tribe and they were almost attacked when trying to leave. A show of force from the explorers stopped the chief from continuing the attack for fear of losing too many lives from the tribe. -
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Fort Mandan
They arrived 4 days after the first snow and needed shealter and food for the upcoming winter which they provided by bilding a fort by the local Mandan tribe. They also hired a interpreter named Toussaint Charbonneau who was marryed to Sacagawea a native Shoshone girl. At the end of the winter they left to continue there expadition. -
Arrive At Fort Mandan
They arrived at the Fort which was in North Dakota on this day.There were 31 men since they had lost a man near the beginning of the journey. The Mandan allowed the Fort to be built on a hill near their village. -
A Baby is Born
Jean Baptiste Charbonneau was born to Sacagawea when the explorers stayed at Fort Mandan. He was a part of the expedition because his father,Toussaint Charbonneau, was a trapper. He was hired to guide Lewis and Clark. It is also said in Lewis's journal that Sacagawea took the rattle of a rattlesnake to progress the delivery. -
Leave Fort Mandan
They left the Fort on this day to continue their expedition further West. It had been extremely cold during the winter with temperatures below zero for over a month straight. This is where they met the pregnant Sacagewea and her husband, who then accompanied them on the longest trip ever known to anyone of the tribes with which she lived. -
Lewis Confronted by a Grizzly Bear
The Lewis and Clark Expedition 1803 to 1806: A Portrait of Army LeadershipOne of the fiercest animals that the expedition encountered was the grizzly bear. Lewis had an encounter with one, and ran into the river to save himself. He only had a spontoon to defend himself because he forgot to reload his rifle. -
Seeing the Rocky Mountains for the first time
When the Rockies first came in sight, Lewis was in awe. However, he also realised the upcoming challenges. The expedition was held up by Clark's illness which made impassable snow in the Rocky Mountains a threat to their survival. -
Finding an Unexpected Fork in the River
When the expedition reached a fork in the river, Lewis spent three days trying to find out which way they should go. The captains believed the Southern Fork of the river was the way to go, but the men thought that the nothern path was the right way. -
Lewis cured with chokecherry
What Plants Did Lewis & Clark Find?Chokecherry twigs were boiled to make a decoction. After two doses of the brew and a few hours rest, he was well again. Chokecherry grows in any soil type in full sun. The foliage and twigs are browse for wildlife, and the berries are palatable to humans.
Lewis became ill while hiking ahead to look for the Great Falls. He had violent pain in the intestines and no medicine chest. The men boiled chokecherry twigs and made him a tea to drink. After two doses, he was cured. -
The Missouri Falls
When they first reached the Missouri Falls, they knew that they were on the right river. They first found that they could not go down the falls because there were five different falls stretching over twelve miles. The portage around these falls was the greatest challenge that the expedition would experience. -
Clark Gets Sick
Before they reached the Three Forks of the Missouri, Clark became ill. He was very sick with a high fever and was very tired. He also complained of the chills and aching muscles. It is suspected that he either had malaria or the Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever from ticks in the sage brush. -
Meet the Shoshone
When the expedition meets the Shoshone, they are taken to the chief at the time. He turned out to be Sacagewea's brother and promised to help. They bartered for horses and were given guides to help them over the Bitterroot Mountains. -
Helped by the Flathead
The Flathead Indians helped Lewis and Clark by providing food to them after going over the Bitterroot Mountains. Discovering their camp was actually a mistake. If they had not run into this tribe, the expedition would have surely failed. They received help and were able to continue with their journey. -
CARS (cloudy after rain and snow)
"Old Toby", a Shoshone man volunteered to be the guide across the Bitterroot Mountains. He got lost and that added two extra days to the crossing. The weather conditions were very bad and they were running out of food. CARS, which made calculating longitude impossible, was so frequent that it appeared often in the journal entries during the crossing. -
Meet The Nez Perce
They met the Nez Perce after crossing the Bitterroots. The group was very low on supplies, and many were suffering from dysentery. The tribe fed them dried salmon and they were so hungry they gorged themselves. This caused diarrhea and vomiting for a week after that. -
Arrive at Fort Clatsop
Fort Clatsop was near the Pacific coast. They were there for 106 days during the winter of 1805-1806. Basic comforts were few and far between, and it rained for 94 of those days. -
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Winter at fort Catsop
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Leave Fort Clatsop
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Trade With the Chinook for Canoes
They were ready to travel down the Columbia River and needed a canoe. Lewis and Clark traded for Chinook canoes which were made of twenty foot pine logs that were hollowed out. They were heavy and built for the local rivers. -
They Encounter the Blackfoot Indians
Lewis had led a small band of men into Blackfoot country when they ran into a Blackfoot scouting party that seemed friendly. Lewis had been warned that they were hostile, but they camped near one another for the night. Lewis discovered two of the warriors trying to steal their supplies in the middle of the night. They shot the men and returned to the Corps for fear of retaliation from the Blackfoot. -
Return to St. Louis, Missouri
The members of the Corps of Discovery were presumed dead so their return was celebrated. They were hailed as heroes. President Jefferson requested that Lewis write a narrative of his adventures, but he never did. It could have been because he was self conscious about his spelling abilities.
