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Expedition Begins
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First July 4th west of the Mississippi
Expedition marks first 4th of July west of the Mississippi by firing the keelboat's cannon, and naming Independence Creek. -
Indian Representatives Meeting
Corps of Discovery meet with representatives of the Oto and Missouri Indians, give peace medals, 15 star flags and other gifts. -
Charles Floyd Dies
Near present day Sioux City, Iowa, Sgt. Charles Floyd dies of a probable burst appendix. Captains name hilltops where he is buried Floyd's Bluff and a nearby stream, Floyd's River. -
Yankton Sioiux
Friendly council with Yankton Sioux held. -
Prairie Dog Discovery
All of the men attempt to drown a never-before-seen prarie dog out of its hole for shipment back to Jefferson. -
Confrontation with Teton SIoux
Confrontation with Teton Sioux, who demand one of the expedition's boats as a toll to travel farther upriver. Chief Black Buffalo resolves situation before any fighting. Expedition stays with tribe for 3 more days. -
Fort Mandan Built Across from Earthlodge Villages
Expedition discovers earthlodge villages of the Mandan and Hidatsas Indians. The captains decide to build Fort Mandan across the river from the main village. -
Toussaint Charbonneau is Hired
Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian fur trapper living with the Hidatsas, is hired as an interpreter. His wife, Sacagawea, a Shoshone who had been captured by the Hidatsas and sold to Charbonneau, is also considered helpful as the Shoshones are said to live at the headwaters of the Missouri. -
Fort Mandan Completed
Fort Mandan completed, expedition moves in for the winter. -
Sacagawea Gives Birth
Sacagawea gives birth to baby boy, Jean Baptiste. -
Keelboat back to Jefferson
Lewis and Clark send the keelboat and approx. a dozen men back downriver, with maps, reports, Indian artifacts and other scientific specimens for Jefferson. The remaining party heads west. -
Kill a Large Grizzly
Lewis and another hunter kill a large grizzly bear, which had never before been described for science. -
Judith River
Clark names the Judith River in honor of a girl back in Virginia he hopes to marry. -
Fork in the Missouri
The expedition comes to a fork in the river. Lewis and Clark believe the south fork is the Missouri, while all of the other men believe it is the north fork. Although they are not convinced that the south fork is the Missouri the captains recount; "they were ready to follow us any where we thought proper to direct." -
Discovers Great Falls
Scouting ahead of the rest of the expedition, Lewis comes across the Great Falls of the Missouri. He also discovers four more waterfalls farther upstream. The expedition will have to portage over eighteen miles, taking nearly a month, to get past them. -
Three Forks of Missouri RIver
The expedition reaches the three forks of the Missouri River, and name them the Gallatin, the Madison, and the Jefferson, after the Secretary of the Treasury, Albert Gallatin, the Secretary of State, James Madison, and President Thomas Jefferson. The expedition continues southwest, up the Jefferson. -
Nearing the Soshones
Sacagawea recognizes Beaverhead Rock and says they are nearing the headwaters of the Missouri, and her people, the Shoshones. Lewis and three others scout ahead. -
Ascending the Cpntinental Divide
The shipment sent from fort Mandan arrives in the East and is delivered to Jefferson. Lewis ascends the final ridge toward the Continental Divide expecting to see plains and a river flowing to the Pacific, but he finds even more mountains. -
Camp Fortunate
Lewis discovers a village of Shoshones and tries to negotiate for horses. Clark and the rest of the expedition arrives as well, and it is discovered that the Shoshone chief Cameahwait is Sacagawea's brother. Lewis and Clark name the site Camp Fortunate. -
Setting out with Old Toby
The expedition sets out with a Shoshone guide called Old Toby, along with 29 horses and a mule. -
Travellers Rest
The expedition camps at present day Missoula, Montana, a spot Lewis and Clark called Travelers Rest to prepare for the mountain crossing. -
Weippe, Idaho
After nearly starving in the mountains the expedition emerges near present-day Weippe, Idaho. -
Columbia River
The expedition reaches the Columbia River. -
Mount Hood
Clark sees Mount Hood in the distance, named by a British sea captain in 1792, proof that they are near the ocean. -
Ocean in View! O! the joy.
Clark, who believes he can see the ocean writes his most famous journal entry: "Ocian in view! O! the joy." The expedition is actually still 20 miles from the sea. Terrible storms halt the expedition for nearly 3 weeks. -
Southside Columbia RIver
By majority vote the expedition decides to cross to the south side of the Columbia River to build winter quarters. -
Native American Chiefs meet with Jefferson
President Jefferson welcomes a delegation of Missouri, Oto, Arikara, and Yankton Sioux chiefs who had met with Lewis and Clark more than a year earlier.
