"Oh, hello everyone!
You are all probably wondering where I'm wandering.
In this edition of History in a Nutshell, we are going west, following in the footsteps of two of America's greatest explorers: Meriwether Lewis, and William Clark!
From 1804 to 1806, Lewis and Clark led an expedition known as the Corps of Discovery through the mostly unknown western territories of North America.
After the United States purchased the Louisiana Territory from France in 1803, curiosity and wonder filled the minds of Americans, including President Thomas Jefferson, who was arguably the biggest advocate for exploring the west!
At that time, nobody knew what to expect to find out there in the vast unknown.
There was wide speculation of the existence of a massive waterway known as the "Northwest Passage, which could potentially open up direct trade routes with Asia.
Throughout the journey, the expedition faced bitter cold, diseases, harsh terrain, and even a few close calls with the Native American tribes they encountered.
Without friendship, teamwork, and, on some occasions, women intervening on their behalf, this expedition would not have been possible.
Did the United States get its money's worth with the Louisiana Purchase?
Join me, as I lead you through the history of the Lewis and Clark Expedition!
♪ Many Americans already shared the itch to explore the unknown west before the Louisiana Purchase.
In the late 1700's, all lands east of the Mississippi River were accounted for, but the lands west of the Mississippi were a mystery.
At the end of the French and Indian War, one of the resulting measures was the Proclamation Line of 1763.
Legally, Anglo-American colonists were not allowed to settle beyond lands gained from the defeated French, out of fears of violating treaties with Native American tribes living in the region, however many settlers did it anyway, suffering little to no consequences from the American government.
The Louisiana Territory was French property in 1801, and with war brewing between France and Great Britain (Napoleonic Wars), First Consul Napoleon Bonaparte desperately needed money to fight the British.
France's offer to sell the Louisiana Territory to the United States took Americans completely by surprise!
On April 30, 1803, for the sum of $15 million, the size of the United States doubled overnight; around 828,000 square miles of newly acquired land!
Even before negotiations with France had concluded, President Thomas Jefferson was already proposing an expedition of the Louisiana Territory to Congress!
"Gentlemen of the Senate and the House of Representatives, the river Missouri and the Indians inhabiting it are not as well-known as is desirable.
An intelligent officer with 10-12 chosen men might explore the whole line even to the western ocean.
The appropriation of $2,500 dollars would cover the undertaking."
This trek would serve the following urposes: Map out the unknown western regions, seek new scientific understandings of the territory, gathering specimens and documenting new animal and plant species, establish relations with the Native American tribes the expedition would encounter, and the most important objective, confirm the existence of the fabled "Northwest Passage" waterway.
For over 300 years, the British, the French, and the Spanish have searched for this waterway.
President Jefferson felt that whoever controlled this waterway, would control the fate of the continent.
To lead said expedition, President Jefferson needed someone trustworthy and reliable, and knew the perfect man for the job: his own personal secretary, Meriwether Lewis.
At the age of 28 years old, Lewis was already an experienced frontiersman, amateur scientist, and had the makings of a promising career as an Army officer.
To co-command this expedition, Lewis chose his close friend William Clark: while not having as much formal education as Lewis, Clark had more field experience, and was once Lewis' superior ranking officer.
Clark, like Lewis, was also an experienced frontiersman, and had developed negotiation skills with Native Americans.
Preparations were soon underway.
President Jefferson extended Lewis and Clark a line of credit to fund this expedition, and Congress would pay the bill.
The journey ended up costing way more than the proposed $2,500 dollars; more in the ballpark of around $40,000-$50,000 dollars, which was a ton of money in those days!
Lewis purchased scientific instruments, medicine, navigational tools, camping supplies, gunpowder, lead, gifts for the Native American tribes, whisky, and state of the art rifles.
Lewis knew the expedition would need to bring along absolutely everything they'd need for this journey, for if they ran into trouble, there would be no one coming to help them!
At President Jefferson's request, Lewis traveled to Philadelphia, and for a few months he learned from the nation's top scientific minds- studying botany, celestial navigation, medicine, minerology, and zoology.
While Lewis was in Philadelphia, Clark was busy recruiting the men needed for this journey.
Clark and his recruits spent the winter of 1803-1804 training and preparing for the journey west, at Camp DuBois.
The crew had around 45 members, consisting mainly of healthy, unmarried men with hunting and survival skills.
Some other members of importance included a French-Canadian interpreter, a contracted boat crew for their 55-foot-long keelboat, and Clark's enslaved African-American named York.
This group is known today as "The Corps of Discovery."
♪ >> On May 14, 1804, the Corps departed from Fort DuBois with a fully loaded keelboat, and two smaller boats called "pirogues".
For six days, they traveled up the Missouri River to St. Charles, where Lewis was waiting for them.
On May 21, the stage was set: with the crew all accounted for, the Expedition pointed their boats West, and headed further up the Missouri River.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition had begun!
re-enactment>> "The acquisition of the "country through which you are to pass "has inspired the public generally with "a great deal of interest in your enterprise.
"Present my salutations to Mr. Clark.
"Assure all your party that we have our eyes turned on "them with anxiety for their safety" ♪ >> The Corps of Discovery got off to a rough start in the summer of 1804.
Their keelboat constantly ran into sandbars and floating logs in the Missouri River, and had to periodically be pulled by rope in order to progress.
Court martials were convened five different times for offenses committed by a few of the men.
Some of the worst punishments included 50 lashes, or hard labor.
Lewis and Clark's punishments worked, for by that fall, there wouldn't be anymore serious breaches of conduct.
Sicknesses of various sorts were common during the journey, and medicines containing mercury were regularly dispensed among the group!
On August 20, the Expedition would suffer its one and miraculously only fatality: Sergeant Charles Floyd.
Lewis diagnosed his cause of death as "bilious colic", or a burst appendix.
As the Expedition progressed further up the Missouri River, changes in the landscape quickly became noticeable: grasslands stretching out as far as the eye can see in all directions.
The Expedition had just stumbled onto The Great Plains!
For a bunch of men who were used to seeing trees, they didn't know how to react at seeing hardly any trees at all.
It is here where the first documented encounters with animals such as antelope, buffalo, coyotes, (coyote yips) jackrabbits, and prairie dogs occurred.
Lewis and his men carefully documented these new species of plants and animals, as per President Jefferson's instructions: Thomas Jefferson re-enactment>> "Captain Lewis, your observations are to be taken with great pains and accuracy, to be entered distinctly and intelligibly for others as well as yourself to comprehend."
The Corps continued its way up the river documenting new animals and mapping new territory, and soon met their first bands of Native American tribes: the Otoes, Arikaras, and the Yankton Sioux.
Lewis and Clark gave gifts to the tribal leaders, and relations were established.
The tribes were informed that the land now belonged to the "Great father" in the east and many promises were made to the Native Americans with the mindset at that time being to peacefully coexist with the White folk coming west.
No intention of interfering with their way of life.
"Children, the great chief of the 17 great nations of America has sent us out to clear the road and make it a road of peace."
The Expedition was successful in creating new bonds of friendship with these tribes, however the next tribe they encountered, the Teton Sioux turned out quite differently.
The Teton, or Lakota Sioux was one of the most powerful tribes in that region.
The Expedition made contact on September the 25th, and the trek nearly ground to a halt: the Tetons tried to confiscate one of their boats and impose a toll which the Expedition could not realistically pay.
An argument between Clark and one of their chiefs nearly got out of hand, but one of the other chiefs peacefully intervened and got The Partisan to stand down.
Black Buffalo only had one request: that the women and children of the tribe could see the keelboat and meet the other crewmembers, to which the Expedition nervously agreed.
♪ folk music Winter came early in 1804, and the Expedition quickly needed to figure out where they would spend the winter.
Lewis and Clark had hoped they would reach the headwaters of the Missouri River before the cold set in, but one common lesson the Expedition learned the hard way: the expectations of what they would find did not meet the reality.
In what is now Washburn, North Dakota, the Corps arrived at the villages of the Mandans: a wealthy and prosperous farming community; home to around 4,500 inhabitants.
Lewis and Clark quickly established relations with the Mandans, and the tribe allowed the Corps to build a fort across the river to spend the winter.
(drumming) During the winter of 1804 and 1805, Lewis and Clark observed and recorded the Mandan customs, and the Mandans observed the Expedition with curiosity.
The Mandans were especially fascinated with York, since they had never seen an African American before, and he became very popular in their village.
They even gave him a nickname: "Big Medicine"!
It was also during that winter when, in February 1805, Lewis would be introduced to two of the Corps of Discovery's most important members: Sacagawea, and her husband, Toussaint Charbonneau, a French fur trader.
Sacagawea, a 16-year-old Shoshone girl was having difficulty giving birth to her son, and Lewis was summoned to assist her during labor.
She gave birth to a healthy baby boy named Jean Baptiste.
Lewis and Clark convinced Sacagawea and Charbonneau to join them, since they would need interpreters for the future encounter with the Shoshone tribe.
Sacagawea and Charbonneau agreed, and as winter came to a close, the Expedition departed Fort Mandan to continue west.
The 55-foot-long keelboat was no longer needed from this point on, so it was sent back to St. Louis.
The detailed reports and specimens collected by Lewis and Clark were shipped to President Jefferson's home in Monticello.
♪ folk music Before their departure, the Mandan Chiefs informed Lewis and Clark of what lay ahead: a giant waterfall, followed by "shining mountains".
When the Corps of Discovery left Fort Mandan they were now entering completely uncharted territory.
Lewis and Clark continued to map out new areas as they progressed, as well as documenting new discoveries such as landmarks and rivers.
They even encountered massive grizzly bears for the first time when they reached what is now Montana!
The Missouri River seemed to go on forever, and the Expedition reached an unexpected fork.
After a brief debate as to which direction to take, Lewis and Clark decide to go left.
Upon reaching The Great Falls, Lewis and Clark knew they went the right way.
Here the Corps encounters the first of their two most physically demanding challenges: There's more than one waterfall, and the Corps will have to find a route around all of them by land.
How will they do this while carrying all that equipment?
Sergeant Patrick Gass, the Expedition's carpenter is tasked to help the Corps build several carts to carry everything around these waterfalls.
Lewis and Clark hoped that this 20-mile portion of the journey would take two days.
Unfortunately, this part of the journey ended up taking over an exhausting month thanks to cart breakdowns, inclement weather, and rough terrain.
The Expedition did not yet have any horses, so those carts had to be pushed by hand the entire way!
Lewis and Clark's greatest disappointment came in August 1805: Lewis believed that once he reached the Continental Divide, he would find the fabled "Northwest Passage" and achieve the Expedition's primary objective.
Lewis instead discovered that there is no waterway, just more mountains.
Regardless, time was ticking to reach the Pacific, and the Expedition had to press on.
On August 13th, the Expedition finally made contact with a Shoshone tribe.
Unlike the Teton Sioux or the Mandans, the Shoshones were poorer and more oppressed, suffering constant raids from other tribes like the Blackfeet and the Atsinas.
It's commendable that the Shoshones agreed to help the Expedition, despite not being as wealthy.
Here was Sacagawea's time to shine.
Lewis and Clark negotiated with the Shoshone Chief for the horses they desperately needed to cross the Rocky Mountains, and with Sacagawea's help interpreting, they were successful.
Chief One Who Never Walks gave the Expedition 29 horses and a mule.
Sacagawea was even reunited with her long-lost brother Cameahwait, whom she had not seen since she was kidnapped by the Hidatsas when she was younger.
September 1805: Here came the Expedition's second greatest challenge: crossing the Bitterroot Mountains using the Lolo trail.
Even with horses, and the help of a Shoshone guide, passing through the Bitterroots would not be easy.
According to Sgt.
Patrick Gass, "They were the most terrible mountains "that I ever beheld."
Through the Bitterroots they went, and along the way they got lost, suffered freezing cold temperatures and frostbite, and nearly starved to death.
What they thought would be an easy passage turned out to be an agonizing 11-day, almost 200 mile stretch.
Want to add insult to injury?
On September the 10th, the Expedition was told of a shortcut they didn't know existed: an old Indian trail just above the Great Falls.
What would have taken them only 4-5 days to cross before, took them over 50!
One can only imagine how the members of the Expedition felt when they found that out!
Starving and extremely weakened, the Expedition finally made it through the Bitterroots, and encountered the Nimiipuu tribe.
Here is another noteworthy moment when the Corps would be saved by a woman.
The Nimiipuu originally considered killing the Expedition, however a Nimiipuu woman named Watkuweis said they should live, since she was treated kindly by the White folks when she was their captive years ago.
Thanks to Watkuweis' intervention they were spared, and the Corps was allowed to rest and recuperate before continuing.
♪ In October 1805, with 5 new dugout canoes, the Expedition progressed through the Clearwater River to the Columbia River, and noticed another drastic change in terrain.
They emerged from desert, grasslands and dry air, to lush forests and dense moisture.
Near the end of October, the Corps of Discovery was now less than 200 miles from the Pacific Ocean.
Further down the Columbia, sea birds were spotted, and the air began to smell salty.
They knew they were close!
Lewis and Clark thought they found the Pacific Ocean on November 7, but this was another false alarm, instead finding a large bay where inclement weather trapped them for 3 weeks.
On November 18, William Clark was able to leave the campsite, climb up a hill, and finally spot the Pacific Ocean.
After all the efforts it took to get there, Lewis and Clark had finally arrived!
But there wasn't much time for celebration.
The winter of 1805 was fast approaching, and they needed to figure out a place to stay.
Instead of Lewis and Clark simply issuing an order, every member of the Corps was given the opportunity to vote on what to do, including Sacagawea and York.
The decision was made to stay on the south side of the Columbia River.
They spent that winter in Fort Clatsop, where they experienced constant cold rains.
At least there was plenty of elk available to eat!
The Expedition stayed at Fort Clatsop around 5 months, and in March of 1806, it was finally time to head back home.
♪ folk music ♪ The return journey back to the east didn't take anywhere near as long as the trek west, but this time around the mood was quite different for the Expedition.
The members of the Expedition were irritable, and eager to get back home.
♪ In May 1806, The Nimiipuu befriended Lewis and Clark once more, even helping guide them through the Bitterroots while the snows were gone.
Near the end of June, the Expedition split into two groups to probe previously unexplored portions of the Louisiana Territory: Lewis' group took the shortcut they missed earlier to the Great Falls and explored the Marias River, while Clark's group went south to explore the Yellowstone River.
An incident occurred on the early morning of July 27th, where 8 members of the Blackfoot tribe attempted to steal some horses and guns from Lewis' party.
In the ensuing chaos, two Blackfeet were killed, and Lewis had to hasten his return to Clark under possible threat of a Blackfoot war party.
Lewis successfully rejoined Clark at the head of the Missouri River, and the Expedition was able to make it back to the Mandan Villages on August 14, 1806.
At the Mandan Villages, Lewis and Clark say farewell to 4 of the Corps' members, including Sacagawea, Charbonneau, and Jean-Baptiste.
The captains allowed John Colter to leave to start a new life for himself out west.
The Expedition speedily made its way down south through the Missouri River, only stopping to briefly pay their respects at the gravesite of Sgt.
Charles Floyd.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition finally returned to St. Louis on September 23, 1806; where their journey first started over two years earlier.
♪ folk music The Corps of Discovery was given a heroes' welcome: parties and balls were thrown in their honor everywhere they went.
Arguably, the most ecstatic person to see them return was President Thomas Jefferson; however, nobody knows exactly what Meriwether Lewis and President Jefferson discussed on that first post-journey meeting.
Once everything was said and done, the members of the Corps of Discovery quietly went about their separate ways.
John Colter stumbled across the area of what is known today as Yellowstone Park.
Clark lived the rest of his life in St. Louis, serving as the government's Indian agent in the West.
York was eventually freed by Clark and became a wealthy freight business owner.
For Sacagawea, some reports say she died of typhus in 1812, but some Native American oral histories say she lived for many more years among the Shoshone, instead dying in 1884.
Sadly, Meriwether Lewis died under mysterious circumstances in 1809.
Some accounts say he was murdered, while others deemed his death a suicide.
The cause of Lewis' death remains disputed to this day.
So did the U.S. get its money's worth with the Louisiana Purchase?
Absolutely!
While Lewis and Clark did not find the "Northwest Passage", the vast influx of topographical and scientific data brought back by the Corps more than made up for it.
The Expedition had traveled over 8,000 miles, established peaceful relations with many Native American tribes, and identified over 120 species of animals, and over 200 species of plants.
The people most affected by the Corps of Discovery were the Native Americans.
For some, the arrival of Lewis and Clark meant new opportunities and economic growth.
For others, it marked the beginning of the end- a loss of culture and identity.
Lewis and Clark intended the Expedition to be a mission of peace, to establish a serene co-existence between the United States and its Indigenous Peoples.
Many of the promises made by Lewis and Clark are viewed today as hollow, since those Jeffersonian promises were ultimately not honored.
Still, that was through no fault of Lewis and Clark themselves.
The Lewis and Clark Expedition represents a true American tale, opening up the west for future generations.
- Thomas Jefferson re-enactment>>"The work we are now doing is I trust done for posterity, in such a way that they need not repeat it.
We shall delineate with correctness the great arteries of this country.
Those who come after us will fill up the canvas we begin."
♪ folk music ♪
