Lewis and Clark Report

Lewis and Clark Report

By Madison Nef

Thomas Jefferson had been interested in Western expansion for a long time, and in the 1780’s, had met a man named John Ledyard who proposed the idea of an expedition to the Pacific Northwest. Jefferson read a book that a guy had written about an expedition and this led him to order Congress to fund the expedition.  He asked his private secretary, Meriwether Lewis, if he and his friend William Clark (who was also a friend of Jefferson) would head the expedition. In the end, 33 people volunteered to go on the expedition. Among the 33 was a young Indian woman named Sacagawea. She traveled with her baby on her back the whole time. The goal was to explore the Louisiana Purchase, and establish trade with the natives across the Missouri River.

The expedition followed the Missouri through much of what is now Kansas City, Missouri, and Omaha Nebraska.   During this time, there was only one death.  The quartermaster of the trip, Sergeant Charles Floyd, died of acute appendicitis and was buried in what is now Sioux City. Only a few days after his death, the expedition found what they called THE GREAT PLAINS. It was an area with many elk, deer, bison, and beavers.

 The expedition made friends and trades with over 2 dozen different native tribes. The only one that gave them trouble was the Sioux. The Sioux lived along the river and were a very vicious tribe. Many expeditions went to try to make trade routes and never came back. Some horses were stolen from the expedition, and the Sioux were held responsible. The Sioux existed mainly to stop trading routes from cluttering up the river, which was where they fished. They ended up making peace with them, but it had been feared that the sides would fight.

In the winter of 1804, the expedition built Fort Mandan. One chief of the Mandan tribe asked for a boat to pass through the territory. When Lewis and Clark refused to build him a boat, he threatened them with war. Lewis and Clark prepared for war, but in the end, both sides fell back. After the winter, the expedition used the Clearwater, Snake, and Columbia rivers to descend the mountains via canoe. The expedition soon faced another harsh winter. They voted on where to make another fort for the winter. They decided on the south side of the Columbia River. Since both Sacagawea and Clark’s slave York were allowed to vote, this may have been the first time that a woman and a slave were allowed to vote.

The expedition built Fort Clatsop to stay in for the winter, and on March 23^rd of 1806, turned home again. Before crossing the Continental Divide, the expedition took different paths so that Lewis could explore the Marias River. Soon, Lewis’ men met some men from the Blackfeet tribe in the woods. During the night, the Blackfeet men tried to steal some of the expedition’s weapons. Lewis’ men got up and fought the tribe off, and in the process killed 2 of the tribe’s members. They then fled 100 miles before camping again.

Meanwhile, Clark’s expedition had stumbled into the Crow tribe’s land. Overnight, half of the horses went missing and not a Crow was seen. Lewis and Clark did not reunite until August 11^th at the Yellowstone and Missouri Rivers. Before reuniting, one of Clark’s hunters mistook Lewis for an elk and shot him, permanently injuring his thigh. The expedition returned home on September 23^rd of 1806, having successfully completed their mission.