In Lewis in Clark’s novel, they talk about their great journey to find a waterway to reach California and the Pacific Ocean. They set off in May of 1804, and Jefferson was very curious about the Western part of Mississippi. He urged William Clark’s older brother to take on an expedition to raise money for the region. However, later he issued Lewis, the secretary, and Clark explore articles, plants and things unusual to the U.S. They were to analyze different activity and climate. First, they tried looking for the Northwest Passage which became a concern for several reasons. The Northwest Passage was important for the control of the fur trade controlled by Britain, Spain, Russian, and the U.S. In the end of the winter at Fort Mandan, it was a long, difficult and dangerous route they had ever ventured before. Lewis and Clark’s observations consisted of the weather and materials they had gathered. Here, they took notes of the Missouri River valley. They collected elk meat, deer skin, and have dangerous encounters with animals such as the White Bear, and Grizzly Bear, whom is known to be the most aggressive bear. On May 14, 1804 they start their path up the Missouri River, traveling slowly. One of the biggest issues was the lack of a translator to communicate with the Native Americans they were to soon come across. On September of 1804, they came across the Sioux Indians where a few shots were fired, but no one got hurt. However, Lewis and Clark knew there were more trouble to come along the way, including other Indian tribes. On October 27th of 1804, they reached a Mandan Village where they met the Mandans and the Hidatsas who were in fact, nice. They both decided to set up a camp since the temperature was winter weather and named it Fort Mandan. Here they met Charbonneau, Sacajawea’s husband whom was able to communicate by sign language with most Indians. He offered to be their interpreter, just what Lewis and Clark were looking for. Sacajawea was also someone they were looking for. She brought warm buffalo robes to those who were freezing and knew the area well, so she was able to be brought along.
The purpose of the Lewis and Clark expedition was to in fact explore the Louisiana Territory. President Jefferson negotiated the purchase from Napoleon in 1803. As a result, Lewis and Clark were sent off to explore unknown parts of the territory and bring back reports of anything they find through their journals. They were also given money to furnish supplies. The supplies were given at times to the Indians for presents. They both kept journals to record everything they’ve encountered along the way including Sacajawea who was the only female on their expedition. During their journey, they had weapons for defense, but used them mostly to fend off dangerous animals like the bears. It took 8 bullets to bring down one grizzly bear so imagine how dangerous that was!
In addition, climate was an issue. A storm nearly caused a boat to flip over, causing many of their supplies to fall out and get soaked. On June 3,1805 they reached the Maria’s River where men began feeling sick as well as Sacajawea. Some men had to be cut with a knife to let them bleed out as a way of healing, and Sacajawea was giving Rush’s pills to help. They needed horses so what did they do? They headed towards the Great Falls, where it became difficult to navigate because of the lack of tools. There was also a flood once that almost demolished their supplies. Lewis and Clark were looking for horses when finally, they came across one. Unfortunately, it was a wild one! So off they went again. Now it’s Mid-July of 1805 and they hit the Shoshoni territory. She met her brother here, the Chief, Cameahwait and became very happy. Sacajawea and her child symbolized peace between Lewis and Clark and the Indians as well. They learned about their many customs such as what they ate, and how they used bow and arrows over guns. After getting horses, they then began to head toward the Rocky Mountains, through the Colombia River with included the route to the Pacific. The Bitterroot Mountains were dangerous and caused some horses to be lost. After, they spent winter at Fort Clatsop it became hard to go on with this expedition and hoped Jefferson sent a ship to pick them up and take them back to the East alive. They soon, left on their own back with their journals and Sacajawea stood on the expedition.
As you can see, Lewis and Clark went through a whole lot of places on their expedition. They went through many hardships including the scarcity of food and trying to prove they were not enemies of the Indians. They also had to trade in order to get goods for themselves and deal with harsh hail storms and heavy rain that caused floods and trouble to their goods.
I recommend this book for many reasons. One reason is because reading about the dangerous encounters Lewis and Clark faced is quite interesting. While reading this book, I felt myself in their shoes, fighting for survival and trying to find the right path frustratingly day by day. This book can be used to tell the history of the Louisiana Purchase and the purpose of Lewis and Clark’s expedition. They became fond of dogs and horses as food became scarce and dealt with a lot of stressful predicaments as it became harder to navigate with the lack of tools. This book also relates to the film watched in class called, “Lewis and Clark: Great Journey West”. In this film, they talk about how Lewis and Clark’s journals emphasized the importance of Sacajawea and how the weather would sometimes be 45 below 0. It was crazy how they went 4 days without rain, and the rest with rain. Me, personally, can’t imagine living outdoors like that. I dislike the idea of rain and can imagine how muddy it was out there in the open. Lewis and Clark were also shown licorice and artichokes, and shipped back many different species of animals and plants, 178 to be exact. They emphasized how accurate his maps were and how they can be used for future explorers. The most interesting part to me was the ending, when the filmed explained what happened after the exploration. Lewis took his own life 3 years after this, and Clark became the governor of the Missouri Territory who then adopted and cared for Jean Baptiste. York also asked for his freedom because he was a slave and gained freedom ten years later which was great to hear. Sacajawea was said to stay behind with her family and may have died back with her tribe but it is unknown. She is honored on the dollar coin, something I never knew. I also found it interesting how it was the first time a woman could vote.
All in all, Lewis and Clark’s novel was amazing. It spoke about their struggles and showed how it payed off in the end when they found the Pacific Ocean. Traveling river by river, discovering new species and plants, encountering with native Indians, and crossing Rocky Mountains along with many more obstacles are the reasons why we know them today. They are also the reasons why we know many of the Indian Tribes. They made history on their own and opened doors to new travelers with the map that was created. After all, there are rivers in their honor.