Week of Oct. 15th, 2006

What sort of men were Lewis and Clark?
They were an odd couple. Meriwether Lewis, President Thomas Jefferson’s personal secretary, was reckless, moody, and probably manic-depressive; a schoolmate described him as “stiff and without grace.” William Clark, an Army officer, was confident, charismatic, and easygoing. He married happily, while Lewis repeatedly failed in love. They did share a love of the outdoors, though, and together, they constituted one of the great exploring teams in history.

Why did they go West?
After Jefferson completed the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, he set about organizing a major scientific survey. Virtually nothing was known about the 838,000-square-mile wilderness; Jefferson thought it might contain live volcanoes, woolly mammoths, and mountains of pure salt. He also wanted to find the fabled “Northwest Passage,” a navigable water route to the Pacific. He chose Lewis to head the expedition, and Lewis tapped Clark, whom he knew from the Army, as his co-commander. Congress initially approved $2,500 to outfit a dozen men. The operation ultimately cost $40,000—about $680,000 in today’s dollars—and the ranks swelled to about 40. It was christened the Corps of Discovery.

How were the explorers equipped?
When they set off from St. Louis on May 14, 1804, they took along 30 tons of supplies, including 2,800 fishhooks, 12 pounds of soap, a gross of pocket mirrors, 4,600 sewing needles, 33 pounds of colored beads, and 3,500 doses of sweat-inducing medicine. They kept the cargo in a 55-foot keelboat and two canoe-like vessels called pirogues. Whenever the waterways proved impassable, this deadweight had to be hauled overland, with the men hacking their way through thick forests or pulling the cargo up mountains. When the team encountered the Great Falls of the Missouri River, it took an entire month to drag the boats and supplies 18 miles around them.

What did they find along the way?
An awe-inspiring display of the continent’s beauty and diversity. “Deer to be Seen in every direction,” Clark wrote, “and their tracks ar [sic] as plenty as Hogs about a Farm.” In what is now Grandview, Ohio, the team was astonished to see masses of squirrels swimming across the Ohio River, lemming-like, as they headed south against the current. Along the Idaho-Montana divide, they encountered the Bitterroot Range, which Sgt. Patrick Gass called “the most terrible mountains I ever beheld.” When they got their first breathtaking view of the Pacific Ocean on Nov. 7, 1805, Clark wrote, “Ocian in View! O! The joy!”

Was the journey perilous?
That’s putting it mildly. The team faced constant, life-threatening hazards. Just days into the trip, Lewis slipped off a 300-foot cliff in what is now Missouri, and only saved himself by stabbing his knife into the rock face. When the men shot the rapids of the Columbia River in dugout canoes, Indians lined up on the shore, fully expecting them to die. Swarms of mosquitoes nearly drove the voyagers mad; prickly pear cacti tore their moccasins to shreds. At one point, a half-blind private named Pierre Cruzatte mistook Lewis for an elk and shot him. Yet despite all the dangers, only one crew man died—from a burst appendix.

How were the day-to-day operations managed?
Clark took charge of the boats while Lewis stuck to the shore, observing and taking copious notes. Except for Clark’s black manservant, York, and three civilian interpreters, including the Shoshone woman Sacagawea, all were Army personnel. Most were deemed competent, though two crew members were court-martialed for stealing whiskey, one was given 100 lashes for sleeping on duty, and another got lost twice—one time for 16 days. When they were deciding where to set up their 1805 winter camp, Lewis and Clark allowed the entire expedition, including York and Sacagawea, to have a say. Some historians say this is the first time in American history that a black man and a woman “voted.”

How did they get along with the Indians they met?
Remarkably well. Jefferson had ordered Lewis and Clark to treat Indians “in the most friendly & conciliatory manner which their own conduct will permit.” Usually they did, exchanging gifts for food, shelter, and information about the terrain and its hazards. Sacagawea helped, too; the presence of an Indian woman diminished the likelihood of an attack, especially after she and her husband, the French interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau, had a son in early 1805. But there were some close calls. On the return trip, Lewis threatened to set fire to an Indian village when a saddle and horse robe went missing. When other Indians stole Seaman, Lewis’ black Newfoundland, he threatened to shoot them. Cooler heads prevailed.

What is Lewis and Clark’s legacy?
By the time the Corps of Discovery returned to St. Louis on Sept. 23, 1806, after 863 days, they had traveled 8,000 miles and crossed 11 present-day states. They catalogued 122 new animal species, including the prairie dog, grizzly bear, and coyote, as well as 178 previously unknown plants. They encountered almost 50 Native American tribes. Most important, they compiled the first accurate survey of the Rockies, the Great Plains, the Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, and other natural features of North America. By making it possible for millions to follow them, Lewis and Clark helped ensure that the United States would stretch from sea to sea, becoming the dominant power in the hemisphere and, eventually, the world.