Lewis And Clark Paper

I was very excited and nervous when I was picked to explore the land west of the Mississippi river. The goal was to get to the western ocean. There was a very good chance I would not come back alive. If I came back alive I would be a hero. This was definitely a great chance to take. When I heard the leader was Captain Meriwether Lewis I knew I had to go just to be in his presence of the great leader. It was to begin next week. The year was 1803. I had to leave all my fears behind and believe in myself in order to survive. I was ready. The first day we left we were all very excited. We started going up stream in our newly made boats. That day I met the Captains trusted companion named Clark. The men were very different, but they worked very well together. I also met Captain Merriweather’s slave. His name was York. York had to carry all the bags and do the dirty work. Also Captain Meriwether had a beloved dog named Seaman. That night Captain Meriwether told us we were going to encounter many Indian tribes. He told us always to stay friendly with them. We should never act violently around them he told us. He said that the Indians were a vital role in survival on our journey. During our journey up stream we had many incidents of both sadness and happiness. The boats had to survive many hardships. There were points when the boat was stuck and men had to get out and push. We met many Indians Travelling up the Mississippi river. We met the Mandan tribe. We even took one of the woman named sakakawea for an interpreter on the trip. I was very surprised that she even carried a baby in her stomach. Why would the chose her? She told us of a Horrible treacherous Mountain range. She said that we would have to find her people for help. Once we found her people she realized that her brother was the leader of the tribe. It almost made me cry it was very sweet how they hadn’t seen each other In a very long time and then they put all of their love into the hug. Sacagawea's brother let the whole party use horses. We could cross the treacherous mountain range a lot faster now. The first winter was the hardest time of all. I was cold every second and almost every part of my body receives frost bite. My feet were the worst. The thin moccasins provided no protection against cold. Still I was never allowed to complain. That would be cowardly. Each man consumed about a pound of meat per day so hunting was necessary. There were many animals discovered by us on the trip. I even myself discovered a couple. We discovered bison, prairie dogs, canada goose, goldfinch, mountain sheep, and bull snakes. The most terrifying of them all were the bears. They were massive and one swing at someone and that person was a gonner. The also never seemed to give up fighting even if one shot the bear multiple times. Prairie dogs were a discovery by me. I was walking out and a little dog like creature came running by. I asked Captain Lewis what it was and he said he had never seen it before. That was my first discovery ever. The part of the journey that tested the men and I the most was when we discovered that there was a waterfall standing in our way of the ocean. The first thought in everyones head including mine was that we weren't going to make it. The trip was a huge bust. Luckily Captain Lewis told everyone that If we were willing to put in all of our strenght and mindset we could could portage around the waterfall. My first reaction was very similar to everyone else. I didn't think anyone could portage all of our important goods many miles. It sounded near impossible. Captain Lewis believed in us. He told us that if we wanted to go home with a successful trip we would have to endure in this grueling problem. Everyone decided it was better to suck up the hard work. It was the hardest most grueling problem I have ever faced. We all had to work together as one. It felt amazing when we were done. Everyone including me sleep very well that night.