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Lewis and Clark Expedition in Montana
William Clark in December 1803 built the River Dubois Camp on the along river Wood. The camp was set at Rivers Missouri’s and Mississippi’s confluence in Missouri just north of St. Louis. In addition, the camp was at just across River Dubois in Illinois. Clark took up the training of the severally different volunteer men who put themselves forward to undertake the expedition into the Pacific. Therefore, William Clark was keen to make an efficient and useful team from the goons, savages laypeople who had volunteered (Kern, 672). This team was identified as the Corps of Discovery, a sentry sent by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the source of the river and possible navigation into the Pacific. This paper trails Clark and Lewis’ expedition in Montana exploring the various Indian wars and the twist and confusing meander of the river.
The Corps of Discovery constituted of strangers to each other aged differently but with an average age of 27. Nonetheless, the team was eager to undertake the presidential decree with zeal, zest and passion. John Shields aged 35 was the oldest of the Corps of Discovery whereas 17 year old George Shannon was the youngest (Lewis and William, 38). Therefore, Clark had to balance his command as he directed the team into building cabins and forts from logs. Clark further taught the team information marching, effective shooting of targets as a team as well as the use of weapons in combat. Most importantly, Clark emphasized respect of military authority as well as executing orders such that the team would execute the orders amidst danger on the battle frontiers.
On his part, Meriwether Lewis explored St. Louis over the winter gathering supplies and equipment for the expedition. The mammoth volunteers overstretched supplies than was previously expected. Moreover, Lewis friendliness with fur traders who had navigated the river upstream obtained navigational maps from earlier explorers. Finally, the expedition commenced on 14th May 1804 where the Corps of Discovery under William Clark merged with Meriwether Lewis’ team in St. Charles (Meyer, 16). The squadron comprised of mainly young unmarried men while civilians in the cauldron were taken as interpreters and guides.
Navigation upstream Missouri River took toil on the cauldron with constant insects’ attacks, injuries and weariness from heat. Moreover, the river navigation proved troublesome with the strong currents and constant snags. Equipment and supplies were transported in Lewis’ keelboat and two pirogues boats. A sail mast coupled with long poles and oars were used to sail the boats upstream amidst strong currents upriver. At times, men on ropes poled the boats upriver while on riding on the shoreline. Consequently, the team navigated the river at a snail slow pace averaging 10-15 miles daily (Miller, 148).
Synergy from working as a team developed cordially relationships waning initial disciplinary problems. For instance, one of the three sergeants named Charles Floyd became a dallying to most members of the expedition. However, the merry was short lived as he feel sick and eventually died on 20th August 1804 from alleged appendix burst. Charles Floyd was buried atop the river in today’s city of Sioux, Iowa (Miller, 154). A large monument erected later signifies his burial spot. From then on, nobody died throughout the expedition over the next two and a half years in spite of the reckoning danger.
The Corps of Discovery matched through the Mandan Indian tribe villages in October 1804. They team built a landmark Fort called Mandan which is still in existence to date in the current Stanton town in North Dakota. The team lived in the Fort to withstand the harsh winter of 1804 to 1805. The Indian Mandan tribe lived along River Missouri in earth lodges whereas the Hidatsa, Mandan Indian neighbors, took up Knife River banks sentient. As a result, trade thrived in the west and the Discovery team encountered multicultural ethnicities such as Frenchmen who they recruited (PBS). The recruits were instrumental for interpretations. Renowned interpreters recruited include Frenchman Toussaint Charbonneau who joined the team with his teenage Shoshone Indian wife, and their newborn lad.
Sacagawea, the Shoshone Indian became instrumental to the Corps of Discovery. She had been captured by Hidatsa raiding party from her homeland and brought to Knife River where she met her husband. As a result, her knowledge in her Rocky Mountains people was instrumental because she facilitated communication between the Corps of Discovery and the locals. This was particularly so when the team sought out horses from the Rocky Mountains Tribe (Lewis and William, 38). The horses were important transportation medium when the team failed to find a stream into Columbia River.
Lewis and Clark amassed botanical, ethnological and zoological specimens, reports, letters, maps and dispatches, loaded them into the keelboat and sent them back to St. Louis. The keelboat returned with problematic members of the team heading south to St. Louis while the rest pushed on with their expedition. The team, through the direction of the new recruits explored American Indians explored regions (Pelzer, 200). This took them through present day Montana along River Missouri reaching a confluence of two rivers by early June. This was a crucial point because the two captains, Lewis and Clark had to identify the correct fork into Pacific. Apparently, the clue to the right fork was a huge waterfall, which according to the Indian’s was along River Missouri. As a result, the two leaders split into two small teams each led by Lewis and the other by Clark in search of the waterfall.
Lewis navigated his team through the right fork while Clark and his team took up the left fork. However, the two teams later returned without finding the crucial ‘landmark’ where the two leaders decided on the left fork river as the right channel amidst resistance from the members of the team (Lewis and William, 38). The left fork river was named River Missouri whereas the right fork was named Marias River. Sacagawea’s ill health slackened the pace of the navigation amidst strong river currents causing Lewis’ unrest.
As a result, he took up a small team of men upstream in search of the waterfall wherein they had to turn back and scaled the right fork river. Luckily, he saw rising mist above the hills ahead on 13th June. He led his team into the deep ravine and, alas! Behold; there lay the crucial waterfall landmark. This confirmed their correct route along River Missouri into Pacific. Further scouting upstream revealed five waterfalls stretched several miles along the river. Consequently, the area was called Great Falls (Viele, George and Frank, 68).
Scaling the pirogues up the waterfall against the strong currents was impossible and they had to be left behind. Sacagawea’s recovery after quenching her thirst from a mineral spring rejuvenated the team but the merry was short lived. Lewis assembled his collapsible iron buckled boat sourced from the Harpers Ferry but it did not work disappointing him altogether. Nevertheless, Clark helped to dugout two canoes salvaging the moment. Therefore, the expedition continued with the team paddling upstream and westward. They explored through Rocky Mountains marveling and fantasizing at the incredible beauty of the tall evergreen trees in the luster scenery.
The Corps of Discovery reached River Missouri’s Three Forks. This marked the rivers’ navigable limits. They named the three rivers Madison, Jefferson and Gallatin after government officials whereby they chose to paddle through Jefferson River Folk. The corps strode upwards reaching the rivers headwaters in which a man could easily straddle the river. Further advances upwards brought them to Rocky Mountains’ crest where they believe they were near to Columbia River headwaters (Miller, 154). They believed that they could float the canoes and paddle downstream into Pacific Ocean.
Nonetheless, they encountered more stretches of the mountain and the captains realized that this was not the easy way into West coast. The mountain overstretches were Sacagawea’s people domains. Contact with the people furnished the corps with horses to explore the mountain and advance the expedition. Sacagawea’s influence was further felt when she interpreted for the Chief cum her brother to the white people (Wilson, 219). She, however, she decided to move on with her expedition in spite of meting her people, family and friends. Lewis and Clark led the expedition hoping to solve the puzzle into Pacific Ocean before the onset of winter.
Overland, the Corps of Discovery explored across the Lolo Pass crossing across the Bitterroot Range. They encountered starvation, exhaustion and rugged terrain occasionally bumping into Nez Perce Indians camps. They were kindly treated, fed and helped with directions into Pacific. Finally, they dugout canoes and left the horses with trustworthy and friendly Nez Perce for custodianship. Once again, they floated and paddled the canoes downstream along Clearwater and Snake into Columbia Rivers. They withstood portaging dangerous rapids and waterfalls while trading with Indians along the river banks for supplies. Finally, they docked in Pacific Ocean on November 1805, thereby fulfilling President Jefferson’s decree enough to let the winter pass for the return leg.
Harsh winter winds brushed the corps while drizzling and trickling cold rains kept them huddled together on the northern side of the Columbia River. However, the captains steered the team south much inwards where the rains and the winds were less harsh than the shoreline. In addition, the hinterland harbored elks which the team hunted down for food and fur for clothing. The Corps of Discovery built Fort Clatsop in today’s town of Astoria, Oregon wherein they settled for the winter. Considerable art and scientific work was accomplished by the dual Clark and Lewis (Miller, 154). It was not until March 1806 when the return leg commenced upstream Columbia River against strong currents flowing downstream and into Nez Perce for retrieval of the horses. The Corps got into the mountains in June and paddled through Missouri River downstream.
The team split into two teams each led by either Clark or Lewis at Lolo Pass to increase their knowledge of the area and confirm the difficulty of navigating through the area into Pacific. Lewis cruised along Missouri River in the North while Clark navigated through Yellowstone River to later reunite at the confluence of the two rivers north west of Dakota.
Lewis’ camp encountered Blackfeet Indians’ party while along Marias River in Montana. A scuffle ensued when the party tried to forcefully takeaway the team’s horses and guns. However, Lewis and his team were superb and they killed two of the Blackfeet Indians in the melee at present days’ Two Feet Medicine Fight Site. Further near fatal event occurred when a close by member of Lewis’ camp shot and wounded him. This was a close shot which, nonetheless, made him inactive in writing and sitting. Later on, the two camps reunited North of Dakota and progressed on with their return leg into Mandan Villages where Sacagawea and her family were left.
The Corps of Discovery arrived at St. Louis on 23rd September 1806 amidst disbelieve of the United States settlements. The settlers had lost hope in the team thinking that harsh weather, wild animals, starvation and Indian savages had wiped them off the surface of the earth. The Corps of Discovery returned home amidst pomp and color dubbed as heroes with detailed, comprehensive and informative maps, descriptions and collected specimens in the entire expedition (Miller, 154). These artifacts were housed in Philadelphia’s American Philosophical Society while others were later housed at the Academy of Natural Sciences.
The team captained by Lewis and Clark advanced eastwards through Clark’s sister’s Locust Grove town into Washington D.C. Here, they presented their findings to President Jefferson personally and they were both handsomely rewarded. For instance, Clark became the St. Louis based Indian agent following his 1808 marriage (Kern, 672). He became the Missouri Territory governor five years later proceeding into Indian Affairs Superintendent in President Monroe’s tenure. In 1838, Clark passed on and was buried in Bellefontaine Cemetery.
Lewis represented the Louisiana Territory on an appointed governorship struggling to suffice the interests of different factions and terribly failing as a governor. Most importantly his use of financial resources was questioned and on 11th October 1809, he died from gunshots on route to Washington to clear his name of misappropriation of funds (Kern, 672). It is rumored that Lewis was murdered while others claim that he committed suicide for depression.

Works Cited
Kern, Louis J.. "Thomas P. Lowry, Venereal Disease and the Lewis and Clark Expedition (Lincoln, NE: University Press of Nebraska, 2004, $21.95). Pp. 117+xvi. ISBN 0 8032 2959 3.." Journal of American Studies 40.03 (2012): 672. Print.
Lewis, Meriwether, and William Clark. Lewis and Clark in the three rivers valleys, Montana, 1805-1806: from the original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 1996. Reprint. Tucson, Ariz.: Headwaters Chapter, Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation and the Patrice Press, 2012. Print.
Meyer, Diana Lambdin. "Blazing the trail of Lewis & Clark: the bicentennial of a ground-breaking expedition spotlights special events and historic sites in a swath of territory stretching from the muddy Mississippi River to the salty Pacific.." Travel America 1 Mar. 2004: 22-24. Print.
Miller, Jacquelyn C.. "Across the Continent: Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and the Making of America, and: Exploring with Lewis and Clark: The 1804 Journal of Charles Floyd, and: Jefferson's Western Explorations: Discoveries Made in Exploring the Missouri, Red River, and Washita,." Journal of the Early Republic 26.1 (2006): 145-154. Print.
PBS. "Lewis and Clark in Montana." PBS. PBS, n.d. Web. 5 Mar. 2014. <http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/seaman.html>.
Pelzer, Louis. "The West in American History Dan Elbert Clark." Pacific Historical Review 6.2 (1937): 199-200. Print.
Viele, George W. Viele, and Frank G. Harri. "Montana Group Stratigraphy, Lewis and Clark County, Montana." AAPG Bulletin 49 (2013): 66-72. Print.
Wilson, Louis N.. "Clark Library War Collection." The Pedagogical Seminary 25.2 (1918): 219-220. Print.