Eureka - The Ocean

On November 7, 1805 Clark recorded in his journal "Great joy in camp, we are in view of the ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we have been so anxious to see!"  Not exactly though...as they were still deep within the Columbia river's broad estuary.  A week later they did indeed arrive on the Pacific coast, their journey of discovery complete.  On the border between Washington and Oregon they built Fort Clatsop (now Lewis and Clark National Park in Oregon) and spent a soggy, uncomfortable winter there.

The next spring they turned homeward along much the same route they had blazed. In  July 1806 they split into two parties - Clark's party explored the Yellowstone River and followed it to the Missouri.  Lewis' path included an encounter with a band of Blackfoot Indians in which two Indians were killed.  The two parties reunited at the Yellowstone and Missouri River for the last leg of the journey.  They arrived back in St. Louis on September 23, 1806. 

Lewis had recorded at the end of the journey "We were now about to penetrate a country at least 2000 miles in width on which the foot of civilized man had never trodden, the good or evil it had in store for us was for experiment yet to determine."  What an adventure it must have been!

Next time...Treason in the air
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Today in Pioneer History: On this day in 1785, the older of the two Grimm brothers, Jacob, is born in Hanau, Germany. The two brothers assisted some friends with research for an important collection of folk lyrics. One of the authors, impressed by the brothers’ work, suggested they publish some of the oral folktales they’d collected. The collection appeared as Children’s and Household Tales, later known as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, in several volumes between 1812 and 1822.

Sacajawea Quells Trouble

On April 7, 1805, the Corps of Discovery set out downstream on the Missouri River with reports and collections of natural specimens for the President. Part of the group went west in the canoes.  By June they reached the Great Falls of Missouri, beyond which lay 18 miles of white water rapids. To by-pass the rapids they had to make a 25 day journey over land in gale force winds and unseasonably hot, burning sun.  A month later when they reached the foothills of the Rockies, the Missouri had become a mountain stream.

Sacajawea was near home country now, and pointed out landmarks to the expedition party.  Lewis led a party following an Indian trail through the Beaverhead Range across the Continental Divide at the Lemhi Pass.  There they met a Shoshone hunting band.  The Shoshone were edgy and confrontational until Sacajawea appeared.  The leader just happened to be her brother - and shouts of joy at their reunion calmed the tension.  What luck :)

The Indians became delighted with the white men and anxious to offer their support (firearms) against the Blackfoot.  The Shoshone described the mountains ahead as impassable for the Corps, but they could not be dissuaded.  The river to the Pacific that they were searching for was no where nearby.  Instead the trip west would be rugged mountain travel before even a navigable river could even be found.

Next time...Through the mountains to the sea
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Today in Pioneer History:  "On December 17, 1843, Charles Dickens’ classic story “A Christmas Carol” is published. Dickens was born in 1812 and attended school in Portsmouth. His father, a clerk in the navy pay office, was thrown into debtors’ prison in 1824, and 12-year-old Charles was sent to work in a factory. The miserable treatment of children and the institution of the debtors’ jail became topics of several of Dickens’ novels.

The Main Characters

 Who were Lewis and Clark?  Why were they chosen for this important journey for the United States?

Meriwether Lewis, a Virginian neighbor to Thomas Jefferson, shared the President's interest in science and exploration.  He was an experienced woodsman and solider. Lewis became Jefferson's private secretary in 1801 and helped plan the western exploration.   Congress authorized the expedition in 1803 and Lewis was appointed its leader.  He went to Philadelphia for a crash course in science and medicine.  After the expedition was over, he was appointed the first governor of the Louisiana Territory.

William Clark, younger brother of George Rogers Clark, was a Virginian born Kentuckian, and an even better woodsman that Lewis.  He was outgoing (Lewis was intellectual and somewhat withdrawn), and a born diplomat, map maker, and artist.  The Indians called him the "red-headed Chief".  He was later appointed superintendent of Indian affairs in the Louisiana Territory. 

Another valuable member of the expedition was Clark's black slave, York, who not only shared in camp chores but helped with western Indians who had never seen a black man before.  York, tall and powerful, entertained the Indians with feats of strength and agility.  Clark freed York after the expedition.  York died of cholera in Tennessee.

Now that we have met the main characters...let's be off!
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On this Day in Pioneer History: On December 7, 1805,  Meriwether Lewis and William Clark cross to the south shore of the Columbia River (near modern-day Portland) and begin building the small fort that would be their winter home.