THE JOURNEY OFLEWIS ANO CLARKOn May 14,1804,Meriwether Lewis andWilliam Clark leftMissouri to explorethe vast unchartedterritory ofthe West

CharactersThomas Jefferson, President ofthe

United States

Meriwether Lewis lco./eoders oftheWiiliam Clark } Corps of DiscoverySheheke [SHAH-hah-kah], a Mandan

tribal leaderToussaint Charbonneau [TQO-sahnSHAR-buh-noh), a French-Canadian

fur trader

Narrator A: In March 1801,Thomas Jefferson is sworn in as thethird President of the United States.A brilliant scholar who wrote theDeclaration of Independence in1776, Jefferson is determined toexpand the nation's size andpower. He lays out his vision in hisfirst inaugural address.President Thomas Jefferson: Thetask is to lead a rising nationspread over a wide and fruitfulland, traversing all the seas, andadvancing rapidly to destiniesbeyond the reach of the mortal eye.Narrator B: The President asksCongress to fund an expedition tothe Pacific Ocean. He wants toestablish better relations with Indian

Words to Know

[3^]S]i"i- ^^^ branch ofbjology dealing with plant life^m^^^^(adj): not recordedor plotted on a map

Sacagawea [sah-KAH-guh-W££-uh],his wife, a Shoshone Indian

Reuben Field 1 members ofthe CorpsHugh McNeal ¡of Discovery•Bertha Smith U , ^ „ „ , . ^•Ann Johnson / residentsNarrators A-E

'Indicates a fictional character.All others were real people, i

tribes that have been displaced byEuropean settlers, and also to gain alarger share of the profitable tradewest of the U.S. border.Narrator C: In 1803, thanks toJefferson's efforts, the U.S. buys atract of 820,000 square miles fromFrance. The Louisiana Purchasedoubles the size of the U.S.,pushing its western border fromthe Mississippi River to the RockyMountains ¡see map, p. ¡8]. Theland will come to encompass all orpart of 15 U.S. states.

SCENE 1Narrator D: Jefferson has a keeninterest in the uncharted territorybeyond the Mississippi and wantsto learn everything he can aboutthe western half of the continent—from its waterways to its plant andanimal species.Narrator E: He speaks withMeriwether Lewis, his secretaryand a former U.S. Army captain.Jefferson: There has to be a

continued on p. 16-»

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AMERICAN HISTORY PLAY

Fort Clatsop-n(December 1805 Dto March 180ÍI M

NORTH AMERICA.ieO4-18(|6

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OREGON;; COUNTRY• « (claimed by Great Britain,(*> Russia, Spain, and the U.S.I

Or>^ f Z ^ U.S. state or^ r I territory

I I Area claimed byI I Great Britain

I I Area claimedI 1 by Spain

Lewis and Clark swestward route

Present-daystate border

Lemhi Pass \

Scale:I200 Ml

FortMandan

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p- Louisiana- Purchase' * (became Louisianaij-iTerritoryJuly4,18051

St. Charles(departed May U , 1804)

NEW SPAIN Mississippi .V Territory > ^A

ATLANTICOCEAN

of Mexico

direct water route to the WesternOcean that will open up shipping.I want you to find that route, Mr.Lewis. And you should establishtrade with the Indians you meet.Let them know that they're part ofthe United States now.Meriwether Lewis: This is theadventure I've dreamed of since Iwas a boy, Mr. President.Jefferson: I want you to takenotes and gather samples of plantsand animals. But you'll need asecond commander to help you.Lewis: I know just the man.Narrator A; Lewis writes to an oldArmy friend, William Clark. LikeLewis, Clark is a native Virginianand an experienced frontiersman.

SCENE 2Narrator B: Lewis and Clark spendmonths planning the journey. Theypack guns, tools, and food, as wellas gifts for the Native Americansthey'll meet.Narrator C: Lewis studies botany.

and medicine and learns how tonavigate by the stars. He and Clarkrecruit more than 30 men, includ-ing hunters and woodworkers.Narrator D: On May 14, 1804, the"Corps of Volunteers for NorthWestern Discovery," later knownas the Corps of Discovery, leavesSt. Charles, Missouri. The groupheads up the mighty MissouriRiver in a large boat, which Lewissailed from Pittsburgh, and twosmaller canoe-like vessels. Soonthey pass the last white settlement.Lewis: I'm going to sketch everynew species we encounter. ThePresident wil l be fascinated.William Clark: He'll also be inter-ested in the maps I'm making.Lewis: Indeed. But the going willsoon get rough.Narrator E: Most of the Indians theexplorers meet are friendly andhelpful. In October, the Mandantribe, in what is now NorthDakota, allows the group to build afort, where they spend the winter.

Sheheke: My friends, if we eat,you shall eat.Clark: As a symbol of our grati-tude, here is a silver medallionbearing the likeness of your newGreat Father, Thomas Jefferson.Narrator A: While at Fort Mandan,Lewis and Clark hire ToussaintCharbonneau, a French-Canadianfur trader, and Sacagawea, hisShoshone Indian wife, to be theirinterpreters along the route. [Since2000, a Sacagawea dollar coin hasbeen minted in the U.S.]Toussaint Charbonneau: Sacaga-wea can help you get the horsesyou'll need to cross the RockyMountains. Her people live there.Lewis: But she appears to beexpecting a baby.Sacagawea: I'm very strong, andthe baby can travel with us.Narrator B: The trek resumes inthe spring of 1805. Even whilecaring for her infant, Jean Baptiste,Sacagawea proves a valuable mem-ber of the Corps. She shows the

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KEY DATES

explorers how to dig for edible rootsto keep from starving. One day, shesaves precious journals that fall intoa river when a boat capsizes.

SCENE 3Narrator C: As the Corps headsfarther west, the landscape growsharsher. The explorers encounterhailstones, clouds of mosquitoes,and grizzly bears. When the expe-dition encounters the Great Falls ofthe Missouri River in what is nowMontana, the men must carry theircanoes and supplies over roughterrain for more than 18 miles.Reuben Field (to Clark): It lookslike you're limping. Captain.ulark: I pulled 17 cactus needlesfrom my feet last night. They goright through these moccasins.Field: You should rest, sir.

lark: I want to keep going. All thistrouble will have been worth itonce we find the river to the ocean.Narrator D: The Corps trudges far-ther up into the Rocky Mountains.In August 1805, Lewis reachesLemhi Pass on the ContinentalDivide—where the rivers beginflowing west instead of east. Therehe glimpses what lies beyond themountain range—not a flat plainand a river to the ocean, as he and

MARCH 4,1801: ThomasJefferson is sworn in asPresident. He is the first to beinaugurated in the new capital,Washington, D.C.

JANUARY 18,1803: Jeffersonasks Congress to authorize ajourney to the West. Congressgives him $2,500. (The trek'sfinal cost will be $38,000.]

Clark had expected, but manymore mountains, jagged androcky, covered in snow.Lewis: There must be hundredsmore miles of mountains!Hugh McNeal: How will we getover them. Captain?Narrator E: in the fall of 1805, theCorps is trapped by snow in thesteep Bitterroot Mountains. There,they run out of food.Field: The men aren't just eatingthe horses to survive. They're eveneating candles!McNeal: I've never been so cold orwet as 1 am in this terrible place.Narrator A: After 11 days of misery,the group staggers out of the moun-tains and meets the Nez Perce tribein what is now Idaho. The Indiansfeed the ravenous explorers andteach them a new way to makecanoes. Now that the rivers are run-ning westward, the expedition nolonger has to battle upstream. TheCorps quickly travels down theColumbia River toward the Pacific.

SCENE 4Clark (writing in his journal):Ocean in view! Oh, the joy!Narrator B: Clark and the Corpsare actually still 20 miles from theocean. Terrible storms keep them

JULY4,1803: The LouisianaPurchase is announced. For lessthan 3 cents an acre, Jeffersondoubles the size ofthe U.S.

MAY 14,1804: The Corpssets out on its expedition fromSt. Charles, Missouri.

SEPTEMBER 23,1808:The Corps arrives in St. Louis,

.Missouri, completing its journey.

inland for weeks. In November1805, the group finally reaches thechurning ocean. Clark wryly notesthat it's anything but "pacific."Narrator C: After traveling morethan 4,100 miles, the Corps buildsFort Clatsop on the coast, in whatis now Oregon. Homesick andweary, they spend the winterpreparing for the trek back, whichwill take six months.Narrator D: when the men reachSt. Louis in the fall of 1806, theyare greeted as national heroes.Bertha Smith: They look like wildmen—such sunburned faces, andonly buckskin rags for clothes!Ann Johnson: Everyone I knowhad given them up for dead.Smith: Three cheers for the Corps!

Narrator E: Lewis and Clark didn'tfind a direct water route to thePacific, but they proved that thecontinent could be crossed. Theirexpedition helped the U.S. claimthe territory that would become thestates of Oregon, Washington, andIdaho, making the U.S. even morepowerful. But their journey alsohastened the destruction of manyof the Indian tribes that had helpedthe Corps survive. —Ruth Hamel

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