1. Lewis and Clark: Explorers of the American West
By Steven Kroll with text supported by Janine Wheeler

2. About the Author
Steven Kroll grew up in New York City, and after college he edited books for adults. One night he got an idea for a picture book and discovered the excitement of writing for children. Since then he has written dozens of picture books and chapter books. Through his historical books- The Boston Tea Party, Ellis Island, as well as Lewis and Clark: Explorers of the Far West- Steven Kroll fulfils his own desire to discover and explore fascinating stories in American History.

3. Lewis and Clark: Explorers of the American West
In 1803, the United States buys the Louisiana territory from France. A year later, Lewis and Clark lead an expedition to explore the new land. They begin near St. Louis and travel up the Missouri river, heading west toward the Pacific Ocean. With the help of Shoshone women and Clark’s slave, the explorers reach the Pacific Ocean safely and return, bringing back with them information about the new land.

4. The Louisiana Purchase
In 1803, the United States was just twenty years old. There were seventeen states in the union, and American territory reached only as far west as the Mississippi river.
On the other side of Mississippi, between river and the Rocky mountains, was the unexplored Louisiana territory. In 1800 Napoleon Bonaparte, soon-to-be emperor of France, had taken Louisiana back from Spain, who had ruled it since 1763.
President Thomas Jefferson did not want the French army threatening America’s western border. He wasn’t ready to risk the closing of the port of New Orleans, at the mouth of the Mississippi and vital to American trade. In March 1803, Jefferson instructed his minister to France, Robert R. Livingston, to buy New Orleans. Napoleon offered to sell the whole of the Louisiana Territory for sixty million francs (about nine million U.S. dollars today).
Territory land that is owned and ruled by a country
had ruled it had it as part of their country, had control over it
risk the closing of the port take a chance that the French would stop ships from going in and out
Vital very important
In 1803, President Jefferson buys
The Louisiana territory from France.

5. A Decision to Explore the New Land
Jefferson felt this new land should be explored. Even before United States took possession of the territory late in 1803 and early in 1804, the president had been discussing an expedition to the Pacific Ocean.
On June 20, 1803, President Thomas Jefferson asked his private secretary, Captain Meriwether Lewis, to lead an expedition from the Mississippi River to the West Coast.
Lewis agreed. As co-leader, he chose William Clark, who had once been his commanding officer in the army. On their journey, they would explore ways of opening the fur trade. They would try to find a water route across the continent that would make travel easier. They would also study the land and animals and learn about the Indians in the West.
Explore look around a new place
took possession of started to take control of
Expedition trip for a specific purpose of goal
his commanding officer the person who gave him orders
Journey long trip
fur trade exchange of animal skins for money, food or other items
Water route way to go by boat

6. Point-By-Point
The Lewis and Clark Trail

7. Before you move on…
What was the Louisiana purchase? What was President Jefferson’s goal in sending an expedition to explore it?
Paraphrase:

8. The Expedition to the Pacific Ocean
The corps of Discovery Takes Shape
The expedition was called the Corps of Discovery. Between December 1803 and May 1804, it took shape at the mouth of Wood River, near where the Missouri and Mississippi rivers meet. Clark trained the men while Lewis spent much of his time in St. Louis, making preparations.
In the party were fourteen soldiers; nine volunteers from Kentucky; Clark’s slave, York; two French rivermen; an interpreter; and Lewis’s Newfoundland dog, Seaman. There were also nine rivermen and seven soldiers who went along for extra protection in the wilderness.
took shape got organized
Party group of people
an interpreter a person who changes the words said in one language into another so people can understand each other
Wilderness area where no people live

9. The Expedition to the Pacific Ocean
From St. Louis to Platte river
On a rainy Monday, May 14, 1804, Clark and the men started up the Missouri. Lewis was in St. Louis and would join the expedition in a few days.
The group traveled in a fifty-five-foot keelboat and in two huge dugout canoes called pirogues. They led two horses along the bank to bring in game shot by the hunters.
Bank land at the edge of the river
Game wild animals
pirogue
keelboat

10. The Expedition to the Pacific Ocean
The boats carried clothing, tools, scientific books, medicine, rifles, goods for trading with the Indians, and a special, powerful airgun to impress them. In the event they ran out of food, Lewis had brought a thick, gooey “portable soup”.
After two days, the Corps of Discovery reached St. Charles. Five days later Lewis joined them, and their journey began. The swift current and sandbars of the Missouri made rowing hard and poling tricky. Often the men had to row the boats through muddy water.
Lewis frequently walked onshore, taking notes about plants and animals. Clark stayed with the boats, mapping their course.
It got very hot. Mosquitoes, gnat, and ticks tormented everyone. Some of the men got sick. But the hunters keep the group well stocked with game, and on July 21, they reached the mouth of the Platte River.
Poling pushing the boats forward with poles
Tormented bothered, annoyed

11. Important Members of the Expedition
Meriwether Lewis actually lived in the President’s House, now known as the White House, with President Jefferson and his family before the expedition. President Jefferson felt that Lewis was the only one he could trust to explore this new territory. After the successful expedition, President Jefferson made Lewis Governor of Louisiana Territory with St. Louis as the capital.
Meriwether Lewis

12. Important Members of the Expedition
William Clark was excellent at making maps. He was able to look at the land and then draw a fairly accurate map of it - a skill that not many people have.
After the expedition, Clark got married. He lived in St. Louis where he became the Superintendent of Indian Affairs.
William Clark

13. Before you move on…
Provide details that support this main idea: The Corps of Discovery prepared for the long journey.
Main idea and Details:

14. Through Indian Lands
High on a bluff, they met with Oto and Missouri Indians. Lewis and Clark couldn't understand the Indian language. Their interpreter, George Drouillard, translated the Indian sign language. Lewis gave a speech about peace and trade with Americans. He told them that the great the “Great Father” in Washington wanted chiefs to visit. Then he draped medals from President Jefferson around the chiefs’ neck.
Pressing on, the men began to see animals they had never even imagined: antelope and prairie dogs, a white pelican, a jackrabbit, coyotes. As trees became fewer, buffalo herds seemed to blanket the plains.
On August 29, the Corps met with a friendly tribe of Yankton Sioux. A few weeks later; they discovered that their cousins upriver, the Teton Sioux, were not so friendly. The Corps spent four tense days with them before meeting the more hospitable Arikaras, who were farmers. They admired Clark’s slave, York, the first black man they had ever seen.
Bluff high steep cliff
Pressing on moving forward
blanket the plains cover the open, flat land
Discover see for the first time, find out something
Tense nervous, stressful
Hospitable friendly

15. Through Indian Lands
Toward the end of October, the expedition stopped for the winter near the villages of the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians. The men completed Fort Mandan on November 20. The fort had eight connected log cabins arranged in a V with a high fence at the open end.
Snow, Ice, and below-zero temperatures made every one miserable, but riverman Pierre Cruzatte lifted everyone’s spirit by playing his fiddle as group danced at Christmas. The Mandans and Hidatsas welcomed the explorers to their large, round lodges. The Hidatsa chiefs told Lewis and Clark what they knew about the geography of the Rocky Mountains.
During the winter, Toussaint Charbonneau, a French Canadian living with the Hidatsas, joined the expedition as an interpreter. His teenage Shoshone wife, Sacagawea, joined, too. On February 11, Sacagawea gave birth to a son, Jean Baptiste.
Miserable very unhappy, very uncomfortable
Lodges homes

16. Important Members of the Expedition
Although York was Clark’s slave, he was well respected member of the expedition, using his strength and power to help the group survive in the wilderness. In fact, Lewis and Clark were able to build good relations with Native American tribes because the people were so curious about York. They were amazed by York’s black skin, size and strength.
In 1811, Clark gave York his freedom. Some say York became a successful businessman, while other says he settled with the native Americans and became a successful warrior.
York

17. Past the Rocky Mountains
On April 7, 1805, Lewis and Clark sent several soldiers and rivermen back to St. Louis on the keelboat. They were to take four magpies and a prairie dog, boxes of skins and horns, Indian articles, small samples of soil and plants, and Clark’s maps and charts to President Jefferson.
The same day Corps of Discovery pushed on upriver into the unknown. They travelled in the two pirogues and in six dugout canoes they had made during the winter.
It stayed cold, but the plains were green and the game was everywhere. The Corps began to encounter grizzly bears.
Lewis first saw the Rocky Mountains on May 26. He wrote in his journal of his joy but also of “the difficulties which this snowy barrier would most probably throw in my way to Pacific…” Already he seemed aware that no river could come close to crossing these mountains, that there would be no water route to the West Coast.
pushed on kept going
the unknown something that is not familiar to you
Difficulty problem, something that stops you from getting something done
Barrier something that blocks the way
throw in my way keep me from going forward on my path

18. Before you move on … Place these events in the correct time order:
The men completed Fort Mandan.
Lewis first saw the Rocky Mountains.
The Corps met the Yankton Sioux.
sequence

19. Before you move on … Why did the Corps build Fort Mandan?
Character’s Motives

20. Before you move on …
In your own words, tell what obstacles the Corps had to overcome as they traveled through the Indian lands and the Rocky Mountains.
Paraphrase

21. Important Members of the Expedition
Lewis and Clark may not have been able to reach the Pacific Ocean without the help of Sacagawea. She translated for them, directed them, and helped get food. She was also a sign of peace to the Native American tribes because they knew an unfriendly group would not include a woman and child.
What happened to Sacagawea after the expedition is not clear. Recently, the United States Mint has decided to honor Sacagawea by putting her picture on the newest version of the one dollar coin.
Sacagawea

22. Past the Rocky Mountains
On June second the expedition came to a fork in the river. Which branch was the Missouri? If the explorers made a wrong choice, the passes through the Rockies might be blocked off by snow before they could reach them.
Lewis went ahead on land to explore the south fork. When he reached the Great Falls of the Missouri river on June 13, he knew he and Clark had made the right choice.
The falls were magnificent, but there were so many it took a month to get around them. With bleeding feet, the men made makeshift wagons and cleared eighteen miles of undergrowth. There were hailstorms, mosquitoes, rattlesnakes and grizzly bears.
On July 19, the Corps passed through a huge chasm Lewis named the Gates of the Rocky Mountains. When they reached the Three Forks of the Missouri, Sacagawea declared that the Hidatsa had kidnapped her from the Shoshones at this very spot.
fork in the river place where the river goes in two different directions
Branch part, direction
passes through open paths in, ways to get through
Makeshift temporary; not permanent or lasting for a long time
cleared eighteen miles of undergrowth removed the weeds and bushes growing close to the ground for a distance of eighteen miles
Chasm deep gap through the mountains
A mother grizzly bear with her cubs watches for any sign of danger

23. Toward the Pacific
From Sacagawea, the Corps knew they were in Shoshone territory. When they found a tribe from which they hoped to get horses, the chief, Cameahwait, turned out to be Sacagawea’s Brother!
Sacagawea helped interpreter. The Corps traded goods for horses, hid their canoes by sinking them with stones, and set out over Lemhi Pass to the Lemhi Fork of the Salmon River.
A week later, through snow and sleet, and they struggled over Lost Trail Pass into Flathead Valley and a camp they called Travelers' Rest. Then they followed the Lolo Trail across the Bitterroot Mountains.
Wet, cold, and hungry, they could find no game. When Lewis’s “portable soup” became unbearable, they killed and ate a colt.
Fort Clatsop was named for the friendly local Indian tribe, the Clatsops, who came to the fort almost daily to visit and trade goods.
Goods supplies, personal property
set out went
Sleet frozen rain
struggled over had a difficult time getting through
Unbearable so bad that they couldn’t eat it anymore

24. The Pacific at Last
Reaching the Clearwater River, the Corps met a tribe of friendly Nez Percé, or “pierced nose”, Indians. Chief Twisted Hair agreed to look after their horses until their return. On October 7th, they started down the Clearwater to the Snake and Columbia rivers in five dugout canoes they had made during their visit.
Sometimes the men lowered the canoes through the rapids on ropes. Other times they ran the rapids or carried everything around them. When they glimpsed an Indian in a sailor’s jacket, they knew their goal was near. They reached the Pacific Ocean in mid-November.
It rained all winter. The men built Fort Clatsop inland from the sea. Lewis and Clark worked on their notes and journals. Everyone was bored and ill.
At Pillar Rock, Thursday, November 7, 1805: Great joy in camp. We are in view of the Ocean, this great Pacific Ocean which we been So long anxious to see. and the roaring made by the waves breaking on the rocky shores may be heard distinctly
--William Clark
ran the rapids rode in their canoes in the fast-moving water
Glimpsed saw briefly
From the Lewis and Clark Journals

25. Before you move on… Who was Sacagawea? How did she help the Corps?
Imagine that you are a member of the Corps of Discovery. Describe how you feel about spending the winter in Fort Clatsop.
Why was the Sailor’s jacket on the Indian a good clue that the Corps had almost reached the Pacific Ocean?
Details
Synthesis
Conclusions

26. The Expedition Heads Home
On March 23, 1806, they started for home. If they didn’t reach the Missouri before it froze, they’d be spending another winter in the wilderness.
Travelling upstream, The Corps had to lug the canoes around the larger rapids and tow them up the smaller ones. They visited Chief Yellepet and the friendly Walla Walla Indians. Then they moved out of overland and set up camp Chopunnish fifty or sixty miles above the mouth of the Clearwater. Some of the men traded buttons from their uniforms to the Nez Percé for food. Clark traded medical advice and medicines.
Chief Twisted Hair returned most of their horses, and on June 15, they started back over the Lolo Trail. Forced to turn around because the snow was so deep, they set out again on June 24 with three Nez Percé guides. Six days of travel brought them to Traveler’s Rest.
Lug carry
moved out of overland traveled away from the river and over the land
medical advice suggestions for ways of using medicine to stop sickness and diseases
Forced to turn around made to go back

27. The Expedition Heads Home
There the Expedition separated. With most of the group, Clark traveled south; then east to explore the Yellowstone River. With a few men, Lewis traveled east to Great Falls, then north to explore Maria’s River. Lewis and Clark caught up with one another on the Missouri on August 12.
Going downstream on the Missouri was much easier than coming up. The Corps left Charbonneau, Sacagawea, and the baby, whom Clark had called “Pomp”, with the Mandans on August 17. The Mandan Chief Big White agreed to go along to Washington.
The Corps reached St. Louis on September 23, People lined up along the riverbank and cheered. The entire nation had thought that the expedition had died in the wilderness. Only President Jefferson had held out hope that Clark and Lewis would return.
Separated went in different directions
caught up with one another met each other again
The entire nation Everyone who lived in the United States
held out hope still hoped, kept believing

28. Amazing Discoveries
Lewis and Clark gathered information on 178 new kinds of plants, 122 new kinds of animals, and more than 40 Indian tribes. Because of their expedition, trappers, and later settlers moved out over what would soon be a nation stretching from coast to coast.
Purshia tridentata
Antelope Bitterbrush
Cynomys ludovicianus
BLACK-TAILED PRAIRIE DOG
Rubus spectabilis
SALMONBERRY

29. Before you move on…
How was Lewis and Clark’s return journey to St. Louis different from their journey to the Pacific Ocean? How was it the same?
What do you think was the expedition’s most important discovery or accomplishment?
Comparisons
Opinion

30. Goals and Outcomes A goal is something a person wants to do.
The outcome tells if the person reaches the goal.
How to relate goals and outcomes?
Look for a person’s goal near the beginning of a selection?
List the obstacles that get in the way.
Look for the outcome at the end.

31. Sum it up
Write Goals and outcomes from the biography “Lewis and Clark : Explorers of the American West”
Goal
Obstacles
Outcome
To explore the Louisiana territory
Strong currents
Sandbars, heat
Mosquitoes, gnats, and ticks
They reached the Platte River.
Summary:
Travel was difficult, but the expedition kept going and reached the Platte River

32. Relate words Complete the Word Map.
Write a paragraph to tell what an “expedition” is.
Word Map
Word: expedition
What is it?
Trip for a specific
Purpose or goal
What can you expect to
find on an expedition?
What are some
examples?

33. Grammar in Context noun pronoun
A pronoun is a word that takes the place of a noun.
Example:
In 1804, Thomas Jefferson was president.
He was America’s third President.
Subject pronoun takes the place of subjects in a sentence.
Object pronoun takes the place of objects in a sentence.
noun
pronoun
Pronouns
Examples
Subject pronouns:
I you he she it
We they
She explored Idaho.
We traveled by boat.
They went on a journey.
Objects pronouns:
Me you him her it
Us them
Clark brought a slave with him.
We carried food with us.
The explorers spoke to them.

34. Grammar in Context
Choose a pronoun from the box to complete the sentences. Use each pronoun only once.
Meriwether Lewis lived in the White house. ___ lived with the President’s family.
Lewis went on an expedition. The President wanted ____ to explore new lands.
Soldiers went on the expedition, too. _______ went to protect the explorers.
The group traveled in a 55 foot boat. _______ was called a keelboat.
The explorers carried tools and clothing with_______.
If you went on the expedition, what would you take with____.
_______ would take books, food, and my pet iguana on an expedition.
I he they you him it them

35. Grammar in Context Possessive Nouns and Pronouns
A possessive noun always has an apostrophe(’). A noun ends in ’s for one owner. If there is more than one owner, the noun ends in s’.
A possessive pronoun takes the place of a noun.
Clark had a dog. His dog was a Newfoundland dog.
One owner
More than one owner
Clark’s friend
The Americans’ expedition
The bear’s cubs
The explorers’ boats
The expedition’s end
The farmers’ land

36. Grammar in Context
Underline the possessive nouns and pronouns in each sentence.
The explorers met with the Indians on their land.
Lewis draped the medals around the chiefs’ necks.
The Arikaras tribe admired Clark’s slave, York.
In 1811, Clark gave York his freedom.
A mother bear looked for cubs.
The log cabin had ice on its roof.

37. Grammar in Context Pronouns and Antecedents
A pronoun takes the place of a noun. An antecedent is the noun that the pronoun refers to or replaces.
Example: Sacagawea went with Lewis and Clark.
antecedent
She was a Shoshone woman.
Pronoun
All pronouns must agree in numbers with their Antecedents.

38. Grammar in Context
Read the sentences. Underline all the antecedents. Circle the pronouns.
The soldiers left canoes on the shore.
Lewis kept a journal. He wrote about the expedition.
Clark showed his maps to President Jefferson.
When the explorers saw the Pacific Ocean, they cheered.
Snow forced the explorers to turn around because it was so steep.
Sacagawea gave birth to her baby during winter.
The weather made the trip difficult because it snowed almost everyday.
It was so cold, the men could see their breadth.
their

39. Grammar in Context Phrases and Clauses
A phrase does not have a subject and a predicate.
Examples: at a fork in the river
over the Rocky Mountains
The Subject tells who or what the sentence is about.
The predicate tells what the subject is, has, or does.
Examples:
Subject Predicate
Clause: A clause is a group of words that has a subject and a predicate. Sometimes a clause can stand alone as a sentence. Examples:
set of an expedition.
Lewis and Clark
Clauses that Are sentences
Clauses that Are Not sentences
Snow blocked off the path
While they hiked over the mountain

40. Grammar in Context
Complete each item with a phrase or a clause. Circle each clause and underline each phrase you add.
When my friend and I go exploring,
When Paul goes to the river, ________________.
He can see lots of fish______________________.
From the top of the mountain,_________________.
Diana discovered a new star____________________.
As curious kids,______________________________.
We take turns reading the map__________________.
We stop for something to eat___________________.
After we finish our snack_______________________.
Summer’s the best time_______________________.
We go hiking

41. Great Job today!