Interpretation: Lewis & Clark

Fern Leaf (Christmas fern, Polystichum munitum),
February 13, 1806, Codex J, p. 71

 Lewis & Clark: An Epic Journey
After exploring and reading through journal entries that were written by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, along with their other members that were on this expedition I've been able to understand, feel, and comprehend the type of journey they encountered. Even through the long, harsh, winter they braved the fearless mountains, the heat of the summer, finding their own food, fighting their own sicknesses, and overcoming one obstacle after another in order to discover and bring back these experiences with them. Since the time of the Louisiana Purchase in 1803, Thomas Jefferson had a curiosity about the west. He knew that Meriwether Lewis had some knowledge about the West and appointed him to explore this land. Lewis knew that he needed to be accompanied by someone in case something went wrong. He chose his old time army friend, William Clark. Each person brought their different strengths to the table while they were on the trail. Lewis has always had the stereotype of being extra-sensitive and somewhat moody. Clark was strong and determined.

Area about Fort Mandan and North to the
Assinboine River, undated (winter 1804–05),
Voorhis Collection, Missouri Historical Society

As each of these men set out on the trail, they kept journals. These journals consisted of many things. They kept a series of pictures and notes about the natural things they encountered along the trail such as, trees, plants, vegetation, rivers, streams, animals, etc. These observations took a lot of time and work to transfer onto paper. This was a collaborative effort that they took together, but there was evidence that Lewis did more extensive writing on other loose leaf paper. 
During the time that they were between Missouri and the Great Falls, they were separated at several different points because one got ahead and the other fell behind. When this happened, Clark often kept the records and Lewis did not write in his journal.
The secondary source which included the geographical analysis of this Great Expedition. In this source, the author, concluded that Thomas Jefferson gave Meriwether Lewis authority to locate the Missouri and Columbia rivers. Along this passage they also encountered the Rockies and various Indian tribes. He also pointed out that their journals at some points were overoptimistic, and leaving out real knowledge. Some of the knowledge was based off of perceived thoughts. They thought this trip was going to be along a short passage and instead in reality the 2,000 mile trip took much longer than they thought. Lewis and Clark traveled on the Missouri and took the Columbia River all the way to the West Coast.  This trek took two years to complete with the evidence of both the primary and secondary sources.

The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. 2005. U of Nebraska Press / U of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries-Electronic Text Center. 5 Oct. 2005 .