Lewis and Clark and the Corps of Discovery Map a Nation

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Written by Paul Thompson

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ANNOUNCER:

This is Mary Tillotson with the VOA Special English program Explorations.

A celebration has begun in the United States that will continue until September of two thousand six. The celebration honors the two-hundredth anniversary of the most famous exploration in American history. Today, and for the next two weeks, Shirley Griffith and Steve Ember tell the story of a group of explorers.  They left their families and friends to enter unexplored areas of the American Northwest.  
 

Lewis and Clark started their trip by exploring the area of the Missouri River

These explorers faced heat, cold, lack of food, dangerous rivers and fierce Indian tribes.  They traveled almost thirteen thousand kilometers across areas that would later become the northwestern United States.  Their trip is still known by the names of the two men who led the group -- Lewis and Clark.

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VOICE ONE:

		Meriwether Lewis was a captain in the United States Army

The story of the Lewis and Clark exploration begins back in time on June twentieth, eighteen-oh-three. A young man, Meriwether Lewis, has just received a letter from the president of the United States, Thomas Jefferson. Meriwether Lewis is a captain in the United States army. He also serves as President Jefferson's private secretary. He is twenty-eight years old. The letter from President Jefferson says Captain Lewis will lead a group of men to explore the area from the Missouri River to the Pacific Ocean.

VOICE TWO:

President Jefferson's letter is long. It tells Captain Lewis to draw maps of the areas in which he travels. It tells him to record a day-by-day history of his trip. And it tells him to collect plants and animals he finds. President Jefferson says Mister Lewis is to write about the different tribes of Indians he meets. Lewis is to report about their languages, their clothing and their culture. The letter asks Lewis to return with as much information as possible about this unknown land.

VOICE ONE:

In the early eighteen hundreds, much of the land that would later become the United States was unexplored. Many people believed that ancient animals like huge dinosaurs could still live in the far West. Other stories told of strange and terrible people in these unexplored areas. President Jefferson wanted Lewis to confirm or prove false as many of these stories as possible. The president also wanted him to find the best and fastest way to travel across the far western lands.

President Jefferson wanted many other questions answered. Lewis was to learn if it was possible to send trade goods by land to the Pacific coast. He was to learn if it were possible to take a boat west across the country to the Pacific Ocean. Many people believed this was possible. This idea was called the Northwest Passage. People thought the Northwest Passage would be a river or several rivers that linked the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Explorers just had to find it.

VOICE TWO:

President Jefferson knew that any trip to the far West would be extremely dangerous. Those taking part could expect years of hard work. They would lack food and water. They would face dangerous Indians and have little medical help. There would be severe weather. It was possible that such a group of explorers would never return. President Jefferson chose Lewis to lead the trip because he was sure Lewis would succeed.

Meriwether Lewis and President Jefferson had spent a lot of time together. President Jefferson had great respect for Lewis. He knew Captain Lewis was a strong man who had a good education. Lewis was also a successful army officer and a good leader. And, probably most important, he was a skilled hunter who was used to living outdoors for long periods of time.

VOICE ONE:
 

William Clark

Lewis knew that such a trip would be extremely difficult and  dangerous. He knew that he needed another person who could lead the group if he became injured or died. He requested President Jefferson's permission to ask a friend to help him. Lewis's friend was William Clark. Clark was an excellent leader, and was good at making maps. Lewis wrote a letter to Clark and offered him the job. Clark accepted. The two men decided to share the responsibility of command.

They decided to be equal in all things. Lewis and Clark had known each other for several years. They had served in the army together. Each trusted the other's abilities.

VOICE TWO:

President Jefferson then sent Lewis to the city of Philadelphia. There, scientists began to teach him about modern scientific methods. He learned about plants. He learned how to tell where he was on the planet by using the stars and the sun. He learned about the different kinds of animals. He also studied with a doctor, Benjamin Rush, who taught him about emergency care of the sick or wounded and about different kinds of medicine. Doctor Rush helped Lewis gather the medical supplies that would be needed for the trip.

VOICE ONE:

William Clark began to choose the men they would le