The Louisiana Exploration
started when President Jefferson needed two men to explore the
territories of Louisiana. His decision of men to choose was Meriwether
Lewis and William Clark. Lewis was the President's secretary and
Clark was the army officer. President Jefferson wanted these men
to study Native Americans, wildlife, and maps of detail along
the way. Lewis and Clark picked forty-five men, along with twenty
soldiers, and other people who understand sign language, carpentry,
and gun repair. In the spring of 1804 their group left St. Louis
to set sail on flatboats.They spent winter close to Mandan village
of North Dakota. Also, they met a trader whose name was Toussaint
Charbonneau. He had a wife named Sacajawea and was Shoshone, they
had a baby son too. When it was the spring of 1805, the family
joined Lewis and Clark's expedition to be guides and translators.
On that summer, they crossed the Rocky Mountains, and they crossed
high mountain passes by the Shoshone's things. After climbing
for a month, Lewis and Clark had reached the Pacific Range's side.
They traveled quickly and soon reached the Pacific. There, the
group spent the winter at the ocean and in 1806 returned to St.
Louis.
