Lewis and Clark, Part Part 8: “Ocian in View! O! the joy!”

The New Nation
Written By Tom Hand

On September 11, 1805, after making final preparations at a camp Lewis and Clark dubbed “Traveler’s Rest,” the Corps of Discovery started up the Lolo Trail towards what would be the most demanding stretch of the entire expedition. The trail was narrow and there was no game to hunt. The pack horses struggled as well and were close to starvation as there was little or no grass on which to feed. Between fatigued men and horses, snow, and a wretched trail, the Corps made barely ten miles a day. Finally, on September 22, as the men were reaching their breaking points, the Corps emerged from their mountain odyssey and found their way to a village of the Nez Perce, the largest and most powerful tribe in the Pacific Northwest.

Tom Hand, creator and publisher of Americana Corner, discusses how the Lewis and Clark Expedition survived their journey to the Pacific Ocean, and why it still matters today.  

 

Images courtesy of Wikimedia, Library of Congress, World History Encyclopedia, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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Tom Hand
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Lewis and Clark, Part 7: Crossing the Great Divide