Lewis and Clark

The book I read was called "Lewis and Clark Explorers of the Louisiana Purchase" They were commanders of the Corps of Discovery in 1803. Alex Mackenzie the fur trader from Canada was first to go down the Missouri River in 1793 and claimed territory for British Colonies. Jefferson wanted Lewis and Clark to make maps, identify animals, see how the land is so he would know if they could farm. They were to meet with Indian tribes to see if they were nice or mean.

They used a keelboat to carry their supplies. They took a dog with them called Seaman. They took a slave with them named York. The Corps of Discovery traveled down the Missouri River. They discovered new animals, prairie dogs, coyotes, antelopes, jackrabbits, mule deer and badgers. The buffalos were huge and they were surprised when they saw them. Sacagawea, the wife of one of the traders on the trip and she was very smart and helped them show that the white men were not so bad. Lewis and Clark sent the president some gifts like birds, prairie dog, Indian artifacts, and maps. A man died on the way. He was a Sergeant Floyd got very sick and died. They saw the Rocky Mountains. They were really big and hard to climb over. They got horses from the Indians, the Shoshone. Sacagewea found her long lost brother and made it easy to get horses from them. The area was very familiar to her when she saw it and remembered that was where she was captured. They finally make it to the ocean and they camped out for a long time and got ready for the trip back. Lewis had trouble on the way back, some Indians he camped with tried to steal their guns and horses. They got in fight and Lewis got shot in the bottom. He was embarrassed but didn't die. It took 3 years to finish the trip. Everyone thought they were dead but the weary travelers came down the river into St. Louis and they were greeted by a crowd of cheerers. They did not publish their journals for a long time. Clark got married and Lewis got very depressed and started drinking and killed himself. They discovered the gateway to the west.

This book was very exciting to read, I really liked it. It was very brave of them to find new land and obey the president. They respected him a lot. There were many dangers. I would like to go see the big statue in Missouri. It's Lewis and Clark and their dog.