June 13, 1805 Falls, Lewis' Diary

We encountered the falls today. The Indians didn't lead us astray. Clark was right. However, there is no way to row around.  We had to portage around the falls. It was difficult, and the storms are dangerous for our men and equipment.

Sacagawea has fallen ill and some of the men wish to leave her with her husband. Clark and I have decided to try and nurse her back to health, we can only hope it works.

North Fork, June 2, 1805 Clark's Diary

We have encountered yet another decision to be made. There is a fork in the Missouri River, do we go north or south? The north looks like what we have been traveling this entire journey, whereas the south was much clearer. We are going to scout the north, let's see what the future holds.

We are back from our scout and we encountered some Indians. We allowed them to run when they did.  When we returned the Indians surrounded us during the night, but they ended up being friendly. We were informed that the south fork was the one we had to take. The expedition will continue in the morning.

White Cliffs, May 11, 1805 Clark's Diary

Waiting out the storm was a good idea, we ended up refilling our supplies and finding the source of the tracks. It was a monstrous bear who survived a shot through the lungs, we were forced to kill this magnificent creature when it threatened the crew. I feel this is not the last bear that we will encounter on this magnificent journey. I fear they will only increase in size, making them harder to kill.

Heading west from Fort Mandan, April 14, 1805 Lewis' Diary

The land after Fort Mandan is beautiful, and we have encountered many new species of wildlife. There is an increasing amount of large animal tracks, the creature is unknown though we assume it is a bear. One burden we have encountered is the sand storms created by the high winds. We are in one place currently trapped by one such storm. Some of the men wish to wait it out, others wish to push on. Clark and I are deciding to stop. Such high winds and bad visibility can lead to more dangers than we need at the beginning of our trip.

April 7, 1805 Fort Mandan, Clark's Diary

We have stayed at Fort Mandan over the winter, and none have fallen to disease. Sacagawea is a Shoshone Indian who has recently joined us. We are leaving soon, and the men are excited to be off. All thirty three of us, including our interpreter Toussaint Charbonneau who is Sacagawea's husband. The native americans have given us supplies for our trip, and have given us protection from the winter. We are off!

Falls, June 15, 1805 Lewis' Diary

Clark has been bleeding Sacagawea, but her condition seems to only get worse. The bleeding will stop and we are going to try give her sulphur and optium water.

June 17, 1805

Thank goodness! Sacagawea is healed! We are continuing with the portag e and expedition.

September 22, 1805 Nez Perce

The past few days have been hard, but Old Toby found the trail. Food was truly scarce in the mountains. There were times when we ate horses, and even candles at one point. We met with the Nez Perce tribe and they gave us dried roots and salmon for a feast! It was delicious, but this morning all the men woke up with a stomach ache. We are going to try our luck and eat more salmon.

September 15, 1805 Bitterroot Mountains

The climb is harder than anticipated. Food is beginning to run out, and it snowed nearly a foot in one day. Old Toby says he has lost the trail, but should be able to find it again. Clark doesn't know if he trusts Old Toby. The choice lays in front to either trust Old Toby or return to Bitterroot Valley. I believe that after much conversation we have decided to trust Old Toby to find the trail.

October 2, 1805 Nez Perce

The salmon has not helped. The men, Clark, and I have consented to eating a horse. We know that the horse will not make us sick.

Clark and I talked about what we should do about winter. Moving on seems to be the best choice, it will at least offer more variety in food.

October 12, 1805
Today the Nez Perce helped us make canoes. The process was longer than expected, but it worked. We are still alive, and hoping to continue soon.

Shoshone August 30, 1805

We have met with the Indians and their chief is Sacagawea's brother. He agreed to give us twenty-nine horses and supplies, and now a elderly guide is coming with us. He is an Shoshone who's name is Old Toby. He tells us that there are two routes to the ocean. The south is across a desert which will be easier to cross, but food and water will be scarce. The northern route is through the Bitterroot Mountains which will have food and water, but will be harder to travel. We are going to try our luck with the northern route. The guarantee of food and water is more inviting than the vast desert.

Source, August 11, 1805

Today we encountered an Indian, he appeared not to take much interest in us. When he headed away, we almost followed, but a storm blocked our path.

August 12, 1805
We are sure that it will only take a couple of days to find the Indians. We are heading out to search now, supplies are needed, and soon.

November 7, 1805 Columbia Gorge

We made it to the ocean today! The smell is salty, and brilliant. Very different from the mountain air, but it is a welcome change.

Bad news, we are only at the bay. The ocean is near, but we are not quite there.

We have arrived! Finally! The Indian tribe has offered for us to stay the winter, the decision is for the Corps to decide.

They have decided to stay the winter! Somehow we have managed to keep everyone alive.