Lesson 4 Explorers
Lewis and Clark & Pike

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark

Jefferson sent two young army officers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, to find out all they could about the new land. They were to:

• Look for the beginnings of the Missouri River.

• Find a way through the Rocky Mountains to the Pacific Ocean.

• Learn about the Indians.

• Find out about plants, animals, minerals (coal, oil, gas, gold, silver,etc.).

• Make maps.

Lewis and Clark took 27 other men with them. They started their journey in St.Louis in May of 1804. The traveled 1,600 miles up the Missouri until they reached what is now South Dakota. There they found an Indian girl named Sacajawea. They hired her and her husband to guide them through the Rocky Mountains.

On the journey they traveled by wagon, canoe, and by foot. They crossed the mountains and found the Columbia River. They followed the Columbia River to the Pacific Ocean. Lewis and Clark took a different route back home. They returned in 1806. During the trip only one man died from an illness. Descriptions and reports were written up in newspapers for everyone to read.

In 1805 another officer, Zebulon Pike, was sent to explore the Mississippi River. On his second trip he traveled across the plains to the Rocky Mountains and into the Southwest. Pike traveled to Santa Fe in New Mexico. He opened up trade between the Spanish settlers and the Americans in the East. Pike found a high peak that was 14,110 feet tall. It was named after him - Pike's Peak.

Pike's Peak Cam  http://www.softronics.com/abtppeak.html