Lewis & Clark Expedition: Utilization of Technology

Throughout Lewis and Clark’s journey, their team, the Corps of Discovery and they used many different technologies. Much of which has never been used prior to the expedition. They used items such as the Octant, a pirogue, Chronometer just to name a few of the technologies to assist them in completing their expedition as efficiently as possible. These technologies, some of which were very new and were unknown of how effective they would be on the journey proved to be very useful and a valuable asset to the expedition and to American society . Since Lewis and Clark used many different types of technology during their expedition it was as if they were testing out many of the new technologies inventors were creating to prove how useful they would become for future use.

On September 25th 1804, Clark used a boat called a pirogue through the Mandan Country according to his journal entry, “I went with those chiefs, in one of the pirogues…” (Bakeless 2002) “As soon as I landed the pirogue, tthree of their young men seized the cable of the pirogue…” (Bakeless 2002) As depicted left above, Clark’s sketch of the white pirogue used on their expedition.

Other technology used that was of utter importance for determining longitude and latitude from celestial observations were taken with the chronometer and the sextant or the octant. Below is shown a picture of an Octant (left above) and a Chronometer (right above).

The Octant and Chronometer were used in conjunction to determine the location of the Corps of Discovery to map out their trail for future use. Overall technology was used in throughout the expedition for efficiency and in effect made it easier to make the journey across the country.

Works Cited:

Bakeless, John. The Journals of Lewis and Clark. New York: New American Library, 2002.

Lewis & Clark Expedition: Sacajawea

Throughout the Lewis and Clark Expedition, the Corps of Discovery (the name of the expedition team) came into contact with numerous Native American tribes. Some having considerable influence on the expedition and what Lewis and Clark learned about the land through the Natives. Arguably the most important Native American Lewis and Clark came into contact with was “… a fifteen-year old Shoshone Indian woman, the slave wife of a French fur trader” (Foner 2009) With the assistance of her husband Toussaint Charbonneau, they served as an interpreter for Lewis and Clark to the Shoshone tribe.

Shortly after joining the expedition in Fort Mandan, “…one of the wives of Charbonneau was delivered a boy.” (Bakeless 2002) ” Sacagawea gave birth to her first child in February of 1805, a son named Jean Baptiste Charbonneau.” (Weiser 2009) Sacajawea did much more than interprets but also guided Lewis and Clark along with the Corps of Discovery through their journey westward since Sacajawea knew the land and could get them there safely. Also “Her activities as a member of the Corps included digging for roots, collecting edible plants and picking berries; all of these were used as food and sometimes, as medicine.” (PBS n.d.) Sacajawea also showed Lewis and Clark what plants were edible.

After passing through Yellowstone in May 1805, Sacajawea rescued a number of items that had fallen out of a capsized boat; one of these items included the journals of Lewis and Clark. “The balance of our losses consisted of some garden seeds, a small quantity of gunpowder, and a few culinary articles which fell overboard and sank. The Indian woman, [Sacajawea] to whom I ascribe equal fortitude and resolution with any person on board at the time of the accident, caught and preserved most of the light articles which were washed overboard. ” (Bakeless 2002) “The Corps Commanders were so pleased that they named the Sacagawea River in her honor.” (Weiser 2009)

Sacagawea’s skills for navigating and interpreting soon became very valuable once the Corps of Discovery got into Shonshone territory where they were in need of horses and supplies to continue the expedition. As luck would have it the tribale leader of the Shoshone was indeed Sacagawea’s elder brother Cameahwait. “On August 12, 1805, Captain Lewis and three men scouted 75 miles ahead of the expedition’s main party, crossing the Continental Divide at today’s Lemhi Pass. The next day, they found a group of Shoshones. Not only did they prove to be Sacagawea’s band, but their leader, Chief Cameahwait, turned out to be none other than her brother. On August 17, after five years of separation, Sacagawea and Cameahwait had an emotional reunion. Then, through their intepreting chain of the captains, Labiche, Charbonneau, and Sacagawea, the expedition was able to purchase the horses it needed.” (PBS n.d.)

“Sacagawea turned out to be incredibly valuable to the Corps as it traveled westward, through the territories of many new tribes. Some of these Indians, prepared to defend their lands, had never seen white men before. As Clark noted on October 19, 1805, the Indians were inclined to believe that the whites were friendly when they saw Sacagawea. A war party never traveled with a woman -- especially a woman with a baby.” (PBS n.d.)

On the trail back Clark would again use Sacajawea’s skills as a guide through Yellowstone and call upon volunteer’s to travel with Clark. On July 3^rd 1806, “We coolected our horses, and after breakfast I took my leave of Captain Lewis and the Indians, and at 8 a.m. set out with men, interpreter Charbonneau and his wife and child (as an interpreter and interpretress for the Crow Indians, and the latter for the Shoshone) with fifty horses.” (Bakeless 2002) “Later the Sacagawea would continue on with the expedition all the way to the Pacific Ocean. In 1806, the expedition began their trek back eastward, where once again, Sacagawea was invaluable guide. Clark praised her as his “pilot” as she recalled the trails from her childhood, one of which would later become known as Bozeman Pass, Montana. “ (Weiser 2009) Sacajawea’s presence throughout the expedition made it possible for Lewis and Clark to accomplish their tasks and exploring westward.

Work Cited:

Bakeless, John. The Journals of Lewis and Clark. New York: New American Library, 2002.

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History, 2nd Seagull ed. New York City: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2009.

PBS. Lewis and Clark . Inside the Corps . The Corps . Sacagawea | PBS. http://www.pbs.org/lewisandclark/inside/saca.html (accessed October 22, 2009).

Weiser, Kathy. Legends of America. October 2009. http://www.legendsofamerica.com/na-sacagawea.html (accessed October 22, 2009).

Blog Post 1 - Lewis and Clark

The Lewis and Clark Expedition of 1804

During the spring of 1804 during Thomas Jefferson’s presidency and shortly after Jefferson’s “greatest achievement” (Foner) the Louisiana Purchase of 1803, “… Jefferson dispatched an expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, two Virginia-born veterans of Indian wars in the Ohio Valley, to explore the new territory.” (Foner) Lewis and Clarks tasks were “… to study the area’s plants, animal life, and geography, and to discover how the region could be exploited economically.” (Foner) The reason Jefferson wanted Lewis and Clark to explore the land bought from the Louisiana Purchase was that he “… hoped the explorers would establish trading relations with western Indians and locate a water route to the Pacific Ocean – an updated version of the old dream of a Northwest Passage that could facilitate commerce with Asia.” (Foner)

Throughout The Journals of Lewis and Clark, they document in their journal entries many interactions with the natives, their findings of plants and animals, and also their daily observations. From The Journal of Lewis and Clark, on May 13^th 1804 Clark wrote “I dispatched an express this morning to Captain Lewis at St. Louis.” (Bakeless) “Boats and everything complete, with the necessary stores of provisions and such articles of merchandise as we thought ourselves authorized to procure…” (Bakeless)

Their journey began in St. Lois and ended in Fort Clatsop as depicted above. “They spent the winter in the area of present-day North Dakota and then resumed their journey in April 1805. They were now accompanied by a fifteen-year-old Shoshone Indian woman, Sacajawea, the slave wife of a French fur trader, who served as their interpreter.” (Foner) Along their journey Sacajawea gave birth to a son as written in Lewis and Clark’s Journal on February 11, 1805 “About five o’clock this evening, one of the wives of Charbonneau was delivered of a fine boy. It is worthy of remark that this was the first child which this woman had born…” (Bakeless) Shortly after Lewis and Clark reached the end of their journey in Fort Clatsop they returned home in 1806. As Foner states “The success of their journey helped to strengthen the idea that American territory was destined to reach all the way to the Pacific” (Foner) he is referring to the term widely used in the 19^th century of ‘Manifest Destiny’ which means simply means “…the belief that the United States was destined, even divinely ordained, to expand across the North American continent, from the Atlantic seaboard to the Pacific Ocean.” (Contributors)

Works Cited

Bakeless, John. The Journals of Lewis and Clark. New York: New American Library, 2002.

Contributors, Wikipedia. Manifest Destiny . 18 September 2009 .

Foner, Eric. Give Me Liberty!: An American History 2nd Seagull Ed. New York City: W.W.Norton & Company, Inc., 2009.