May 14, 1804
The leaders of our expedition are Captain Lewis and Captain Clark.
Our journey involves trying to find out what the land is like out west
from Saint Louis, Missouri. The
people on our expedition are going to learn about the Indians who live west of
here, We are also going to learn
about the animals, the lay of the land, plant types and anything else that we
feel will be important for President Thomas Jefferson to know.
Our journey will set off from Camp Dubois, in St. Louis
Missouri. There are about fifty men
on the expedition. We even have a
dog, Seaman. The men come from all
over the United States.
We will begin our travels in a large keelboat that is 55 feet long and 8
feet wide. It can carry about 10
tons of supplies. We hope to go at
least fourteen miles a day.
I, Jake Robbins, am feeling excited by this adventure.
My job is to learn more about the natives as our Indian Affairs expert. I am sure that we will be meeting up with the Shoshone
Indians at some point. It will be
very exciting to see a different culture of people.
The Shoshone, also known as the Snake Nation, may be friendly to our
group. We will have to wait and
see.
August 3, 1804
Our Corps of Discovery has met with members of the Oto and Missouri
Indian tribes! I felt that we were
not in danger because they were peaceful with us.
We handed out peace medals, fifteen stat flags, and other gifts as an act
of friendship. They knew that we
were friendly.
We showed them many of our tools. They
were surprised to see our magnets, compasses, and telescopes and Lewis’s air
gun. They seemed so in awe!
Captain Lewis and Captain Clark gave speeches to the Indians that told
them about the “great father” to the east.
Of course, they meant President Thomas Jefferson.
Captain Lewis and Captain Clark hoped that the Indians would stay
peaceful. They don’t want the Oto
and Missouri Indians fighting with each other or with the white men from the
east.
This has been a great day for me to learn about these people.
They seem to understand what we are saying.
They understand that our “great Father” is our leader, Thomas
Jefferson.
One of
our men has not been feeling well. He
has a pain on his side. We are all
worried about him. He is feverish
and pale. Sergeant Charles Floyd is
his name. I hope he feels better
and recovers from his pain…only time will tell.
August 20, 1804
Sergeant Charles didn’t make it. We
think he died from his appendix bursting. This
makes him the first soldier to die west of the Mississippi.
We named the hilltop where we buried him Floyd’s Bluff and the stream
that is nearby is now known as Floyd’s River.
We have been seeing many animals along the way.
We saw coyotes, antelope, mule deer, and many others.
There are many prairie dogs too. The
captains think that they have found 178 plants and 122 animals that have never
been recorded for science before.
This adventure is so amazing because I am learning about so many animals and plants that white people have never seen before as far as we know. The Indians who live here are used to seeing all of these sights. These wonderful experiences are new to white people who have never been here before.
November 4, 1804
Along
the way we have found out that the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians live in earth
lodges. There are about 4,500
people here. The Captains want us
to build a fort near this village.
Capt. Lewis and Capt. Clark want to hire a French fur trader, Touissaint
Carbonneau, as an interpreter so we can talk to the different Indian tribes.
This fur trader has a wife named Sacagawea.
She is a Shoshone woman who had been captured by the Hidatsas many years
ago.
I believe that Sacagawea will be helpful to the Corps of Discovery as we travel to the west. We have a long way to go yet. The mountains are in horizon. The journey will get harder as we go.
January 18, 1805
The Indians, the Mandans, and our group went hunting for buffalo.
I watched as the Mandans had a ceremony.
They called it their “Buffalo Calling.”
A few days later, a herd of buffalos showed up.
We all went on a buffalo hunt.
Some people got frostbite. One
young boy got very bad frostbite on his toes.
Lewis had to amputate the boys toes with anything ease the pain.
He didn’t even have a surgical saw!
I felt very sad for the boy.
Sacagawea gave birth to a baby boy. Lewis helped her by crushing rattlesnake rings and making a powder to give her. This was supposed to take away some of the pain.
December 25, 1805
It has been a very difficult winter.
We have almost starved at times. The
Natives we have met along the way have often helped us and given us food.
Some have been friendly, some have not.
I have recorded sixteen different tribes that we have met along the way.
I think it will take a little less than a year to make it back to St.
Louis, Missouri. We have traveled
so far. Now we will have to go back
by land and water. There is talk
that we should split up and take two different ways to get back. I will most likely go with Capt. Lewis. He wants to go a bit north.
Page created by Deb Gurwicz and Donna
Sullivan-Macdonald
Orchard School faculty members.
This page last updated: 03/24/07 .