|
Lewis and Clark
Expedition for kids: Hardships of the long journey
Lewis and Clark and the men of the Corps of Discovery
had little idea of the different hardships they would endure
on the long expedition. The outward journey and the return
journey home covered over 7000 miles from May 14, 1804 to
September 23, 1806. The journey took two years, four months
and ten days from their departure from Camp Wood to their
return to St. Louis at the end of the expedition. During
a journey of this length it was inevitable that they would
encounter many hardships along the way.
Lewis and Clark
Hardships: List of Hardships and Fears
The list of hardships and fears were as follows:
-
Plagued by Mosquitoes
-
Small Pesky Flies
-
Threat from terrifying
Grizzly Bears
-
Fighting against
strong currents and shifting sandbars
-
Dangerous hazards
caused by navigating rapids and obstacles in the water
-
Exhaustion from the
daily grind of moving the heavy keelboat up the Missouri
River that involved arduous rowing, pulling the keelboat
through shallows using a rope from on shore (called
cordelling) or pushing the heavy boat with long poles
(poling)
-
Later in the journey
it was necessary to abandon travel by water and physically
carry the boats. This process, called portaging, proved
to be very draining and extremely time
-
Traveling over harsh,
tough terrain
-
Enduring extreme
weather conditions such as intense, blistering heat,
the bitter cold, blizzards, hailstorms, snow and continuous
rain
-
Confrontations with
hostile Native Indians such as the Teton Sioux who they
had a difficult stand-off with on September 25, 1804.
However, the only violent incident occured when the
expedition fought with a party of Blackfeet Native Indians.
The members of the Corps were not seriously injured
but two of the Native Indians were killed
-
The Great Falls proved
to be a difficult challenge. The men had to bypass the
falls which involved carrying their canoes, supplies
and equipment all by hand for over 1 month
-
The harrowing journey
on the rough Lolo trail through the Bitteroot Mountains
-
In the winter months
it was sometimes difficult to find food
-
As the journey progressed
illnesses became an increasing problem
|
