Through the American West

Through the American West — page 3 — published by Creative Education P O Box 227 Mankato Minnesota 56002 Creative Education is an imprint of The Creative Company www thecreativecompany us design and production by Ellen Huber art direction by Rita Marshall printed by Corporate Graphics in the United States of America photographs by Alamy Mary Evans Picture Library North Wind Picture Archives Corbis Bettmann Blue Lantern Studio Getty Images Apic David David Gallery De Agostini Picture Library Edward Hicks Fotosearch Mansell Time Life Pictures MPI Stock Montage SuperStock The Granger Collection NYC History-map com iStockphoto Mike Bentley Brandon Laufenberg Jim Rowan Photography Copyright 2012 Creative Education International copyright reserved in all countries No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher library of congress cataloging-in-publication data for the hardcover edition Bodden Valerie Through the American West by Valerie Bodden p cm Great expeditions Includes bibliographical references and index Summary A history of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark’s famed 1804 06 journey detailing the challenges encountered the individuals involved the discoveries made and how the expedition left its mark upon the world ISBN 978-1-60818-065-3 hardcover ISBN 978-1-56660-041-5 eBook 1 Lewis and Clark Expedition 1804 1806 Juvenile literature 2 Lewis Meriwether 1774 1809 Juvenile literature 3 Clark William 1770 1838 Juvenile literature 4 West U S Discovery and exploration Juvenile literature I Title F592 7 B64 2011 917 804’2 dc22 2010033413 CPSIA 110310 PO1383 First Edition 246897531

Through the American West — page 4 — Table of Contents Chapters Westward Expansion 7 Assembling the Corps 17 Into the Unknown 25 To the Ocean and Back 35 Corps of Discovery Profiles Sacagawea 13 William Clark 23 Meriwether Lewis 31 John Colter 41 Expedition Journal Entries An Expidition to the Westward 9 This Little Fleet 19 The Most Distant Fountain 27 A Thickly Timbered Countrey 38 Timeline 44 Endnotes 45 Selected Bibliography 46 For Further Reading 47 Index 48

Through the American West — page 5

Through the American West — page 6 — 7 T h r o u g h t h e A m e r i c a n W e s t Westward Expansion As the 19th century dawned the United States was a new but growing country Its borders extended from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Mississippi River in the west Beyond that the land was a mystery until Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led a band of explorers known as the Corps of Discovery west land and reached the Paciﬁc Ocean in 1805 Reports of what they discovered fertile rugged mountains furbearing animals and native peoples would help to shape the very boundaries of the nation which stretched from sea to sea by the middle of the century American settlers who moved west during the 1800s usually expansion rumors of rich land and abundant wild game on the western side of the range enticed many pioneers to make the westward trek Between 1764 and 1774 the frontier moved nearly 17 miles 27 km farther west each year traveled in covered wagons which were sometimes called prairie schooners When the Corps of Discovery set out for their ﬁrst winter camp in 1803 the population of the U S was 5 3 million and two-thirds lived within 50 miles 80 5 km of the Atlantic coast Yet ever since settlers had begun arriving in North America in the 16th century there had been people who had pushed the frontier farther west Although the Appalachian Mountains created a formidable natural barrier to After the U S won its independence from Great Britain in 1783 the westward trickle of settlers surged Travelers clogged the four rough roads that spanned the Appalachians and ﬂatboats carrying settlers and their belongings crowded the Ohio River By 1800 two new states Kentucky and Tennessee had been formed west of the Appalachians with a combined population of more than 300,000 As people continued to settle in

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