Facts about Lewis and Clark
- 11
Lewis and Clark's expedition collected nearly 60 animal skins and skeletons to send back to President Jefferson, including specimens of bighorn sheep, prairie dogs, and grizzly bears never before scientifically documented.
- 10
A severe winter at Fort Clatsop on the Oregon coast forced the Corps of Discovery to kill elk and boil their hides for nutritious oil during 1805-1806.
- 09
At the Pacific coast in 1805, members of the Corps of Discovery voted democratically on where to establish their winter camp, with both Sacagawea and enslaved man York casting ballots alongside the other men.
- 08
President Thomas Jefferson spent $2,500 on the Lewis and Clark Expedition, which he considered the most important scientific undertaking of his presidency to explore western territories and gather geographic intelligence.
- 07
Over 140 plant and animal species were documented and collected by the Corps of Discovery, including the first scientific descriptions of grizzly bears and prairie dogs sent back to President Jefferson.
- 06
Eighteen months into their journey, the expedition's keelboat and two pirogues required replacement with canoes and horses after reaching the Rocky Mountains in 1805.
- 05
Meriwether Lewis purchased a Newfoundland dog named Seaman in Pittsburgh for $20 before the 1804 expedition began, and the dog accompanied the Corps of Discovery for the entire journey.
- 04
In 1805, William Clark sketched and named Pompeys Pillar in Montana after Sacagawea's infant son Jean Baptiste, the only geographic feature on the expedition route bearing Clark's handwriting today.
- 03
The Corps of Discovery lost only one member during the entire 1804-1806 journey when Sergeant Charles Floyd died in August 1804, likely from appendicitis.
- 02
Sacagawea, a Shoshone woman, served as interpreter and guide for the Corps of Discovery, earning $500 total compensation while male corps members received $5 monthly wages.
- 01
During their 1804-1806 expedition, Lewis and Clark's Corps of Discovery traveled approximately 8,000 miles from St. Louis to the Pacific Ocean and back.