Going East…to West - 5

Reaching the Pacific  

Crossing the Rockies

The expedition, in May 1805, almost lost one of its pirogues and precious journals and supplies along with it, but for a quick action by Sacagawea. The expedition was now eager to catch a glimpse of the Rockies, which they knew stood between them and the Pacific. On June 3 the expedition reached Three Forks in the River and were divided in their opinion as to which branch would take them in the desired direction--towards The Great Falls of Missouri—that Indians at Fort Mandan had told them about. (See picture)

   Lewis, Clark and Sacagawea at Three Forks www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic-art/338232...

 

On June 13 Lewis became the first white man to see the Great Falls of the Missouri River.

The Arrival of Captain Lewis at the Great Falls of the Missouri, June 13, 1805

formontana.net/fritz.html

But there were five separate falls, not one as the Indians had said—and the farthest was about 12-miles away. By June 16 Lewis had rejoined, and the portage around the Falls began some days later and proved to be the hardest physical task of the trip so far. It took them more than a month to go around the Falls and re-enter the river. The Rockies were now the next obstacle and could be crossed only with the help of horses. Indians at Fort Mandan had told them about horse-rich Shoshone tribe (Sacagawea was a Shoshone). 

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First Shoshone was spotted on August 11 and he led the expedition to his chief, who serendipitously turned out to be Sacagawea’s brother. Horses were procured but at prices that went up everyday. An old Shoshone described a trail that went over the Rockies which was used by Nez Perce tribe that lived on the other side of the Rockies. Once over the Continental Divide, the expedition will be merely required to go along the Columbia River for reaching the Pacific. Snow began to fall as the expedition set off for the Continental Divide. It was tough going with food supplies running low but the expedition finally crossed over the Continental Divide and entered the Bitterroots valley. There the Americans met a band of Flathead Indians and bought more horses for the journey across the Bitterroot Mountains. The expedition made contact with the Nez Perce-probably the friendliest and the most helpful of all Indian tribes that they had come across. The Nez Perce gave these impoverished and starving Americans dried fish and roots. The captains then set up camp on the banks of the Clearwater River, a branch of the Snake River, itself a branch of the mighty Columbia. There they hollowed five dugouts. Now they were ready to sail the remainder part of their journey and reach the Pacific. On October 7 they broke camp and started down the Clearwater.

                                                                  "Ocian in View!"

   forrestgallery.net/paintings/oregon.htm

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The Corps of Discovery reached the Snake River on October 10, the Columbia six days later. There the Americans paused to rest and meet Indians who had gathered along the shore. Then the explorers headed down the Columbia, portaging around the river's roughest spots in the Cascades, the last mountain range between them and the Pacific. On November 7 Clark thought they had reached the Pacific: "Ocian in view! O! the joy," he wrote in his journal. But they were actually at the estuary of the Columbia—still 20 miles from the coast. Inclement weather pinned them down for three weeks. But by the middle of November they made it to the Pacific.