Dear Family,
The 'new world' Clark and I are discovering is amazing! When we were asked by Thomas Jefferson to explore this new land, we never knew it would turn out to be this! Oh, family, I seem to be forgetful, you do not know what I am talking about, do you? Well, Napoleon-you surely know who he is- he was conquering abundances of land, including the one we are on, but wanted to focus on Europe. Therefore, he sold this piece of territory to Thomas Jefferson, which almost doubled the size of our little country. This land is now called the Louisiana Territory; the event called the Louisiana Purchase. In the beginning, Clark, our Corps of Discovery, and myself believed we would find a mammoth...we never did...... Actually, we never knew quite where to go or what to do, other than trying to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. Thankfully, a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea was kind enough to lead us along.
Clark and I traveled through the Rocky Mountains, what a thing to do! Finally, after difficult searching and searching, we found a river! We hoped the Missouri River would help us complete our journey. Want to hear an interesting fact? Sacagawea had a baby boy, and we nicknamed him Pompy. Sacagawea also led us to new discoveries, such as new plants and animals. Some of the animals are deer, a prairie dog, beavers and many more. One plant is 'beargrass.' I have incorporated some pictures in with this letter. Close to the end of our journey, Sacagawea left after finding her long-lost brother's tribe- long story. She sent us through deep, sloping valleys with grass that shifted in the breeze. Also snow-capped mountains in bitter cold with air so crisp, you could see everyone's breath. An accomplishment? She hunted large animals- and succeeded! Alas, there are so many stories to share that a letter cannot contain them all. I hope to see you soon!
Meriwether Lewis
The 'new world' Clark and I are discovering is amazing! When we were asked by Thomas Jefferson to explore this new land, we never knew it would turn out to be this! Oh, family, I seem to be forgetful, you do not know what I am talking about, do you? Well, Napoleon-you surely know who he is- he was conquering abundances of land, including the one we are on, but wanted to focus on Europe. Therefore, he sold this piece of territory to Thomas Jefferson, which almost doubled the size of our little country. This land is now called the Louisiana Territory; the event called the Louisiana Purchase. In the beginning, Clark, our Corps of Discovery, and myself believed we would find a mammoth...we never did...... Actually, we never knew quite where to go or what to do, other than trying to find a water route to the Pacific Ocean. Thankfully, a Shoshone woman named Sacagawea was kind enough to lead us along.
Clark and I traveled through the Rocky Mountains, what a thing to do! Finally, after difficult searching and searching, we found a river! We hoped the Missouri River would help us complete our journey. Want to hear an interesting fact? Sacagawea had a baby boy, and we nicknamed him Pompy. Sacagawea also led us to new discoveries, such as new plants and animals. Some of the animals are deer, a prairie dog, beavers and many more. One plant is 'beargrass.' I have incorporated some pictures in with this letter. Close to the end of our journey, Sacagawea left after finding her long-lost brother's tribe- long story. She sent us through deep, sloping valleys with grass that shifted in the breeze. Also snow-capped mountains in bitter cold with air so crisp, you could see everyone's breath. An accomplishment? She hunted large animals- and succeeded! Alas, there are so many stories to share that a letter cannot contain them all. I hope to see you soon!
Meriwether Lewis