Wild Adventures: the Heart-Pounding Legend of Lewis and Clark’s Mission to Map Out America’s Frontier

“Lewis and Clark on the Lower Columbia” by Charles Marion Russell, 1905. Watercolor over graphite on paper. Amon Carter Museum of American Art. Public Domain

The vast prairie stretched in front of the Lewis and Clark expedition, teeming with life and promising new discoveries. In present-day Nebraska, they spotted and described little furry animals we now call prairie dogs. Lewis was amazed by their burrow networks and sheer numbers. One day, Lewis observed a jackrabbit bounding across the plains. “It … is extremely fleet and never borrows or takes shelter in the ground when pursued. They appear to run with more ease and to bound with greater agility than any animal I ever saw,” he wrote.

The sheer number of animals that lived on the plains further amazed Lewis and his men. “Vast herds of buffalo, deer, elk and antelopes were seen feeding in every direction as far as the eyes of the observer could reach,” Lewis reported. The plant and animal life of the plains provided amply for the expedition’s table, and some of the Native American tribes they met proved hospitable. However, the ensuing years would test the courage of Lewis, Clark, and their men.

Origins of the Expedition

President Thomas Jefferson selected Lewis to lead the expedition that would explore the land bought in the Louisiana Purchase and beyond, all the way to the Pacific Ocean. But their relationship began far before this important mission. Lewis was Jefferson’s neighbor, so when Jefferson was elected president, he chose Lewis to be his secretary. For two years, the men worked closely together in the nation’s capital. Then, Jefferson determined that someone needed to map and investigate the length of the continent for the country’s commercial, political, and scientific interests.