>> Narrator: LIKE CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS BEFORE THEM, LEWIS AND CLARK WERE LITERALLY STEPPING OFF THE FACE OF THE EARTH. VAST EXPANSES WEST OF THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER WERE GIANT VOIDS ON THE MAPS OF NORTH AMERICA-- VOIDS SURE TO BE FILLED WITH GIANT MONSTERS, CITIES OF GOLD, AND MOUNTAINS MADE OF DIAMONDS. FOR TWO AND A HALF YEARS, THE 32-MAN EXPEDITION TRAVELED BY BOAT, BY HORSE, AND BY FOOT ACROSS THIS MYSTERIOUS NEW LAND. WHAT THE EXPEDITION WOULD FIND WOULD AMAZE AND ASTOUND EVEN THE MOST IMAGINATIVE MAP MAKERS. >> "WE WERE NOW ABOUT TO PENETRATE A COUNTRY ON WHICH THE FOOT OF CIVILIZED MAN HAD NEVER TROD. THE GOOD OR EVIL IT HAD IN STORE FOR US WAS FOR EXPERIMENT YET TO DETERMINE, AND THESE LITTLE VESSELS CONTAINED EVERY ARTICLE BY WHICH WE WERE TO EXPECT TO SUBSIST OR DEFEND OURSELVES. I COULD BUT ESTEEM THIS MOMENT OF MY DEPARTURE AS AMONG THE MOST HAPPY OF MY LIFE." CAPTAIN MERIWEATHER LEWIS. >> SO INCREDIBLE WAS THEIR JOURNEY, SO DANGEROUS WAS THIS ENTERPRISE, THAT WHEN WORD DID NOT COME BACK FROM THEM, WHEN THEY HAD BEEN GONE FOR SO LONG, EVERYONE FROM THE PRESIDENT ON DOWN ASSUMED THEY HAD PERISHED. <font color="#FFFF00"> Captioning sponsored by</font> <font color="#FFFF00"> A&E TELEVISION NETWORKS</font> >> AT STAKE WAS A VAST EMPIRE BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. FUR TRAPPERS HAD ALREADY PENETRATED INTO THE WILDERNESS. SPAIN, FRANCE, ENGLAND, EVEN RUSSIA ALL HAD A STAKE. BUT JEFFERSON HAD A CONTINENTAL VISION FOR HIS REPUBLIC. HE COULD SEE IT SPREADING FROM SEA TO SEA. HE WAS DETERMINED TO GRAB THE HEART OF THE CONTINENT FOR THE UNITED STATES. >> Narrator: IN 1801, EXPLORER AND BRITISH ADVANCE AGENT ALEXANDER MCKENZIE PUBLISHED A BOOK PROPOSING A PLAN FOR BRITISH CONTROL OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST AND ITS FUR TRADE. WITHOUT ACCESS TO BOTH OCEANS, AMERICA WOULD ALWAYS BE HEMMED IN. >> JEFFERSON THOUGHT IN GEOPOLITICAL TERMS. AS WELL HE THOUGHT IN SCIENTIFIC TERMS. AND TO A MAN LIKE JEFFERSON, THE UNKNOWN HAD TO BE EXPLORED. >> THERE WERE ALL SORTS OF TALES ABOUT WHAT MIGHT BE OUT THERE. WERE THERE LIVING DINOSAURS STILL IN THE INTERIOR OF THE CONTINENT? IS THERE THIS FABLED... THIS LONG-SOUGHT NORTHWEST PASSAGE? >> Narrator: EXPLORERS HAD DREAMED OF AN ALL-WATER ROUTE TO THE RICHES OF ASIA SINCE THE TIME OF COLUMBUS. NOW JEFFERSON DETERMINED THAT AMERICAN EXPLORERS SHOULD FOLLOW THE RIVERS TO THE PACIFIC, FIND THE ELUSIVE NORTHWEST PASSAGE, AND FIRMLY PLANT THE AMERICAN FLAG WITH OR WITHOUT THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE. >> I THINK THE SENSE IS FOR MOST PEOPLE WE HAVE THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE, THEN LEWIS AND CLARK MOVE OUT. IT'S NOT QUITE THAT SIMPLE. LEWIS AND CLARK WERE ALREADY ENVISIONED AS AN EXPEDITION TO GO WEST BEFORE THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE WAS CONSUMMATED. >> Narrator: THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY, FIRST CONTROLLED BY SPAIN, THEN QUIETLY TRADED TO FRANCE IN EARLY 1803, WAS THE LAND BEYOND THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. THE TERRITORY WAS HUGE. IT SPRAWLED NORTH, SOUTH, AND WESTWARD TOWARDS BOUNDARIES VAGUELY DEFINED, COVERING A LAND MASS OF OVER 900,000 SQUARE MILES. >> JEFFERSON AND LEWIS HAD WORKED UP A SECRET CODE. WHAT THEY WERE GOING TO DO WAS SORT OF A SECRET OPERATION. >> Narrator: CALLING IT A PURELY SCIENTIFIC EXPEDITION, LEWIS AND CLARK WERE TO MOVE BEYOND THE BOUNDS OF THE UNITED STATES. BUT IN 1803 NAPOLEON, STRAPPED FOR FUNDS, DECIDED TO SELL THE LOUISIANA TERRITORY TO THE AMERICANS. >> THAT IS VIRTUALLY TERRA INCOGNITA. THEY NOW HAVE ACCESS TO IT BECAUSE OF THE LOUISIANA PURCHASE, AND IT'S ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL THAT THEY LEARN ABOUT IT. >> Narrator: JEFFERSON CHOSE HIS PERSONAL SECRETARY, MERIWETHER LEWIS, TO LEAD THE EXPEDITION. >> "OF COURAGE UNDAUNTED, I COULD HAVE NO HESITATION IN CONFIDING THE ENTERPRISE TO HIM." THOMAS JEFFERSON. >> Narrator: LEWIS WAS 29 YEARS OLD, LIKE JEFFERSON FROM A FINE VIRGINIA FAMILY, WAS EDUCATED, HAD SERVED IN THE INDIAN WARS, AND COULD COMMAND MEN. >> JEFFERSON WAS WARNED BY OTHERS THAT LEWIS COULD BE RASH, ERRATIC. JEFFERSON URGED LEWIS TO BE CAUTIOUS, TO BE CAREFUL. BUT AT BOTTOM, THERE WAS SOMETHING ELSE HERE. MERIWETHER LEWIS HAS THE TRUST OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. JEFFERSON KNEW LEWIS, TRUSTED HIM. >> Narrator: A CO-LEADER WAS NECESSARY. LEWIS CHOSE WILLIAM CLARK, 34. THEY HAD SERVED TOGETHER. LEWIS ADMIRED CLARK, AND NAMED HIM CO-CAPTAIN. >> SOMETIMES WE TALK ABOUT THEM AS IF THEY ARE THE SAME. LEWIS AND CLARK. WE HAVE A WORD THAT SIMPLY IS LEWISANDCLARK. THEY WERE INDEED VERY DISTINCT, SEPARATE MEN. >> LEWIS IS SEEN AS THE SORT OF MOODY, SENSITIVE INTELLECTUAL. CLARK IS SEEN AS MORE THE CONGENIAL TYPE. LEWIS WAS UNLUCKY IN LOVE. CLARK WAS A PERSON WHO WAS MARRIED TWICE, HAD A BIG FAMILY. LEWIS WAS ALWAYS WRITING ABOUT SOME WOMAN, BUT NEVER SEEMED TO HAVE ANY SORT OF CONSTANT RELATIONSHIP. THESE WERE NOT TWO SORT OF BUCKSKINNED BACK WOODS FRONTIERSMEN. MERIWETHER LEWIS AND WILLIAM CLARK WERE GIFTED MEN. ONCE THE IDEA OF THE EXPEDITION WAS UNDERWAY, JEFFERSON SENT LEWIS FOR A SIX-WEEK CRASH COURSE TO PHILADELPHIA IN THE SCIENCES. PHILADELPHIA WAS THE LEADING INTELLECTUAL CITY OF THE DAY, SO HE COULD GO TO THE BEST PEOPLE AT THE BEST PLACE. LEWIS WAS REALLY A BORN BOTANIST. HE WAS A NATURALIST OF THE FIRST ORDER. CLARK PICKED UP THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF MAKING THE MAPS AND BEING THE ENGINEER ON THE EXPEDITION. >> Narrator: IN DECEMBER OF 1803, CAMP WOOD WAS ESTABLISHED ACROSS FROM ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI. HERE THE CAPTAINS RECRUITED SOLDIERS, FRENCH BOATMEN, AND HUNTERS FROM KENTUCKY. THEY WOULD BECOME KNOWN AS THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY. >> SOME OF THEM WERE THE DRINKERS AND THE SWEARERS AND THE TOUGH CUSTOMERS THAT CAME OUT OF ANY NUMBER OF FRONTIER ARMY POSTS. >> IN A SENSE IT WAS A BOOT CAMP. THERE WAS QUITE A BIT OF ROWDINESS, DRUNKENNESS, AND SOME DISCIPLINE PROBLEMS OFF AND ON ALL ALONG. THE USUAL PUNISHMENT WOULD SEEM VERY SEVERE BY TODAY'S STANDARDS-- 50 LASHES ON THE BARE BACK, 100 LASHES ON THE BARE BACK, RUNNING THE GAUNTLET. ESPECIALLY HERE AT THE START, THEY HAVE TO MAKE SURE THAT THEY CAN DEPEND ON THESE MEN. IF PEOPLE WON'T DO WHAT THEY'RE TOLD, THEN YOU CAN HAVE PROBLEMS, AND THE WHOLE EXPEDITION COULD BREAK DOWN. >> Narrator: LEWIS AND CLARK CONTINUED THEIR OWN REGIMEN OF STUDY, THIS TIME AT THE FEET OF THE VENERABLE ST. LOUIS TRADERS. >> THEY LEARNED FROM MEN WHO KNEW THE ETIQUETTE OF THE INDIAN TRADE. THESE MEN IN EFFECT SCHOOLED LEWIS AND CLARK IN THE PROTOCOL OF THE MISSOURI RIVER VALLEY. THIS TRAINING, THIS EXPERTISE, THIS CAREFUL PLANNING, IS ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL NOT ONLY TO THE SUCCESS OF THE EXPEDITION, BUT TO ITS MERE SURVIVAL. >> "I SET OUT AT 4:00 PM AND PROCEEDED ON." CLARK, MAY 14, 1804, ST. CHARLES, MISSOURI. >> Narrator: A REPORTER FOR THE SIOUX CITY REGISTER ONCE WROTE, "OF ALL THE VARIABLE THINGS IN CREATION, THE MOST UNCERTAIN ARE THE ACTION OF A JURY, THE STATE OF A WOMAN'S MIND, AND THE CONDITION OF THE MISSOURI RIVER." THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY SET SAIL ON MAY 14, 1804, AND FACED THEIR FIRST CHALLENGE, THAT MIGHTY MISSOURI RIVER. >> IT WAS A RIVER UNLIKE ANY THAT THEY HAD EVER SEEN BEFORE-- A RIVER FILLED WITH SNAGS, A RIVER FILLED WITH CAVING-IN BANKS, A RIVER WHOSE COURSE AND CHANNEL MIGHT CHANGE AT ANY MOMENT. >> Narrator: SOME OF THE BOATMEN WERE FAMILIAR WITH THIS PART OF THE MISSOURI, BUT FAMILIARITY DID NOT MEAN EASE. LADEN WITH TEN TONS OF SUPPLIES, THE SPECIALLY-BUILT 55-FOOT KEEL BOAT, AS WELL AS THE TWO SMALLER BOATS, ALL TRAVELED AGAINST THE CURRENT, AND SELDOM MADE MORE THAN 15 MILES A DAY. >> THEY HAD THESE LONG POLES THAT THEY WOULD PUSH INTO THE RIVER, AND THEN THEY WOULD WALK THE LENGTH OF THE KEEL BOAT BACK AND FORTH, PUSHING IT UP THE RIVER, WHILE AT THE SAME TIME THERE WOULD BE THESE FRENCHMEN ON SHORE OR WAIST-DEEP OR KNEE- DEEP IN WATER PULLING WITH THE ROPE. SOMETIMES IF THE WIND WAS FAVORABLE, THEY'D MOUNT A SAIL ON THE KEELBOAT AND GET SOME HELP THAT WAY. BUT MOST OF THE TIME IT WAS JUST BACKBREAKING WORK TO MOVER THAN KEELBOAT UP THE MISSOURI. >> Narrator: NAVIGATION WAS NOT THE ONLY PROBLEM. BOILS, ABSCESSES, SUNSTROKE, DYSENTERY, AND FATIGUE CHALLENGED THE CAPTAINS' MEDICAL SKILLS. >> "PESTS INVADE US EQUAL TO ANY THREE CURSES THAT EVER POOR EGYPT LABORED UNDER." LEWIS. >> Narrator: THEN THERE WERE SNAKES, TICKS, GNATS, AND MOSQUITOES OFTEN AS LARGE AS FLIES THAT FLEW IN THICK SWARMS. THE ROUTINE OF ARDUOUS DAYS WAS BROKEN ON AUGUST 20 WITH THE DEATH OF SERGEANT CHARLES FLOYD. THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY WOULD TRAVEL OVER 7,000 MILES IN MORE THAN TWO YEARS. THIS WAS THE ONLY MEMBER WHO WOULD DIE. HE DIED OF APPENDICITIS. >> "THE GREAT CHIEF OF THE 17 GREAT NATIONS OF AMERICA, IMPELLED BY HIS PARENTAL REGARD FOR HIS NEWLY ADOPTED CHILDREN ON THE TROUBLED WATERS, HAS SENT US OUT TO CLEAR THE ROAD, REMOVE EVERY OBSTRUCTION, AND TO MAKE IT THE ROAD TO PEACE." LEWIS, TO THE OTOAN MISSOURI INDIANS, AUGUST 3, 1804. >> Narrator: THE OTOAN MISSOURI INDIANS AS WELL AS THE SIOUX AND OTHER PLANES TRIBES WERE ANYTHING BUT CHILDREN. THEY WERE SOPHISTICATED TRADERS WHO HAD NEGOTIATED WITH EUROPEANS FOR MANY YEARS. PART OF LEWIS AND CLARK'S DUTIES IN MEETING WITH THE NATIVE AMERICANS WAS TO INFORM THEM THAT THEIR LANDS NOW BELONG TO THE GREAT WHITE FATHER LIVING IN THE EAST. >> THIS COUNCIL WITH THE INDIANS SORT OF SET THE PATTERN FOR WHAT WOULD HAPPEN ALL THE WAY ACROSS THE CONTINENT. >> LEWIS AND CLARK IN MANY WAYS SAW THEMSELVES AS A TRAVELING ROAD SHOW. FOR LEWIS AND CLARK, COUNCILS ARE A TIME TO SHOW OFF EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN TECHNOLOGY, EUROPEAN AND AMERICAN POWER. >> NOW, JEFFERSON'S PURPOSE IN THESE INDIAN COUNCILS WAS TO TRY TO BRING PEACE ON THE PLAINS. HE WANTED THE INDIANS TO QUIT FIGHTING WITH ONE ANOTHER AND TO START TRADING WITH THE AMERICANS. >> THE SIOUX PEOPLE WILL BE THE ONE THAT THEY HAVE BEEN INSTRUCTED TO MOST CAREFULLY LOOK AFTER, AND TO DRAW THE SIOUX INTO AN AMERICAN COMMERCIAL AND DIPLOMATIC ALLIANCE WITH THE UNITED STATES. >> Narrator: AT THE JUNCTION OF THE MISSOURI AND THE BAD RIVERS, LEWIS AND CLARK MET THE SIOUX. THESE WERE THE FIERCE WARRIORS, THE MOST POWERFUL NATION, THE PIRATES OF THE MISSOURI. THEY HELD DOMINION OVER OTHER TRIBES AS WELL AS EUROPEAN TRADERS, AND EXACTED TOLLS FROM ALL WHO WOULD PASS. >> LEWIS AND CLARK SPENT SEVERAL DAYS BLUSTERING AND CHALLENGING AND DOING EVERYTHING THEY COULD TO DEMONSTRATE AMERICAN POWER. THEY WERE THERE TO MAKE AGREEMENTS, TO BRING THEM INTO THE ORBIT OF AMERICAN COMMERCE. >> Narrator: IT WAS CRUCIAL FOR ST. LOUIS MERCHANTS TO HAVE CLEAR SAILING ON THE MISSOURI. OTHERWISE, COMMERCE TRADE WOULD DIE. >> THE SIOUX HAD DEVELOPED A VERY ADVANTAGEOUS POSITION AS MIDDLEMEN. LEWIS AND CLARK'S AGENDA THREATENS THIS VERY CAREFULLY CRAFTED ECONOMIC SITUATION THAT THE SIOUX HAD DEVELOPED, AND THEY REACTED ACCORDINGLY. >> Narrator: AMONG THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY WAS PIERRE CRUZATTE. HE WAS MIXED BLOOD-- FRENCH AND OMAHA INDIAN. AMONG THE SIOUX WERE OMAHA INDIANS HELD CAPTIVE. THEY SIGNALED TO CRUZATTE. >> THESE OMAHA CAPTIVES WARNED PIERRE CRUZATTE, WHOSE MOTHER WAS AN OMAHA, ABOUT THE POTENTIAL DANGERS AND CHALLENGES THAT THE LAKOTA SIOUX WERE ABOUT TO THROW IN THE WAY OF LEWIS AND CLARK. >> ONE INDIAN CLAMPED A ROPE ON THE BOAT AND WAS NOT GOING TO LET THEM PROCEED ON UP NORTH. THE INDIANS ON SHORE WERE PREPARING THEIR BOWS AND ARROWS. LEWIS AND CLARK MEN HAD TRAINED THE SWIVEL BLUNDERBUSS GUN ON THE KEELBOAT TOWARD THE INDIANS. SOLDIERS WERE PREPARING THEIR WEAPONS. EVERYONE WAS RIGHT AT A STATE OF FIRING. >> LEWIS AND CLARK, BOLD YOUNG ARMY OFFICERS, NOT ABOUT TO BE CULLED, UNDERSTOOD AT THAT MOMENT THAT THEY NEEDED TO SHOW STRENGTH. >> THE LAKOTA SIOUX ARE CONFRONTING A FAIRLY WELL-ARMED MILITARY GROUP, AND THEY KNOW THIS. ALSO THE LAKOTA SIOUX WERE CAMPED THERE WITH THEIR FAMILIES, AND ANY LAKOTA CHIEF THAT WOULD RISK A CONFRONTATION THAT WOULD COST THE LIVES NOT ONLY OF HIS WARRIORS, BUT ALSO THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN AND OLD PEOPLE, WOULD HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED NOT A MAN WORTHY OF THE MANTEL OF LAKOTA SIOUX CHIEF. >> Narrator: IT HAD BEEN A FOUR- DAY ORDEAL. LEWIS AND CLARK NOW UNDERSTOOD ONE THING-- THAT THE SIOUX HAD GREAT POWER, AND THAT POWER NEEDED TO BE BROKEN. THEY WERE DETERMINED TO FORGE ALLIANCES WITH THE UPRIVER TRIBES-- THE ARIKARA, THE MANDAN, AND THE HIDATSA, AGAINST THE SIOUX. >> Narrator: WORD OF THE SIOUX CONFRONTATION SPREAD QUICKLY TO THE UPRIVER TRIBES-- STRANGE AND BOLD WHITE MEN WITH POWERFUL WEAPONS AND TRADE GOODS WERE ON THEIR WAY. >> THESE VARIOUS TRIBES DID NOT REALLY HAVE ANY PARTICULAR LOYALTY TO TRADERS FROM A GIVEN COUNTRY. THEY WERE INTERESTED IN THE BEST TRADE GOODS THEY COULD GET AT THE LOWEST PRICE. >> Narrator: FIRST WERE THE ARIKARA, AN AGRICULTURAL PEOPLE WHOSE RICH CROPS ENTICED OTHER PLAINS TRIBES. THOUGH DOMINATED BY THE SIOUX, THE ARIKARA THEMSELVES OFTEN WAGED WAR AGAINST THEIR NEIGHBORS. WITH LEWIS AND CLARK, THEY WERE FRIENDLY AND OPEN TO MEETING COUNCIL. IN LATE OCTOBER, LEWIS AND CLARK ARRIVED AT THE MANDAN VILLAGES. THIS WAS A MAIN TRADING GROUND, WITH A POPULATION EXCEEDING 4,000. IT WAS REALLY FIVE VILLAGES BANDED TOGETHER AGAINST THE COMMON ENEMY, THE SIOUX. >> THE NATIVE AMERICAN TRIBES HAD BEEN VERY SUCCESSFUL AT PLAYING OFF THE TRADERS FROM VARIOUS EUROPEAN COUNTRIES AGAINST EACH OTHER. THEY CLEARLY REALIZED WHAT WAS TO THEIR TRADING ADVANTAGE. >> Narrator: COMMERCE WAS THE RULE OF THUMB. EVEN THE SIOUX, THE ENEMY, WERE GIVEN SPECIAL DISPENSATION DURING TRADING SEASON SO THEY COULD JOIN IN. WHAT LEWIS AND CLARK WANTED WAS TO FORGE AGREEMENTS WITH THESE TRIBES AGAINST THE SIOUX. >> LEWIS AND CLARK WERE PROBABLY NOT VERY SUCCESSFUL IN THEIR EFFORTS IN THIS AREA. YOU SIMPLY COULDN'T RIDE IN ONE DAY, SAY, "LET'S HAVE PEACE ON THE PLAINS," AND EXPECT TO RIDE OUT THE NEXT DAY AND IT BE ACCOMPLISHED. IT JUST WASN'T GOING TO WORK. >> LEWIS AND CLARK BEGIN TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY ARE MOVING THROUGH AN INDIAN DIPLOMATIC WORLD THAT IS COMPLEX AND INTRICATE. LEWIS AND CLARK BEGAN TO UNDERSTAND THAT THEY REALLY UNDERSTOOD VERY LITTLE. >> "A CURIOUS CUSTOM IS TO GIVE HANDSOME SQUAWS TO THOSE WHOM THEY WISH TO SHOW SOME ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. TWO CAME UP THIS EVENING AND PERSISTED IN THEIR CIVILITIES." CLARK. >> THE MEN BEGAN TO HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE WOMEN. IT WAS A CULTURAL THING WITH MANY OF THE PLAINS TRIBES TO SHARE THEIR WOMEN. >> THE MEN OFFERED THEIR WOMEN FOR FAVORABLE TRADING OR FOR RITUAL PURPOSES. THE WOMEN OFFERING THEMSELVES TO THE MEN MEANT THAT THEY COULD HAVE WHATEVER IT WAS THAT LEWIS AND CLARK POSSESSED. SEX WAS SUCH A NORMAL PART OF LIFE THAT TO THEM IT WAS NOT A DEGRADING THING. >> IN THE EYES OF MANY NATIVE PEOPLE, HERE WERE MEN WHO HAD MAGICAL OBJECTS. HERE WERE MEN WHO BEHAVED IN STRANGE AND WONDERFUL WAYS. AND THE QUESTION NOW FOR SO MANY NATIVE PEOPLE WAS, "HOW DO WE ACQUIRE THIS POWER, THE POWER OF THEIR OBJECTS, THE POWER OF THEIR WAYS?" >> "AN AMAZED MANDAN CHIEF SPIT ON HIS FINGERS AND RUBBED THE BLACK MAN YORK'S SKIN." >> "THE INDIANS MUCH ASTONISHED AT MY BLACK SERVANT, AND CALL HIM 'THE BIG MEDICINE.' THIS NATION NEVER SAW A BLACK MAN BEFORE." CLARK, OCTOBER 9, 1804. >> THERE WAS WITHIN NORTHERN PLAINS CULTURES SEVERAL WAYS TO ACQUIRE POWER. ONE OF THOSE CONDUITS FOR POWER WAS SEX. >> AMERICAN INDIANS HELD SACRED MOTHER EARTH, AND THEY HELD SACRED THE WOMAN, BECAUSE SHE TOO WAS A BIRTH GIVER. THE MAN YORK, THE BLACK MAN THAT ACCOMPANIED LEWIS AND CLARK, LOOKED LIKE A BEAR. THE BEAR WAS CONSIDERED SACRED AMONG AMERICAN INDIAN GROUPS. THEY WANTED THEIR WOMEN TO HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS WITH HIM. AND SO ONE OF THE LEADERS OF THE MANDAN STOOD AT THE DOOR WHILE THEY WENT INTO THE EARTH LODGE TO HAVE SEXUAL RELATIONS. THEY WANTED THE TRANSFERENCE OF THE BEAR'S QUALITY TO GO INTO ONE OF THEIR OFFSPRING. >> Narrator: LEWIS AND CLARK BUILT A FORT, AND SPENT THE ENTIRE WINTER OF 1804 TO 1805 AMONG THE MANDAN. >> THE CHIEF WOULD COME TO THE FORT TO SEE WHAT IT WAS LIKE. LEWIS AND CLARK WOULD GO TO INDIAN COUNCILS TO LEARN FROM THEM. THEY TOOK MANY NOTES ABOUT THE INDIANS. >> Narrator: EXACTLY WHERE WERE THESE LANDS, AND WHAT CROPS GREW THERE? WHICH ANIMALS, AND HOW MANY GRAZE THERE? WHO WERE THESE NATIVE TRIBES, AND WHO DID THEY TRADE WITH? THIS WAS INFORMATION THAT JEFFERSON, WITH AN EYE TOWARD EXPANSION, REQUIRED. >> THEY PLAYED INDIAN GAMES. THERE WERE DANCES. ONE OF THE MEN PLAYED A FIDDLE, AND HE'D PULL IT OUT, AND THE MEN WOULD SHOW THE INDIANS HOW THEY DANCED, AND THEN THE INDIANS WOULD PERFORM FOR THE MEN. AT OTHER POINTS, WHEN THE GOING WAS SO DIFFICULT, WHEN THINGS LOOKED BLEAK, I'M SURE THEY LOOKED BACK ON THE MANDAN DAYS AS THE BEST DAYS. >> Narrator: ONE OF THE MOST SIGNIFICANT PEOPLE LEWIS AND CLARK ENCOUNTERED AT FORT MANDAN WAS SACAGAWEA, THE YOUNG SHOSHONE WOMAN MARRIED TO TOUSSAINT CHARBONNEAU, A FRENCH TRADER. >> ACCORDING TO THE HIDATSA, THE CURRENT PRONUNCIATION OF HER NAME, SACAGAWEA, IT WAS A HIDATSA NAME. >> Narrator: LEWIS AND CLARK HIRED CHARBONNEAU AS GUIDE AND INTERPRETER IN LARGE PART TO SECURE THE SERVICES OF SACAGAWEA. SACAGAWEA SPOKE HIDATSA AND SHOSHONE, BUT MORE IMPORTANTLY, SHE WAS SHOSHONE. LEWIS AND CLARK KNEW THEY WOULD NEED TO GET HORSES FROM THAT TRIBE. BARELY 20 AND TRAVELING WITH HER NEWBORN SON, SACAGAWEA WOULD PROVE INVALUABLE TO LEWIS AND CLARK. >> SHE HAD BEEN STOLEN FROM HER TRIBE AND BROUGHT TO THE EAST TO THE MISSOURI FROM THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS. AND SO SHE KNEW NOT ONLY SOME OF THE LANDMARKS AND THE ROUTE, BUT SHE KNEW ABOUT THE LAND AND HOW TO SURVIVE ON IT. >> SHE'S VERY IMPORTANT IN A SYMBOLIC SENSE AS A TYPE OF EMBLEM OF PEACE. HER PRESENCE AS A WOMAN WITH A BABE IN ARMS BASICALLY SIGNALED THE PEACEFUL INTENTIONS OF THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION. >> Narrator: LEWIS AND CLARK SPENT THAT WINTER IN NORTH DAKOTA LISTENING CAREFULLY AND BASICALLY BEING TUTORED ONCE AGAIN ABOUT THE TRIBES AND THE GEOGRAPHY FURTHER TO THE WEST. >> BEYOND FORT MANDAN, IT WAS UNCHARTED, UNTESTED, UNKNOWN TERRAIN. IT WAS INDEED SUSPECT TERRAIN-- WHAT SEEMED AT LEAST TO LEWIS AND CLARK THE UNKNOWN, THE ABYSS. >> Narrator: TOO CUMBERSOME FOR THE JOURNEY AHEAD, THE KEELBOAT WAS SENT BACK TO ST. LOUIS. THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY, NOW NUMBERING 33, PROCEEDED ON. >> "THE PARTY ARE IN EXCELLENT SPIRITS, ZEALOUSLY ATTACHED TO THE ENTERPRISE, AND ANXIOUS TO PROCEED." LEWIS, APRIL 7, 1805. >> NOW WE HAVE THE REAL CORPS, THE CORE OF THE CORPS, GOING THE REST OF THE WAY. THEY HAVE A SENSE OF HISTORY, THEY HAVE A SENSE OF DRAMA, THEY HAVE A SENSE OF PURPOSE. >> "WIND HARD AHEAD FROM THE NORTHWEST. PASSED ALL THE VILLAGES. THE INHABITANTS FLOCKED DOWN IN GREAT NUMBERS TO VIEW US." CAPTAIN CLARK, APRIL 8, 1805. >> IT SEEMS FOR LEWIS AND CLARK AS IF THEY WERE STEPPING OFF THE EDGE OF THE EARTH. AFTER ALL, THOMAS JEFFERSON HAD SAID THAT THE WEST WAS A PLACE OF WONDER, OF EXCITEMENT, OF HAZARD, OF MASTODONS AND LLAMAS, SALT MOUNTAINS, AND VOLCANOES. AND IF THOSE THINGS COULD HAPPEN, THAN ANYTHING COULD HAPPEN. >> Narrator: THE FLAT AND BARREN PLANES OF PRESENT DAY NORTH DAKOTA GAVE WAY TO RUGGED HILLS. THE CLIMATE BECAME DRIER. THE RIVER GREW NARROW, AND ITS CURRENT FASTER AND MORE TREACHEROUS. ON MAY 26, LEWIS SAW THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS FOR THE FIRST TIME. >> "I FELT A SECRET PLEASURE, BUT WHEN I REFLECTED ON THE DIFFICULTIES WHICH THIS SNOWY BARRIER WOULD THROW IN MY WAY, IT COUNTERBALANCED THE JOY." LEWIS. >> Narrator: EVEN MORE AWESOME TO LEWIS WERE THE WHITE CLIFFS OF THE MISSOURI BREAKS. >> "THE HILLS AND CLIFFS EXHIBIT A MOST ROMANTIC APPEARANCE. THE RIVER HAS TRICKLED DOWN THE SOFT SAND AND WARDED INTO A THOUSAND GROTESQUE FIGURES. AS WE PASSED ON, IT SEEMED AS IF THOSE SCENES OF VISIONARY ENCHANTMENT WOULD NEVER HAVE AN END." LEWIS, MAY 31, 1805. >> Narrator: ON JUNE 2, THERE WAS AN UNEXPECTED FORK IN THE RIVER. A WRONG CHOICE AND THE EXPEDITION WOULDN'T MAKE IT OVER THE ROCKIES BY WINTER. >> LEWIS AND CLARK TOOK SEVERAL DAYS TO CAREFULLY, PAINSTAKINGLY RECONNOITER EACH ONE OF THE POSSIBLE COURSES, EACH ONE OF THE POSSIBLE CHANNELS. THEY WERE NOT ABOUT TO LEAVE THIS DECISION TO LUCK OR TO CHANCE. >> "THURSDAY, JUNE 13, 1805. MY EARS WERE SALUTED WITH THE AGREEABLE SOUND OF A FALL OF WATER WHICH SOON BEGAN TO MAKE A ROARING TOO TREMENDOUS TO BE MISTAKEN FOR ANY CAUSE SHORT OF THE GREAT FALLS OF THE MISSOURI." LEWIS. >> Narrator: NATIVES HAD TOLD THEM THE RIVER WOULD FLOW INTO A GREAT FALLS. THEY HAD CHOSEN RIGHT. THEY WERE ON THE TRUE MISSOURI. >> IT WAS BEAUTIFUL IN SCENERY, BUT IT WAS VERY DIFFICULT. IT WAS ONE OF THE GREATEST PHYSICAL CHALLENGES OF THE TRAIL. THEY HAD TO CHOOSE, DO WE JUST PLUNGE ON THROUGH, DO WE SKIRT AND GO AROUND? THEY SIMPLY COULD NOT GO THROUGH THESE FALLS. THEY WERE JUST TOO TREACHEROUS, TOO STARK, AND TOO DIFFICULT. >> Narrator: THEY CUT DOWN HUGE COTTONWOOD TREES AND BUILT MAKESHIFT WAGONS AND HEAVED THE BOATS UP ON THEM. THEN THEY ADDED A SAIL, HOPING THE WIND WOULD HELP. >> NOW THEY JUST PUSHED AND PULLED THEM MOSTLY UPHILL, WHICH WAS FILLED WITH PRICKLY PEAR CACTUS. >> Narrator: CACTUS THORNS AND DAGGER-SHARP RIDGES OF EARTH STABBED THE MEN'S ALREADY SORE FEET. THE SUMMER HEAT SCORCHED THEM. SOME FAINTED FROM AGONY AND FATIGUE. IT TOOK 12 DAYS TO TRAVEL THE 18 MILES AROUND THE FALLS. >> EVERYBODY WAS SORE AND TIRED AND BEAT DOWN AND BEAT UP. THERE WERE HAILSTORMS. THERE WAS RAIN. IT WAS JUST A DIFFICULT TIME. >> Narrator: UPSTREAM FROM THE GREAT FALLS THEY ENTERED A CANYON HEMMED IN BY MOUNTAIN WALLS. LEWIS NAMED IT "THE GATES OF THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS." THE BEAUTY OF IT OFFERED SOME SOLACE TO THE WEARY CORPS OF DISCOVERY. THREE STREAMS CONVERGED, OFFERING ANOTHER PUZZLE. SACAGAWEA RECOGNIZED THE AREA AS THE PLACE WHERE SHE HAD BEEN KIDNAPPED FIVE YEARS EARLIER. THEY DETERMINED THE WESTERN FORK WAS THE ONE TO FOLLOW, AND CALLED IT THE JEFFERSON. THEY WERE RIGHT AGAIN. BUT NOW THE CAPTAINS FACED ANOTHER GRAVER PREDICAMENT. >> FROM THE TIME THEY LEFT FORT MANDAN IN APRIL OF 1805, CLEAR UNTIL AUGUST, THEY HAD NOT SEEN ONE INDIAN. >> Narrator: THEY KNEW THEY HAD TO LINK UP WITH THE SHOSHONE AND GET HORSES IF THEY WERE TO MAKE IT OVER THE ROCKIES. >> THEY SAW SIGNS, BUT NO INDIANS. THEY SAW SIGNS OF HORSES, BUT NO HORSES. IF THEY WERE TRAPPED ON THE WRONG SIDE OF THE DIVIDE, THE EXPEDITION WOULD COLLAPSE. THEY WOULD DIE. >> Narrator: THEN SACAGAWEA RECOGNIZED BEAVER HEAD ROCK, AND CAUSED A STIR IN CAMP. >> "AUGUST 8, 1805. SHE ASSURES US THAT WE SHALL EITHER FIND HER PEOPLE ON THIS RIVER OR ON THE RIVER IMMEDIATELY WEST." LEWIS. >> Narrator: NOW ONE OF THE MOST ASTOUNDING EVENTS OF THE EXPEDITION. LEWIS, WITH AN ADVANCE PARTY, ENCOUNTERED A BAND OF SHOSONE. >> NOT JUST ANY BAND, BUT CAMEAHWAIT'S BAND. AND WHO WAS CAMEAHWAIT? HE WAS IN FACT SACAGAWEA'S BROTHER. THEY HAD BEEN SEPARATED SINCE THE TIME OF HER KIDNAPPING SOME YEARS BEFORE. >> Narrator: AT FIRST IMPRESSED BY THE WHITE MAN'S WEAPONS, THEN REUNITED WITH HIS SISTER, CAMEAHWAIT PROMISED TO HELP LEWIS AND CLARK. >> "THE MOST DISTANT FOUNTAIN OF THE MIGHTY MISSOURI, IN SEARCH OF WHICH WE HAVE SPENT SO MANY TOILSOME DAYS AND RESTLESS NIGHTS." LEWIS. >> Narrator: THEY HAD REACHED THE HEADWATERS OF THE MISSOURI. RELIEVED AND OVERJOYED, THEY TRAVELED ON SEVERAL HUNDRED YARDS, THEN LEWIS CLIMBED TO THE TOP OF LEMHI PASS. >> HE SAW BEYOND HIM IN THE DISTANCE AS FAR AS HE COULD SEE MOUNTAIN RANGE AFTER MOUNTAIN RANGE. AND I'M SURE HIS HEART MUST HAVE SUNK AT THAT POINT. >> Narrator: THERE WAS NO NAVIGABLE RIVER IN VIEW, NO GREAT WESTERN FLOWING WATERS OF THE COLUMBIA RIVER. THERE WAS NO NORTHWEST PASSAGE. IT WOULD BE A HARD CLIMB OVER STEEP MOUNTAINS. >> WHAT HE SAW WERE THE ENDLESS BITTERROOT MOUNTAINS. THE PASSAGE THAT THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES HAD TOLD THEM WAS THERE WAS IN FACT NOT THERE. AND THE QUESTION NOW FOR LEWIS AND CLARK WAS, HOW CAN WE FIND A PASSAGE TO THE PACIFIC? >> Narrator: WITH 30 HORSES THEY BARTERED FROM THE SHOSHONE FOR PACKING, NOT RIDING, THEY STRUGGLED ALONG THE EASTERN RANGE OF THE BITTERROOT MOUNTAINS, A TREK MADE MORE DIFFICULT BY AN EARLY SEPTEMBER SNOWSTORM. >> "SEVERAL HORSES FELL. SOME TURNED OVER, AND OTHERS SLIPPED DOWN STEEP HILLSIDES. ONE HORSE CRIPPLED, AND TWO GAVE OUT." CLARK. >> Narrator: CLARK CALLED THE TRAIL "THE WORST THAT EVER HORSES PASSED." HE DIDN'T KNOW THE ORDEAL THAT LAY AHEAD. AFTER A TWO-DAY REST, FLATHEAD INDIANS ON SEPTEMBER 4 APPROACHED THEM. THEY HAD BEEN WATCHING THE EXPEDITION. ASSURED LEWIS AND CLARK WERE NOT A WAR PARTY, THEY CAME FORWARD. >> EVEN WHEN YOU COULD SPEAK THE LANGUAGE, THE BRIDGE, THE CULTURAL MEANING OF THOSE WORDS, WAS VERY DIFFICULT. THE MOST COMPLICATED CAME AMONG THE FLATHEAD INDIANS. THEY SPOKE A LANGUAGE, SALISHAN, WHICH IS PRETTY MUCH UNINTELLIGIBLE TO ANYONE SPEAKING FRENCH OR SHOSHONE. BUT THEY HAD A SLAVE AMONG THEM WHO SPOKE SHOSHONE AND SALISHAN. SO THE SLAVE SPOKE SHOSHONE AND SALISHAN. SACAGAWE SPOKE SHOSHONE AND HADATSA. TOUSSAINT CHARBONNEAU SPOKE HADATSA AND FRENCH. ONE OF THE MEMBERS OF THE PARTY SPOKE FRENCH AND ENGLISH. AND IT CAME DOWN TO LEWIS AND CLARK. >> Narrator: THE FLATHEAD INDIANS WERE NOT ONLY FRIENDLY. THEY ALSO HAD MANY FINE HORSES, AND BARTERED WITH LEWIS AND CLARK. THEN THEY DIRECTED THEM TO A TRAIL THROUGH THE MOUNTAINS-- A TRAIL SCARCE OF GAME, BUT ONE THAT WOULD TAKE ONLY FIVE DAYS. LATER IT WOULD BE CALLED LOLO TRAIL. AND NOW BEGAN THE NIGHTMARE CROSSING OF WHAT ONE CORE MEMBER CALLED "THE MOST TERRIBLE MOUNTAINS I EVER BEHELD." >> THE EXPEDITION GOT OFF OF THE MAIN TRAIL, GOT LOST IN THE SNOW, STARVING. THEY KILLED ONE OF THEIR HORSES IN A PLACE THAT'S TODAY CALLED "KILLED COLD CREEK." THE EXPEDITION AT THAT MOMENT WAS IN DEEP TROUBLE-- FRIGHTENED, FREEZING, HUNGRY. >> Narrator: IT TOOK EIGHT DAYS. DOG AND WAX BECAME THEIR DIET-- BEFORE THEY STAGGERED DOWN TO THE VILLAGE OF THE FRIENDLY NEZ PERCE INDIANS, WHO FED THEM. BARELY RECOVERED, THEY MADE FIVE CANOES FOR THE JOURNEY STILL AHEAD. IT WAS LATE SEPTEMBER, AND TIME WAS PRECIOUS. WATERBORNE ONCE AGAIN, THEY BEGAN TO RUN RAPIDS MORE RECKLESSLY, EVEN THE GREAT FALLS OF THE COLUMBIA. >> HERE THEY DECIDED TO PLUNGE ON THROUGH, TO JUST TRY TO GO RIGHT THROUGH THE FALLS. SO THEY SIMPLY GOT THEIR BEST CANOEISTS, THEIR BEST WATER MEN, IN THE BOATS, AND SENT THEM DOWN THE FALLS WITH ALL THEIR EQUIPMENT. >> Narrator: THE WORST WAS NOW OVER. THEY WERE ON COURSE ON THE GREAT RIVER OF THE WEST, THE COLUMBIA. >> IT WAS AT THIS POINT THAT THEY FIRST BEGAN TO TASTE SALT WATER. MOREOVER, THEY PICKED UP ENGLISH WORDS FROM THE INDIANS, SO THEY KNEW NOW THEY HAD COME BACK INTO KNOWN TERRITORY. >> "GREAT JOY IN CAMP. WE ARE IN VIEW OF THE OCEAN." CLARK, NOVEMBER 8, 1805. >> Narrator: CLARK WAS MISTAKEN. THE COLUMBIA SPREAD OUT SO WIDE IT ONLY LOOKED LIKE THE PACIFIC. IT WOULD BE ANOTHER WEEK BEFORE THEY REACHED THE OCEAN. >> "THIS GREAT PACIFIC OCEAN WHICH WE'VE BEEN SO LONG ANXIOUS TO SEE." CLARK. >> Narrator: IT HAD BEEN A YEAR AND A HALF, AND MANY DAYS OF DEPRIVATION AND DANGER. ON NOVEMBER 15, THE CORPS OF DISCOVERY REACHED THEIR GOAL, THE GLORIOUS PACIFIC. >> THEY CAME EXHAUSTED, WEARY, WORN, AND WITH A CERTAIN SENSE OF LETDOWN. >> Narrator: ON WHAT IS NOW THE BORDER BETWEEN WASHINGTON AND OREGON, THEY BUILT FORT CLATSOP, AND HERE THEY SPENT A SOGGY WINTER-- OVER THREE AND A HALF MONTHS WITH ONLY SIX CLEAR DAYS. >> HERE WAS THE WEATHER. HERE WAS A WORLD THAT WAS RADICALLY DIFFERENT. IT WAS THE END OF THE TRAIL, A LAND OF TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS. AND NOW LEWIS AND CLARK WERE SURROUNDED BY NATIVE PEOPLE THAT DIDN'T LOOK LIKE INDIANS. LEWIS AND CLARK EXPECTED INDIANS TO RIDE HORSES, TO HUNT BUFFALO, OR TO FARM THE EARTH. HERE WERE CHINOOK AND CLATSOP INDIANS WHO FARMED THE SEA, WHO HUNTED, WHO MADE WAR IN CANOES, NOT ON HORSES. HERE WERE INDIANS WHO SQUATTED LIKE FROGS, WHO SPOKE A LANGUAGE THAT SOUNDED LIKE HENS CLUCKING. AND HERE WERE INDIANS WHO WERE ENGAGED IN THE SHARP TRADING. AND THAT TRADING WAS DONE BY WOMEN, NOT BY MEN. >> LEWIS AND CLARK WERE REALLY SPOILED BY THEIR WINTER WITH THE MANDAN AND THE HIDATSA. AND THEY REALIZED THIS WHEN THEY REACHED THE CHINOOK INDIANS IN OREGON. THE CHINOOK HAD HAD EXTENSIVE EXPOSURE TO THE BRITISH AND NEW ENGLAND TRADERS THAT WERE TRADING ALONG THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST COAST, AND THE CHINOOK INDIANS WERE EXTREMELY SHREWD AND HARD-NOSED NEGOTIATORS WHO, FROM THE PERCEPTION OF LEWIS AND CLARK, DIDN'T GIVE LEWIS AND CLARK A BREAK ON ANYTHING. >> OVER AND OVER AGAIN, IN ORDER TO PURSUE THEIR MISSION, THEY WERE FORCED TO BE TRADERS. LEWIS AND CLARK EXPECTED TO DO SOME TRADING, AND THEY ALSO EXPECTED THAT THE AGREEMENTS WOULD BE REACHED FAIRLY QUICKLY. THEY WERE UNPREPARED FOR THE KIND OF YANKEE INGENUITY THAT WOULD SAY, "THIS IS A DANCE. THIS IS A BALLET. THIS IS A CHOREOGRAPHED RITUAL. WE'LL GIVE AND TAKE, AND TAKE AND GIVE, AND ONLY AFTER DAYS AND DAYS WILL WE FINALLY CONCLUDE THIS AGREEMENT." >> Narrator: BOTTOM LINE, LEWIS AND CLARK SIMPLY DIDN'T HAVE THE GOODS TO TRADE. WHAT THEY DID HAVE THEY HAD TO PROTECT FROM THEFT BY THEIR NEIGHBORS AS WELL AS FROM THEIR OWN MEN, WHO WERE TRADING TOOLS AND SUPPLIES FOR SEXUAL FAVORS. THEY BEGAN TO TRADE THEIR MILITARY COATS AND HATS, AND THE BUTTONS OFF THEIR JACKETS. >> THEY CAME TO A POINT WHERE THEY TALKED SACAGAWEA INTO STRIPPING THE BLUE BEADS OFF THEIR BUCKSKIN CLOTHES TO GET THEM NECESSARY SUPPLIES. >> Narrator: THE CAPTAINS WERE EAGER TO LEAVE FORT CLATSOP. THEY LEFT IN MARCH, A MONTH TOO SOON. THIS WAS THEIR FIRST WRONG MOVE. THEY WERE CAUGHT IN THE SNOWS AND HAD TO RETREAT. THE CONSTANT VIGILANCE AGAINST THEFT AND EVER MORE AGGRESSIVE NATIVE PEOPLES HAD LIT A FUSE. >> ON THE RETURN JOURNEY, MERIWETHER LEWIS TOOK A SMALL BAND TO EXPLORE THE COUNTRY AROUND THE TWO MEDICINE RIVER. AND THERE THEY ENCOUNTERED A SMALL BAND OF PIEGAN BLACKFOOT WARRIORS. AND EARLY IN THE MORNING, WHILE LEWIS AND HIS MEN WERE STILL SLEEPING, THESE YOUNG WARRIORS ATTEMPTED TO STEAL LEWIS' HORSES. >> BY THE TIME LEWIS ENCOUNTERED THE BLACKFEET, HE HAD HEARD NOTHING GOOD ABOUT THEM. THE FUR TRADERS COMPLAINED OF THEM. THE MISSOURI TRIBES COMPLAINED OF THEM. THE SHOSHONES, THE NEZ PERCE, ALL COMPLAINED OF THE BLACKFEET AS WARRING UPON THEM. AND EVEN THOUGH HE WAS TO AVOID CONFLICT, HE WASN'T ABOUT TO LET THESE INDIANS MAKE OFF WITH HIS GUNS, WITH HIS HORSES. WORDS EXPLODED INTO VIOLENCE. ONE OF THE INDIANS WAS STABBED IN THE CHEST. THE OTHER WAS SHOT. LEWIS PUT AROUND EACH NECK A PEACE MEDAL, A CALLING CARD, TO SAY TO THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHERN PLAINS, "WE HAVE BEEN HERE. WE ARE THE NEW POWER. THIS IS THE NEW WORLD ORDER." >> AS LEWIS AND CLARK CAME DOWN THE RIVER, THEY'RE SEEING A GROWING TIDE GOING UP THE RIVER-- A TIDE OF MERCHANTS AND TRADERS AND PEDDLERS; THE COMING OF THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION. >> Narrator: ON SEPTEMBER 23, 1806, TWO YEARS AND FOUR MONTHS SINCE THEY'D SET SAIL, LEWIS AND CLARK TRIUMPHANTLY RETURNED TO ST. LOUIS. >> LEWIS AND CLARK WERE NATIONAL HEROES, AND WELL-REWARDED HEROES. PRESIDENT JEFFERSON APPOINTED LEWIS AS THE GOVERNOR OF LOUISIANA TERRITORY. BUT THE MAN WHO COULD LEAD AN EXPEDITION WESTWARD, WHO COULD FACE INCREDIBLE DANGERS AND INCREDIBLE TRIALS, COULDN'T RUN THE TERRITORY. >> HE WAS THROWN INTO A POLITICAL CAULDRON INTO A WITCH'S BREW OF POLITICS IN ST. LOUIS. HE STRUGGLES TO MAKE ALLIES AND MOSTLY MAKES ENEMIES. BUT MERIWETHER LEWIS ALSO HAS ANOTHER RESPONSIBILITY. JEFFERSON EXPECTED THAT LEWIS WOULD STUDY ALL OF THE MATERIAL, A GREAT MASS OF MATERIAL, HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF JOURNAL ENTRIES, SCIENTIFIC SPECIMENS, CARTOGRAPHIC RECORDS, THAT ALL OF THOSE WOULD BE BOILED DOWN INTO A CONNECTED NARRATIVE. THIS WAS AN ENORMOUS TASK, AND THE EVIDENCE IS THAT BY THE TIME OF HIS DEATH HE HAD NOT WRITTEN A SINGLE LINE OF THE REPORT. >> Narrator: LEWIS' PERSONAL AND PUBLIC LIFE WERE COMING APART. HE BEGAN TO DRINK, AND FELL INTO WHAT JEFFERSON CALLED "MELANCHOLIA." FINANCIALLY BELEAGUERED, ONLY 35 YEARS OLD, HE FACED RUIN. HE HEADED FOR WASHINGTON TO CLEAR HIS NAME. >> LEWIS SET OUT ACROSS THE NATCHES TRACES TOWARD NASHVILLE, BUT HE NEVER MADE IT. AT A ROADSIDE INN, HIS SERVANT WAS AWAKENED BY TWO GUNSHOTS, WHEN FOUND HE WAS WOUNDED IN THE HEAD AND IN THE CHEST, SLOWLY BLEEDING TO DEATH. LATER, TALES WOULD CIRCULATE. BUT THOSE WHO KNEW HIM BEST-- JEFFERSON, CLARK-- WERE SURE THAT HE HAD COMMITTED SUICIDE. JUST AS THEIR PERSONALITIES WERE SO DIFFERENT, SO WERE THE ENDS OF LEWIS AND CLARK. CLARK, AS THEY SAY, LIVED HAPPILY EVER AFTER. >> WILLIAM CLARK WAS MADE A GENERAL OF THE MILITIA, AND THEN INDIAN SUPERINTENDENT FOR THE WESTERN DEPARTMENT. HE WAS PROSPEROUS, INFLUENTIAL, HAD A GOOD FAMILY, AND GOOD FRIENDS-- A MAN WHO SAW HIMSELF AS A SUCCESS, AND INDEED THE AGE SAW HIM AS A SUCCESS. SACAGAWEA DRIFTS IN AND OUT OF THE HISTORICAL RECORD. WE KNOW THAT IN 1811 SHE WAS IN ST. LOUIS, WEARING THE CAST-OFF CLOTHING OF WHITE WOMEN. IN 1812 SHE WENT UP THE RIVER TO FORT MANUEL, AND THERE SHE CATCHES TYPHUS AND DIES. >> IT'S SIMPLE, OF COURSE, TO SAY THAT THE LEWIS AND CLARK EXPEDITION BLAZED A TRAIL THAT THE PIONEERS, THE FUR TRADERS, WOULD FOLLOW INTO THE WEST, THAT THEY WERE THE STANDARD BEARERS OF EMPIRE. AND ALL THAT'S TRUE, BUT MORE. JEFFERSON, BY THIS EXPEDITION, AND WITH THESE BOLD EXPLORERS, HELPED TO SECURE AN AMERICAN CLAIM TO AN ENTIRE CONTINENT AND TO THE PACIFIC COAST BEYOND. >> Narrator: APART FROM THE ENCOUNTER WITH THE BLACKFEET, THE EXPEDITION HAD A RECORD OF AMICABLE RELATIONS WITH THE NATIVE PEOPLES THEY MET. IT WAS A MARKED CONTRAST TO THOSE THAT FOLLOWED. IRONICALLY, MANY OF THE TRIBES LEWIS AND CLARK RELIED UPON FOR THEIR SURVIVAL LATER FOUGHT FOR THEIR OWN LIVES AGAINST THE U.S. GOVERNMENT. >> THE STARS DANCED FOR LEWIS AND CLARK, BUT THEY MADE THOSE STARS DANCE, BECAUSE THEY WERE CAREFUL, CONSIDERED, WELL- ORGANIZED, WELL-STRUCTURED. THEY WERE THE INFANTRY COMPANY ON THE MOVE-- MEN WHO UNDERSTOOD THE CHALLENGES, MET THOSE CHALLENGES, AND DID THE BEST THAT THEY COULD. Captioned by <font color="#00FFFF"> Media Access Group at WGBH</font> access.wgbh.org
