The Essential Lewis and Clark

by Lewis, Meriwether; Jones, Landon Y.; Clark, William

• ISBN13: 9780060196004
• ISBN10: 0060196009
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-01-13
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

<P>The journals of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark remain the single most important document in the history of American exploration. This compact volume of their journals, compiled by American Book Awaard nominee Landon Y. Jones, includes all of the most riveting tales of their adventure.</P>Here is a concise, breathtaking record of Lewis and Clark's legendary journey to the Pacific, written by the two captains--under unspeakable stress and the threat of constant danger--with an immediacy that startles to this day. Through these tales of adventure we see the Great Plains, the Rocky Mountains and western rivers the way Lewis and Clark first observed them--majestic, pristine, uncharted, and awe-inspiring. We are in moccasins of Lewis and Clark as they witness other wonders no European-Americans had ever seen before: new creatures such as antelope, prairie dogs, and, most memorably, grizzly bears. Also included are the explorers' encounters with Native Americans, featuring the amazing reunion between Sacagawea and her brother, a Shoshone chief who secured the expedition's safe passage over the Continental Divide.</P><P>Landon Jones has selected the most memorable journal entries left behind by Lewis and Clark, and then edited and annotated them for all readers--those steeped in lore of the expedition, and newcomers to this unforgettable journey. From this raw material springs every book ever written about Lewis and Clark.</P>

Table of Contents

A Note on the Text	ix
Introduction	xi
The Corps of Discovery	xix
VOLUME ONE	1	(41)
From River Dubois to Two-Thousand-Mile Creek
May 13, 1804--May 5, 1805
VOLUME TWO	42	(63)
From Two-Thousand-Mile Creek to Shoshoni Camp on Lemhi River
May 6, 1805--August 20, 1805
VOLUME THREE	105	(35)
From the Shoshoni Camp on Lemhi River to Fort Clatsop
August 21, 1805--January 9, 1806
VOLUME FOUR	140	(14)
From Fort Clatsop to Musquetoe Creek
January 27, 1806--May 7, 1806
VOLUME FIVE	154	(14)
From Musquetoe Creek to St. Louis
May 8, 1806--September 26, 1806
Lewis's Short-cut to the Missouri, and Exploration of Maria's River
Lewis's Journal, July 3--August 12, 1806	168	(13)
Clark's Exploration of the Yellowstone	181	(17)
Letter from Lewis to Jefferson	198