ILLUSTRATION BY ALLAN DAVEY

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A Path to the Pacific

In 1804, Lewis and Clark set off to find a water route across North America to the Pacific Ocean. They might never have made it without an American Indian girl named Sacajawea.

November 1, 2017
by Barbara Krasner

More than 200 years ago, the United States nearly doubled in size. In 1803, the U.S. bought land west of the Mississippi River from France. President Thomas Jefferson was eager to learn more about the new U.S. territory. He gave two explorers, Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, an important mission—to map the region and find a water route from the Mississippi River to the Pacific Ocean. Jefferson thought that a water route would help increase trade across the country.

The Lewis and Clark Expedition set off on the Missouri River on May 14, 1804. Along the way, they hired a French-Canadian fur trader as an interpreter. His wife, Sacajawea (sak-uh-juh-WEE-ah), joined the group too. She was a Shoshone Indian and could help them communicate with American Indian tribes who lived in the West. Little did Lewis and Clark know that she would play a big role in their survival.

The trip was challenging. The group had to navigate the river’s strong currents, fight off dangerous animals, and survive harsh weather. One day, as they paddled up the river, a gust of wind overturned Sacajawea’s canoe. She stayed calm, quickly rescuing the expedition’s journals and scientific instruments. It was one of the many times that Sacajawea saved the day.

American Philosophical Society

A sketch of a canoe from Lewis’s journal

As the group entered the Rocky Mountains, Sacajawea helped guide them through the area in which the Shoshone Indians lived. In August 1805, the expedition reached the Missouri River’s starting point, in what is now Montana. Lewis and Clark hoped to see a waterway flowing west from the Rocky Mountains. But the only river nearby was impossible to travel on. To their dismay, there was no water route to the Pacific.

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The Lewis and Clark Expedition traveled through the Columbia River Gorge.

Lewis and Clark continued west on horseback. Again, Sacajawea was key. When the group ran out of food, Sacajawea found them edible roots and berries. “Her knowledge helped everyone survive the Rockies,” says Lin Gray of the Sacajawea Interpretive Center in Idaho.

In the fall, the expedition made it to the Columbia River, the waterway that would lead them to the Pacific. Finally, in November 1805, the group reached their destination—the Pacific Ocean.

Lewis and Clark returned to St. Louis, Missouri, on September 23, 1806. With Sacajawea’s help, they had been able to map the new territory. In his journal, Clark wrote that she had “been of great service to me as a pilot through this country . . .”   

1. Why was finding a water route across the continent important to President Jefferson?

2. Which river formed the western border of the U.S. before the U.S. bought land from France in 1803? (Note: This land deal was known as the Louisiana Purchase.)

3. What are two tributaries, or branches, of the Missouri River named on the map? (Hint: They are near the Rocky Mountains.)

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