Lewis and Clark—Fun Facts

Announced July 4, 1804.  U.S. purchases 868,000 square miles, eventually 13 states, from Napoleon for $15 million dollars.  Best real estate deal in history, only $ .03 an acre.  Doubled size of the United States.

Why did napoleon sell?  “I have given England a rival, who sooner or later, will humble her pride.”

Expedition took 863 days, 7,689 miles the distance traveled by the expedition, through unmapped, unsettled wilderness.

Costs of expedition:  initial approved by congress $2,500.  Grew to $38,722.25, 15x original amount.  When you add in price of land each member received upon return as a reward, the total tops $136,000.  In today’s dollars that is $126,000,000.  It cost $25 billion to put a man on the moon.

Permanent party:  consisted of 33 to 35, including

One woman, one baby and one dog.

Expedition discovered 122 new animals and 178 new plants.  Biggest tormentor  expedition—mosquitoes!!

Lewis designed a collapsible canoe with iron frame for journey.   It could be covered with animal skins and could carry one ton.  It weighed only 44 lbs and was named experiment.

Used keelboat at beginning of journey—55’ long, 8’ wide with a 32’ tall, hinged mast.  Held over eight tons of equipment & food.

Doctor Benjamin Rush, the country’s most famous physician, provided 600 of rush’s thunderbolts his famous homemade laxative for the expedition.

Each man consumed 9 pounds of meat per day when available.

Tally of game killed on the expedition:

Dear -- 1001

Bear -- 56

Turkey -- 9

Elk -- 375

Beaver -- 113

Plovers -- 48

Bison -- 227

Otter -- 16

Wolves -- 18 (only 1 eaten_

Antelope -- 62

Geese -- 104

Indian Dogs -- 190 (purchased)

Big Horned Sheep -- 35

Grouse -- 46

Horses -- 12

This list does not include countless smaller game or more exotic animals such as hawk, coyote, fox, crow, eagle, gopher, muskrat, seal, turtle, crab, salmon and trout.

“The dog now constitutes a considerable part of our subsistence and with most of the party has become a favorite food; certain I am… and from habit it has become by no means disagreeable to me, I preferred to venison or elk, and it is very far superior to the horse in any state.”  --Lewis

 (Day 99) Sgt. Floyd dies at age of 22.  He was only member to die during expedition.  Cause of death guessed as ruptured appendix.

First election west of Mississippi.  All men including York, a slave, elect Patrick Gass as new sergeant.

“About five o’clock this evening one of the wives of Charbono (sacagawea) was delivered of a fine boy.”  --Lewis

Lewis buys teepee from Sioux.  Sacagawea takes down and puts up daily.  Lewis, Clark, Sacagawea, pomp, Drouillard and Charbonneau sleep in nightly

Sacagawea recognizes Cameahwait, chief of Shoshone as her long, lost brother.  Guarantees cooperation by Shoshone with expedition.

free vote on where to build winter fort.  Unheard of in its day to vote on such matters. 

Only Native American fatalities caused by expedition members.  Two Blackfeet killed.

Lewis shot in buttocks by one eyed expedition member Cruzatte, who mistook him for an elk.