"A museum in a book"--Cover.

Includes bibliographical references.

"Day after tomorrow I shall set out"; young Virginian embarks on a hazardous assignment -- "We received the Treaty from Paris"; mightier mission for an expanding nation -- "I will chearfully join you"; a historic partnership is forged -- "Set out...up the Missourie"; a well-prepared party heads upstream -- "Robust young backwoodsmen"; inside the Corps of discovery -- "Set out early and proceeded on"; perseverance amidst obstacles and tragedy -- "I felt...compeled to draw my sword"; a tense standoff with the Teton Sioux -- "We commence building our cabins"; a winter of waiting at Fort Mandan -- "Equal fortitude and resolution"; Sacagawea demonstrates cool-headed courage -- "Most romantic appearance"; Spectacular scenery in the wilderness west -- "I swung my pack and set forward"; a difficult decision determines the fate of the expedition -- "My feet is very much brused & cut"; through hardship and danger, the Corps struggles westward -- "I was overjoyed at the sight of this stranger"; saved by the Shoshone -- "Mountains in every direction as far as I could see"; fatigue and frustration in the wilderness -- "We set out down the great Columbia"; down the Columbia to the Pacific -- "Ocian in view! O! the joy!"; the Corps reaches the coast -- "Our homeward bound journey"; hardship, bloodshed, and determination on the way home -- "We...received a harty welcom"; the final stages of the journey -- "We have penitrated the continent of North America"; the great adventure becomes history -- "All the success which could have been expected"; conclusion, how the expedition shaped America.

Describes the expedition led by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the unknown western regions of America at the beginning of the nineteenth century. Includes facsimiles of journal entries, maps, and letters inserted in folders and under flaps.