The Journals Of Lewis And Clark (Lewis & Clark Expedition)

Dear Readers: May I suggest, before you read the Journals of Lewis and Clark, contact a noted scholar by the name of Clay S. Jenkinson and play at least 2 of his DVD's; "Thomas Jefferson" Mr. Jenkinson portrays this man, the Third President of the U. S. of A. and he is the one that got the idea to explore the West. He bought the Louisia Territory from Napoleon Bonaparte, and the second DVD The Lewis and Clark Expediton, is mostly about Capt.lewis....The reason I wanted to read the journals, is because my father and I used to hunt in the State of Washington, along Columbia River, and we were at the Lolo Hot Springs in the State of Idaho and hunted and fishedin the Clearwater River, and in Western Montana. The journals portrayed the hardship of traveling against thewaters of the Missouri River; the meeting of at least 50 Indian tribes, trying to explain to them that they werepeacful soldiers; and the fact that a Shoshone Indian woman riding on a horse with a papoose on her back, gave proof that these peopls were not warriors. Also, Capt. Clark brought with him a Negro Slave, which was common in the 17th Century in America...The Indians called York, a Black White Man. Capt. Clark also brought his dog, a black Labrador along, named Seaman, who was very sharp and smart. The one thing that was amazing to me was when the Corps arrived at the shore of the Pacific Ocean at the mouth of the Columbia River, the weather in that areaduring the winter months was very wet, and they had to decide where to make camp and soon. So, Capt. Clark gathered the whole group together and asked them to vote as to where shall we buiild a fort during the winterof 1805 and 1806; it was the first time that a slave and a Indian woman voted in the future of America The End. CJ.I purchased from Amazon both the Journals of Lewis and Clark and the book "Sacajawea" written by Anna Waldo; thisbook was so interesting, that I read it 6 times, and I am not a reader per se, I am a musician that loves to sing.

I read books in a wide variety of topics. I decided to read about Lewis and Clark because I felt I just did not know enough about it and I felt that I should. When I received the book, I opened it and was fearful that I made a mistake because it was made up of journal entries, day by day in Lewis and Clark's own words. I started reading and I found myself immmediately engrossed in the story. I mean immediately. You can read the letter from Jefferson containing the instructions and mission of the expedition- just fascinating. Then you get the story of the expedition, day by day, straight from the horses' mouth. I could not put this book down. I could not stop talking about it. I used Google Earth (so cool!!!) to follow the Missouri River into the Rockies, across the mountains, finally to the Columbia to the Pacific and then back. Canoeing up rivers, down rivers, fighting bears, trading and smoking with indians, fighting with some indians, at times overheated, at times freezing. Surving on the land with strategy and forethought. I learn an incredible amount of information about that time in our country's history. I was blown away. And the greatest part, I had to keep reminding myself of, is that it was absent all of the politically corrected revisionism we read today. This story is straight from them. They are sitting down at night and recording what they experienced in 1804 (05-06). Those notes are delivered to you via an author Bernard Devoto who uses only the most relevant parts of the journals (leaves out the volumes of strict scientific research data). Then, when he has to make the occasion insertion of a letter or two to make sure a misspelled word is not misinterpreted, he gives very clear instruction on how he has denoted the change. He also, upon occasion will give a summary of events, or a note of interest.The end result is a splendid story, rich in historical information, written by the men who lived it, about one of the most important events in our country's history. I leave you with this excerpt, logged Sunday August 18th, 1805 by a man who is in the middle of the American West, where no white man has tread before, trading and smoking with Indians, shooting bear and deer to survive, canoeing upriver for 2000 miles;"This day I completed my thirty first year, and conceived that I had in all human probability now existed about half the period which I am to remain in this subluminary world. I reflected that I had as yet done but little, very little indeed, to further the happiness of the human race or to advance the information of the succeeding generation. I viewed with regret the many hours I have spent in indolence..."

I am disappointed DeVoto's edition appears to omit details of Charles Floyd's death and burial. As shown on the Ken Burns video there were some poignant passages such as Floyd asking Clark to write him a letter and Floyd dying with a "great deal of composure" as well as the campsite at the mouth of "Floyd's River," all of which DeVoto chooses to omit. To be fair, I haven't finished the book yet, but am already past the Sioux City portion with mention only of Clark's "Biliose Chorlick" diagnosis and alarm at Floyd's rapid decline, so it doesn't look good for additional mention of Floyd. So now I'm wondering what other good parts have been omitted. Devoto's lengthy intro is very insightful and gives good perspective on why the journey was so important.

At the behest of Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, and a dozen other men (and a woman) set out to discover just what Napoleon had sold to the US in 1803. They traveled via the Missouri river to a point just short of the continental divide, bought horses to trek over the top of the Rockies, and then followed westward flowing rivers to Portland and the Pacific. Then they reversed and came back. This book provides an edited version of the reports the two explorers submitted when they got back. Backwoodsmen had met the Indians of the West, but Lewis and Clark met and then wrote about them. If you want stories about some of the first interactions between white men and the Indian peoples of the West, this book provides them. And much more besides. Great descriptions. Very well illustrated to make the whole into a single volume that reads very well.

I bought this for my partner, who is a direct descendent of William Clark. He has been enthralled by this book, which contains their actual journal entries from their expeditions. The journal entries are very descriptive and provide insight into what they actually went through on their journies.

Fascinating account of Lewis and Clark's travels

Dommage que ce soit une version réduite.

A really interesting book from start to finish. Lewis and Clark were sent by U.S President, Thomas Jefferson, to find a route up the Missouri river, over the Rocky Mountains, into the Columbia river and eventually to the Pacific. Trading with the various Indian tribes and living off the land, the journey was fraught with danger from start to finish. Reading the very descriptive journals , leaves you with the feeling that it was one hard slog all the way. The men were plagued with boils and other ailments, besides the threat from bears, and rattlesnakes, and a violent encounter with the Blackfeet Indians. The highly descriptive passages of Captain Lewis gives you the impression that he was a very learned individual and a born botanist. The journey took them from May 1804 to Sept1806. They were in fact given up for lost. Any reader will have to bear in mind that these journals are printed as they were written, so the style and spelling is rather old fashioned the punctuation non existent in some parts. There is however no denying that it is a fascinating read.

I am reading this book in a none-English speaking country and realized that it is very difficult to decipher if you can't say it out loud and make sense of the words. No possibility of looking up words on internet or translating in any way.Love the book nonetheless but as a caution to someone that may think this version of the Journals has been edited to current grammer/spellings.Love the book.

Contente de l'achat