L&C Times
Journey's Journals

My name is Froto and I am writing to you the night before I leave for a journey into the western territory. I am nervous for the journey since no one has been there. The captains for this long journey are Meriewether Lewis and William Clark. On this journey we are to make maps as we go on. We are to mark rivers and mountains; take a journal and write down experiences and drawings of unknown animals.The real reason why we are going is that we are to see if there is a path or trail there that we can use to reach the ocean with.

I am nervous about going on this journal but also very excited. No one has every been in the Louisiana Purchase yet and no one really knows what is out there. The animals are what I'm worrying about. We are not really sure what animals we are going to expect to see but we are supposed to draw and describe each different animal we see. I am worrying about Native Americans also. We aren't sure if they are going to be peaceful of aggressive towards us. Hopefully we will have a great and safe journy.

May 24th 1804

We have reached the Missouri River!!! It seems like its been awhile since we left Louisiana. We took camp right next to the river. It is really beautiful. There is trees and animals everywhere. The river is about a mile wide. I am sitting here staring out at the river is sparkling from the sun against it. Its blue and I just saw a fish jump out of the water. I can see an intresting animal drinking some of the water a few yards away. It has four tall legs and is light brown. It has two horns on top of his head. I believe we named this animal a deer.

Hello, my name is Logan Jones. I am preparing for our big journey to the uncharted Western Territory. I am expecting a long, maybe harsh journey. It should be very interesting. I am going to be following the great leaders Meriweather Lewis and William Clark. They have chosen me to join the expedition and I am very excited to go along. I have heard some rumors of seven-foot beavers and dangerous volcanoes. Hearing about these things disturbs me, but also makes me want to go even more. Thinking about some of the things we are going to encounter is a little scary too. There are many questions in my mind on what could possibly be over there, but there's only one way to find out, to explore it. I'm sure there will be many Native Americans, but we are going to bring presents and gifts to give to them to show our peaceful passing. Hopefully they will accept these gifts and we won't have to worry about any quarreling. It is all quite scary, but very exciting at the same time. I hope to be able to discover and name something that I find in the Western Territory, and I, like anyone else, hope to stay alive throughout the journey. I think it is going to be very exciting and fun and can't wait until we leave.

The Missouri River! What a beautiful sight! The river's flow is pretty strong and we are moving upstream, which makes it a little difficult to move fast. The water isn't as clear as I heard it was going to be, but yet I can still see fish swimming around. There are animals all around. Elk, buffalo, and deer are just roaming around, they are beautiful. We should be well fed for a while. I can't wait to continue down the river

My name is Sergeant Charlie and it is the night before we leave to go on the expedition up the Missouri River.  We are exploring the land just recently bought by the United States.  I am very scared and nervous right now because we don’t really know what to expect.  We have heard stories about seven ft. tall beavers, unicorns, and huge wild bears that kill everything they see.  So that is what I am expecting to see and getting ready for.  I am hoping to see many Indians and to become friends with them because I have never seen an Indian.  I have just heard stories about them.  Well I have a long day ahead of me so I better get some sleep.

Today we are traveling on the Missouri River for the first time.  This is my first time ever seeing the Missouri River and I am very excited to be on it.  So far there hasn't been a lot of sand dunes but Lewis told us that we should be ready to get out of the ship and be able to push the ship out of the sand dunes.  Since we are traveling up the river the current is going against us so we have to work extra had to get the ship going.  I saw many different animals that I have never seen before.  I saw a huge bear and the biggest beaver ever.  My arms are really tired from rowing all day long and I think that I am going to go to bed.

March 1^st, 1804

Hey my name is Rodney Belcher. I am a 21 year old with no money and looking for an adventure. The captains, Mr. Lewis and Mr. Clark for my excellent survival, picked me skills so they tell me. I am extremely nervous. I don’t know what to expect out of this hole deal. I may never return home. This could be my last adventure. I have been told that there are 7-foot beavers and erupting volcanoes. I don’t believe all of this and if its true, then well its gonna be a long trip to the coast. Through the trip alls I gots to do is walk along side the captains and make sure that we are on the right route. I am terrified of this trip in a way cause I ain’t know whats out there. I am hoping that we make it all the way to our final destination. President Jefferson gave us strick orders. Get all the information that you can on this part of the world. Sure dosent seem to hard but we will just have to see. I don’t get to ask any questions on the trip they pretty much just have to keep my mouth shut and stay out of the captains ways. I guess you could call me the ginny pig of the trip. Well I better get to sleep we got an early morning tomorrow and I am not an early morning person. Wish me the best of luck!

Rodney Belcher