Western Explorers

Lewis and Clark

    Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were two explorers leading an expedition through the newly-bought Louisiana Purchase. They traveled up the Missouri River, through the Rocky Mountains, and down the Columbus River to the Pacific Ocean. They had many accomplishments along the journey, such as trading with many different Native American tribes, finding several waterways to the Pacific, and discovering many new animal species, like the Prairie Dog. Also they made very detailed maps of the Louisiana Purchase that modern-day historians, and mapmakers are astonished at. The maps were very precise. Along their journey, lewis and Clark stayed with the Mandan Indians throughout the winter. They chose the Mandans because they were one of the more friendly tribes, had suitable shelter, and were settled along the Missouri. Also en-route, they acquired an Indian guide named Sacajawea, who showed them many different things and who spoke different languages among the Native tribes.

Pike

    Zebulon Pike was an explorer, after the Lewis and Clark expedition, who went up and down the Mississippi River, across the Louisiana Purchase, down into Spanish Territory, and over to the Red River. Many say that Pike was lost during the majority of his trek, and the Spanish accused him of spying on their government. He explored the southern Rockies, a lot of the Spanish Territory, and the Rio Grande. He brought back valuable information for the mapmakers in America, and saw the great peak that is called today, Pike's Peak. Although he did not actually climb Pike's Peak, he wrote about the mountain greatly in his journal.

Long

    Stephen H. Long was an explorer after the time of the Pike expedition and the Lewis and Clark expedition. He traveled up the Platte River, across to the Colorado River, and then down the Canadian River. He explored much of the Great Plains, and mapped what he saw. Then, Long headed towards the Rocky Mountains. He climbed Pike's Peak and saw another peak that in his eyes seemed much taller and more majestic, although he did not climb the great peak, it is now called Long's Peak located in Estes Park, Colorado.