Undaunted Courage: Moving West

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As the expedition was traveling down the rivers west of the Rockies, men’s lives were endangered. The water of the river was moving so rapidly that it destroyed their canoes, their supplies and their goods. Old Toby, an Indian guide who traveled with the expedition for pay, was so afraid of the rushing water that he ran away. When he took off he forgot his profit, so the Captains asked a horseman, Twisted Hair from the Nez Perce tribe, to inform Old Toby to come back to be paid. The Nez Perce Indians was the largest and strongest tribe in the Pacific Northwest. They always caught plenty of game and had a huge amount of horses. As the expedition moved from the Rockies to the coast, the waters started to change. The Columbia river contained more rapids and the water of the Great Falls was more violent. The next set of falls they came across was called The Dalles. The Dalles looked bad and had boiling and disastrous water. Resulting in the bad water, the men had to walk by land carrying the important items, while the men who swam carried the heavier and less important items. The Chinook Indians approached the captains and the Corps on their canoes with a supply of deer meat, cakes and bread to give to the men. In return, the men gave medals to the chiefs and trinkets to the other Indians as a form of thank you. After they started off on good terms, the expedition and the Chinook Indians began to get along very well. On the morning of November 7th, after the fog cleared the skies, Clark shouted, “Ocian in view! O! the joy.” (pg. 310). Despite the bad weather, the men rushed to the canoes and paddled enthusiastically in the direction of the Pacific Ocean.
A few days later the expedition was back in misery. Their clothes had gotten al...

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...he American Indian policy to win their loyalty. American traders wanted to trade their useful things that the Osages wanted, for the furs and peltries that the Osages had. Jefferson’s ideal policy toward the Indians was that he was the new father of the reds and he peace mediator. He promised that the American trade posts would be open in their Indian country and that he would give them steady jobs if they went to work instead of war. Jefferson was responsible for the overpopulation of the west. The Native Americans were being pushed westward by the emigrants and immigrants. Jefferson’s policy for the Indians was to stretch the United States into a continental power from sea to sea. His first step was to find a Northwest Passage. His next step was to map out parts of the Louisiana Purchase, and his last step was to set up a new expedition to explore the Ouachita.

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