Lewis And Clark

NEARLY 200 years ago, in late November of 1805, the members of the Lewis and Clark expedition huddled near the mouth of the Columbia River, having become the first American citizens to cross the continent by land.Far from home and pinned down for weeks by a relentless Pacific storm that William Clark (in his own imaginative spelling) called ''tempestous and horiable,'' the small band of explorers nevertheless found a tangible way to commemorate their remarkable achievement: They began carving their names into tree trunks -- so many times, it appears from Clark's journal entries, that few trees near their sodden campsites escaped their knife blades.

It's the best spring ever, green and lush, and baby robins are chittering in their nest in the maple tree, and the smell of blossoms is in the air — and yet we dour Scots cannot forget that April 27 was the anniversary of our ignominious defeat at the Battle of Dunbar, our good King John stripped of his regalia, and the Stone of Scone hauled off to London. Yes, I know that 1296 seems like a long time ago, and maybe 714 years is a wee bit long to be grinding our teeth over a bad day on the battlefield, but we Scots nurse our resentments carefully.

NAPOLEON, Thomas Jefferson and Sacajawea roamed the grounds of Longfellow Elementary School last week as children celebrated the 197th anniversary of the Lewis and Clark expedition by staging a re-enactment of the historic journey. More than 100 fourth- and fifth-graders took part as soldiers, Native Americans, politicians or members of the Corps of Discovery. "It was huge; it was incredible," said music teacher Nancy Terrill, who came up with the idea for the re-enactment. Terrill said Principal Lou Chillemi wanted to find a way to involve the entire school in learning the story of explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark.

May 14 1643 Louis the XIV became King of France at age 4 upon the death of his father, Louis the XIII. 1804 The Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory left camp near St. Louis, Mo.

Friday February 7th 1806.This evening we had what I call an excellent supper. It consisted of a marrowbone a piece and a brisket of boiled Elk that had the appearance of a little fat on it. This for Fort Clatsop is living in high stile.-- Meriwether LewisThe Journals of Lewis and Clark, edited by Bernard DeVoto Lewis and Clark spent 107 days at Fort Clatsop, on a sheltered inlet just inside the mouth of the Columbia River. It was during the winter of 1805-'06 on their historic journey to find the Northwest Passage.

PHILADELPHIA - If life is long and passion is true, one man can make a difference. Frank Muhly has spent 30 years telling the world that the Lewis and Clark expedition started here. In Philadelphia. Most of the world thinks Lewis and Clark paddled up the Missouri River in 1804, heading west to explore the Louisiana Purchase and find a water passage to the Pacific. But Capt. Meriwether Lewis spent a critical month in Philadelphia in the spring of 1803. He learned about botany, medicine, astronomy and map-making from brilliant scientists.

With one unceremonious toot on the horn and an offhand "Away we go," Larry Cook nosed our simple craft, Westwind, out into the brown, rain-swollen Missouri River to launch a voyage of 3 1/2 days across central Montana and 200 years back in time. Our journey -- from Fort Benton to the James Kipp Recreation Area -- proved to be one of splendid isolation that I was not sure could still be found in an America where even the most far-flung motel now offers dozens of channels of cable or satellite TV.As we shed most modern trappings -- when was the last time you went half a week without even seeing a car?

GLASGOW, Mo. - For years, people in this quiet one-motel town on the banks of the Missouri River believed that they had a small claim to a big piece of history - explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had camped here on their quest to the West. A plaque put up in the 1960s declared it so, and, as former Mayor Earl Stockhorst put it, a "big stack of journals" had confirmed it. Firm in their conviction, town officials planned a $22,000 celebration to mark the famous three-year expedition's bicentennial from next year to 2006.

GREAT FALLS, Mont. -- Before Capt. Meriwether Lewis saw the Great Falls of the Missouri on June 13, 1805, he heard the roar.What he beheld when he reached the tiny island at the base of the falls astonished him. Here the mighty Missouri River, some 1,500 feet wide and swollen with the snowmelt of the Rockies, fell 78 feet. It was, he wrote in his journal, a "sublimely grand specticle the grandest sight I ever beheld." It was also a crucial moment in the journey, the discovery that dispelled any fear that Lewis and William Clark had taken a wrong turn in their expedition.

May 14 1643 Louis the XIV became King of France at age 4 upon the death of his father, Louis the XIII. 1804 The Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the Louisiana Territory left camp near St. Louis, Mo.

I took this photo at the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana, the site of the battle between Lt. Col. George Custer and the Sioux. My wife and I visited the area in August 2005 as part of an Elderhostel program on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. I was captivated by the image of the Indians on their horses with the Montana plains and sky visible through the outline of the sculpture. It was emblematic of the vanishing Plains Indians to whom it is dedicated. Tom Scheurich, Fallston

HOLLYWOOD -- James Woods is the first to admit that his first full-time TV job isn't much of a stretch. On CBS' new hit Shark, he plays the loud and egotistical Sebastian Stark, an ostentatious Los Angeles defense lawyer who switches sides and joins the district attorney's office. Woods, after all, has spent much of his on-screen career playing versions of himself, even spoofing that persona on HBO's Entourage last season, when he guest-starred opposite his real-life 20-year-old girlfriend, Ashley Madison.

PORTLAND, ORE. // We gathered here to begin contemplating rivers -- the Columbia and Snake, mostly, with glances toward Grand Ronde, Yakima, Willamette and a few more. The Columbia and Snake sorely tested the Lewis and Clark expedition during its 1804-1806 westward mission. The explorers had to contend with rocks, rapids, treacherous gorges and dangerous waterfalls on their way from the St. Louis area to the Pacific Ocean. The Columbia River ends in the Pacific after churning 1,214 miles.

Study the past if you would divine the future." So said Confucius, and these days more and more Americans are interested in where they come from. Heritage tourism is gaining momentum. According to a recent study by the Travel Industry Association of America and Smithsonian Magazine, tourists who seek out history and culture (118 million last year, up 13 percent from 1996) spend more, do more and stay longer than other travelers. Interest in African-American history, the civil rights movement, women's rights, Native American culture, the Civil and Revolutionary wars, and the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition are all helping to fuel domestic travel.

History buffs Larry Chrystal and Susanna Lang retraced the famed expedition of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark several years ago during a 10,000-mile drive through the western United States. Then they read a book about Lewis and Clark's three-year trek. Yesterday, Chrystal and Lang stood under a tent, headphones around their ears, gazing at illustrations of the territory Lewis and Clark explored 200 years ago during a dangerous search for a waterway to the West Coast. "When we saw the expedition was coming here, we had to come," said Lang, an ambulance driver from Severna Park, who was referring to the Corps of Discovery II, the National Park Service's traveling exhibit on Lewis and Clark.

Sixteen-year-old Kevin Broderick is a history buff. On a family vacation to Montana last summer, he attended a lecture at Glacier National Park. The speaker, Blackfoot Indian Curly Bear Wagner, told Native American legends. Wagner also mentioned that he was developing a CD-ROM that explores the Lewis and Clark expedition from an Indian point of view. "I found that to be really interesting, since I knew that this year ... we would be studying the Lewis and Clark expedition," said Kevin, a junior at Glenelg Country School.

EXPLORE THE WEST WITH LEWIS & CLARK Western expansion of the United States in the 19th century included many explorers, perhaps none as famous as Meriwether Lewis and William Clark. Re-experience the discovery of the west at The Lewis & Clark Expedition Web site at www.lewis-clark.org. The Discovery Paths are in-depth accounts of the American nation, natural history, geography, technology, and issues and values. Journal excerpts cover a two-year period from 1804 to 1806 and offer a close-up view of Lewis and Clark's reactions to their finds.

I took this photo at the Little Bighorn Battlefield in Montana, the site of the battle between Lt. Col. George Custer and the Sioux. My wife and I visited the area in August 2005 as part of an Elderhostel program on the Lewis and Clark Expedition. I was captivated by the image of the Indians on their horses with the Montana plains and sky visible through the outline of the sculpture. It was emblematic of the vanishing Plains Indians to whom it is dedicated. Tom Scheurich, Fallston

STEPHEN E. Ambrose may have been too popular for his own good. Students of American history should be grateful for that. He made our past so vivid and celebrated worthy individuals so long overlooked that he almost single-handedly made history matter again to millions. Yet many of his professional peers resented his achievements, equating success with shallowness. The students Mr. Ambrose taught at the Johns Hopkins University between 1964 and 1969 remain forever indebted to him. He was one of the best teachers we ever had. Mr. Ambrose, who died Oct. 13 of lung cancer at age 66, was a superb storyteller.

GLASGOW, Mo. - For years, people in this quiet one-motel town on the banks of the Missouri River believed that they had a small claim to a big piece of history - explorers Meriwether Lewis and William Clark had camped here on their quest to the West. A plaque put up in the 1960s declared it so, and, as former Mayor Earl Stockhorst put it, a "big stack of journals" had confirmed it. Firm in their conviction, town officials planned a $22,000 celebration to mark the famous three-year expedition's bicentennial from next year to 2006.