| The Purpose | To get information upon the unexplored country extendingfrom the interior of present Missouri to the mouth of the Columbia Riverin present Washington. |
| The Start | At St. Louis, Monday, May 14, 1804. |
| The Finish | At St. Louis, Tuesday, September 23, 1806. |
| Time Consumed | Two years, four months, and nine days. |
| Distance Travelled | To the mouth of the Columbia: 4134 miles. Back toSt. Louis: 3555 miles. Counting side trips: 8000 miles, total. |
| Methods Employed | Boats, horses and afoot. |
| The Route | Up the Missouri River to its sources in present Montana;across the Bitter Root Mountains into present Idaho; by way of theClearwater River, the Snake River and the Columbia River to the PacificOcean. |
| The Party Out of St. Louis | Forty-five. |
| The Party Who Went Through | Thirty-three: the two captains, twenty-three Americansoldiers, five French-Canadian and French-Indian boatmen and interpreters,one negro servant, one Indian woman guide, and one baby. |
| Deaths | One. |
| Seriously Injured | One. |
| Desertions | One accomplished, one attempted; both early. Nonefrom the final party. |
| The Country Explored |
| The New Territory of Louisiana | Stretched from the Mississippi River to the summit ofthe Rocky Mountains. Owned first by France. By France ceded to Spain, 1762.By Spain secretly ceded back to France, 1800. In April, 1803, purchasedfrom France by the United States for $15,000,000. |
| The Columbia Country | The Northwest lying between California and Canada,and the Rocky Mountains and the Pacific Ocean. In 1792 visited by CaptainRobert Gray of the American ship Columbia from Boston, who enteredand named the Columbia. The same year visited by Captain George Vancouver,an English navigator. Claimed by both the United States and England.Awarded to the United States by treaty of 1846. |