Lewis

I chose to read the journal entry by Meriwether Lewis, which took place at three forks on July 28th, 1805. This entry is about the spot where the Missouri river splits into three rivers. Lewis and Clark were having a hard time determining which river was the true Missouri river.

When Lewis and Clark sailed the Missouri river they came to a fork which separated three ways. They could not figure out which was the Missouri because all three rivers were ninety yards wide. Also the appearance the rivers were very similar, this made them believe that the rivers were formed form the same mold. Lewis and Clark decided to discontinue the name of Missouri and name the rivers. They named the southwest branch, Jefferson River after the president of the United States. The middle branch was dubbed the Madison River after the secretary of state; the north branch was named Gallatin River. The party that was sent to explore the Gallatin returned and told Lewis that it turned more east than expected. The down a ways the river becomes rapid and is split by many small islands.

Reading this journal entry was very interesting. I liked that is was a real account on the journey. It gave better insight on how things were done on the expedition. Also how they dealt with the problems that arose from time to time, and that they learned about the ground they were on once belonged to Sacagawea's people.