aug 12, 1805 - August 12th, 1805
Description:
Lewis ascends the final ridge toward the Continental Divide and “the most distant fountain of the waters of the Mighty Missouri, in search of which we have spent so many toilsome days and restless nights” and joyously drinks from an ice-cold spring. Climbing the rest of the ridge – Lemhi Pass, on the present-day border between Montana and Idaho – he expects to see from the summit a vast plain to the west, with a large river flowing to the Pacific: the Northwest Passage that had been the goal of explorers since the time of Columbus. Instead, all he sees are more mountains.
Added to timeline:
Louis and Clark timeline
Date:
