USA HISTORY

Detailed explanation-1: -These journals contained a treasure-trove of information on people encountered, terrain, flora and fauna, and navigation. It is suspected that as a result of Lewis’s growing mental illness and other personal problems, he was incapable of getting to the editing job.

Detailed explanation-2: -In their descriptions of dozens of new plant and animal species, in their lengthy “ethnographic” descriptions of Native Americans, and in their invaluable maps of the region, Lewis and Clark more than justified Jefferson’s confidence and truly set the stage for an American west.

Detailed explanation-3: -Meriwether Lewis and William Clark have been called “the writingest explorers of their time.” President Thomas Jefferson instructed them to keep meticulous records on the geography, ethnology, and natural history of the trans-Mississippi West they explored from 1804 to 1806.

Detailed explanation-4: -Capt. After Lewis’ death, the expedition journals were sent to Clark, who turned them over to editor Nicholas Biddle. The two-volume journals were presented to the public in 1814, ten years after the corps began its epic journey; their publication caused little stir.