John Colter: Youngest Explorer of the Lewis and Clark Expedition

John Colter was 16 when the Lewis and Clark expedition set out. He stayed and hunted beaver and other animals in the Rocky Mountains for four years after the expedition. He was eventually caught by the fierce Blackfeet Indians. The Blackfeet hated Lewis and Clark. He knew the Blackfeet language and told the chief that he was with Lewis and Clark and because of that he should be able to fight the braves of the Blackfeet. They stripped him naked and told him to run and the Blackfeet braves began to chase after him. He out ran all but one of them. Then he suddenly stopped and the Blackfeet warrior stumbled and dropped his spear. Colter picked it up and killed him. Then he ran for his life. He jumped into the icy cold Jefferson River, and hid under some floating logs for a day and a night! Seven days later Colter crawled into st. Lisa’s fort. He survived to trap more Beaver and more animals.

Why Buy Worthless Wilderness?

Why should we buy this worthless wilderness? Has Jefferson gone mad? We are already much bigger than most countries. Why more than double our size? This land probably does not have good soil and there are fierce Indians living on it! If we try to settle there we will be driven right back! And why waste lives just fighting Indians on worthless wilderness? I certainly wouldn’t move there and you shouldn’t either.

Expedition to Oregon

Captain Lewis and Captain Clark brave the great mountains and Indian tribes

In May 14, 1804,Captain Meriwether Lewis, Private secretary to the president , and Captain William Clark set out to cross Louisiana and find the mouth of the great river Oregon. They had very little supplies and not much money to buy rations and medicines. They crossed the great plains and the shining mountains three times as high as their Appalachians ! They returned on September 23, 1806. They have mapped out the Oregon country and the Louisiana territory. They started From St. Louis and followed the Missouri River to the three Forks where it splits into the Gallatin, the Madison, and the Jefferson. He followed the Jefferson to its source in Lemhi pass then he started to follow the Lemhi river to Salmon River then he followed salmon river to the Clearwater which became the snake which became the Columbia. In Portland some people wanted to turn back. But Lewis kept them going. They built fort Clatsop and spent Christmas there.Unfortunately they missed a Boat by only 19 days. And so instead they travelled over the mountains all over again and through the planes and down the river and back to St. Louis. It is the 1st time ever to cross the continent.

Do you need a break? Let’s discuss the pros and cons of a break. For kids it means more play time! We also get to rest and on Sunday we hear God’s word. But we have to stop projects like painting for Sunday. Breaks during our school week mean sometimes we have to do extra school the day before. But there are much more pros than cons! I love summer break. Last year, we went to Invermere! And sometimes Mommy plans surprise trips to Calaway Park! It is very fun to have breaks like Christmas, New Year’s and spring break. Now let’s discuss my family’s break schedule. First day of the week we have Sunday as a break to hear God’s word. And on Saturday we also take a weekly break. And sometimes we take breaks in between. All together considering every pro and every con, I think breaks are very nice.