As Meriwether Lewis, William Clark and the Corps of Discovery passed t he Missouri River and approached the Bitterroot Mountain Range, they g rew desperate for horses and provisions to get through the seemingly e ndless, snow-covered peaks. Sacagawea's presence provided solace for t he Corps--her knowledge of the West, her tireless enthusiasm, great co urage and ability to care for a child along the expedition were inspir ing to the frontiersmen. She once again became a living "white flag" f or Lewis and Clark, this time to the Shoshone Indians--her native cult ure--who provided them with horses for their journey. The Corps contin ued to west, where, for the first time, their canoes were traveling wi th the river's current. Finally, on November 18, 1805, William Clark s et out from their campsite in the Columbia River Gorge, climbed a hill and saw what no white man had ever seen from the Northwest: the Pacif ic Ocean. Their exploration of the West opened a new world to American s and signaled the beginning of the end for Native Americans. When Tho mas Jefferson learned of the vast continent between the Atlantic and P acific Oceans, he predicted that it would take 100 years to settle the area through which Lewis and Clark traveled. It took Americans less t han five years. This program, the second of a two-part series, recount s how this historic journey was really the discovery of the American f uture.
