7^Th March 1800

Thomas Jefferson has a great popularity ;

He's elected new president officially today. I wonder what will happen to our country because I have heard that he wanted to expand the territory, the new American republic.

But, to accomplished this task, he has to purchase the territory to France. And to be honest, I don't know how he will reach.

30^th April 1803

I remember three years ago I was wondering how the president could have, or else, purchase the territory to France.

I finally know my answer !

Jefferson approve, at the Congress, the purchase of Louisiana territory by writing to France. He has paid 15 million dollars.

20^th December 1803

Thanks to the purchase, America eventually doubled in size (828,000m^2).

The new territory stretched from the north at the Mississippi Valley, to the south at the Rochy Mountains.

I wonder how the things are going to go. But I think it won't be slow to know.

23^rd February 1804

I knew that Jefferson would organized something to explore this new territory Congress, but I did not know when and how he would begin to act.

Therefore, at his request, he has organized an expedition.

XIMENEZ Tony 2nde 10

27^th march 1804

I know more of his hopes and all of it :

The reason why the president wanted to make an expedition since he contacted the ambassador of Spain in 1802 is because he wants to find navigable rivers to develop the business to the Pacific Ocean.

The aim of the expedition is therefore to document the findings of the kind of journey.

Meriwether Lewis is chosen to accomplish this mission and he has chosen me to accompany him.

I'm not scared about that, I'm proud and glad to accompany him for this historic journey.

14^th may 1804

Today is the D day !

All is prepared : wagons, horses, stagecoaches, food, etc.

Lewis is accompanied of 33 soldiers and officers.

Me and my 7 soldiers and officers have began to walk to Saint-Charles.

Indeed, they are waiting for us at Saint-Charles in the Missouri.

While they are waiting, I am preparing myself psychologically because I am so excited and a little bit stressed because for days I am thinking about what could happen to us during the expedition.

Anyway, we will all of us stalk about all these things when we will be together.

20^th may 1804

So, it is finally today that we have arrived !

Together, a group of about 40 soldiers and officers, we are named the Corps of Discovery and our mission is to find the so-called Northwest passage, a water route across the continent to the Pacific Ocean, and document our findings.

We have leaved Saint-Charles as soon as I arrived.

We have talk about the difficulties that we anticipate :

We are not scared but we wonder what will happen when we will meet Indians along the way. And for the animals we will also meet, we will be just careful.

31^st July 1804

  We are now next to the Platte River, we follow the river whatever it goes at the north-west and not just at the west. We have to reach the Famous Pacific Ocean.

The last 12^th we have met Sioux(s) who are a First Nations people in North America. Before this meeting, we were a little bit scared of an any Indian attack so during the nights there was always one of us who kept an eye on it.

The leader of Sioux understand English a bit so we explained our mission to him and he have not been angry. And in this way we had no problems.

We have also met a Canadian named Dorion and he has joined us with its sons.

After that we passed the Kansas Rivers. And the 20^th, some of our soldiers suffered of Dysentery. But they are tonight fine.

23^th September 1804

  I have a disappointing thing to write tonight, I would love to have not to write it, but I have to.

The last 20^th, the sergeant Charles Floyd died in cause of an appendicitis...

I hope sincerely that it will be the only dead.

But I have to write other things to make me think about other things :

_We have discovered 300 huts blazed, we do not know anything about that so we have pursue our way.

_The sergeant Pryor has been send the last 27^th August to meet Sioux Yanktons who gave him some dog to eat. I am not accustomed to eat this kind of food but we have ate it anyway.

In fact, there are seven parts/tribes. And this tribe advise the sergeant Pryor

of the threat of another tribe : Sioux Tetons.

Nowadays, we were wondering Sioux Tetons could do to us. And we now know : to let us go further, we have to give them a boat.

We have met them today and they have told us this.

We will accept their demand, we cannot do in any other way...

_I have just realized that I have not wrote about our documentations, the principal point of our expedition : so I have documented my findings. In a book I have wrote some things, in another I have draw the maps/plans of the rivers and all of it for the boats and in another I have draw the animals and plants/vegetation that I do not knew.

I can see far away for the first time of my life the Rocky Mountains, we will not pass across but next to.

27^th October 1804

  Recently, we have met others Indians :

we were wondering how will be the meeting with them and we were scared of any attack, but in fact we had not to. We will pass the following winter here at Fort Mandan (North Dakota) with Indians.

We will settle down for a time that I still do not know how longer it will be.

There is also a Canadian men who is married with an Indian women named Sacagewea. She is pregnant . It would be for this reason (that a Canadian is married with one of them) that the Indians are welcoming us.

27^th december 1804

  We are here with the Indians and Sacagewea for months :

some of us can repair the equipment which is broke, some can hunt with the Indians. The Indians have a way to hunt that I did not expect at all : they make the fire at the pasture and it makes the bisons scared. Anyway, me, I am not a hunter.

Me, during this time, I make the most of this period of time to fill in the documentation : the landscape is beautiful in winter with the snow, now I document and draw the landscape to take in memory the map. I have already drew for the plants and I still drawing for the plants which are presents in winter. And I will draw again when it will be no longer snowing if I find new vegetation. And finally, day by day, I write no just a diary but a journal where I write the mot important things.

There is a thing that I do not have to write in the journal, but I have to write it in this diary:

Sacagewea has give birth to an adorable boy.

We will stay here until the end of the winter, we will take walking after.