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VOICE ONE:
I’m Mary Tillotson.
VOICE TWO:
And I’m Steve Ember with the Special English programExplorations. Today we begin a series of four programs thatcelebrate the two-hundredth anniversary of the most famousexploration in the history of the United States. The trip is stillknown by the names of the two men who led the group — Lewis andClark.
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VOICE ONE:
Today, it is possible to drive an automobile from Saint Louis,Missouri to Astoria, Oregon and back again in a few days. It is easyto drive using the Interstate highway system.
That same trip took Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and themembers of their group two years, four months and nine days. Theyleft Saint Louis on May fourteenth, eighteen-oh-four and arrivedback in the city on September twenty-third, eighteen-oh-six. Theytraveled almost thirteen-thousand kilometers.
VOICE TWO:
Today, a trip across the United States really takes very littleplanning. You can buy airplane tickets. Or you can buy a few mapsthat show the Interstate highway system, get in your car and go. Twohundred years ago, however, such a trip was extremely dangerous. Ittook months of planning. Meriwether Lewis and William Clark led agroup of more than thirty people into huge areas of land that hadnever been explored.
They left on this exploration from the city of Saint Louis, onthe Missouri River. Today, Saint Louis is a huge modern city. Theday Lewis and Clark left on the exploration, Saint Louis was the endof civilization. No one knew what lay ahead. They did not know whatkind of animals they would see. They did not know if there were tallmountains or huge rivers. However, they did know that they might seefierce Indian tribes.
VOICE ONE:
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark were the first educated whiteAmericans to travel across the land that would become the UnitedStates. History experts today say the Lewis and Clark trip was oneof the most important events in American history. They also agreethat no two men could have done a better job or been moresuccessful.
The two men added greatly to the knowledge of the Americannorthwest. Clark’s maps provided information about huge areas thathad been unknown.
VOICE TWO:
William Clark drew excellent maps. Meriwether Lewis wrote aboutthe birds, fish and animals the group observed. He described aboutone-hundred different kinds of animals. Of these, eleven birds, twofish and eleven mammals had not been recorded before. Lewis alsowrote about plants and trees that scientists had never seen.
Modern scientists say his information is still good. They sayLewis was extremely careful and provided valuable information forthe time. They say he wrote more like a scientist of today than oneof his own century.
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VOICE ONE:
On January eighteenth, eighteen-oh-three, President ThomasJefferson asked Congress for the money to pay for a group ofexplorers to travel to the Pacific Ocean. On the two-hundredthanniversary of that day, the United States began celebrating theLewis and Clark journey.
The celebration took place where the idea for the famous trip mayhave begun – at the famous home of President Thomas Jefferson calledMonticello. It is near the city of Charlottesville, Virginia. Morethan three-thousand-five hundred people attended the celebration.They included more than two-hundred American Indians representingmore than forty tribes.
VOICE TWO:
The celebration was called “Jefferson’s West: A Lewis and ClarkExposition.” It included a six-day series of talks, demonstrations,performances and social events at Monticello. Events were also heldat the University of Virginia and other places near Charlottesville.The celebration included a special display of objects connected tothe Lewis and Clark exploration. These objects can be seen atMonticello during the next year.
These objects include pieces from Monticello’s collections,objects on loan from other institutions and objects made by modernAmerican Indian artists. Many were collected by the members of theLewis and Clark expedition and brought back to President Jefferson.
VOICE ONE:
Recently, President George Bush signed a special documentannouncing the two-hundredth-anniversary celebration of the Lewisand Clark exploration. President Bush asked all Americans to observethe event with special activities that honor the work of Lewis andClark. He also directed federal agencies to cooperate with eachother, the states and American Indian tribes to tell the story ofLewis and Clark.
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VOICE TWO:
It is impossible to list all the events that will honor the workof Lewis and Clark. The explorers passed through many areas thatbecame large cities or small towns. Most of these cities and townshave planned events to observe the anniversary. One of the largestwill take place in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Lewis and Clark began their exploration from that city. Onlythree months before the exploration began, the United States hadbought a huge area of land from France and Spain. That area of landwas called the Louisiana Purchase.
The two-hundredth anniversary of that event will also be observedin Saint Louis. The king of Spain, the president of France and thepresident of the United States have been invited to the celebration.So have the governors of those states created out of the area ofland bought in the Louisiana Purchase.
VOICE ONE:
Another special event will be held near the city of Greenwood,South Dakota. Lewis and Clark first met the members of the YanktonSioux Indian tribe near this place. Members of the modern YanktonSioux will provide many special events that show their tribe’sculture and arts. Members of the tribe will tell visitors abouttheir history.
VOICE TWO:
When Lewis and Clark reached an area that is now called GreatFalls in the state of Montana, they had to carry their boats formany kilometers over land.
This event will be celebrated in modern Great Falls, Montana withthirty-four days of special events. The events begin on June first,two-thousand-five. One of the events will be a Plains Indian CultureDay with American Indian arts, singing, and dancing. Experts in atraditional Indian Village will talk about Lewis and Clark.
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VOICE ONE:
Both Lewis and Clark wrote about the trip every day in bookscalled journals. On November seventh, eighteen-oh-five, Lewis andClark and their group were traveling down the great Columbia River.That day, William Clark wrote in his journal: “Ocean in View…Oh theJoy!” The group had reached the Pacific Ocean. The Columbia Rivernow separates the states of Washington and Oregon. The group landedfirst on what would become the Washington state side of the river.Here, they voted to cross over to what became the state of Oregon.
A few kilometers from the great river they built a small group ofbuildings. They would live there for the winter. They named it FortClatsop. A copy of the little buildings the group used is now theFort Clatsop National Memorial. The little fort will hold specialevents during the anniversary celebrations. The buildings are nearthe city of Astoria, Oregon. Visitors can see how the Lewis andClark group lived during the time they spent there.
There will also be ceremonies to observe new memorials to theLewis and Clark expedition near Fort Clatsop. A number of specialevents are planned beginning November twenty-fourth,two-thousand-five.
VOICE TWO:
On September twenty-third, eighteen-oh-six, the Lewis and Clarkexploration ended where it began in Saint Louis, Missouri. TheNational Park Service and a special commission of the states ofMissouri and Illinois will recreate the arrival of Lewis and Clarkin Saint Louis.
There will be special programs at the place the group landed. Thepresident of the United States will be invited to attend theceremonies.
VOICE ONE:
Between now and two-thousand-six, many newspaper and magazinestories will be written about Lewis and Clark. New books havealready been published and are popular.
If you have a computer that can link with the Internet, you toocan take part in observing the two-hundredth anniversary of thisfamous exploration. Many areas on the Internet now celebrate thetrip. Ask your computer to search for Lewis and Clark. L-E-W-I-S andC-L-A-R-K.
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VOICE TWO:
This program was written and produced by Paul Thompson. I’m SteveEmber.
VOICE ONE:
And I’m Mary Tillotson. Join us again next week as we tell thestory of the Lewis and Clark Expedition of the American Northwest onEXPLORATIONS, a program in Special English on the Voice of America.