Section 1: 1808 through September 24, 1804
Vocabulary
- Dilapidated: in a state of disrepair
- Green: young or inexperienced, naive
- Knapsack: a back with shoulder straps, a backpack
- Paltry: a small portion
- Parley: a conference between two arguing parties
- Pirogue: a canoe made out of a single tree trunk
- Reprobate: a person that lacks integrity or principles
Comprehension Questions
- While waiting by the fire with Colter and Drouillard, Watkuweis removes a small book with a leather cover and brass clasp from her bag. pg. 6
- While looking downriver, Seaman likens the Missouri River to a snake. pg. 10
- When he sees a hint of sadness in Captain Lewis’ eyes, Seaman cheers him up by dropping a rat he had killed at Lewis’ feet. pg. 14
- While bargaining over the price of Seaman (Champion,) Brady lies, and tells Lewis that Seaman saved him from drowning three times. pg. 16
- Cruzatte plays his fiddle after the demonstration of force, which is irritating to Seaman. pg. 25
- Seaman sees Private Collins steal a cup of whiskey from a barrel when all the other men are asleep. pg. 28
- Captain Lewis treats Private Fields’ snake bite with Peruvian bark. pg. 30
- Seaman is convinced that Captain Clark owns York because even Seaman, himself, has more freedom than York. pg. 32
- Captain Clark wants venison, roasted beaver tail, elk steak, and berries for his birthday dinner. pg. 36
- Seaman knows Moses Reed had not left his knife at Council Bluff because he saw him carve his initials into a tree only an hour earlier. pg. 47
- Dorion tells Captain Lewis that trinkets and disease had been brought to the Omaha. pg. 48
- Seaman escapes from the wolfp pack when White Feather swoops down, causing the leader of the wolf pack to stumble. pg. 55
- Captain Lewis is most affected by Floyd’s death because he feels responsible, and that he should have done something to prevent it. pg. 59
- The standoff with the Tetons is broken when Black Buffalo orders his men to back down. pg. 73
Section 2: October 22, 1804 through June 9, 1805
Vocabulary
- Beseech: urgently ask someone to do something
- Confound: cause confusion is someone
- Gallant: splendid or stately
- Melodrama: extravagant theatricality
- Quell: completely overwhelm and cause to submit
- Smattering: a small scattered amount
- Spire: the upper tapering part of a structure
Comprehension Questions
- Neman’s court-marshal changes him in that he decides to break ties with Reed and be a more devoted member of the team. pg. 81
- Seaman finds a child under the burnt buffalo skin. pg. 86
- Toussaint Charbonneau offers to be Captain Lewis’ interpreter after walking in on him unannounced. pg. 89
- The Captains are depending on the Shoshone to sell them horses when they reach the mountains in the Summer. pg. 91
- Seaman discovers that Bird Woman is pregnant before anyone else knows. pg. 93
- As food becomes scarce, the captains decide to offer the Mandans medical treatment in exchange for food. pg. 95
- Rene Jessaume suggests that they feed Bird Woman a piece of rattlesnake rattler to hurry her labor along, claiming that it “works every time.” pg. 98
- Charbonneau freezes out of fear when the boat hits a squall. pg. 104
- Seaman’s blood tingles when he sees a pack of wolves hunting a herd of antelope near the Yellowstone River. pg. 110
- Captain Clark changes his opinion of grizzly bears when he sees how small its teeth are. pg. 115
- Cruzatte forces Charbonneau to grab hold of the rudder by pointing his rifle at his head and threatening to shoot him if he doesn’t. pg. 118
- Charbonneau tries to make it up to the captains by prepapring them a serving of boudin blanc. pg. 129
- The captains are concerned about taking the correct fork to the Great Falls because some stretches of the river are impassible. pg. 133
- Captain Lewis credits his mother for his knowledge of herbs. pg. 139
Section 3: June 13, 1805 through September 18, 1805
Vocabulary
- Portage: to carry a boat on land between two bodies of water
- Berate: to angrily criticize someone
- Report: to give a spoken or written account of something to an authority figure
- Dire: a serious or urgent situation
- Shonone: a Native American tribe from the states of Wyoming, Idaho, and Montana
- Discourse: communication through speaking or writing
- Harangue: to give someone a lengthy lecture
Comprehension Questions
- Charbonneau accuses Captain Lewis of caring about Sacagawea only because she will help the men get horses. pg. 147
- Captain Lewis is the only person surprised when his iron boat sinks to the bottom. pg. 156
- Seaman says that Captain Lewis is an outstanding botanist, biologist, woodsman, hunter, tracker, and commander. pg. 161
- Charbonneau wants the captains to order him and Sacagawea to not cross the mountains because he is worried about the health of his son. pg. 177
- After Captain Lewis spots the Shoshone man, Private Shields moves toward him, scaring him away. pg. 182
- The Shoshones keep from starvation by pg. 183
- Captain Lewis places his hat on the head of a Shoshone man in order to calm them down and keep them at the river. pg. 195
- Captain Lewis orders the men to let the Shoshones hold their rifles, which Seaman asserts is the hardest thing they have done. pg. 197
- Old Toby’s sons leave to rejoin the Shoshones to help their tribe hunt buffalo. pg. 206
- Three Eagles decides to greet the expedition as friends because of the way they rode up, and because they travelled with a woman and child. pg. 208
- The Nez Percé Indians call themselves the “Nee-mee-poo,” which means, “the people.” pg. 212
- Seaman wants to stay up front with Old Toby because he didn’t want to be around the men when they were angry. pg. 215
- When it looks like the expedition may not make it over the mountain, Captain Clark suggests that the best hunters go onward alone, bringing food back to the rest of the camp. pg. 219
- The old Woman in the Nez Percé camp names Seaman Yahka, which means “Black Bear.” pg. 222
Section 4: September 20, 1805 through end of story
Vocabulary
- Chasten: to restrain or moderate
- Slake: to quench or satisfy ones thirst
- Scathed: injured or hurt
- Hanker: to feel a deep desire to do something
- Zest: enthusiasm for a task
- Tourniquet: a strap tightened around a limb to slow bleeding from a wound
- Quest: a journey with an end goal
Comprehension Questions
- Seaman enjoys being with Mountain Dog because he brings people to see Seaman. pg. 223
- Of all the goods the expedition had with them, the Nez Percé were most impressed by the rifles. pg. 230
- The Nez Percé sell the men dogs to eat. pg. 235
- Captain Lewis and his men are in a dark mood because they are in a hurry to reach the Pacific, and received word that some Indian tribes intended to kill them and take their goods. pg. 234
- The expedition had travelled 4,142 miles from the mouth of the Missouri River. pg. 238
- The Clatsop tribe helps the men when they are stranded and hungry in the estuary. pg. 238
- The Clatsops were good bargainers because they had encountered white men before and knew how to drive a hard bargain. pg. 243
- The only long excursion that Seaman gets to go on is when he accompanies Captain Clark to gather meat and oil from a beached whale. pg. 245
- Colter and Drouillard plan on selling their land, travelling up the Missouri, and hunting and trapping until the days they die. pg. 247
- The captains plan on hunting and making enough jerked meat to get them past the Chinooks. pg. 250
- After working their way up the mountain, the men have to turn back because there is no grass for the horses. pg. 259
- The guides try to talk Captain Lewis out of exploring Maria’s River because they are scared of the Blackfeet Indians. pg. 266
- The Blackfeet Indians steal the men’s rifles and try to scare away their horses after talking late into the previous night. pg. 275
- Seaman is struck in the leg with an arrow when he is running away from the Blackfeet. pg. 280