Down the Western Valleys

Having reached the end of the navigable Missouri, the captains—aided by Lemhi Shoshone Chief Cameahwait, Sacagawea‘s brother—begin acquiring horses, making pack saddles, and caching supplies they can no longer take with them.

With the help of the Lemhi Shoshones, everything is carried across the Continental Divide at Lemhi Pass. Clark and their new guide they call Toby, scout the Salmon River and find it is not navigable.

After nearly three weeks with the Shoshones, the expedition moves down the Lemhi River valley and heads up the North Fork Salmon River. The captains ignore Toby’s advice to follow the Indian Road, and they are forced to spend a snowy night near the summit of Lost Trail Pass.

Dropping down from Lost Trail Pass, the Flathead Salish give them a warm welcome and sell them some horses. The expedition then proceeds down the Bitterroot River Valley to Travelers’ Rest where they have yet to cross the Bitterroot Mountains.

Aided by the Lemhi Shoshone Chief Cameahwait, Sacagawea‘s brother, they begin a slow process to acquire horses and to move necessary equipment and supplies across Lemhi Pass. A Lemhi Shoshone guide named Toby joins them. Between the Lemhi and Bitterroot valleys they stumble across the Lost Trail divide. They buy more horses from the Salish and proceed down the Bitterroot River to Travelers’ Rest.

August 1805

1. Aug 11, 1805 – Lewis Signals an IndianLeni HollimanDuration: 3:40
2. Aug 12, 1805 – The Continental DivideLeni HollimanDuration: 2:47
3. Aug 15, 1805 – At Last The ShoshoneLeni HollimanDuration: 3:43
4. Aug 16, 1805 – Everyone HungryLeni HollimanDuration: 2:53
5. Aug 17, 1805 – Sacagawea and Cameahwait, Brother & SisterLeni HollimanDuration: 3:11
6. Aug 18, 1805 – Captain Lewis Trades for HorsesLeni HollimanDuration: 2:40
7. Aug 19, 1805 – The Shoshone IndiansLeni HollimanDuration: 3:07
8. Aug 22, 1805 – Riding After a Stolen GunLeni HollimanDuration: 3:43
9. Aug 23, 1805 – An Impassable RiverLeni HollimanDuration: 3:09
10. Aug 24, 1805 – Three PlansLeni HollimanDuration: 2:57
11. Aug 25, 1805 – Confronting the Three ChiefsLeni HollimanDuration: 3:45
12. Aug 26, 1805 – Birth on the TrailLeni HollimanDuration: 2:53
13. Aug 29, 1805 – An Early FrostLeni HollimanDuration: 3:12
14. Aug 30, 1805 – A Musket for a HorseLeni HollimanDuration: 2:03
15. Aug 31, 1805 – Clark Retraces his StepsLeni HollimanDuration: 2:52

September 1805

1. Sept 1, 1805 – Salmon for DinnerLeni HollimanDuration: 3:13
2. Sept 2, 1805 – Horses Slip and FallLeni HollimanDuration: 2:17
3. Sept 5, 1805 – The Mythical Welsh IndiansLeni HollimanDuration: 3:24
4. Sept 6, 1805 – Nothing to Eat but BerriesLeni HollimanDuration: 2:50
5. Sept 7, 1805 – Naturalist Elliott CouesLeni HollimanDuration: 2:30
6. Sept 8, 1805 – All Cold and WetLeni HollimanDuration: 2:32
7. Sept 9, 1805 – Arrival at Traveler's RestLeni HollimanDuration: 3:13

Originally aired by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial observance in 2004–2006, these 627 radio episodes parallel the expedition dates starting 14 May 1804 and ending 25 September 1806. They aired only on weekdays with four introductory vignettes and four episodes about events after the expedition. They are narrated by Hal Hansen, scripted by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson, and produced by Leni Holliman.