“Faith dare the soul so it can go further than it can see.” ~ William Clark
Meriwether's first action as captain was hiring William Clark as co-commander. Clark was extremely qualified and trustworthy as Lewis's commander in the Army, promoted by George Washington.
Painting from Charles Marion Russell showing Native relations.
Letter from Clark accepting Lewis's offer(All Posters)
Clark accepted Lewis's offer and began to hire personnel while Lewis took scientific lessons at the American Philosophical Society. Most of the crew included Army soldiers on the Ohio River and French Canadian Boatmen. To aid travel on the Missouri River, Lewis invented the keelboat. Manufactured in Pittsburgh and shipped to St. Louis, they were vital until the Mandan tribe gifted the Corps canoes.
Jefferson laid the expectations of the journey out to the co-commanders:
Journal article: The Legacy of the Lewis and Clark Expedition
Discover the Northwest passage, an all-water route from the Atlantic to the Pacific.
Document the geography, animal, and plant life in the Louisiana Territory.
Meet native tribes and make treaties with them on behalf of the U.S.A.
University of Virginia
~ Thomas Jefferson to Meriwether Lewis
To ensure amicable and peaceful initial meetings with natives, Lewis packed gifts of beads, knives, tobacco, air rifles and ivory combs.
"In all your intercourse with the natives treat them in the most friendly and conciliatory manner which their own conduct will admit..."