Journal
Lewis’s Description of the Great Falls of the Missouri
Lewis's eloquent journal entry describing his first sight of the Great Falls of the Missouri River, considered one of the finest pieces of descriptive writing from the expedition. The 18-mile portage around the five waterfalls took nearly a month and was one of the most physically demanding segments of the journey.
Lewis wrote: “I wished for the pencil of Salvator Rosa or the pen of Thompson, that I might be enabled to give to the enlightened world some just idea of this truly magnificent and sublimely grand object.” His description of the falls, the surrounding landscape, and the grueling portage that followed represents some of the expedition’s most vivid prose. The portage required the men to carry heavy canoes and supplies overland in extreme heat while contending with prickly pear cactus, grizzly bears, and violent hailstorms.
