In the spring of 1803, with the simple stroke of a pin, the United States of America, doubled in size.

The young nation, then consisting of just 16 states, or roughly everything east of the Mississippi River,

purchased the French-controlled territory of Louisiana, a largely uncharted tract of wilderness

stretching from Canada all the way down to New Orleans.

Over 800,000 square miles that, so far as the maps were concerned, remained a mystery.

In order to figure out what they had just bought, President Thomas Jefferson sent out an expedition

to explore the newly purchased territory, all the way west to the Pacific Ocean.

And tasked with leading this endeavor, officially known as the Corps purchased territory, all the way west to the Pacific Ocean, and tasked with leading

this endeavor, officially known as the Corps of Discovery, where Captain's Maryweather Lewis and

William Clark.

All total, the Lewis and Clark expedition would travel some 8,000 miles, navigating their way

up the Missouri River before turning west and crossing the Rocky Mountains. If everything when is planned, they'd locate an all-water route link up the Missouri River before turning west and crossing the Rocky Mountains.

If everything went as planned, they'd locate an all-water route link in the Missouri to the

west coast, and return as national heroes. Sounds great in theory, but life has a way of,

well, getting in the way. And besides, before the Corps of Discovery could even think about turning west, they

would need to make it pass the mighty Lakota, a tribe rumored to be both numerous and warlike.

Who was Meriwether Lewis? How'd he and William Clark come to lead one of the most important

explorations in all of United States history? How'd they choose the men who would accompany them?

What sort of supplies would they bring along? What about that air gun? How many venereal diseases

would they contract? And what exactly was their cure for said diseases? My name's Josh and this

is the Wild West extravaganza.

As I alluded to in the intro by the dawn of the 19th century, the United States of America consisted of just 16 states, the 13 original colonies,

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