Mneumonic -- A Rough Poem about Lewis and Clark

Thomas Jefferson in 1801 became president #3
He had a dream to buy some land
But that land wasn't free.
Now wasn't it grand
that for 15 million bucks
Napolean improved Jefferson's luck
with over 800,000 square miles.
That brought a lot of smiles
To Thomas and his secretary Meriwether Lewis.

On December 30 1803
U.S. took possession of  Louisiana Territory
In the Fall of 1803 they were preparing an expedition, you see
In May of 1804 --  up the Missouri River went the Corp
Clark on the boat, Lewis often ashore.
And just a day out, the men heard a shout
Lewis almost died
When he reached for a flower and instead took a slide.

For 600 miles, they saw a lot of  scenery,
But not an single Indian did they see.
In August friendly Indians came to talk and trade
But they knew if they met the Sioux,
They'd likely face a war-raid.

Sergeant Charles Floyd won fame, but that was from his death
The only one of the expedition to die, 
it was probably appendicitis that took away his breath.

There was an encounter of a war-like sort
When they met the Teton Sioux, the Indians demanded a boat.
Both drew weapons, it was a close call,
But both backed off,  and moved on,
It was fall -- September.

More friendly Indians, the Hidatsu and Mandan
Had extensive villages
The Corp built a fort and called it Fort Mandan
and stayed the winter to work and plan.

They prepared to sent a boat in the spring
with maps and specimens -- all sorts of things -
Prairie dogs 
and Magpies,
Bones and buffalo skins,
Plants and Indian crafts, 
and the men from the Corp who hadn't passed 
the test of usefulness. 

They also hired Charbonneau, and his sixteen year old wife
Sacajawea a Shoshone girl captured from her village long ago.
She was soon to have a baby and in February did, with help from Captain Lewis. 

Back on the River in the spring to grizzly land
Met two at once and realized they should have planned
To avoid these strong, fierce bears!

When a boat almost turned over when by the wind it was tossed, 
Sacajawea became a hero when she saved their precious journals and supplies that would have been lost.

In the end of May Lewis was first to see the Rocky Mountains 
Then they reached a fork in the river and had to decide to go north or south
the men picked north, but the captains chose south,
Lewis scouted ahead,  found the Great Falls 
and Clark followed soon after.

The series of falls that earned the name Great
made the men portage round, and made them late.
They thought that it might take them a week, 
But instead they spent ________ to accomplish this feat.



This poem is not yet finished, as you can see.
They've miles and adventures to go before they reach home.