This chapter looks at the preparations made by Lewis and Clark for their expedition. Before the journey began, they camped at the mouth of the Dubois River just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis on the Illinois side. There they built a fortified camp — a group of buildings that they named for the river, Camp Dubois (literally Camp Woods). Here, they planned the expedition, sought those with maps and knowledge of the western country, hired men, and gathered supplies. Clark's discovery of Indian mounds, the influence of European ideas and mythologies about nature on them, and the...

This chapter looks at the preparations made by Lewis and Clark for their expedition. Before the journey began, they camped at the mouth of the Dubois River just across the Mississippi River from St. Louis on the Illinois side. There they built a fortified camp — a group of buildings that they named for the river, Camp Dubois (literally Camp Woods). Here, they planned the expedition, sought those with maps and knowledge of the western country, hired men, and gathered supplies. Clark's discovery of Indian mounds, the influence of European ideas and mythologies about nature on them, and the planning and executing of the expedition are discussed.