Lewis & Clark ~Wildlife~

In 1804, President Thomas Jefferson sent Meriwether Lewis and William Clark and their "Corps of Discovery" to explore the American West. They were expected to recorded the dates at which particular plants produce or lose their blooms, and the times of appearance of particular birds, reptiles, or insects... "the animals of the country, & especially those not known in the US."
The travelers kept extremely detailed journals, writing the first accounts of 122 animals and 178 trees and plants. In doing so they left us a record of what America looked like 200 years ago, with its herds of Buffalo, Elk, deer, and Antelope feeding in pastures spread across the wild west.