Blackfoot Valley Dispatch - The Blackfoot Valley's News Source Since 1980

Helena-The Lewis & Clark Library will host "the Lewis and Clark Expedition Near Misses: How Lucky are those Men – and Woman," a virtual program by Mark Jordan on Thursday, Oct. 21 at 6:30 p.m.

Mark Jordan will tell stories about near disasters that could have ended the Expedition or significantly compromised its ability to succeed or resulted in the death of its participants. What danger or disaster lurked for the Expedition? Does one of the Captains almost die? More than once? Does their fully loaded keelboat almost disappear? Could they have lost Sacagawea? Grizzly attacks? Fierce Natives? What kind of serious accidents did they narrowly avoid? Is it true that only one man died? Learn about these exciting adventures of 31 men, one teenage girl and her infant son.

Lewis and Clark Expedition historian Mark Jordan has scoured the journals and the literature of the Lewis and Clark Expedition for the last 35 years. He has traveled the explorers' route in car, on foot and in his canoe. He has written about the expedition and has lectured at the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation meetings both nationally and locally. He has taught the expedition at the California State University of the East Bay, the University of South Carolina Beaufort, Santa Clara University, and the University of California Berkeley for the Osher Life-Long Learning Institute.

​Mark has extensive wilderness experience, having canoed across Canada to Hudson Bay, and on other rivers in Canada and the United States. In 2020, he was awarded the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation Meritorious Achievement Award for bringing the Expedition to a broad public.

Register in advance for this free, virtual event: https://tinyurl.com/58tm8pcd

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.