Reaching the Goal

The Corps of Discovery sees the Pacific.

On November 7, 1805, the Lewis and Clark (illustration) expedition finally reaches the Pacific Ocean, near the mouth of the Columbia River in what is now Oregon. It has taken them nearly seven months to reach their goal in a journey fraught with danger. And yet only one man died—and that was caused by a burst appendix. The corps will stay on the Coast for four months before beginning the long trek back to St. Louis.