Undaunted Courage: Lewis And Clark Poem by Madam Anonymous

Let me tell you a story,
A story of 28 great lives,
Of hope, of enterprise,
An inspiring story,
Of adventure, of glory

Clark, hero of Kentucky
Lewis, loyal to the President
With a melancholic strain,
Sallied into the unknown
The Corps of Discovery’s
Body and brain.

Commanded by
The Son of America
Equipped with bravery,
A Giant,
Who dared throw off
The yoke of King’s slavery.

Lured by a dream
Of the virgin land,
Set forth to discover
The Northwest Passage,
This ragtag band.

Armed with
Gifts, guns, stores
And Rush’s thunderbolt,
Barrels of Whiskey
To quell shiphand revolt.

They sailed
The mighty Mississippi
Christening from the start,
Madison, Gallatin, Jefferson
A young republic
Honored from their heart.

The journey into the unknown
Was fraught with surprise,
Would they ever win
And claim their prize?

The west was
Pristinely beautiful
Rockies, Prairies, Great Plains,
With death as their friend
Persevered without complaints.

Many a times voted
In American tradition,
Strengthened by discipline
Their leaders’ demanding condition.

Enriched science with
Idyllic flora and fauna,
Won over the
Mandans, Lakotas, Crows
With their gentle persona.

Sacagawea, the Shoshonee
Stood with many a males,
York, the slave
Was devoted to the cause
Of keeping the Corps a-sail.

After long patient winter
And portage over their backs,
They finally stood atop
The Continental Divide
Gauging their stocks.

Dumbstruck
At the expanse ahead,
They pressed on
Into the unknown
And chose starvation instead.

Finally, at Fort Clatsop
In misty Columbia Gorge
The Shangri-La was claimed,
Thanks to the defiant few
The Wild West had been tamed

It took 4 years
For this momentous journey,
Of adventure, of enterprise,
Of great lives,
Of glory,
That inspires
With its singular story.

To read about this glorious adventure, visit: http: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lewis_and_Clark
Reference:
1. Undaunted Courage: the title has been borrowed from Stephen Ambrose’s book of the same
2. 28 lives: I am unable to confirm the number. They lost only one member of the expedition, to a burst appendicitis
3. Loyal to the President: Lewis was part of President Jefferson’s staff
4. Melancholic strain: Lewis was plagued with depression all his life and committed suicide after completion of the expedition
5. Corps of Discovery: The just name given to the expedition
6. Son of America: President Jefferson who fulfilled his long cherished dream of exploring the west
7. Ragtag band: The expedition comprised of soldiers, civilian volunteers, frontiersmen, gentlemen’s sons, one slave and one Indian woman with a child
8. Rush’s thunderbolt: A potent purgative prescribed by famous Philadelphia doctor, Benjamin Rush, as a cure-all
9. Whiskey: An essential part of everyday ration, to be drunk instead of un-potable water
10. Madison, Gallatin, Jefferson: Lewis and Clark named rivers, hills, plains in the virgin land after the President’s cabinet and other American ideas. My favorite: Independence
11. Sacagawea: The wife of a French trapper, more intrepid and resourceful than many male members of the expedition
12. York: Clark’s inherited slave, baffled the Indians who had never seen a black man before
13. Gauging their stocks: With no wildlife in the high Rockies, the expedition faced starvation. Many even ate their shoes to keep hunger at bay
14. In progress…………………………………………………