What Is The Difference Between The Captain's Dog And Haunted Courage

Anybody who has read “The Captain’s Dog” By Roland Smith or “Undaunted Courage” By Stephen E. Ambrose knows about the hardships that the men had gone through during the expedition or the many different encounters with the Indian tribes along the way, but not everybody has looked at what should and shouldn’t be admired about the Americans. U.S. Army Captain Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the leaders of the expedition, were set out to explore western territory most of which however was purchased by President Thomas Jefferson which is also known as the Louisiana Purchase and thought that is was their destiny to expand west.

The Lewis and Clark expedition could be admired in many ways, such as expanding their territory, “Our mission… is to

find and map the most direct navigable route to the Pacific Ocean… make contact with the Indians along the way.. And observe… anything else that might help secure the future of our country.” (pg 8 CD). Since the expedition gave the Americans a chance to expand west, it also allowed them to befriend Indian tribes, expand our knowledge of new plants and animals, and represent America. But most importantly, they were able to make it to the Pacific and find new trade routes to trade with allies and make lots of new maps about the western part of America. This is something that most people should admire considering not everyone can go out on an expedition like this.
While the expedition of Lewis and Clark did much good for America and it’s history, but it also did some bad things that shouldn’t be admired when you think of the expedition.

One of the things that was bad for America was that while the Americans had made friends with some Indian tribes, they were not able to befriend all of them, “The first meeting between the Sioux and the Americans had gone badly. Certainly Lewis and Clark had failed to make the favorable impression on the Sioux that Jefferson had ordered them to do” UC (PG 171). The Americans making enemies with some Indian tribes had later led to the Indian Removal Act. During the expedition many people had died during this expedition on both the American and Indian sides. While the Americans tried to represent themselves with gifts, In “Captain's Dog” when they first met the Indians Lewis explains the first step:“When we first arrived they offered us gifts but after that it was all business” Captain's Dog( PG 59), they weren’t always doing so well when it came to showing friendship. Showing weaponry was a sign of hostility taken by the Indians and the Americans also tried to force them to follow Thomas Jefferson by threatening them, “Lewis told the Otos that they must avoid the council of bad men “lest by one false step you should bring upon your nation the displeasure of your great father, who could consume you as the fire consumes the grass of the plains.” The Great Father, “if you displease him,” would stop all traders from coming up the river” (page 157

UC).
Overall without the brave expeditioners Meriwether Lewis and William Clark there we might not know as much about what is west like we do now. Or about all the different Indian tribes that had lived there at the time or even what it took to survive in those conditions. But like most famous people there are always things about them that people do and don’t admire about them.