Why did he select William Clark?
I think Lewis knew that he needed somebody to help him on the expedition. I think somewhere deep down, he knew that he needed somebody he could count on. And the person he could count the most on was William Clark. I think he, he offered Clark not only to be a co-captain, but he said, “If you can’t do this,” when he wrote him a letter, “if you can’t do this, how about going at least part way up the river. And then go home.” But I think that somewhere deep down, Meriwether Lewis knew that he couldn’t make it on his own. I begin to suspect that first and foremost this is a story about friendship. Lewis and Clark are kind of joined at the hip in American history, you know. People don’t distinguish between them. They’re two very different men, but they, they form a unit. And I think at the core of the Lewis and Clark expedition is a bond, a friendship, a brotherhood, between two very different men. This is a great team. They are the best team… excuse me. I think they’re the best team the
