The Journals of Lewis and ClarkAn in depth look at Lewis and Clark's historic expedition through the explorers' journals America's first report on the West (Bernard DeVoto). In 1803, the great expanse of the Louisiana Purchase was an empty canvas. Keenly aware that the course of the nation's destiny lay westward and that a "Voyage of Discovery" would be necessary to determine the nature of the frontier President Thomas Jefferson commissioned Meriwether Lewis to lead an expedition