Large Website for Ken Burn's Lewis and Clark Debuts on PBS Online

Posted on November 4, 1997

PBS Online has launched a mammoth website accompanying Ken Burns's new film, Lewis and Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery.

The 1,000-page site, funded in part by General Motors Corporation, features a sweeping array of historical information about Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, the members of the Corps of Discovery, their epic journey up the Missouri River and the Native Americans they met on what was America's first official exploration into unknown territories. Featured on the site's "Inside the Corps" section is complete biographical information about every expedition team member, an extensive look at the historical and political context of the team's exploration and a list of supplies carried by Lewis and Clark on their mission.

In "Into the Unknown," an interactive story, Web surfers will be challenged to play the role of Lewis. Their goal: to lead the e xpedition from Fort Mandan across the previously uncharted American west to the Pacific Ocean. The game combines images and text, as well as guiding excerpts from the journals of Clark, Lewis, Patrick Gass, Joseph Whitehouse and the other members of the expedition who kept journals.

What was life like for York, Clark's slave? What is the larger historical significance of the expedition? In the "Living History" area, seven experts showcased in the film will answer these and other intriguing questions in both text and RealAudio(R). In "The Archive," visitors will be able to pore over a searchable chronological journal featuring excerpts from the writings of every journal-keeping Corps member. "Native Americans" spotlights the tribes the expedition encountered and how they interacted with Lewis and Clark.