Book excerpt: Charles Fritz: 100 Paintings Illustrating the Journals of Lewis and Clark unites exquisite Western art with one of our nation's greatest epics. The result of a decade of comprehensive research and on-location painting, this expanded collection of 100 paintings depicts the triumphs and travails of the Corps of Discovery's two-and-a-half-year trek through unknown territory to the Pacific Ocean and back between 1804 and 1806. Although several members of the Corps of Discovery kept journals, an artist did not accompany the expedition. Unlike almost every expedition since, there had been no one to visually document the unique people, landscapes, animals, and plants never before seen by Americans living in the East. With artistry and a passion for historical accuracy, Charles Fritz, one of the nation's most respected Western artists, brings the Journals of Lewis and Clark to life, telling this remarkable American story visually-and for the first time allowing us to experience what the Corps saw on their historic journey.