By Ted S. Hall

Something “new” and a largely “untold- in-detail-until-now” element about the historic Lewis & Clark Expedition – the story of their arduous trek by land rather than by river between Lemhi Pass at the headwaters of the Missouri River to the Weippe Prairie at the headwaters of the mighty Columbia River – unfolds in this big, all-color book telling that story – “The Trail Between The Rivers”. The book carries a subtitle of “The Travels of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark; August 24 th thru September 26 th , 1805.” Written by Ted S. Hall of Missoula, Montana, who spent more than seven years personally reconnoitering the area involved and studying this aspect of the Corps of Discovery's trip, has written, photographed and mapped this heretofore neglected part of the expedition to produce a 172-page presentation that literally utilizes a licensed professional engineer's skills to “track” the Expedition across “these terrible mountains” to give contemporary insight into the hardships – and almost fatal hazards they encountered in this part of their trip.

So insightful is Hall's new book that Dr. Harry Fritz, chairman of the Department of History at the University of Montana and an internationally recognized expert on the Lewis & Clark Expedition, said in his Foreword to the book that “Hall's study provides a definitive account of this heretofore overlooked region.” Fritz also said that while dozens of new books have introduced thousands of readers to the heroic transcontinental trek of the Corps of Discovery, “few of these books are as valuable as this one.”

Dozens of maps and photographs highlight Hall's commentary in a day-by-day presentation of the 407-mile westward land trail covered by the Corps from Camp Fortunate at the headwaters of the Beaverhead River west of present-day Dillon, Montana, to Canoe Camp on the Clearwater River near Orofino, Idaho. Author Hall notes that the stunning graphics correlating photographs with maps of the trek presented in his new book in direct relation to those drawn by Captain William Clark were done by Cristina Randall Hall of Pleasanton, California, and Dr. David O. Brabec, a history education graduate of the University of Montana who now lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico, accomplished much of the book's “ground-truthing” in which more than 95 locations have been identified so one can stand “in the footsteps” of the Corps of Discovery.

“The Trail Beween The Rivers” contains 176 pages and was issued in an 8½ by 11-inch softcover format

ISBN 1-931291-39-X The Trail Between The Rivers – $24.95