After joining William Clark, the expedition left Clarksville, Indiana, on October 26, with the flagship and two pirogues.

On May 14, 1804, the expedition left the camp and began the voyage up the Missouri; the strong countercurrent reduced their speed to one mile per hour.

The Mandan villages in what is now North Dakota were reached on October 26, after 1,500 miles (2,400 km) of travel from Camp Dubois.

The keelboat was sent back to St. Louis with the returning party on April 6, 1805, while the remainder of the expedition continued overland to the Pacific Ocean.

[6][7] The journey downstream took just 43 days, and the boat reached its goal with diaries and scientific specimens undamaged, in spite of the spring floods.

The boat was basically a galley, a vessel not like any other found west of the Appalachians, although of a standard type used on inland waters in the east.

The boatbuilder was very tardy, drunken, and quarreled with his workers, causing several of them to quit work and leave the yard, further delaying the construction.

The midshipman commanded the armed guard, handled the sails, supervised the oarsmen, and reported river outlets, islands and other remarkable sight amidships.

Two privates had permanent tasks aboard, Labiche and Cruzatte, who had been enlisted solely for their experience as boatmen.