President Jefferson instructed Captain Meriwether Lewis to seek out, meet with, and learn from American Indian nations along the journey. On July 28, 1804, the Lewis and Clark Expedition passed this overlook early in the morning and noted a bluff on the starboard side as the first high land above the river. They observed a site below these bluffs where the Aiawuay (Iowa) Indians formerly lived, and five miles downstream on the other side of the Missouri River they passed an old Indian camp where the Otteauze (Otoe) Indians had once lived. In this vicinity, principal hunter George Drouillard met a Missourie Indian while hunting on the prairie; approachable and informative, he was one of the few remaining of his tribe and the first native person the Corps of Discovery encountered since departure. On August 3, about 20 miles upriver, the Corps of Discovery held a council with the Otoe and Missouria tribes, the first major meeting between a tribe and the expedition. They gave speeches, smoked a pipe, awarded peace medals, and exchanged gifts, and this whole region became known as Council Bluff. In 1803, President Thomas Jefferson sent an expedition commanded by Meriwether Lewis and William Clark to explore the newly acquired Louisiana Territory, find an all-water route to the Pacific Ocean, and make peaceable contact with native tribes. The Corps of Discovery began its journey up the Missouri River on May 14, 1804, reached the Pacific in November 1805, and returned to St. Louis on September 23, 1806, having traveled more than 8,000 miles in two years, four months and nine days.