Complex sentence: Beginning December 28,1700 Lawson was commissioned by colonial authorities to lead a small expedition out of Charleston, South Carolina and up the Santee River by canoe, and then on foot, to explore the Carolina backcountry.
Split into simpler sentences: Beginning December 28,1700 Lawson was commissioned by colonial authorities to lead a small expedition out of Charleston in the Carolina Colony to the interior. They traveled up the Santee River by canoe, and then on foot, to explore the Carolina backcountry.