3415 Entries
Journal Entries
Original journal entries from all six expedition journalists: Lewis, Clark, Floyd, Ordway, Gass, and Whitehouse. Sourced from the Thwaites Edition (1904-1905).
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Dec
6
1804
Blizzard Conditions Halt All Work at Camp
Heavy snow and high winds made conditions too disagreeable for the men to continue working, so the day's labor was postponed.
Dec
6
1804
Abandoned Arikara Winter Camp with Earth-Covered Huts
On a clear day, the party traveled past bluffs on the south side and timbered bottomlands on the north. Around 11 a.m. they came upon an attractive bottom…
Dec
7
1804
Big White Reports Buffalo; Lewis Joins Mandan Hunt
On a bitterly cold Friday with northwest winds and the thermometer at one degree below zero, Big White, the grand chief of the first Mandan village, alerted the…
Dec
7
1804
Big White Reports Buffalo; Lewis Leads Hunt
Early in the morning, the Mandan head chief Big White rode urgently to the garrison to report large herds of buffalo approaching the river and prairies full of…
Dec
7
1804
Buffalo Descend from Prairie into Bottomlands
The white-headed chief of the first Mandan village came to the garrison to report that buffalo were moving from the prairie into the bottomlands. Captain Lewis and eleven…
Dec
8
1804
Buffalo Hunt at Minus Twelve; Eight Animals Killed
On a brutally cold morning at -12°F with a northwest wind, Clark led 15 men, joined by Indians on horseback with arrows, on a buffalo hunt. The party…
Dec
8
1804
Clark's Party Encounters Mandan Hunters Pursuing Bison
On a clear, bitterly cold day with a northwest wind and ice hanging in the air like fog, Captain Clark and 14 men, including Ordway, set out from…
Dec
8
1804
Nine Buffalo Taken Despite Severe Frostbite
Despite extreme cold that left several men with frostbitten feet, Captain Clark led a hunting party out in pursuit of buffalo. The hunt was successful, yielding nine buffalo…
Dec
9
1804
Retrieving Hunt Meat; Two Chiefs Arrive Loaded Down
On a clear Sunday morning with the thermometer at 7° above zero and an east wind, Captain Lewis took 18 men and 4 horses out to retrieve meat…
Dec
9
1804
Hunting Camp Established Five Miles Below Fort
Around 10 a.m. the previous day, Captain Lewis set out hunting with twelve men, planning to leave some hunters in a bottomland about five miles below the fort…
Dec
9
1804
Ten Buffalo Killed in Wooded Bottom
On December 9, 1804, the hunting party descended to a bottom where two men were guarding meat. They encountered buffalo that had wandered into the woods, killing ten…
Dec
10
1804
Lewis Survives Night in Snow at Minus Ten
An extremely cold day at Fort Mandan, with temperatures of 10 to 11 degrees below zero. Captain Lewis returned at noon after a miserable night spent in the…
Dec
10
1804
Plummeting Cold; Sioux-Wounded Mandan Seeks Medical Aid
Several hunters traveled back to the previous night's camp and returned with heavy loads of meat. The weather turned much colder through the day, dropping rapidly so that…
Dec
10
1804
Bitter Cold on the Return to Fort
Captain Lewis and four men, including the author, set out to return to the fort, leaving four hunters and a camp keeper behind. On the way back, they…
Dec
11
1804
Air Thick with Ice Crystals; Double Sun Appears
An extremely cold day at Fort Mandan, with temperatures of 21 degrees below zero at sunrise and continuing to drop. Ice crystals filled the air so thickly it…
Dec
11
1804
Horses Hauling Meat Back to Fort Mandan
Men set out early to retrieve horses so they could travel down to the hunting camp, collect meat, and bring everyone back to the Fort. They returned in…
Dec
11
1804
Sleds Dispatched to Retrieve Abandoned Meat
Bitterly cold weather made hunting impossible, so men were dispatched to a downstream camp to retrieve the remaining meat and to recall the hunting party. The hunters returned…
Dec
12
1804
Thermometer Plunges to 38 Below; Lynx Fur Cap Made
A clear, cold morning at Fort Mandan with the thermometer reading 38 degrees below zero at sunrise, briefly moderating before turning colder again. Clark lined his gloves and…
Dec
12
1804
Extreme Cold Halts Work; Men Tend Fires
The day brought a sharp drop in temperature, several degrees colder than any previous morning of the expedition's winter so far. Because of the extreme cold, the men…
Dec
12
1804
Three Sleds Constructed for Hauling Meat
In bitterly cold weather, the party constructed three small sleds to be used for hauling in meat.
Dec
13
1804
Heavy Frost Coats Ground at Twenty Below Zero
On a clear, bitterly cold Thursday, Clark recorded a morning temperature of 20 degrees below zero, with frost from the previous night coating the ice, old snow, and…
Dec
13
1804
Spirits Freeze Solid at Ten Below Zero
Extremely cold weather gripped the camp, with temperatures 10-11 degrees below zero and proof spirits freezing solid within fifteen minutes. Two men went out and killed two buffalo,…
Dec
13
1804
Two Buffalo Killed on Moderate Winter Day
The weather was moderate this day at the expedition's winter camp. Two hunters set out and successfully killed two buffalo. One of the hunters returned to camp, and…
Dec
14
1804
Hunt Eighteen Miles Downriver Yields No Buffalo
On a fine but bitterly cold morning with the thermometer at zero and a southeast wind, Clark led a party of men 18 miles down the river to…
Dec
14
1804
Snowstorm Drives Hunters Back; Mandans Dine at Fort
Captain Clark set out with 14 men to hunt down the river, but soon after their departure heavy snow began falling. A number of Mandans visited the fort,…
Dec
14
1804
Clark Leads Fourteen Men on Sled Hunt
Light showers fell during the day, with about three inches of snow accumulating. Captain Clark led a party of fourteen men on a hunting expedition, taking three sleds…
Dec
15
1804
Failed Hunt; Frostbitten Men Return to Fort
On a cold, clear Saturday morning following an overnight snowfall of about an inch and a half with a north wind, Clark spotted no buffalo and decided to…
Dec
15
1804
Trading for Corn; Mandans Play Stone-Sliding Game
On a cold and stormy day, members of the expedition visited the first and second Mandan villages to trade for corn, which the Mandans stored in pits in…
Dec
15
1804
Mandan Visitors Bring Meat; Buffalo Retreat
On this winter day, visitors arrived at the camp and presented gifts of meat to the commanding officers. Around one in the afternoon, Captain Clark returned with his…
Dec
16
1804
Trader Henny Arrives from Assiniboine River Post
A clear, bitterly cold Sunday at Fort Mandan, with the thermometer reading 22 degrees below zero at sunrise. Clark notes an unusual appearance of the moon through the…
Dec
16
1804
North West Company Men Seek Expedition's Intentions
On this day, men from the expedition visited the first and second Mandan villages, where they were received with kindness. Three traders from the North West Company arrived…
Dec
16
1804
North West Company Traders Arrive at Mandan Village
Four traders affiliated with the North West Company arrived at the Mandan Village, having been working among the Mandan and Hidatsa (Gros Ventres) tribes to trade for robes,…
Dec
17
1804
Henny Shares Intelligence on Upper Missouri Country
On a brutally cold Monday, the thermometer read 43 degrees below zero in the morning and dropped to 74 degrees below freezing by 8 PM. The party spent…
Dec
17
1804
Gass Builds Horse Sled; Buffalo Return Near River
On this cold December day at the winter camp, Sergeant Gass built a horse sled for one of the North West Company traders, who planned to use it…
Dec
17
1804
Sled Outfitted; Buffalo Reported Near the Fort
The party stayed at their fortified winter quarters, undertaking light tasks including outfitting a sled for one of the North West Company traders preparing to depart. Later in…
Dec
17
1804
Thirty-Five Below Zero; Buffalo Reported Near Fort
Temperatures hovered around 35 degrees below zero, having been even colder in previous days. Toward evening, the son of a Mandan chief arrived from the first Mandan village…
Dec
18
1804
Cold Forces Hunters Back; Traders Depart for Hidatsa Camp
Bitterly cold weather continued, matching the previous night's temperature. Traders Hugh Heney and François-Antoine Larocque departed for the Gros Ventre (Hidatsa) camp. Seven hunters sent out for buffalo…
Dec
18
1804
Bitter Cold; Hunters Find No Game but Goats
The day was very cold at the expedition's winter quarters. Eight members of the party went out hunting but saw nothing except some goats, returning without game. Despite…
Dec
18
1804
North West Company Departs; Men Begin New Tasks
After returning at 9 a.m. from an unsuccessful hunt for buffalo—spotting only goats—the party found that the men from the North West Company had departed for home despite…
Dec
18
1804
North West Company Traders Depart with Borrowed Sled
A bitterly cold night required the men to be relieved on guard duty every half hour. Traders from the North West Company, who had stayed at the fort…
Dec
19
1804
Clark Compiles Map of Surrounding Country
On Wednesday, December 19, 1804, the wind blew from the southwest and the weather moderated somewhat compared to previous days. Clark spent the day occupied with mapping work,…
Dec
19
1804
Men Begin Setting Pickets at Winter Quarters
The day was clear and pleasant. The men began setting up the pickets of their fort, continuing construction of their winter quarters.
Dec
19
1804
Bitter Cold Forces Hourly Rotation of Work Crews
The men focused on setting up pickets around their fortifications, but the bitter cold forced them to work in shifts. Only half the party labored outside at any…
Dec
19
1804
Three Hundred Goats Spotted on the Plains
The day was clear with a favorable wind as the expedition traveled along the river, passing a creek on the south side. Patrick Gass noted that while hunting…
Dec
20
1804
Milder Weather Allows Fort Riverside Pickets Installed
On a moderate Thursday with a northwest wind and the thermometer at 37 degrees above zero, the relatively mild weather allowed the party to put up the pickets…
Dec
20
1804
Unusual Winter Warmth Melts Snow at Encampment
On this unusually warm winter day at the expedition's encampment, the snow melted quickly under the mild conditions. The men carried on with their regular work and ongoing…
Dec
20
1804
Hunters Return Early with a Deer
The day was pleasant. Two hunters set out early and returned by breakfast with a deer, after which four more hunters went out. The party passed a 20-yard-wide…
Dec
20
1804
Pleasant Winter Day; Picket Construction Continues
On this pleasant winter day, the expedition party continued the work of setting up pickets and other fortification tasks at their encampment. The brief entry indicates ongoing construction…
Dec
21
1804
Jealous Husband Reconciles with Interpreter at Fort
A fine, warm day with winds from the northwest by west. The Native American man whom Clark had previously prevented from killing his wife in a fit of…
Dec
21
1804
Warm Winter Day; Men Continue Routine Work
The day remained pleasant and warm at the expedition's winter quarters. The men continued with their usual work routines, with no notable events or changes reported.
Dec
21
1804
Setting Out Through Snow and Hail
The expedition set out early despite snow falling through the morning, with hail also reported. They traveled past a bottomland on the south side of the river and…
Dec
21
1804
Pickets Raised; North West Company Letter Arrives
The expedition continued constructing Fort Mandan, setting pickets while a number of Native visitors, especially women, lingered around the garrison. Mr. Henny arrived after a six-day journey from…
Dec
22
1804
Mandan Women Trade Corn; Bighorn Horns Acquired
On a Saturday at Fort Mandan, a group of Mandan women, along with men dressed in women's clothing, came to trade corn with the expedition's men in exchange…
Dec
22
1804
Mandans Trade Corn and Moccasins for Small Goods
The day was clear, pleasant, and warm. Many Native people came to the fort bringing corn, beans, and moccasins to trade. They were willing to exchange these goods…
Dec
22
1804
Natives Trade Corn and Beans for Buttons and Knives
The weather was warm, and a large number of Native people came to the camp to trade. They brought corn, beans, and moccasins, and were willing to exchange…
Dec
22
1804
Mandan Women Trade Corn and Beans for Beads
On December 22, 1804, the party worked on setting the pickets at their winter quarters. A large number of Native visitors came to the post bringing corn and…
Dec
23
1804
Little Crow Brings Corn; Wife Cooks Pemican Soup
A fine day at the fort brought a steady stream of Native visitors of various nations, many trading corn with the expedition. The chief known as Little Crow…
Dec
23
1804
Fortification Pickets and Construction Work Continue
On this clear and pleasant winter day, the expedition party continued their construction work at their encampment, focusing on setting up pickets and other fortification tasks. No significant…
Dec
23
1804
Visitors Crowd Huts as Picket Work Progresses
The men continued raising the pickets of their winter fortification. Large numbers of Native people visited the camp, with the women bringing loads of corn and beans. The…
Dec
23
1804
Pickets Erected at Fort Mandan Perimeter
On this day, the expedition party continued their work erecting pickets, likely as part of constructing the defensive perimeter of their winter quarters at Fort Mandan. The brief…
