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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Jan
29
1805
Heated Stones Shatter, Failing to Free Icebound Boat
On a mild, warm Tuesday, Clark gave Jessaume a dose of salts. The party gathered stones and piled them on a large log heap, intending to heat them…
Jan
29
1805
Hot Stones Shatter in Failed Ice-Breaking Attempt
The party attempted to free their boats from the ice by heating water inside them with hot stones, but the stones shattered when exposed to fire and the…
Jan
29
1805
Hot Stones Crack; Plan to Thaw Vessels Fails
The crew hauled stones on hand sleds from a bluff downstream, planning to heat them and drop them into water-filled pirogues and the barge. The hope was that…
Jan
30
1805
La Rocke Receives the Captains' Formal Reply
The day began clear but clouded over by 9 a.m. at the expedition's winter quarters. Mr. La Rocke, a North West Company trader, visited the captains. During this…
Jan
30
1805
Twenty-Four Miles Through Rich Prairie Country
The party set out on a fair morning and made good progress, traveling 24 miles through attractive country with rich soil and prairies rising on both sides of…
Jan
30
1805
Search for Heat-Resistant Stone Fails Again
The party traveled along the river to another bluff searching for a type of stone that wouldn't crack when heated. They brought a sample back and tested it…
Jan
31
1805
Clark Amputates Frostbitten Toes in Bitter Cold
Snow fell overnight and a strong northwest wind made for a cold, disagreeable day at the winter camp. Clark performed surgery on a young boy, sawing off his…
Jan
31
1805
Two Men Depart on Horses in Cold Morning Wind
On this day, two men set out with two horses. The morning brought cold, windy weather, but conditions moderated by midday and the afternoon turned pleasant. The brief…
Jan
31
1805
Northwest Winds and Snow; Hunters Depart with Horses
Strong northwest winds blew through the night and snow was driven through the air. A party of five men set out hunting, taking two horses along with them.
Feb
1
1805
Seeing Snake Seeks Permission to Raid Sioux
On a cold, windy Friday, the expedition's hunters returned with only one deer. A young Minnetaree war chief named Seeing Snake (Mar-book-she-ah-O-ke-ah) arrived with corn, asking to have…
Feb
1
1805
Hunting Party Returns Empty-Handed; Fort Man Kills Deer
The hunting party returned to the fort empty-handed. However, one of the men stationed at the fort ventured out a short distance and managed to kill a small…
Feb
1
1805
One Deer Killed; Hunters Return Empty-Handed
On this day, one of the hunters traveled a short distance from camp and succeeded in killing a deer. The hunters who had set out the previous day…
Feb
2
1805
Larocque Departs; Interpreter Remains Unwell
On a fine Saturday in early February 1805 at Fort Mandan, the party recorded a relatively quiet day. One deer was killed, providing some food. The expedition's interpreter…
Feb
2
1805
Detailed Measurements Taken of Large Brown Bear
The party killed a very large brown bear, recording detailed measurements of its head, neck, breast, length, leg, and talons. The sick man improved. Over the following days…
Feb
2
1805
Quiet Winter Day; Deer Shot Near Fort
A cold winter day at the fort with the river rising. One of the hunters ventured a short distance from the fort, shot a deer, and packed the…
Feb
3
1805
Clark's Hunting Party Strikes Out Downriver
With the expedition's meat supply running low, Clark organized a hunting trip down the frozen river. He set out with about sixteen men, three horses, and two sleighs,…
Feb
3
1805
Pirogues Dangerously Trapped in Layered Ice
On a fine Sunday at Fort Mandan, the blacksmith resumed work and few Native visitors came by. The expedition's boat and pirogues remained dangerously frozen in layered ice…
Feb
3
1805
Rain, White Frost, and Pine Hills Along the Way
Light rain fell before the party embarked at 1 P.M., passing three creeks and traveling seven miles before camping in a large bottom. The next morning brought white…
Feb
3
1805
Hunters Range Out and Return with Nothing
On this day, hunters set out a short distance from camp to search for game, but wildlife was scarce in the area. They returned shortly afterward without having…
Feb
4
1805
Clark Departs on Hunt at Eighteen Below Zero
On a clear but bitterly cold Monday with temperatures at 18 below zero and northwest winds, Captain Clark departed Fort Mandan on a hunting expedition with sixteen men…
Feb
4
1805
Twenty-Mile Hunt Yields No Game Sighted
Patrick Gass and his hunting party traveled twenty miles down the river in search of game but spotted none. The brief entry records an unsuccessful hunting excursion with…
Feb
4
1805
Large Hunting Party Departs; Shields Kills Nearby
A hunting party of fourteen expedition members and two Frenchmen departed this morning, equipped with two horses and two sleds, planning to travel a considerable distance down the…
Feb
5
1805
Natives Trade Corn for Blacksmith-Forged Battle Axes
On a pleasant Tuesday with northwest winds and fair weather at Fort Mandan, many natives visited to pay the expedition's blacksmith in corn for his work. Lewis describes…
Feb
5
1805
Successful Hunt Yields Ten Elk and Eighteen Deer
Over several days, the hunting party killed three deer, then visited more Indian camps and took additional deer. On the 7th they camped on the Missouri's south side,…
Feb
5
1805
Mandan Traders Arrive; Blacksmith Forges War Axes
Mild conditions caused water to spread over the ice in several spots near the fort. With coal now prepared and ready for the blacksmith to use, Native visitors…
Feb
6
1805
Mandan Chiefs Visit; Sled Awaits Clark's Horses
On a fair, windy day at Fort Mandan, Lewis prepared a sled to await the return of horses Clark had promised to send once he secured meat. Several…
Feb
6
1805
Shields Kills Three Goats at Evening
The party was troubled by something unspecified during the day, while Captain Lewis took astronomical or navigational observations. Toward evening, Shields went out hunting and successfully killed three…
Feb
7
1805
Guard Discovers Interpreters' Wives Unbarring the Gate
A fair, warmer morning at Fort Mandan, with the thermometer at 18° above zero and a southeast wind. Native visitors continued to come to the fort. The sergeant…
Feb
7
1805
Mandan Visitors Bring Work to the Fort Blacksmith
On this day at the expedition's winter quarters, local Native Americans continued to visit the camp. They came both to see the explorers and to have blacksmithing work…
Feb
8
1805
Black Cat Visits; Lewis Praises the Mandan Chief
Fair, warm weather with a southeast wind. Lewis was visited by Black Cat, principal chief of the upper Mandan village of Rooptarhe, whom Lewis regarded as the most…
Feb
8
1805
Hunting Party Still Absent; No Other News
The brief entry notes only that the hunting party had not yet returned. No additional details about weather, location, people, or events are recorded for this day.
Feb
9
1805
Howard Scales the Fort Wall After Curfew
On a fair, pleasant Saturday with a southeast wind, Lewis received a visit from Mr. McKenzie, a clerk with the North West Company. That evening, a man named…
Feb
9
1805
Mandan Women Haul Timber Across Frozen River
A cold day at Fort Mandan with the Missouri River frozen smooth. Ordway notes that women from the first nearby Mandan village were across the river cutting timber…
Feb
10
1805
Charbonneau Returns; Heavy Meat Caches Left Behind
Cloudy weather followed an overnight snowfall, with a strong northwest wind making the day feel colder than the previous one despite a higher temperature of 18° above zero.…
Feb
10
1805
Soldier Scales Fort Wall; Indian Reprimanded by Lewis
Snow flurries fell at Fort Mandan. The previous evening, a soldier returning from the Mandan village climbed over the back wall of the fort instead of hailing the…
Feb
11
1805
Sacagawea Delivers Jean Baptiste at Fort Mandan
At Fort Mandan, Sacagawea gave birth to a son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, around five o'clock in the evening. Lewis assisted with the difficult delivery, noting that her labor…
Feb
11
1805
Hand Sleds Haul Meat While Horses Are Shod
On a clear but cold day, two hand sleds were used to haul up three horse-loads of meat. This arrangement allowed the horses to travel overland unburdened so…
Feb
11
1805
Patrick Gass: February 11, 1805
Editorial note: no detailed primary-source journal entry survives for February 11, 1805 that is distinct from the surrounding days. The...
Feb
12
1805
Sleighs Dispatched to Retrieve Charbonneau's Cached Meat
On a fair but frigid morning at 14° below zero with a southeast wind, Lewis ordered the blacksmith to shoe horses and others to prepare three sleighs to…
Feb
12
1805
Clark Returns with Hunting Party; Horses Shod
Men brought back three horse loads of meat, the horses traveling by way of the prairies. The blacksmith shod three horses so they could be sent to the…
Feb
13
1805
Clark Returns Exhausted After Nine-Day Hunt
Clark returned exhausted from a nine-day hunting expedition, having walked about 30 miles on ice and through deep snow. The party traveled as far as 60 miles from…
Feb
13
1805
Black Cat Receives a Battle Axe from Lewis
On a cloudy Wednesday morning with temperatures at two degrees below zero and a southeast wind, the captains received a visit from Black Cat, a Mandan chief. Lewis…
Feb
14
1805
Sioux Raid the Meat-Hauling Party Downriver
On a fine morning following a 3-inch snowfall, Clark sent George Drouillard and three other men with two sleighs and three shod horses to retrieve meat that had…
Feb
14
1805
Three Horses and Two Sleds Sent for Meat
On a pleasant day, four men departed early with three horses and two sleds, heading out to haul a load of meat back from the hunting camp.
Feb
14
1805
Indians Attack Hunting Party, Steal Horses
A hunting party with horses and sleds, sent out to retrieve meat, had traveled about two and a half miles when unidentified Indians attacked and stole their horses,…
Feb
15
1805
Lewis Leads Armed Response to Sioux Horse Theft
Late the previous night, men sent to retrieve meat returned reporting that around 105 Indians, believed to be Sioux, had attacked them about 24 miles below Fort Mandan,…
Feb
15
1805
Teton Sioux Seize Horses Twenty-Five Miles Downriver
Men sent out the previous day returned to report that about 105 Sioux had stopped them roughly 25 miles down the river, seizing horses, cutting collars, and riding…
Feb
15
1805
Natives Gone, Meat Cache Destroyed
On a cold morning, the party traveled twelve miles before spotting fresh smoke rising from old campsites where meat had been previously cached during Captain Clark's earlier trip.…
Feb
16
1805
Sioux War Party Escapes; Howard Returns Frostbitten
A clear morning at Fort Mandan brought few Indian visitors. At dusk, two Indians who had accompanied Captain Lewis returned, followed by two more and Private Howard, whose…
Feb
16
1805
Suspected Ambush; Lewis Advances Cautiously to Lodges
After a man went lame and turned back with some Indians, the party advanced about six miles to lodges where Gravelines' men had been robbed by Mandans the…
Feb
17
1805
The Coal Brings Dried Meat and Tallow
On a mild, partly cloudy Sunday that turned fair in the afternoon, Clark received visitors at the fort. The Mandan chief known as the Coal came with his…
Feb
17
1805
Drive Hunt Yields Ten Deer and Four Elk
A hunting party spread out in different directions to drive game into the wooded bottomlands, where the best marksmen were positioned to take the shots. The hunters returned…
Feb
18
1805
Clark Compiles Descriptive River List from Native Sources
On a cloudy Monday with some snow, William Clark spent the day at Fort Mandan working on a descriptive list of rivers compiled from information gathered from various…
Feb
18
1805
Camp Moved to Cached Elk and Deer Pen
The hunting party split duties: hunters set out early while the rest of the men relocated camp about five miles downriver to a bottom where Captain Clark's group…
Feb
18
1805
Fort Mandan, preparing for departure — Patrick Gass: February 18, 1805
Editorial note: no detailed primary-source journal entry survives for February 18, 1805 that is distinct from the surrounding days. The...
Feb
19
1805
Blacksmiths Trade Axes for Corn at Fort Mandan
On a pleasant Tuesday, several Mandan visitors came to the camp. The expedition's blacksmiths stayed busy repairing and making axes for the local Indians, receiving corn in exchange…
Feb
19
1805
Fifteen Men Haul Heavy Meat Sled Over Ice
The party set out early, sending hunters ahead through the bottomlands while the rest loaded two sleds with meat—a smaller one pulled by the gray horse and a…
Feb
19
1805
Abundant Hunt Yields Twenty-Eight Elk and Deer
During a hunting expedition, the party killed three deer, then visited more Indian camps and took additional deer. They encamped on the south side of the Missouri on…
Feb
20
1805
News of the 120-Year-Old Mandan Elder's Death
On a beautiful day at Fort Mandan, Clark received an early visit from the Little Raven and was informed of the death of an elderly man he had…
Feb
20
1805
Hunters Kill Three Deer; Party Passes Named Landmark
The party set out after sending hunters ahead early, traveling about 10 miles before stopping to broil and eat meat. They continued a short distance and picked up…
