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
8
1805
Clark Leads Party Overland Toward the Ocean
On a frosty morning, Captain Clark set out with five men toward the ocean, while Gass and eleven others went to retrieve elk meat being guarded by two…
Dec
9
1805
Clatsop Indians Offer Shelter and Fresh Salmon
After a rainy night left the party soaked, Clark sent Drouillard and Shannon to hunt elk while he and three men set out westward toward the ocean. Blocked…
Dec
9
1805
Ground Cleared for Huts and Small Fort
A sergeant and eight men were dispatched to retrieve meat left behind the previous day, while other members of the party worked on improving the camp and clearing…
Dec
10
1805
Clark Shoots Brant; Indians Collect Stranded Sturgeon
On a cold, rainy Tuesday near the Pacific coast, Clark walked the beach collecting shells and observed local Indians searching for fish left by the tide, learning that…
Dec
10
1805
Clark Reports Ocean Seven Miles Distant
Despite rain, the entire party worked on building the camp. Around 2 p.m., Captain Clark returned with three of his men, while the other two stayed out hunting.…
Dec
10
1805
Hut Construction Begins as Clark Returns from Coast
The expedition crew spent the day clearing ground to build their winter huts despite heavy rain falling for most of the day. Toward evening, Captain Clark returned with…
Dec
11
1805
Cabins Rising Amid Rain and Illness
Rain fell moderately through the night and continued off and on throughout the day. The men spent the day building huts and cabins for their winter quarters. Several…
Dec
11
1805
Construction of Fort Clatsop Huts Continues
On this December day in 1805, Patrick Gass recorded only that the expedition members continued working on building their huts. This was part of the construction of Fort…
Dec
12
1805
Log Work Proceeds; Fleas Plague the Bedding
On a rainy Thursday at the winter camp site, the healthy members of the party worked on cutting logs and raising cabins, while two men were sent to…
Dec
12
1805
Three Cabin Rooms Raised, Roofing Materials Scarce
The party made progress on their winter quarters, completing three cabin rooms except for the roofs. Roofing was expected to be challenging because no timber found so far…
Dec
13
1805
Clatsops Depart; Eighteen Elk Found Six Miles Upriver
The Clatsop visitors departed after breakfast, having sold Clark two small animal robes and Lewis two lynx (loucirva) skins, intended for making coats. Drouillard and Shannon returned from…
Dec
13
1805
Final Line of Huts Raises Seven-Room Winter Quarters
The party continued construction of their winter quarters on the west side of the Lewis and Clark River, beginning the last line of huts to form three sides…
Dec
13
1805
Hunters Report Eighteen Elk Killed Four Miles Away
The work crew stayed busy at the camp throughout the day. The group of Native visitors from the previous day departed, and a different party arrived around midday.…
Dec
14
1805
Log Work Finished; Meat House Begun
On a cloudy, rainy Saturday at the expedition's new camp, the men completed the log work of their building and began finishing a separate house to store meat.…
Dec
14
1805
Mild Frost and Rain; Native Visitors Depart
Two men returned to guard meat killed earlier while the rest of the party continued work at the encampment. Rain fell throughout much of the day, though temperatures…
Dec
14
1805
Second Hut Line Raised; Meat House Covered
Construction continued at the winter camp. Two men were assigned to splitting out planks to use as roofing for the huts. The crew finished raising the second line…
Dec
15
1805
Hauling Elk Quarters by Canoe Up the Creek
Clark set out early with 16 men in 3 canoes to retrieve elk meat from a recent hunt. They traveled about three miles up the river, then three…
Dec
15
1805
Work Parties Split to Retrieve Meat and Build Quarters
On a day of light showers, the expedition party split into work groups. Sixteen men set out to retrieve meat that four others had been guarding. The journal-keeper…
Dec
16
1805
Freezing Night in Rain; Men Reunite at the Elk Camp
Clark and his party endured a miserable, freezing night in pouring rain with only elk skins for cover, sitting up much of the night as water rose beneath…
Dec
16
1805
Soaked Party Returns by Canoe Through Driving Rain
The party endured a miserable night of cold and rain, unable to start a fire because all their gear was soaked. In the morning they returned to camp,…
Dec
16
1805
Clark Returns with Meat; Lost Men Spent Night Outdoors
Around 8 a.m., Captain Clark arrived at camp with 15 men loaded with meat from a hunt, leaving a canoe behind with seven more men to bring in…
Dec
17
1805
Huts Chinked and Daubed; Wood Splits Poorly
Rain, hail, and strong wind marked the morning of December 17, 1805, before clearing to a fair, cool afternoon. The men worked on the new huts, chinking, daubing,…
Dec
17
1805
Huts Chinked and Meat Hung in Storehouse
Rain continued through the morning as the party worked on completing their winter quarters. The men chinked the gaps in their huts and split planks for construction. They…
Dec
17
1805
Last Meat Party Returns, Hut Construction Continues
On December 17, 1805, the expedition experienced light showers of rain and hail. Around 11 o'clock in the morning, the seven men who had been out returned with…
Dec
18
1805
Snow and Hail Slow Work on the Huts
Alternating rain and snow fell through the night, with bursts of snow and hail continuing until noon, leaving the air cold and disagreeable under a hard, unsettled wind.…
Dec
18
1805
Lewis Describes a Crow-Family Bird Shot Near Camp
At Fort Clatsop, one of the men shot a bird of the crow family that had been feeding on meat scraps near camp. Lewis devoted the day's entry…
Dec
18
1805
Lumber Salvaged from Abandoned Indian Fishing Camps
Two canoes were sent across the bay to gather plank, and the party returned in the evening with the canoes loaded with lumber salvaged from old fishing camps.…
Dec
18
1805
Brief Clear Skies Reward a Stormy Morning
The day began with stormy weather, but conditions improved by midday when skies cleared, leading to a pleasant afternoon. No other activities, travel, or events were recorded in…
Dec
19
1805
Salvaging Boards from an Abandoned Indian House
After a night of intermittent rain, the morning was clear with a southwest wind. Clark sent Sergeant Pryor and eight men in two canoes across Meriwether's Bay to…
Dec
19
1805
Lewis Records the Blue Crested Corvus in Detail
Lewis devotes the day's entry to a detailed description of the blue crested corvus, a bird common in the wooded country west of the Rocky Mountains to the…
Dec
19
1805
Captain Ill; Clatsop Visitors Arrive at Winter Quarters
The morning was harsh, and the writer had fallen seriously ill the previous night. Despite his own poor condition, the rest of the men in the party were…
Dec
19
1805
Fair Morning Gives Way to Rain Again
The day began with hopes of fair, pleasant weather, but those expectations were short-lived. By noon, clouds rolled back in and rain started falling once again, continuing the…
Dec
20
1805
Four Cabins Roofed; Indians Arrive to Trade
Rain and hail fell overnight and continued hard until 10 a.m., with more showers in the afternoon. The men spent the day carrying puncheons and roofing the cabins,…
Dec
20
1805
Scavenged Puncheons Insufficient to Roof All Cabins
The crew gathered puncheons and slabs they had made, along with some taken from Indian huts up the bay, but did not have enough material to roof all…
Dec
21
1805
Thieves Caught Stealing; Indians Ordered from Camp
Rain continued through the night and all day at moderate intensity. The men kept working on the cabins, daubing and chinking them, and felled several trees that proved…
Dec
21
1805
Bread from White Roots Obtained at Native Lodges
On a fine morning, the party traveled by river, stopping around 10 a.m. at some native lodges for about two hours. They obtained bread made from a small…
Dec
22
1805
Four Huts Daubed and Floored; Beaver Traps Set
Steady rain continued through the night and day at the expedition's winter camp. The men worked on what they could at the new shelters, finishing daubing four huts…
Dec
22
1805
Snake River Confluence Identified at Island Rapids
The party set out early, spotting many ducks, geese, and gulls. At 10 a.m. they reached a large island where the river cuts through a high hill, and…
Dec
22
1805
Rainy and Wet at Fort Clatsop
A brief journal note from John Ordway recording the weather conditions for the day. The entry simply describes the day as rainy, warm, and wet, with no other…
Dec
23
1805
Captains Move Into Their Cabin; Thunder and Hail
Heavy rain fell continuously through the night and day, accompanied by thunder and hail. The men worked on their huts at Fort Clatsop, and Clark and Lewis moved…
Dec
23
1805
Canoes Lined Down Thirty-Seven-Foot Falls
The expedition portaged and lined their canoes down a major falls totaling 37 feet 8 inches over 1200 yards, with a 20-foot perpendicular drop requiring a 450-yard drag…
Dec
23
1805
Fragment Entry; Conditions Compared to Common Days
The journal entry for this day is extremely brief, consisting only of a fragment noting that something was 'than common this day,' suggesting a comparison to typical conditions…
Dec
24
1805
Men Move Into Huts; Cuscalah Trades a Sea Otter Skin
Heavy rain fell intermittently overnight and steadily through the day at the corps' new winter quarters. The men worked at carrying puncheons and finishing the roofs of the…
Dec
24
1805
Fort Mandan Completed; Captains Share Provisions with Men
Snow fell in the morning, but the weather cleared by around 10 a.m. into a fair day. The party completed work on their fortification, finishing the construction of…
Dec
24
1805
Christmas Eve; First Men Move into Finished Huts
On December 24, 1805, the expedition continued building their winter quarters at what would become Fort Clatsop. The men worked on covering their huts and built fires inside…
Dec
24
1805
Navigating Fierce Narrows to a Large Indian Village
The party set out early and navigated very rapid water below the falls. After traveling four miles past the narrows, they encountered another set of narrows with even…
Dec
25
1805
Bleak Christmas at Fort Clatsop
Christmas Day at the newly built Fort Clatsop on the Pacific coast was bleak compared to the previous year at Fort Mandan. Constant rain, scarce game, and dwindling…
Dec
25
1805
Christmas Salute and Move into Fort Clatsop
On Christmas Day 1805, the expedition moved into their newly built winter quarters, which the captains named Fort Clatsop after the neighboring Clatsop Indians. At daybreak the men…
Dec
25
1805
Christmas Salute; Moving Into Newly Built Huts
On Christmas morning, the expedition moved from camp into their newly built huts. The men paraded at daybreak and fired a salute to wish Captains Lewis and Clark…
Dec
26
1805
Thunder and Rain; Fleas Driven from Blankets by Fire
Heavy rain, strong southeast winds, and hard thunder battered the camp through the night and continued all day. Joseph Fields finished building a table and two seats for…
Dec
26
1805
High Winds and Hard Storms Persist as Usual
On this day, the expedition continued to endure harsh weather at their winter quarters, with high winds, hard storms, and persistent heavy rain. Ordway notes that these difficult…
Dec
26
1805
Moving into New Huts, Celebrating Christmas Without Liquor
The party moved into their newly built huts and celebrated Christmas by firing a round of small arms at daybreak to greet Captains Lewis and Clark. The captains…
Dec
27
1805
Chimneys and Bunks Finished; Salt Makers Assigned
Rain continued through the night and most of the day at the expedition's winter camp. The men finished chimneys and bunks, while assignments were made for the next…
Dec
27
1805
Huts Improved; Native Visitors Arrive in Evening Rain
The men improved their huts at the newly established fort, making the quarters noticeably more comfortable than before. Several local Native people visited the fort during the evening.…
Dec
27
1805
Windbound Camp Yields Four Deer and Squirrels
Strong winds up the river kept the party in camp all day at their new location, which offered the first good hunting grounds they had seen in a…
Dec
28
1805
Hunters Dispatched; Salt Camp Established at the Shore
Rain continued through the night and day with strong southeast winds, though the weather was warm. Clark dispatched Drouillard, Shannon, Labiche, Reuben Field, and Collins to hunt, while…
Dec
28
1805
Beached Whale Reported; Storm Delays Lewis's Departure
Word arrived that a very large fish, presumed to be a whale, had washed ashore on the coast, where local women were already processing its oil and meat.…
Dec
28
1805
Dogs Purchased at Small Village Before Headwinds Halt Progress
After overnight rain, the morning dawned clear and fine. The party embarked at 8 o'clock and traveled about four miles before stopping at a small Native village, where…
Dec
29
1805
Pickets and Gates Built; Clark Gives Chief a Razor
At Fort Clatsop on a cloudy, windy day with little rain, the visiting Indians departed after Clark gave Chief Canio a razor, denying their other requests. Three men…
Dec
29
1805
Chinook Traders Bring Wapato and Dried Salmon
The men spent the day working on pickets and other construction tasks at the fort. Several members of the Chinook nation visited, bringing wapato roots and dried salmon…
