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
29
1805
Chinook Traders Bring Wapato and Salmon to Fort
Three additional hunters set out from the fort during the day. In the afternoon, members of the Chinook nation arrived to trade, bringing wapato roots and dried salmon.…
Dec
30
1805
Fairest Day Since Arrival; Drouillard Returns with Deer
The day brought hard winds and rain overnight, but cleared into the fairest weather the party had seen since arriving, with only three rain showers. Four Wahkiacum Indians…
Dec
30
1805
Four Elk Killed; Hunters Return to Fort
A rare fair morning brought sunshine, though light rain showers fell throughout the day. Around 3 o'clock, the three hunters who had set out earlier returned, reporting they…
Dec
30
1805
Fort Pickets and Gates Completed; Four Elk Killed
On this unusually clear day at the winter encampment, the men completed construction of the fort's pickets and gates by about 2 p.m. Three hunters returned with news…
Dec
31
1805
Wahkiakum and Skilloot Visitors Offer Wapato and Mats
Cloudy with showers throughout the day at the expedition's coastal camp. Local Indians remained nearby, and two more canoes arrived—one carrying three Wahkiakum men, the other bringing three…
Dec
31
1805
New Year's Eve Trade; Insects Active in January Warmth
On the last day of 1805, Native visitors arrived to trade wapato roots and salmon, while an earlier hunting party had departed that morning. The new year began…
Jan
1
1806
Fort Clatsop Completed; Rules Issued for Winter Quarters
New Year's Day at the newly completed Fort Clatsop began with the party firing a volley of small arms in salute and shouting wishes for a happy new…
Jan
1
1806
New Year's Salute; Boiled Elk and Wappetoe for Dinner
At Fort Clatsop, the party marked New Year's Day 1806 with a volley of small arms fired in salute, the only celebration available to them. Their meal consisted…
Jan
1
1806
New Year's Salute Fired; Barefoot Clatsop Visitors Observed
At Fort Clatsop, the men marked New Year's Day by firing their guns at daybreak in celebration. The weather was pleasant, and two hunters set out for the…
Jan
1
1806
New Year's Day Elk Retrieval at Fort Clatsop
On New Year's Day 1806, men from the expedition went out in the morning and hauled the meat of a previously killed elk back into Fort Clatsop. The…
Jan
2
1806
Twelve Men Retrieve Elk; Otter Taken from Traps
On a cloudy, rainy day at the winter camp, twelve men were sent out and returned by 11 a.m. with two elk killed the day before. The visiting…
Jan
2
1806
Elk Retrieved While Willard and Wiser Remain Absent
At the new winter quarters, a party retrieved two elk killed the previous day, while Willard, Wiser, and another group of hunters who left December 26th remained absent.…
Jan
2
1806
Fort Clatsop Regulations Issued to the Military Detachment
With Fort Clatsop now complete, the captains issued a formal set of regulations to govern the party, who were operating as a detachment of the regular army under…
Jan
2
1806
Fort Clatsop, salt works established — Patrick Gass: January 2, 1806
Editorial note: no detailed primary-source journal entry survives for January 2, 1806 that is distinct from the surrounding days. The...
Jan
3
1806
Sun Briefly Appears; Shannon Sent to Check Salt Makers
The sun appeared briefly for the first time in six weeks before clouds and rain returned, following a stormy night of lightning, thunder, hail, and rain. Sergeant Gass…
Jan
3
1806
Comowool Brings Whale Blubber from Tillamook Shore
Chief Comowool and six Clatsops visited Fort Clatsop, bringing roots, berries, three dogs, and whale blubber obtained from the Callamuck people to the southeast, where a whale had…
Jan
3
1806
Gass Departs for Salt Camp; Hunters Return Scant Game
Overnight, one of the hunters caught a large otter. Sergeant Gass departed for the Salt Camps, and around 10 o'clock a group of Native visitors arrived at the…
Jan
3
1806
Gass Sets Out to Check Overdue Salt Makers
Patrick Gass and another man set out to check on the party's salt-making operation on the coast, since some of the men working there were overdue in returning.…
Jan
4
1806
Clark Appraises Clatsop Character and Trading Habits
Comowool and the Clatsop visitors departed in the morning. Clark reflects on the local Chinook, Clatsop, and related peoples, describing them as mild and friendly but prone to…
Jan
4
1806
Lewis Reflects on Clatsop Thievery and Hard Bargaining
Chief Comowool and the Clatsop visitors who had arrived the previous day departed in the evening. Lewis reflected on the local Chinook, Clatsop, and related peoples, describing them…
Jan
4
1806
Clatsop Traders Bring Sweet Roots; Dog Purchased
A routine day at the expedition's winter quarters. Clatsop Indians came to trade, bringing some excellent sweet roots that the party acquired. One member of the expedition also…
Jan
4
1806
Raft Strands Men on Opposite Banks of Creek
Traveling toward the salt works, the party crossed what they believed was the final creek on their route. Just past it, Gass's companion shot an elk, providing breakfast…
Jan
5
1806
Willard and Wiser Return with Salt and Whale Blubber
Willard and Wiser returned to Fort Clatsop at 5 p.m., reporting they had established a salt-making camp about 15 miles southwest on the sea coast near friendly Clatsop…
Jan
5
1806
Salt Camp Established; Whale Blubber Gifted by Killamuck
Willard and Wiser returned at 5 P.M., reporting they had finally established a salt-making camp about 15 miles southwest along the coast, near friendly Killamuck families. They brought…
Jan
5
1806
Salt Makers Deliver Two Gallons; Whale Parts Reported
One hunter came back to Fort Clatsop having killed only a brant and two ducks. Soon after, two men arrived from the salt-making camp carrying about two gallons…
Jan
5
1806
Raft Strands Men on Opposite Banks of Creek
Patrick Gass and a companion, traveling along the Pacific coast, encountered a creek they needed to cross. They built a raft, but it could only hold one person…
Jan
6
1806
Sacagawea Insists on Seeing the Beached Whale
After news arrived at Fort Clatsop of a beached whale near present-day Cannon Beach, Clark assembled a party to retrieve blubber and oil. Sacagawea spoke up, arguing that…
Jan
6
1806
Canoes Prepared to Seek the Beached Whale
On this day, preparations were made involving one large canoe and one small canoe to travel along the coast in search of whale. Around 9 o'clock in the…
Jan
6
1806
Two Months of Rain Finally Breaks; Camp Departs
After roughly two months of near-constant rain with only four clear days, the weather finally broke, allowing the party to leave the lodges where they had been staying.…
Jan
7
1806
Clark Sets Out to Find the Beached Whale
Clark set out at daylight with his party to find a beached whale reported among the Killamox (Tillamook). They crossed a creek on a felled tree, walked the…
Jan
7
1806
First Rainless Day; Lewis Details His Beaver Bait Recipe
On this first rainless day since arriving at their winter quarters, Drewyer's traps yielded a large fat beaver and an otter, providing both a hearty meal and valuable…
Jan
7
1806
Black Otter and Beaver Taken from Traps
On this day, a member of the party checked traps about three miles out and found a large, beautiful black otter and a beaver, bringing the beaver back…
Jan
7
1806
Clark's Party Reaches Beached Whale on the Coast
Captain Clark and 14 men arrived at the salt-makers' camp en route to a beached whale further down the coast. Local Indians had already obtained good whale meat,…
Jan
8
1806
Clark Finds Whale Skeleton Stripped by Tillamook
Clark and his party traveled to the Pacific coast in search of a beached whale among the Tillamook (Killamuck) Indians. After crossing rugged mountains and slippery points, they…
Jan
8
1806
Meat Scarce at Fort Clatsop; Drouillard Sent Hunting
With meat supplies running low at Fort Clatsop, Lewis sent Drouillard and Collins out to hunt and assigned the cooks to guard duty to ease the burden on…
Jan
8
1806
Lewis Praises Dog Meat; Clark Remains Unconvinced
Hunters left the fort to pursue game; Potts, Collins, and Reuben Fields had already been out since late December. Lewis recorded that he had grown fond of dog…
Jan
9
1806
Clark's Party Climbs Headland with Whale Meat and Oil
Clark's party set out at daybreak from the Tillamook village, carrying whale meat and oil obtained the previous day. They examined an old plank house at a former…
Jan
9
1806
Men Dress Skins; Distant Gunshots Signal Elk Found
At Fort Clatsop, the men spent the day dressing elk and deer skins for moccasins and clothing, though deer were scarce. Seven gunshots heard from a creek to…
Jan
9
1806
Unusually Warm and Pleasant Skies Over Winter Camp
The day began with clearing skies and turned into a pleasant, warm morning that continued throughout the day. Ordway's brief entry records only the weather conditions at the…
Jan
10
1806
Clark Wades Clatsop River; Meets Tillamook with Sea Otter Robe
Clark left Sergeant Gass with the salt makers and set out at sunrise, wading the 85-yard-wide Clatsop River. He met a Tillamook Indian wearing a fine sea otter…
Jan
10
1806
Cuthlahmah Chief Visits; Clark Returns from the Coast
At Fort Clatsop, Lewis received a visit from Cuthlahmah Chief Shahharwarcap and eleven of his people, exchanging small gifts and trading goods. Hunters Drewyer and Collins returned with…
Jan
10
1806
Clark Returns from Coast; Wapato Traded at Fort
Two hunters returned with an elk, and twelve Native visitors arrived at the fort to trade wapato roots and two dogs. By evening, Captain Clark and most of…
Jan
10
1806
Gass Waits for Hunter, Then Returns to Fort
Gass remained behind at camp after his party set out, waiting for a hunter who had accompanied him to return from the woods. The following day, January 11th,…
Jan
11
1806
Indian Canoe Lost to Tide; Search Parties Return Empty
A party retrieved an elk killed two days earlier, returning with the meat by evening. The sergeant of the guard reported that an Indian canoe had drifted away…
Jan
11
1806
Lost Canoe Unrecovered; Hunters Return Empty-Handed
On this Sunday, a party retrieved an elk killed two days earlier, while hunters Drouillard and Collins returned empty-handed. The guard reported that the Indian canoe had drifted…
Jan
11
1806
Canoe Sent to Retrieve Elk; Small Canoe Missing
Overnight, seven men took a canoe to retrieve elk meat while others searched for a missing small canoe. The party returned in the evening with the meat. The…
Jan
11
1806
Rainy Day Spent Hauling Elk Meat to Camp
On this wet, rainy day at the expedition's winter camp, most of the available men were sent out to haul in the meat from the elk that had…
Jan
12
1806
Drewyer Kills Seven Elk; Gass Returns from Salt Camp
On a Sunday at Fort Clatsop, Drewyer and another man were sent out hunting and returned in the evening with seven elk, Drewyer once again proving the party's…
Jan
12
1806
Drewyer's Seven Elk Draw Lewis's Highest Praise
The party gave up searching for a lost canoe. Drewyer was sent hunting and returned in the evening having killed seven elk, prompting Lewis to praise him as…
Jan
12
1806
Hunters Return at Dusk; Lost Canoe Still Missing
On January 12, 1806, hunting was the focus of the day at the expedition's winter quarters. Three men went out again searching for a missing canoe but were…
Jan
12
1806
Salt Making and Elk Skin Moccasin Work Continue
Some men were sent to the salt works to help make salt, while others stayed at the fort drying meat and dressing elk skins for moccasins, a laborious…
Jan
13
1806
Elk Meat Retrieved Intact; Candles Exhausted at Fort Clatsop
Captain Lewis led a party from Fort Clatsop to retrieve the elk killed the previous day, finding the meat untouched by wolves, which are scarce in the area.…
Jan
13
1806
Seven Elk Hauled In; Last Candles Spent at Camp
Lewis sent available men from Fort Clatsop to retrieve the meat from seven elk killed the previous day, finding it intact since wolves are scarce in the area,…
Jan
13
1806
Party Hauls Elk Meat; Men Left Behind Jerk Meat
Rainy weather continued through the morning. Captain Lewis led most of the party out to retrieve elk meat from a recent hunt, leaving only the guard behind at…
Jan
13
1806
Men Haul Previous Day's Elk Kill to Camp
On this wet day at the expedition's winter camp, most of the available men were sent out to haul in the meat from the elk that had been…
Jan
14
1806
Lost Canoe Recovered; Pirogues Secured Beyond Tidewater
At Fort Clatsop, the sergeant of the guard reported a canoe missing after the tide carried it off, but a search party recovered it within three hours. Clark…
Jan
14
1806
Drifted Pirogue Recovered; Canoes Hauled Beyond Tide's Reach
At Fort Clatsop, the guard reported a large pirogue had broken loose and drifted off with the tide. A search party recovered it within three hours, after which…
Jan
14
1806
Salt Production and Moccasin Work in Wet Weather
Some men were dispatched to the salt works to help produce salt, while others stayed at the fort drying meat and dressing elk skins for moccasins—tedious but necessary…
Jan
15
1806
Lewis Completes Tiger Cat Coat; Rain Falls All Day
At Fort Clatsop, heavy rain fell all day and little of note occurred, though Captain Lewis completed a large coat made from seven robes of tiger cat and…
Jan
15
1806
Rain Delays Hunters; Tiger Cat Coat Completed
Heavy rain on January 15, 1806, forced Lewis to postpone sending out two hunting parties at Fort Clatsop. He completed a large coat made from seven dressed robes…
