Meriwether Lewis: August 30, 1803

August 30th 1803. Left Pittsburgh this day at 11 oclock with a party of 11 hands 7 of which are soldiers, a pilot and three young men on trial they having proposed to go with me throughout the voyage. Arrived at Bruno’s Island 3 miles below halted a few minutes, went on shore and being invited on by some of the gentlemen present to try my airgun which I had purchased brought it on shore charged it and fired myself seven times fifty five yards with pretty good success; after which a Mr Blaze Cenas being unacquainted with the management of the gun suffered her to discharge herself accedently the ball passed through the hat of a woman about 40 yards distant cuting her temple about the fourth of the diameter of the ball; shee fell instantly and the blood gushing from her temple we were all in the greatest consternation suppose[d] she was dead but in a minute she revived to our enexpessable satisfaction, and by examination we found the wound by no means mortal or even dangerous; called the hands aboard and proceeded to a ripple off Mc Kee’s rock where we were obleged to get out all hands and lift the boat over about thirty yards; the river is extreemly low.

Source: Lewis’s 1803 journal, printed in Quaife, The Journals of Captain Meriwether Lewis and Sergeant John Ordway (Wisconsin Historical Society, 1916). Public domain.