Meriwether Lewis: September 6, 1803

September 6^th 1803.

The fogg was as thick as usual this morning detained us untill ½ past 7. O’C. when we set out—observed the Thermometer in the air to stand at 71° Water 73°—the fogg continued even with [this] small differences between the temperature of the air and water [s]truck on a riffle which we got over with some difficulty and in the distance of two miles and a half passed 4 others three of which we were obliged to drag over with horses; the man charged me the exorbitant price of two dollars for his trouble.—got on pretty well to Steunbenville which we past at 2 OC. being 6 m. from encamp[ment] hoisted our fore sale found great relief from it we run two miles in a few minutes when the wind becoming so strong we were obliged to hall it in lest it should carry away the mast, but the wind abating in some measure we again spread it; a sudon squal broke the sprete and had very nearly carried away the mast, after which we firled and secured it tho’ the wind was so strong as to carry us pretty good speed by means of the arning and firled sails.—struck on a riffle about two miles below the town hoisted our mainsail to assist in driving us over the riffle the wind blew so heard as to break the spreat of it, and now having no assistance but by manual exertion and my men woarn down by perpetual lifting I was obliged again to have recourse to my usual resort and sent out in serch of horses or oxen—Stewbenville a small town situated on the Ohio in the State of Ohio about six miles above Charlestown in Virginia and 24 above Wheeling—is [a] small well built thriving place has several respectable families residing in it, five years since it was a wilderness—the oxen arrived got off with difficulty the oxen drew badly however with their assistance we got over two other riffles which lyed just below; we proceeded about a mile and a half further and encamped on the west bank having made ten miles this day.

Source: Lewis’s 1803 journal, printed in Quaife, The Journals of Captain Meriwether Lewis and Sergeant John Ordway (Wisconsin Historical Society, 1916), pp. 36-37. Public domain.