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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Feb
19
1806
Gass Returns with Eight Elk; Hides Distributed
At Fort Clatsop, Sergeant Ordway departed overland with a party for the salt works, while Sergeant Gass returned with eight elk carcasses and seven skins, leaving Shannon and…
Feb
19
1806
Eight Elk Carcasses Ferried Across the Netul
Sergeant Ordway departed overland with a party for the salt works, while Sergeant Gass returned in the evening with eight elk carcasses and seven hides, leaving Shannon and…
Feb
19
1806
Overland Trek to Salt Works Through Freezing Rain
Ordway and six other men set out early overland to the salt works to retrieve salt and baggage. They crossed prairies where the ground formed wave-like ridges, pushing…
Feb
19
1806
Party Departs Overland for Salt and Kettles
On this wet and stormy day, a sergeant and seven men set out overland from the fort, heading to the salt-making camp to retrieve the salt they had…
Feb
20
1806
Tahcum the Chinook Chief Visits with Twenty-Five Men
At Fort Clatsop, Collins hunted unsuccessfully but returned with cranberries for the sick. Gibson is recovering, while Bratten, McNeal, and Willard remain ill with coughs, fevers, and other…
Feb
20
1806
Chinook Chief Tahcum Welcomed; Bratton Worsening
At Fort Clatsop, Collins was sent hunting and returned with cranberries for the sick but no game. Gibson is recovering, while Bratton and McNeal are worsening. Tahcum, a…
Feb
20
1806
Arrival at Salt Works; Whale Blubber Purchased
The party set out early and traveled along the coast against a strong southwest wind that blew sand into their faces. They forded a creek with a rapid…
Feb
20
1806
Chinook Traders Bring Cedar Bark Rain Hats
Chinook Indians visited the fort to trade hats made from cedar bark and silk grass, which were attractive in appearance and effective at keeping out rain. The day…
Feb
21
1806
Rain Drives Hunters Back; Fisher Spotted and Lost
Three Clatsop visitors spent the day at the fort, with Captain Lewis giving one of them needles before they left in the evening. Drewyer and Collins tried to…
Feb
21
1806
Ordway's Salt Works Party Returns to Fort Clatsop
Three Clatsop visitors spent the day at the fort begging; Lewis gave one some needles before they left in the evening. Heavy rain forced Drewyer and Collins to…
Feb
21
1806
Storm Forces Wade Through Creek to Fort
The party crossed the river in an Indian canoe and pushed hard overland with their baggage. Halfway through the journey, a heavy storm broke out with pouring rain…
Feb
21
1806
Salt Party Returns Through Relentless Rain
A small party returned to the main camp carrying salt and baggage, likely from the salt-making operation on the coast. The group endured a miserable journey, as heavy…
Feb
22
1806
Clatsop Women Deliver Custom Cedar-Bark Hats
Two Clatsop women and two boys visited camp, bringing finely made cedar-bark hats ornamented with bear grass, including two custom-fitted hats previously ordered by Lewis and Clark. The…
Feb
22
1806
Cedar Hats Purchased; Drouillard Seeks Dogs
Two Clatsop women and two boys visited the camp, bringing finely made cedar-bark hats ornamented with beargrass, including two custom-fitted ones ordered earlier by Lewis and Clark. The…
Feb
22
1806
Cedar Hats Brought by Native Visitors
Ordway reports feeling somewhat better, though still aching and uncomfortable. Other sick members of the party are also slowly recovering. Several Native visitors came to the fort bringing…
Feb
22
1806
Natives Sell Hats at Reasonable Prices
Native visitors came to the fort bringing hats, which the expedition bought at reasonable prices. The following day, February 23rd, was clear and pleasant. February 24th began cloudy…
Feb
23
1806
Men Well Supplied with Moccasins and Leather
At Fort Clatsop on this quiet Sunday, nothing of particular note occurred. The sick members of the party were recovering, and the men had outfitted themselves more amply…
Feb
23
1806
Sick Recovering; Natural History Observations Recorded
A quiet Sunday at Fort Clatsop with little of note happening. The sick are recovering, though Sergeant Ordway remains the most ill. The men are well supplied with…
Feb
23
1806
Influenza Strikes Several Expedition Members
Ordway notes that several members of the expedition party have fallen ill. He believes that he himself, along with three others, are suffering from influenza. The brief entry…
Feb
24
1806
Elk Retreat to Mountains; Hunters Return Empty-Handed
At Fort Clatsop, the sick continue recovering. Hunters Shannon and Labiche return empty-handed, reporting that elk—the party's main food source—have moved deeper into the mountains, troubling news for…
Feb
24
1806
Chief Comowooll Arrives; Elk Scarcity Threatens Provisions
The sick members of the party continue to recover. Hunters Shannon and Labiche return empty-handed, reporting that elk have moved far from the area—worrying news since elk meat…
Feb
24
1806
Drewyer Returns with Fish, Hats, and Otter Skin
Drewyer returned to the fort accompanied by a number of Indians, who brought hats and fresh fish to trade. The officers purchased a sea otter skin and several…
Feb
25
1806
Storm Confines Party; Celestial Observations Frustrated
Heavy rain and wind kept the party confined to Fort Clatsop, and the visiting Indians departed for their village in the morning. Willard's condition worsened slightly while the…
Feb
25
1806
Rain and Wind; Willard Worsens at Fort Clatsop
Heavy rain and wind kept the party confined at Fort Clatsop, and visiting Indians departed for their village in the morning. Willard's condition worsened slightly while the other…
Feb
25
1806
Slow Recovery Amid Persistent Coastal Storm
Ordway notes feeling slightly better in health, though a storm continued throughout the day. This brief entry from the expedition's winter stay at Fort Clatsop on the Pacific…
Feb
25
1806
Stormy Departure of Natives Bearing Small Fish
A stormy, rainy day at the expedition's winter camp. The Native visitors who had been with the party departed around 10 o'clock in the morning, despite the heavy…
Feb
26
1806
Multiple Parties Dispatched as Provisions Dwindle
At Fort Clatsop, the captains sent out multiple hunting and fishing parties to address dwindling food supplies, which had been reduced to three days of tainted dried elk.…
Feb
26
1806
Hunting and Fishing Parties Sent for Tainted Elk
With provisions reduced to three days of tainted dried elk, the captains sent out multiple hunting and fishing parties: Drouillard and two men took the Indian canoe up…
Feb
26
1806
Canoe Sent to Trade for Fish and Wapato
On February 26, 1806, members of the expedition went out hunting while three others took a canoe to the nearby Clatsop and Cathlamet villages to trade for fresh…
Feb
26
1806
Hunters and Fishermen Sent Out as Provisions Dwindle
With food supplies running low at the winter camp, hunters were dispatched to find game while three other men went to gather the small fish the party had…
Feb
27
1806
Collins Kills Buck Elk; Willard Remains Very Ill
At Fort Clatsop, Reubin Field returned from hunting empty-handed, reporting no elk near Point Adams, while Collins came back having killed a buck elk along the Netul. Willard…
Feb
27
1806
Mixed Hunting Results; Pox Patients Nearly Recovered
At Fort Clatsop, hunter Reubin Fields returned empty-handed, reporting no elk near Point Adams, while Collins came back having killed a buck elk along the Netul River. Willard…
Feb
27
1806
Elk Killed; Willard Reported Very Sick
On this day at the expedition's winter camp, several men were out hunting. In the afternoon, one of the hunters returned with news of having killed an elk.…
Feb
28
1806
Clatsop Man Kuskelar Offers Slave Boy for Sale
At Fort Clatsop, Reuben Field and Collins left early to hunt up the Netul River. A Clatsop man named Kuskelar visited with his wife, a young slave boy…
Feb
28
1806
Five Elk Killed; Gass Ordered to Retrieve Meat
Hunters Reubin Fields and Collins left early on a hunting trip, while Shields, Joseph Fields, and Shannon returned in the evening reporting five elk killed, two of them…
Feb
28
1806
Canoe Retrieves Elk; Hunters Kill Five More
Seven men departed early by canoe to retrieve elk meat killed the previous day, successfully bringing it back to the fort while two of them remained behind to…
Feb
28
1806
Meat Retrieved; Hunters Report Five Elk Killed
The day began cloudy, but turned mostly fair and pleasant. A sergeant and six men were sent out in the morning to retrieve meat from a previous hunt…
Mar
1
1806
Gass Party Retrieves Three Elk; Two Left to Jerk
At Fort Clatsop, Sergeant Gass and twelve men were sent in two canoes to retrieve elk killed by hunters two days earlier, returning that evening with meat from…
Mar
1
1806
Kuskelar Departs with Distant Slave Boy's History
Sergeant Gass and a party retrieved the meat of three elk killed two days earlier, leaving Thompson with the hunters to jerk and preserve the remaining two. Kuskelar…
Mar
1
1806
Elk Meat Hauled In; Local River Names Recorded
The hunting party set out to retrieve elk meat under showery, wet weather. By evening most of the men returned with the meat, while four stayed behind to…
Mar
1
1806
Thousands of Small Fish and Sturgeon Brought to Camp
The party returned at night with several thousand small fish of the same kind recently obtained from the natives, along with some sturgeon. The entry also records the…
Mar
2
1806
Drouillard Returns with Fat Sturgeon and Anchovies
At Fort Clatsop, the convalescing sick recover slowly on a poor diet of lean elk meat. Clark describes how local natives eat the root of the cattail, noting…
Mar
2
1806
Party Feasts on Anchovies, Wapato, and Sturgeon
At Fort Clatsop, the convalescing sick are recovering slowly on a poor diet of lean elk meat. Late in the evening, Drouillard arrives with a welcome supply of…
Mar
2
1806
Vast Quantities of Herring Caught by Natives
Three men returned from a nearby Native village with provisions they had obtained through trade. Their haul included a considerable quantity of small herring-like fish, some sturgeon, and…
Mar
2
1806
Fort Clatsop, winter quarters — Patrick Gass: March 2, 1806
Editorial note: no detailed primary-source journal entry survives for March 2, 1806 that is distinct from the surrounding days. The...
Mar
3
1806
Two Canoes Split at Low Tide; Lapage Ill
At Fort Clatsop, two canoes were damaged after the tide left them partly grounded, causing them to split under their own weight; they were dragged ashore. The sick…
Mar
3
1806
Pirogues Grounded and Split by Receding Tide
At Fort Clatsop, two pirogues were damaged when the tide left them partially grounded, splitting under their own weight, so the crew hauled them ashore. The sick are…
Mar
3
1806
Rainy Day Spent Dressing Skins at Camp
A rainy day at the encampment, with most of the men occupied in dressing skins and other routine tasks.
Mar
3
1806
Sick Men Recovering Slowly for Lack of Nourishment
On this day at Fort Clatsop, Sergeant Gass noted that the members of the expedition who had been ill were beginning to recover, though their improvement was slow.…
Mar
4
1806
Native Anchovy Smoking and Sturgeon Steam-Cooking Described
A quiet day at Fort Clatsop with nothing notable happening. The party continues to eat well on wapato and sturgeon. Clark records detailed observations about local food preservation…
Mar
4
1806
Lewis Details Native Methods of Preserving Fish
With nothing notable happening at Fort Clatsop, Lewis devotes the entry to natural history observations. He describes the expedition's diet of wappato and sturgeon, detailing how local natives…
Mar
4
1806
Brief Fragmentary Entry; Wet Weather Continues
The journal entry for this date is extremely brief and fragmentary, consisting only of a partial note indicating that some condition—likely the weather or rain mentioned in the…
Mar
5
1806
Elk Gone to Mountains; Two Days of Spoiled Provisions
Two Clatsop parties visited Fort Clatsop to trade fish, a hat, and skins before returning home with the tide. Hunters came back from the Kilhawanackle River empty-handed, reporting…
Mar
5
1806
Hunters Empty-Handed; Captains Plan Departure Strategy
At Fort Clatsop, two groups of Clatsop visitors traded fish, a hat, and skins before returning home. Hunters came back from the Kilhawanackkle River empty-handed, reporting that elk…
Mar
5
1806
Natives Arrive with Small Fish and Sturgeon
Local Native people visited the fort and brought small fish and sturgeon to trade or share with the expedition party.
Mar
5
1806
Fort Clatsop, winter quarters — Patrick Gass: March 5, 1806
Editorial note: no detailed primary-source journal entry survives for March 5, 1806 that is distinct from the surrounding days. The...
Mar
6
1806
Chief Comowool Visits with Sons and Cured Anchovies
At Fort Clatsop, fishing and hunting parties departed as planned. Around 11 a.m., Chief Comowool visited with two of his sons, bringing well-cured anchovies that were warmly welcomed;…
Mar
6
1806
Chief Comowool Brings Excellent Cured Anchovies
On March 6, 1806, hunting and fishing parties departed as planned. At 11 A.M., Chief Comowool visited with two of his children, bringing well-cured anchovies that the captains…
Mar
6
1806
Old Clatsop Chief Visits; Pryor Trades Upriver
Hunters were dispatched in various directions on this day at Fort Clatsop. Sergeant Pryor and two other men took the small canoe up the Columbia River toward the…
Mar
6
1806
Canoes Repaired While Hunters and Fishermen Dispatched
With provisions running low at the fort, six men were dispatched in various directions to hunt, while three others were sent about twenty miles away by water to…
