Day-by-Day / September 1, 1803

September 1, 1803

Woollery's Trap

Leaving McKees Rocks below Pittsburgh, the barge passes over two ripples but must be unloaded to get over a third. At Woollery’s Trap, Lewis hires oxen to drag the emptied boat through the shallow water. They stop for the day near Edgeworth, Pennsylvania.

Down the Ohio [Cropped]

Watercolor by Steve Ludeman

watercolor painting of oxen and men pulling the barge through a shallow Ohio River

© 2024 by Steve Ludeman, www.steveludemanfineart.com. Used by permission.

See the full, uncropped painting in Leaving Pittsburgh, “Shallow Water“.

Woollery’s Trap

we passed the little horsetale ripple or riffle with much deficulty, all hands laboured in the water about two hours before we effected a passage; the next obstruction we met was the big-horse tale riffle, here we wer obliged to unload all our goods and lift the emty Boat over, about 5 OCock we reach the riffle called Woollery’s trap, here after unloading again and exerting all our force we found it impracticable to get over, I therefore employed a man with a team of oxen with the assistance of which we at length got off
—Meriwether Lewis

Related: Shallow Water | The Barge

 

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Plan a trip related to September 1, 1803:

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Discover More

  • The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
  • The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.

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Unless otherwise noted, journal excerpts are from The Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, edited by Gary E. Moulton, 13 vols. (Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1983-2001).