At Wood River across from the mouth of the Missouri, the blue herons make their first appearance of the season, and the sugar maple sap continues to rise. On or near this date, questions about morals among the Native Nations they will encounter are finalized.
Weather Diary
Therm at rise
weather wind Therm at 4 Oclk weather wind River 12 above 0 fair NW 20 above 0 fair W. rise 1 ft. 1 in. the fist appearance of the blue crain [great blue heron], sugar trees run
—Meriwether Lewis[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of month 1804” column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
© 30 March 2012, at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Questions for the Louisiana Indians
Inquiries relitive to the Indians of Louisiania.
. . . .
2nd. Relative to Morrals
What are the Vices most common among the Indians?
Do they ever resort to Suicide under the influence of their passions, particularly love?
Is murder common among them, and do their Laws punish it by Death?
Are the lives of the wife and Children subject to the Capprice of the husband, and father, and in case of the murder by him of either do their Laws punish it by Death?
—William Clark[2]Undated and unsigned list written in Clark’s hand. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, … Continue reading
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Plan a trip related to February 13, 1804:
- Winter Camp at Wood River (Camp Dubois)
- Along the Mississippi (Inspiration Trip)
- Around St. Louis (Inspiration Trip)
Winter Camp at Wood River (Camp Dubois) is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site, near Hartford, Illinois, is managed as Lewis and Clark State Historic Site and is open to the public.
Notes
| ↑1 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of month 1804” column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations. |
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| ↑2 | Undated and unsigned list written in Clark’s hand. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 158. |
