Charles Fritz
Near Lolo Pass
From Complete Collection: 100 Paintings Illustrating the Journals of Lewis and Clark.
Of his work, the artist Charles Fritz explains:
Historical accuracy is paramount, but there is another obvious component: the art itself . . . . In 100 Paintings Illustrating the Journals of Lewis and Clark, I sought to communicate the storyline accurately. I also wanted the paintings to be well designed, luminous, and painted with the brushwork and enthusiasm of an artist who is working from life—outside, in the presence of the actual scene.
—Complete Collection: 100 Paintings Illustrating the Journals of Lewis and Clark
Featured Works
June 21, 1805
The portage begins
The portage of the Great Falls of the Missouri begins when they cart a dugout up the slope at Belt Creek. They load it with the iron-framed boat and items needed to establish a camp above the falls.
July 27, 1804
Leaving White Catfish Camp
At White Catfish Camp, the boats are loaded, and they proceed to present Lewis and Clark Landing in Omaha, Nebraska. A knee is cut, mosquitoes rage, and Lewis adds several plants to his collection.
March 1, 1805
Fort Mandan industry
At Fort Mandan, the enlisted men make rope, charcoal, hides and clothes, and cure meat. The blacksmiths repair Indian guns and make war axes in trade for corn. The canoe builders set up their camp.
January 2, 1805
A frolic at Ruptáre
On this snowy day, Lewis takes a large group to Black Cat’s village—Ruptáre, and New Year’s celebrations continue. At Fort Mandan, several Knife River villagers bring corn to pay the blacksmiths.
October 20, 1804
Pursuits and escapes
Below the Heart River Clark in present North Dakota, Clark sees On-a-Slant, a Mandan village abandoned due to Sioux attacks. Cruzatte wounds a grizzly and bison, and the unlucky hunter is chased by both.
July 27, 1806
Fight with the Blackfeet
Lewis has a fatal fight with the Blackfeet, Ordway paddles down the Missouri, Gass takes horses to the Teton River, Clark paddles through the Yellowstone Badlands, and Pryor is stranded without horses.
September 9, 1803
Leaving Wheeling
At Wheeling, potential new member Dr. Patterson fails to appear, so at 3:00 pm, Lewis heads down the Ohio without him. During the night, it rains so hard that he is unable to keep the cargo dry.
January 22, 1805
Boats gripped in ice
At Fort Mandan below the Knife River Villages, an unsuccessful attempt is made to cut the Missouri River ice from around the boats. They find two layers of ice nearly four feet thick.
August 24, 1805
Leaving Fortunate Camp
Lewis barters for three horses and a mule, Charbonneau buys Sacagawea a horse, and they and several Shoshone women head towards Lemhi Pass. On the Salmon River, Clark considers their options.
November 12, 1805
A dismal "nitch"
During low tide, the expedition moves into a better cove which would become known as “The Dismal Nitch”. Despite their distressing situation, several salmon are caught, and the day ends well.
March 17, 1805
Charbonneau returns
At Fort Mandan below the Knife River Villages, Toussaint Charbonneau returns, apologizes, and agrees to the captains’ terms of employment. He moves his things into a leather tent outside the fort.
August 29, 1804
Seventy Yanktons arrive
In present South Dakota, Sgt. Pryor and Old Dorion bring in a large delegation of Yankton Sioux. Clark writes about their “Conic” lodges and is presented a fat dog which he finds “good & well flavored”.
July 25, 1806
Pompy's Tower (Pompeys Pillar)
Clark names Pompy’s Tower and then carves his name into it. At Camp Disappointment, Lewis waits one more day. At the Great Falls, the portage route is muddy. Sgt. Pryor herds horses south of the Yellowstone.
August 1, 1806
Waiting for buffalo
On the Yellowstone, Clark waits for a large herd of buffalo to cross. On the Missouri, Lewis passes the Musselshell River while Pryor’s group tries to catch up to Clark. Everybody is slowed by the weather.
October 23, 1805
Lining Horseshoe Bend
The men line the heavy dugout canoes down the Horseshoe Bend of Celilo Falls while Lewis trades their smallest dugout, a hatchet, and a few trinkets for a Chinook-style canoe. Clark shoots at a sea otter.
Mouth of the Yellowstone
When Captain Lewis arrived at the mouth of the great river in late April 1805, he saw a “rich, delightful land, broken into valleys and meadows, and well supplied with wood and water.”
July 16, 1806
Off to the Marias
Lewis heads to the Marias River while Gass prepares wagon trucks above the Great Falls. Clark moves down the Yellowstone River by horse and Ordway paddles through the Gates of the Mountains.
September 17, 1805
High knobs and drains
By the time the horses are found, snow is falling and the day is half over. Moving west along the Northern Nez Perce Trail, the pack train climbs high knobs and passes a “Sinque hole” before camping.
October 28, 1805
Columbia River headwinds
The expedition sets out from Fort Rock but is soon stopped by headwinds. The captains visit nearby Chilluckittequaws where Clark sees goods acquired from British trade ships and superior Chinookan canoes.
June 24, 1805
Sailing on dry land
Severe weather passes over everybody, and a sail is employed as they portage two more dugout canoes around the Great Falls of the Missouri. Below the falls, the last canoe is taken out of the water.
September 9, 1805
Travelers' Rest
The expedition reaches Travelers’ Rest, a well-used camping area near present Lolo, Montana. Their guide, Toby, tells them about the Road to the Buffalo—a good pass heading east to the Missouri River.
June 1, 1804
Mouth of the Osage
After a hard day, the expedition stops at the mouth of Osage River where the captains make celestial observations late into the night. Lewis also collects a specimen of wild ginger, Asarum canadense.
December 20, 1805
Not enough roofing
At the Fort Clatsop building site, the enlisted men install plank roofing using boards they had previously split and planks taken from an old Clatsop lodge. Clark complains about the high price of food.
July 21, 1806
A spate of missing horses
On the Yellowstone, half of Clark’s horses appear to be stolen by Apsáalooke (Crows). Above the Falls of the Missouri, missing horses delay the portage. On the Marias, Lewis turns up Cut Bank Creek.
September 21, 1804
Camp washes away
At the Big Bend of the Missouri, the men barely escape as the sandbar they are camping on washes into the river. They continue up the Missouri camping near present Joe Creek Bay, South Dakota.
July 28, 1805
Sacagawea's capture
At the headwaters of the Missouri , the expedition takes a rest day. The captains learn of Sacagawea’s capture as a young child, and Lewis remarks on how she “would be perfectly content anywhere”. A shade bower is built for Clark, and Pvt. Whitehouse is busy making clothes for the party.
In a lengthy report to Thomas Jefferson, James Wilkinson discusses the new Indian factory at Camp Belle Fontaine and encourages the President to allow Pierre Chouteau to take Native delegations to Washington City.
June 28, 1805
The final stage begins
Everyone at the lower camp joins the final stage of the portage around the Great Falls of the Missouri. At the upper camp, work on the iron-framed boat continues and grizzly bears threaten.
October 1, 1805
The Nez Perce method
At Clearwater Canoe Camp near present Orofino, Idaho, the men employ the Nez Perce method of hollowing out dugout canoes with fire. Lewis adds a specimen of ponderosa pine to his plant collection.
January 8, 1806
A night at Ecola
From Clark’s Point of View above Ecola, Clark’s group enjoys the “grandest and most pleasing prospects”. At Ecola, Tillamook Indians trade a little whale blubber, and Pvt. McNeal’s life is threatened.
December 31, 1804
Popular blacksmiths
At Fort Mandan below the Knife River Villages, the wind makes hills of snow and sand. The blacksmiths continue to trade their iron work for corn, and three men look for a suitable place to make canoes.
May 18, 1805
Hills and headwinds
In the present Fort Peck Reservoir area of Eastern Montana, the enlisted men tow the boats against headwinds and past “verry high rough hills”. Clark kills four deer and mentions that the men are using the hides to make leggings and moccasins.
December 23, 1805
Clatstop traders
At Fort Clatsop, work on the cabins continues, and the captains move into their unfinished quarters. Clatsop traders sell food, mats, bags, and a panther hide for fishhooks, an old file, and spoiled salmon.
May 21, 1804
Leaving St. Charles
Late in the afternoon, the swivel gun is fired, three cheers are raised, and the expedition leaves St. Charles bound for the Western Sea. Facing a strong wind, the enlisted men and engagés move the boats only 3¼ miles. At camp on the north shore, storms continue through the night.
April 5, 1805
Loading the small boats
The enlisted men load the red and white pirogues and six new dugout canoes, and all is made ready for departure. Sgt. Patrick Gass reflects the sexual practices experienced during his stay at Fort Mandan amongst the Knife River Villages.
May 31, 1805
Scenes of visionary enchantment
The day brings endless ‘scenes of visionary enchantment’ as the enlisted men struggle to move the boats through the White Cliffs area of the Upper Missouri River Breaks. When a tow rope breaks, Lewis once again mentions the white pirogue’s ‘evil genie’. After passing Citadel Rock and Grand Natural Wall, they camp at present Eagle Creek where Lewis notices a distinctive species of pine.
November 3, 1804
Personnel changes
The engagés are discharged, and Lepage and Jusseaume are hired from among the traders at the Knife River Villages. Fort Mandan’s foundation is completed, and a dram of whiskey revives the cold workers.
March 25, 1805
The spring break-up
At Fort Mandan among the Knife River Indian Villages, the river ice begins breaking up, and the new canoes are endangered as they travel to the fort. Two men make a new steering oar for the barge.
May 30, 1805
The White Cliffs
In the White Cliffs of the Upper Missouri River Breaks, the enlisted men struggle to tow the boats from slippery and narrow banks. Lewis tests the humidity by measuring the evaporation rate, and Pvt. Whitehouse describes an empty Atsina camp.
January 7, 1805
Maps from Indian information
Sheheke (Big White) brings a sketch of the Yellowstone River country into Fort Mandan. He also provides oral information which Clark uses to draw a map. Three hunters return having suffered from the cold.
April 13, 1805
The white pirogue's near miss
Below present Van Hook Arm, North Dakota, a sudden gust of wind hits the white pirogue with Charbonneau at the helm. In his panic, he turns the boat sideways to the wind and nearly turns it over. Those walking the shore see grizzly bear tracks and empty Assiniboine lodges.
May 14, 1805
Charbonneau's prayer
The day starts clear and cold, freezing even the moccasins near the fire. During the day, six hunters take flight from a wounded grizzly bear. When the white pirogue tips over, Charbonneau offers a prayer and is forced at gunpoint to seize the rudder. Now above present Snow Creek in Eastern Montana, the captains call it a day and issue a ration of consoling grog.
February 4, 1805
Clark goes hunting
The supply of meat at Fort Mandan and the Knife River villages is nearly out, so Clark leaves with half the enlisted men on an eight-day hunting trip.
York
Enslaved Afrikan Adventurer
by Ahati N. N. Toure
Two years after the conclusion of the historic Lewis and Clark expedition, York and his enslaver, the Virginia-born patrician William Clark, were at odds.
October 8, 1805
A canoe accident
On the Clearwater River, the paddlers navigate numerous rapids and pick up guides Twisted Hair and Tetoharsky. After a canoe accident at Colter’s Creek—present Potlatch River—travel abruptly stops.
November 10, 1805
Small niche encampment
The paddlers make about ten miles down the Columbia River shoreline, but eventually are stopped by wind and waves. At their small niche camp near present Knappton, Washington, they try to dry out.
September 13, 1805
Up to Packer Meadows
On the Northern Nez Perce Trail, the expedition stops at Lolo Hot Springs, and then after some difficulty finding the right trail, climbs the divide between the Bitterroot and Lochsa River drainages.
October 25, 1805
A "bad whorl & Suck"
The expedition’s most valuable cargo is carried around the Long Narrows of the Columbia, and then the best paddlers run the canoes. At present The Dalles, Oregon, Fort Rock Camp is established.
September 23, 1806
St. Louis homecoming
Around noon, the expedition celebrates its St. Louis homecoming. The captains work on letters to President Jefferson and Clark’s brother Jonathan telling of their findings.
January 1, 1804
A new year at Wood River
At Wood River, Clark stages a shooting contest between local farmers and the enlisted men. He notes that two soldiers—perhaps privates Reed and Windsor—were drunk. He meets with a new washer woman, and a visitor tells him about the Mandans and their country. Both captains begin their weather diaries.
Lakota Sioux Difficulties
Tough times at the Bad
by James P. Ronda
Ignorant of plains politics, Lewis and Clark barely averted disaster in their encounter with Black Buffalo’s people—an article by James P. Ronda from a keynote address to the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation, Pierre, South Dakota, August 2002.
François Labiche
Private
by Robert E. Gatten
Labiche performed all the regular duties of an army private, but also performed well as a French and English interpreter. He would continue serving as an escort with Lewis for Chief Sheheke’s delegation to Washington City.
December 7, 1804
Hunting buffalo
A group of hunters joins with the Mandans, and Sgt. Gass is impressed with their buffalo hunting skills and well-trained horses. By day’s end, several suffer frostbite, and Clark issues half a gill of rum.
September 26, 1804
Teton Sioux ceremony
Clark and Lewis are ceremoniously carried into a Lakota Sioux village where they are feted with food and music. Clark sees several recently captured Omaha prisoners and asks for their return.
October 24, 1805
Running the Short Narrows
The dugout canoes are safely run down the Short Narrows of the Columbia astonishing the local onlookers. Below the narrows, the expedition encounters their first Chinookan-speaking People.
November 7, 1805
Ocean in view?
The expedition paddles around Columbia River islands and stops at two Wahkiakum villages. They reach a landmark presently named Pillar Rock where Clark mistakenly exclaims ‘Ocean in view! O! the joy’.
August 13, 1805
Shoshone diplomacy
In the Lemhi River valley, Shoshone and Lewis diplomacy includes greetings, a flag presentation, a pipe ceremony, and revelry late into the night. Clark takes bearings from what is now called Clark’s Lookout.
September 16, 1805
Most terrible mountains
On the Northern Nez Perce Trail, overnight snow makes for a miserable day in the “most terrible mountains”. Wet and cold as ever, Clark moves ahead to make warming fires in a lonesome cove.
September 8, 1805
Mountains to the left and right
The expedition proceeds north through the Bitterroot valley with the snow-capped Bitterroot Mountains to the west and the mostly barren Sapphire mountains to the east. They find two Indian horses and a colt. They also find a new pest—brittle prickly pears.
In St. Louis, the Governor of Upper St. Louis, James Wilkinson, plans expeditions to the Yellowstone River and Sante Fe.
At Monticello in Virginia, President Jefferson writes about the mineral specimens that Lewis sent from Fort Mandan.
November 5, 1805
Crowded with Indians
After a night made sleepless by noisy waterfowl, the expedition heads down the Columbia. They pass the large village known today as Cathlapotle and encounter various Chinookan People.
March 4, 1806
Sumptuous living
At Fort Clatsop near Astoria, Oregon, the captains “live sumptuously” on eulachon and sturgeon. Continuing his March treatise on birds, Lewis focuses on western meadowlarks and jays.
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.
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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