Favorable winds push the boats up the Missouri River. Near present Elkhorn Point, Montana, the waves become too big for the dugout canoes. One boat is on the wrong side of the river and its crew must spend a cold night on their own.
Missouri River from MT 480 Bridge
© 26 July 2013 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Sailing
Set out this morning at an early, the wind being favourable we used our sales which carried us on at a good pace untill about 12 OCk. when the wind became so high that the small canoes were unable to proceed
—Meriwether Lewis
A Cold Night Alone
one cannoe lay on the opposite Shore & could not cross. I and one more was in the cannoe and ware obledged to lay out all night without any blanket. it being verry cold I Suffered verry much.
—Joseph Whitehouse
Shields’ Rheumatism
John Shields sick today with the rheumatism. Shannon killed a bird of the plover kind.
—Meriwether Lewis
Weather Diary
State of thermometer at rise
Weather Wind at State of thermometer at 4 P. M. Weather Wind at 4 P. M. State of the river 36 [above 0] cloudy E 46 [above 0] cloudy after fair N. E. fallen 1 ½ in. wind violent from 12 oC. to 6 P. M.
—Meriwether Lewis[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “State of the river” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.
Notes
| ↑1 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “State of the river” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations. |
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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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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).