At Decision Point, Clark finishes a cache and bleeds Sacagawea who is ill. Lewis sets out to find the Great Falls of the Missouri. His group stops near Vimy Ridge to hunt and fish, and he becomes too ill to continue. He makes a healing decoction from the local black chokecherry trees.
Vimy Ridge
© 29 June 2013 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
On this day, Lewis’s group hunted and camped in the The Teton River valley seen on the far side of Vimy Ridge. Below this foreground ridge is a bend in the Missouri River.
Lewis Searches for the Great Falls
This morning I felt much better, but somewhat w[e]akened by my disorder. at 8 A. M. I swung my pack, and set forward with my little party. proceeded to the point where Rose [Teton] River a branch Maria’s River approaches the Missouri so nearly . . . . I determined to take dinner here, but before the meal was prepared I was taken with such violent pain in the intestens that I was unable to partake of the feast of marrowbones.
—Meriwether Lewis
Cherry Bark Medicine
having brought no medecine with me I resolved to try an experiment with some simples; and the Choke cherry which grew abundanly in the bottom first struck my attention; I directed a parsel of the small twigs to be geathered striped of their leaves, cut into pieces of about 2 Inches in length and boiled in water untill a strong black decoction of an astringent bitter tast was produced; at sunset I took a point [pint] of this decoction and abut an hour after repeated the dze by 10 in the evening I was entirely releived from pain and in fact every symptom of the disorder forsook me; my fever abated, a gentle perspiration was produced and I had a comfortable and refreshing nights rest.
—Meriwether Lewis
Sauger
Sander canadensis
Photo by Duane Raver of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Goldeye
Hiodon alosoide
Photo by the Government of Canada, Fisheries and Oceans Canada.
Goodrich Fishes
Goodrich who is remarkably fond of fishing caught several douzen fish of two different species— one about 9 inches long of white colour round and in form and fins resembles the white chub common to the Potomac [sauger]
the other species is precisely the form and about the size of the well known fish called the Hickory Shad or old wife, with the exception of the teeth [goldeye]
—Meriwether Lewis
Sacagawea is Bled
the Indian woman [Sacagawea] verry Sick, I blead her which appeared to be of great Service to her
—William Clark
Caching Heavy Items
we put in the Carsh or hole 1 keg of powder 1 bar led, 1 keg flour 1 keg pork 2 kegs parchcd meal the bellowses & tools augur plains Saw &c Some tin cups a dutch oven, a corn hand mill, packs of beaver, bear Skins horns Buffalow Robes &c. &c.
—Joseph Whitehouse
Weather Diary
State of the thermometer at rise
Weather Wind at State of the thermometer at 4 OC. P.M. Weather Wind at 4 OC. P. M. State of river 54 [above 0] fair S. W 66 [above 0] fair S W. Capt. Lewis & 4 men Set out up the S. fork
—Meriwether Lewis and William Clark[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.
Decision Point is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site is open to the public and managed by the Bureau of Land Management.
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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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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- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
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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).