Below the Little Knife River in present North Dakota, two captains finally reunite after going separate ways from Travelers’ Rest on 3 July 1806. They share stories, abandon Sgt. Pryor’s bull boats, treat Lewis‘s gunshot wound, and proceed on. Lewis writes his last daily journal entry.[1]For more on the captains’ strategy and various groups after leaving Travelers’ Rest, see Dividing Forces at Travelers’ Rest.
Missouri River near Four Bears Village
© 28 July 2011 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Treating Lewis’s Wound
my wounds felt very stiff and soar this morning but gave me no considerable pain. there was much less inflamation than I had reason to apprehend there would be. I had last evening applyed a poltice of peruvian barks.
—Meriwether Lewis
Repairing a Bull Boat
one of the Canoes of Buffalow Skin by accident got a hole peirced in her of about 6 inches diamuter. I derected two of the men to patch the Canoe with a piece of Elk skin over the hole, which they did and it proved all Sufficient, after which the Canoe did not leak one drop.
—William Clark
Reunion
at meridian Capt Lewis hove in Sight with the party which went by way of the Missouri as well as that which accompanied him from Travellers rest on Clarks river; I was alarmed on the landing of the Canoes to be informed that Capt. Lewis was wounded by an accident—.
—William Clark
All Together
at 2 P. M. Shannon & Gibson arived in the Skin Canoe with the Skins and the greater part of the flesh of 3 Elk which they had killed a fiew miles above. the two men Dixon & Handcock the two men we had met above came down intending to proceed on down with us to the Mandans. at 3 P M we proceded on all together having left the 2 leather Canoes on the bank.
—William Clark
Lewis Stops Journaling
as wrighting in my present situation is extreemly painfull to me I shall desist untill I recover and leave to my frind Capt. C. the continuation of our journal.
—Meriwether Lewis
Weather Diaries
State of the weather at rise
Wind at State of the weather at 4 P. M. Wind at 4 P. M. fair N W wind violent last night.
—Meriwether Lewis
State of the weather at Sun rise State of wind at Sunrise State of the weather at 4 P. M. Wind at 4 P. M. State of river fair S. W. cloudy S W. fall 2 ¼ in. Capt. Lewis overtake me with the party
—William Clark[2]To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is omitted, some abbreviations have been spelled out, and the three river columns have been merged.
Notes
| ↑1 | For more on the captains’ strategy and various groups after leaving Travelers’ Rest, see Dividing Forces at Travelers’ Rest. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is omitted, some abbreviations have been spelled out, and the three river columns have been merged. |
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.
This page was funded in part by the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, U.S. National Park Service.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
- Montana Committee for the Humanities
- Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- Yellowstone Public Radio
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).