During the night at Wood River across from the mouth of the Missouri, Clark‘s chimney catches fire, and large sheets collide on the Mississippi. During the day, Clark measures the angle of the sun’s lower limb—adding to a growing data set from celestial observations.
Wood River Reconstruction
AKA Camp River Dubois
Courtesy U.S. Army Center of Military History, https://www.history.army.mil/LC/Explore/Currents_Change/gallery.htm.
A Chimney Fire
my Chimney got on fire last night, a fair morning . . . . river Continue to rise with large Sheets of ice running against the Ice atached to the bank with great force, the Boat is a float, and in perfect order
—William Clark
The Sun’s Lower Limb
I took maridinal altitude of Suns Lower Limb with Sextent and made it 59& 31′ 52″ N th[e] Error of Enstrument as usial
—William Clark
Weather Diary
Therm. at rise
weather wind Therm. at 4 oClock weather wind River [no data recorded] W C very sick
—Meriwether Lewis[1]Lewis’s original “do” has been replaced by here with the value it represents.
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 January 12, 1804:
- Winter Camp at Wood River (Camp Dubois)
- Old Cahokia Courthouse
- 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| ↑1 | Lewis’s original “do” has been replaced by here with the value it represents. |
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