After a night of rain, Lewis‘s chronometer became wet requiring repair. The day continues with rain at Long Camp in present Kamiah valley of Idaho. In the surrounding hills, it snows. The hunters take extra precautions when hunting grizzly bears, Lewis prepares a specimen of the cat’s ear mariposa lily (Calochortus elegans), and they hope the expedition will cross the Rocky Mountains soon.
Water for a Bed
by Yellowstone Public Radio[1]Originally aired weekdays by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Bicentennial observance of 2003-2006. Narrated by Hal Hansen. Scripts by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson. Produced by Leni Holliman. © … Continue reading
Clearwater River, Kamiah, Idaho
© 3 May 2009 by Kristopher K. Townsend near Kamiah, Idaho. All rights reserved.
Lewis’s Wet Chronometer
It rained the greater part of the last night and this morning untill 8 OCk. the water passed through flimzy covering and wet our bed most perfectly in shot we lay in the water all the latter part of the night. unfortunately my chronometer which for greater security I have woarn in my fob for ten days past, got wet last night . . . . I opened it and founded it nearly filled with water which I carefully drained out exposed it to the air and wiped the works as well as I could with dry feathers after which I touched them with a little bears oil.
—Meriwether Lewis
Rain and Snow
it rained moderately the greater part of the day and snowed as usual on the plain. Sergt. Pryor informed me that it was shoe deep this morning when he came down.
—Meriwether Lewis
Patience, Patience
I am pleased at finding the river rise so rapidly, it now doubt is attributeable to the meting snows of the mountains; that icy barier which seperates me from my friends and Country, from all which makes life esteemable.— patience, patience—
—Meriwether LewisI frequently Consult the nativs on the subject of passing this tremendious barier which now present themselves to our view for great extent, they all appear to agree as to the time those Mountains may be passed which is about the Middle of June
—William Clark
Cat’s Ear Mariposa Lily
Calochortus elegans
© 2010 Walter Siegmund. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported license.
Cat’s Ear Mariposa Lily Specimen
A Small bulb of a pleasant flavour, eat by the natives. On the Kooskooske [Clearwater].
—Meriwether Lewis[2]Calochortus elegans. Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 31.
Hunting Grizzly Bears
as the bear are reather ferocious and we are obliged to depend on them pincipally for our subsistence we thought it most advisable to direct at least two hunters to go together, and they accordingly peared themselves out for this purpose. we also apportioned the horses to the several hunters in order that they should be equally rode and thereby prevent any horse being materially injured by being too constantly hunted.
—Meriwether Lewis
Weather Diary
State of the Weather at rise
Wind at State of the Weather at 4 P.M. Wind at 4 P.M. State of the Kooskooskee rain after rain S E cloudy after rain S E 10 ¾in. rained hard the greater part of the night wet the Chronometer by accedent. river rise 11 inches the indians caught 3 salmon at their village on the Kooskooskee above our camp some miles. they say that these fish are now passing by us in great numbers but that they cannot be caught as yet because those which first ascend the river do not keep near shore; they further inform us that in the course of a few days the fish run near the shore and then they take them with their skimming neitts in great numbers. rained untill 12 Ock. by intervails.—
—Meriwether Lewis[3]To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is not presented, the river columns have been merged, and some abbreviations have been spelled out.
Notes
| ↑1 | Originally aired weekdays by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Bicentennial observance of 2003-2006. Narrated by Hal Hansen. Scripts by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson. Produced by Leni Holliman. © 2003 by Yellowstone Public Radio. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Calochortus elegans. Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 31. |
| ↑3 | To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is not presented, the river columns have been merged, and some abbreviations have been spelled out. |
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
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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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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).