Day-by-Day / December 18, 1803

December 18, 1803

Louisiana observations

While winter camp on the Wood River across from the mouth of the Missouri is constructed, Clark takes the noon altitude of the sun to determine the accuracy of his chronometer and sextant. In Cahokia, Lewis writes a letter to President Thomas Jefferson with information about the Louisiana Territory.

Wood River Observations

Took the me[ridian?] altitude of the Suns Lowr Limb with the Sextent found it to be 56° 15′ 22″, The Chronomter too Slow about 24′ 20″— I also took the median altitude of the Suns Lowr limb with the quadt and found 52° 57m 0 the errour of the instrument is 1° 20′ 00″ + ad +
William Clark

Collecting Louisiana Information

Cahokia December 28th 1803.

Dear Sir [Thomas Jefferson],

On my arrival at St. Louis, the first object to which, I called my attention, was that of collecting such information as might be in some measure serviceable to you in forming your opinions, or shaping your arrangements to effect a certain point of policy

MERIWETHER LEWIS. CAPT.
1st. U.S. Regt. Infty.[1]Lewis to Jefferson. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 148.

 

Notes

Notes
1 Lewis to Jefferson. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 148.

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