The expedition struggles to make seven miles up the Missouri. The hunters do well, so they stop early above present Chamberlain, South Dakota to jerk meat. Lewis sees the first sign of fall, and he makes specimens of a coyote, Missouri milkvetch, and tall blazing star.
Coyote
Canis latrans
Photo by R. H. Barrett of the U.S. Forest Service.
Coyote Specimen
George Drewyer killed a prarie woolf [coyote] Some larger than a fox. long teeth & of a different discription from any in the States &.C. . . . the Bones of the woolf was taken apart and Saved as well as the Skins of them boath in order to Send back to the States next Spring, with the other curiousities we have or may have &.C.—
—John Ordway
A Sign of Fall
this day saw the first brant on their return from the north—
—Meriwether Lewis
Jerking Meat
The hunters who had went out early this Morning return’d to us; having killed 11 deer, and one Wolf, which was brought to us. We encamped in the afternoon on the South side of the River, in order to Jerk the meat which had been kill’d these two days,
—Joseph Whitehouse
Tall Blazing Star
Liatris pycnostachya
Permission granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Missouri Milkvetch Specimen
No. 36 18th of Septr. the growth of the high Prarie—
—Meriwether Lewis[1]Astragalus missouriensis, Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 25.
Tall Blazing Star Specimen
35. Sept. 18 The Growth of the Prairies
—Meriwether Lewis[2]Liatris pycnostachya Michx., Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 91.
Notes
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).