Wagons with food and other provisions arrive at winter camp at Wood River—Camp River Dubois. In Cahokia, Lewis writes a letter to President Jefferson telling him that the Spanish King’s surveyor general of Upper Louisiana, Antoine Soulard, will share geographic information about the West.
New Cabins at Camp River Dubois
Photo provided by Lewis & Clark State Historic Site, Hartford, Illinois. Used by permission. (Altered: the snow, trees, and icy road are computer generated.)
Provisions Arrive
The Waggons Came with provisions this evening Floyd returned with a Letter from Cap Lewis one from S S and Sundery papers— an ax & a Flat Saw to be returned
—William Clark
Antoine Soulard
Cahokia December 28th 1803.[1]Lewis’s meeting with Soulard occurred between December 10 and 28. During this period, Lewis traveled between Cahokia and St. Louis.
Dear Sir,
I found the means to obtain an introduction to Monsr. Soulard, the Surveyor Genl., and was recieved by him in a very friendly manner; he gave me many unqualified assurances of his willingness to serve me, and his readyness to give me any information of which, he was possessed, in relation to the province.
MERIWETHER LEWIS. CAPT.
1st. U.S. Regt. Infty.[2]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), 148–49.
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 meeting with Soulard occurred between December 10 and 28. During this period, Lewis traveled between Cahokia and St. Louis. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | 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), 148–49. |
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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).