Winter Camp at Wood River, IL The thermometer reaches 32° F., and large flocks of trumpeter swan are seen in the marshes around winter camp at Wood River. In Washington City, President Jefferson gives Congress a letter from Lewis, a map by Clark, and the Estimate of Eastern Indians.
Trumpeter Swan Brood
Cygnus buccinator
Photo by Donna Dewhurst, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Questions for the Louisiana Indians
Inquiries relitive to the Indians of Louisiania.
. . . .
2nd. Relative to Morrals
. . . .
Can the crime of Murder be paliated by precuniary Considerations?
Do they use any liquor or Substitute to premote intoxication, besides ardent spirits?
Are they much attached to spiritous liquors, and is intoxication deemed a Crime among them?
Have they any and what are the punishments of which their usuages admit of—for either Crimes.
—William Clark[1]Undated and unsigned list written in Clark’s hand. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, … Continue reading
Jefferson’s Report to Congress
To the Senate & House of Representatives of the United States
In pursuance of a measure proposed to Congress by a message of Jan. 18. 1803, . . . Capt Meriwether Lewis of the 1st. regiment of infantry was appointed, with a party of men, to explore the river Missouri, from it’s mouth to it’s source, &, crossing the highlands by the shortest portage, to seek the best water communication thence to the Pacific ocean; & Lieutt. Clarke was appointed second in command. they were to enter into conference with the Indian nations on their route, with a view to the establishment of commerce with them. they entered the Missouri May 14. 1804. and on the 1st. of Nov. took up their winter quarters [Fort Mandan] near the Mandan towns, 1609 miles above the mouth of the river . . . .
during his stay among the Mandans, he had been able to lay down the Missouri, according to courses & distances taken on his passage up it . . . & to add to the actual survey of this portion of the river, a general map of the country between the Missisipi & Pacific . . . . these additions are from information collected from Indians with whom he had opportunities of communicating during his journey & residence with them. copies of this map are now presented to both houses of Congress.
I communicate also a statistical view [Estimate of the Eastern Indians], procured and forwarded by him, of the Indian nations inhabiting the Territory of Louisiana, & the countries adjacent to it’s Northern and Western borders, of their commerce, & of other interesting circumstances respecting them.
Th: Jefferson
Feb. 19. 1806.[2]Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-3258. [Early Access document from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson.] Also in Letters of the Lewis and Clark … Continue reading
Weather Diary
Therm at rise
weather wind Therm at 4 Oclk weather wind River 18 above 0 fair S.W. 32 above 0 fair W. 1 ft. 1 in. immence quantities of Swan, in the marra [marshes?]—.
—Meriwether Lewis[3]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of month 1804” column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.
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 | Undated and unsigned list written in Clark’s hand. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 158. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Founders Online, National Archives, founders.archives.gov/documents/Jefferson/99-01-02-3258. [Early Access document from The Papers of Thomas Jefferson.] Also in Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., ed. Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 298–300. |
| ↑3 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of month 1804” column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations. |
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).