Clark works all day and into the night preparing his journals so that they can be sent to Thomas Jefferson or whomever the new president might be. Mandan Chief Raven Man ends his extended stay at Fort Mandan and returns to his village, Ruptáre.
Leather-bound Journal
Courtesy U.S. National Park Service, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park.
Preparing Journals
we are writeing and prepareing dispatches all day— I conclude to Send my journal to the President of the United States in its original State for his own perusial, untill I call for it or Some friend if I should not return, an this journal is from the 13th of May 1804 untill the 3rd of April 1805. wrote untill verry late at night
—William Clark
Shipping Clark’s Field Notes
Dr. Sir. [Amos Stoddard?]
I must request the favour of you to send by some safe conveyance as early as possible a red box containing some specimens & papers of consequence[?] to my brother Genl. Jonathin Clark, of Kentuckey as Directed on the top of the Box. R. Worvinton [Richard Warfington] the Bearer of this is intrusted with duplicates & papers of considerable consequence . . . .
[—William Clark][1]Clark to [Amos Stoddard?]. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 226.
Shipping Clark’s Map
Fort Mandan in Lat. 47° 21′ 27″ N. Long. 101° 25′ W
April the 2nd 1805.Dear Major [William Croghan]
. . . .
I must therefore take the liberty of refuring you to my brother to whome I have inclosed a Map and some sketches relative to the Indians . . . . Our information is altogether from Indians collected at different times and entitled to some credit . . . . please to present me most respectfully to my Sister Lucy & the family and accept the assurance of my sincere affections &c.
WM CLARK
I send my sister Croghan some seed of several Kinds of Grapes[2]Clark to William Croghan. Letters, 230.
Second Chief Raven Man Leaves
The 2d Chief of the 2d Mandan Village took a miff at our not attending to him perticelarely after being here about ten day and moved back to his village
—William Clark
Weather Diary
State of Thermometer at rise
Weather Wind at State of Thermometer at 4 P.M. Weather Wind at 4 P.M. State of the River 28 [above 0] cloudy after rain N. W 38 [above 0] fair after clouds W. fallen 5 in. rained hard and without intermission last night
—William Clark and Meriwether Lewis[3]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, clarified the “State of the River” information, and spelled out some abbreviations.
Fort Mandan is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The North Dakota Department of Parks and Recreation manages a modern reconstruction and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center located at US Hwy 83 and ND Hwy 200A.
Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. A unit of the National Park System, the site is located at 564 County Road 37, one-half mile north of Stanton, North Dakota. It has exhibits, trails, and a visitor center.
Notes
| ↑1 | Clark to [Amos Stoddard?]. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 226. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Clark to William Croghan. Letters, 230. |
| ↑3 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, clarified the “State of the River” information, 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).