Day-by-Day / February 2, 1805

February 2, 1805

Mr. Larocque leaves

Fort Mandan, ND Fur trader François-Antoine Larocque ends his stay at the fort. Lewis fixes his compass, but the North West Company trader’s attempt to join the expedition fails. Elsewhere, the Hunter and Dunbar Expedition returns to Natchez.

Mr. Larocque Leaves[1]Originally aired weekdays by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Bicentennial observance of 2003-2006. Narrated by Hal Hansen. Scripts by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson. Produced by Leni Holliman. © … Continue reading

Visiting the American Fort

Went down to the American Fort to get my Compass put in order, the glass being broke, & the needle not pointing due north; & to see how the horses were. . . . Cap’t Lewis fix’d my Compass very well, in doing of which he Employed the whole day, Cleaning it &c.
François-Antoine Larocque[2]30 January 1805, W. Raymond Wood and Thomas D. Thiessen, Early Fur Trade on the Northern Plains: Canadian Traders among the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians, 1738–1818 (Norman: University of Oklahoma … Continue reading

Mr. Larocque Leaves

Mr. Larocke leave us to day (this man is a Clerk to the N W Company, & verry anxious to accompany us)
William Clark

A Sick Wife

a find Day one Deer Killed our interpeter Still unwell, one of the wives of the Big belley [Hidatsa] interptr taken Sick—
—William Clark

Hunter and Dunbar Return

Also on this day, the Hunter and Dunbar Expedition returns to Natchez, the home of William Dunbar:

FebY. 2nd. Saturday Set out again at sun rise & rowed for three or 4 miles when the course of the river changing were enabled to set our Sail & went against the current at a smart rate & arrived at Natchez about midday.
—George Hunter

 

Weather Diary

State of the Ther. at sun symbol rise Weather Wind at sun symbol rise Thermt. at 4 oCk. P.M. Weather Wind at 4 oCk. P.M. River
12 [below 0] fair N W 3 [above 0] fair S. fall 1 in.

Meriwether Lewis[3]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “State of the River at sun symbol rise” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

Notes

Notes
1 Originally aired weekdays by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Bicentennial observance of 2003-2006. Narrated by Hal Hansen. Scripts by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson. Produced by Leni Holliman. © 2003 by Yellowstone Public Radio.
2 30 January 1805, W. Raymond Wood and Thomas D. Thiessen, Early Fur Trade on the Northern Plains: Canadian Traders among the Mandan and Hidatsa Indians, 1738–1818 (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1985), 151–152.
3 To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “State of the River at sun symbol rise” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

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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.