The Wretched Rockies
by Yellowstone Public Radio[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
Horses
Weippe Prairie, Idaho, © 22 June 2008 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Catching Horses
our horses many of them have become so wild that we cannot take them without the assistance of the Indians who are extreemly dextrous in throwing a rope and taking them with a noose about the neck; as we frequently want the use of our horses when we cannot get the assistance of the indians to take them, we had a strong pound formed today in order to take them at pleasure.
—Meriwether Lewis
Superior Nez Perce Geldings
my sick horse being much reduced and apearing to be in such an agoni of pain that there was no hope of his recovery I ordered him shot this evening. the other horses which we casterated are all nearly recovered, and I have no hesitation in declaring my beleif that the indian [Nez Perce] method of gelding is preferable to that practiced by ourselves.—
—Meriwether Lewis
Traders McNeal and York
Our traders McNeal and York are furnished with the buttons which Capt L—. and my Self Cut off of our Coats, Some eye water and Basilicon which we made for that purpose and Some phials of eye water and Some tin boxes which Capt L. had brought from Philadelphia. in the evening they returned with about 3 bushels of roots
—William Clark
Sergeant Floyd’s Tomahawk
Drewyer arived this evening with Neeshneparkkeeook and Hohashillpilp who had accompanied him to the lodge of the person who had our tomahawks. he obtained both the tomahawks principally by the influence of the former of those Chiefs. the one which had been Stolen we prized most as it was the private property of the late Serjt. Floyd and I was desireous of returning it to his friends.
—William Clark
Ordway’s Tainted Salmon
about Noon Sergt. Ordway Frazier [Frazer] and Wizer [Weiser] returned with 17 salmon and some roots of cows [cous]; the distance was so great from which they had brought the fish that most of them were nearly spoiled. these fish were as fat as any I ever saw; sufficiently so to cook themselves without the addition of grease; those which were sound were extreemly delicious;
—Meriwether Lewis
Weather Diary
State of the weather at rise
Wind at State of the weather at 4 P.M. Wind at 4 P.M. State of the Kooskooskee at cloudy after cloudy N W fair after cloudy S E raised 8 in. have slept comfortably for several nights under one blankett ony. The river from sunrise untill 10 A. M. yesterday raised 1½ inches; from that [t]ime untill dark fell 4½, and in the course of the last night raised again 8 Inches as stated in the diary. the Indians inform us that the present rise of the river is the greatest which it annually takes, and that when the water now subsides to about the hight it was when we arrived here the mountains will be passable. I have no doubt but that the melting of the mountain snows in the begining of June is what causes the annual inundation of the lower portion of the Missouri from the 1st to the Middle of July.—
—Meriwether Lewis[2]To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is not presented, the river columns have been merged, and some abbreviations have been spelled out.
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 | To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is not presented, the river columns have been merged, and some abbreviations have been spelled out. |
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).