At the Knife River Villages, Lewis trades for corn at Mitutanka. Clark picks a location for winter quarters, and the men start building Fort Mandan by felling trees. Arikara chief Too Né leaves for his village on the Grand River accompanied by several Mandans.
Beginning Fort Mandan
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
Missouri River Bottom
© 28 July 2013, Cross Ranch State Park (altered to look more like early November), by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Starting Fort Mandan
we droped down a Short distance farther to a body & Bottom of large Timber where we commenced falling Timber, and fixing a camp close by the place where we intend for to build. picthed our tents & laid the foundation of one line of our huts, which consisted of 4 Rooms 14 feet Square. the other line will be the Same
—John Ordway
This place we have named Fort Mandan in honour of our Neighbours.
—Meriwether Lewis
Lewis Returns, Too Né Leaves
Cap Lewis returned in the eveng with 11 bushels of Corn, the Ricarre [Arikara] Chief [Too Né] Set out for his Village accompanied by Several [M]andans—
—William Clark
Weather Diary
Ther. at rise
Weather Wind at Thert. at 4 P.M. Weather Wind at 4 P.M. 32 fair S E 63 fair S E the boat droped down to our winter station & formed a camp I ascended to the lower mandane vilage
—Meriwether Lewis[2]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of the month” and “River Feet” columns 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 | 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, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of the month” and “River Feet” 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
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- 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).