As they proceed up the Missouri River near present Willow Creek Bay, South Dakota, the expedition anticipates an attack by the Lakota Sioux. The hunters are called in and everyone is prepared for action. Lewis adds three specimens to his plant collection: dwarf sagebrush, rubber rabbitbrush, and Rocky Mountain juniper.
Dwarf Sagebrush
Artemisia cana
© 29 June 2013, Three Forks of the Missouri, by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Cautious Encounter
we discovered some Indians on the hills on the north side, and one of them came down to the bank and fired a gun; the object or intention we did not well understand, but were ready to meet an attack.
—William Clark
Caution Island
passed a large Island on the S. S., here we expected the Tetons would attempt to Stop us, and prepared for action, &c. opposit this Island on the L. S. a Small Creek comes in, w[e] call this Caution Island
—William Clark
Rubber Rabbitbrush Specimen
Chrysothamnus nauseosus
© 20 October 2013, Snake River, by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Dwarf Sagebrush Specimen
No. 5 October 2ed 1804
growth of the high Bluffs.
—Meriwether Lewis[1]Artemisia cana, Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 17b.
Rubber Rabbitbrush Specimen
grows from 18 inches to 2½ feet, many stalks from the same root, from which they issue the the groun—the radix perennial. The goat or antelope feed on it in the winter. it is the growth of the high bluffs.
—Meriwether Lewis[2]Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 39c.
Rocky Mountain Juniper Specimen
No. 58 found 2nd October 1804.
A species of Cedar found on the Blufs. the trees of which are large some of them 6 feet in the girth—.
—Meriwether Lewis[3]Juniperus scopulorum, Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 85.
Weather Diary
Thermot. at rise
Weather Wind at thermotr. at 4 P.M. Weather Wind at 4 oC P.M. 39 fair S E 75 cloudy N. W —Meriwether Lewis[4]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of the month” column and spelled out some abbreviations.
Notes
| ↑1 | Artemisia cana, Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 17b. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Chrysothamnus nauseosus, Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 39c. |
| ↑3 | Juniperus scopulorum, Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 85. |
| ↑4 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of the month” column and spelled out some abbreviations. |
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
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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.
This page was funded in part by the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, U.S. National Park Service.
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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).