Clark and Lewis travel by boat from St. Charles where they had intercepted a Kickapoo war party. Clark records hearing frogs for the first time this season, and perhaps he finalizes the list of questions about Native American dress.
Weather Diary
Therm at rise
weather wind Therm at 4 Oclk weather wind River 12 above 0 fair E 68 above 0 fair SSW rise 1 ½ in. Heard the 1st frogs on my return from St Charles after haveing arrested the progress of a Kickapoo war party
—Meriwether Lewis and William Clark[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.
Western Chorus Frog
Pseudacris triseriata
Courtesy U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Permission to use granted via the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.0 Generic license.
As noted in the Weather Diary for this date, the captains likely heard the Western chorus frog—a traditional signal of spring’s arrival.
Questions of Indian Dress
Inquiries relitive to the Indians of Louisiania.
. . . .
9th. Clothing Dress & Orniments
. . . .
What garments do their dress usially Consist, in both Sexes?
What are the shapes & materials of those garments?
In what manner are they worn?
What orniments do they use to decorate their person?
Do they use paints of Various Colours on the surface of their skins, and what are the most usial colours thus used?
Do they tattoe (or scarify) their bodys and on what parts?
Do they imprint with the aids of a sharp pointed instrument and som colouring matter any figures on their skins: and what are the part of the body on which they are usially imprinted?
Which are the usial figures?
—William Clark[2]Undated and unsigned list written in Clark’s hand. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, … Continue reading
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.
Plan a trip related to March 20, 1804:
Today, the St. Charles Historic District is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service.
Winter Camp at Wood River (Camp Dubois) is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site, near Hartford, Illinois, is managed as Lewis and Clark State Historic Site and is open to the public.
Notes
| ↑1 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Undated and unsigned list written in Clark’s hand. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 160. |
