With four cabins completely covered at the Fort Clatsop construction site, the enlisted men begin working on floors and bunks. In the smoke house, the elk meat begins to spoil.
In Washington City, President Jefferson explains how Mandan horses are fed cottonwood in the winter—intelligence obtained from Clark’s journals sent from Fort Mandan last spring.
Spoiled Meat
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
Fort Clatsop Enlisted Men’s Hut
Photo provided by Lewis and Clark National Historic Park, Fort Clatsop of the 2013 “Wintering Over” encampment by the Pacific Northwest Living Historians.
New Floors and Bunks
rained all the last night & to day without much intermition we finish dobbig 4 huts which is all we have Covered, the Punchin floor & Bunks finished
—William Clark
Spoiling Elk Meat
We discover that part of our last Supply of meat is Spoiling from the womph [warmth] of the weather not withstanding a constant Smoke kept under it day and night.
—William Clark
Boils and Bruises
Sergt. ordway, Gibson & my Servent [York] Sick, Several men Complain of biles and bruses of differant kinds.
—William Clark
Beaver Trapping
Drewyer Set out up the Creek to Set his traps for beaver
—William Clark
Weather Diary
Day of the Month Winds State of the Weather 22nd S W. rain rained last night and to day
—Meriwether Lewis[2]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has spelled out some abbreviations.
Cottonwood for Horses
From Washington City, Thomas Jefferson writes to naturalist Benjamin Smith Barton passing along something he read in Clark’s notes that were sent with the barge from Fort Mandan.
Washington Dec. 22. 05
Dear Sir
Under another cover I send you drawings & specimens of the seed, cotton, & leaf of the Cotton tree of the Western country, recieved from Genl. Wilkinson at St. Louis. to these I must add that it appears from the journals of Lewis & Clarke that the boughs of this tree are the sole food of the horses up the Missouri during winter. their horses having on a particular occasion gone through extraordinary fatigue, bran of the Maïs was ordered for them, which they refused, preferring their ordinary food the boughs of this tree, a few of which are chopped off from the tree with a hatchet every evening & thrown into their pen. Accept affectionate salutations & assurances of great esteem & respect
Th: Jefferson[3]Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., ed. Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 272.
Fort Clatsop is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site is managed by the Lewis and Clark National and State Historic Parks.
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 spelled out some abbreviations. |
| ↑3 | Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., ed. Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 272. |
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).