At Fort Mandan below the Knife River Villages, construction is finished, and the blacksmith shop is set up in an empty room. Three visiting chiefs are given strips of sheep skin, and preparations are made to celebrate Christmas tomorrow.
Christmas Eve at 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
Chamois Skin Gifts
Several Chiefs and members of men womin and Children at the fort to day, Some for trade, the most as lookers on, we gave a fellet of Sheep Skin (which we brought for Spunging) to 3 Chiefs one to each of 2 inches wide, which they lay great value (priseing those felets equal to a fine horse[)]
—William Clark
Fort Mandan Blacksmith Shop (replica)
Taken with cooperation from the Fort Mandan Visitors’ Center. Photo © 2013 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Fort Mandan Finished
Some Snow this morning. we finished Setting pickets & arected a blacksmiths Shop. the afternoon pleasant. the Savages came as usal we fired our Swivels as tomorrow is cristmas day &C,
—John Ordway
Christmas Preparations
Flour, dried apples, pepper and other articles were distributed in the different messes to enable them to celebrate Christmas in a proper and social manner.
—Patrick Gass
Weather Diary
Ther. at rise
Weather Wind at Thert. at 4 P.M. Weather Wind at 4 P.M. River 22 above snow S W 31 cloudy after snow fair fall 2½ in. Snow verry inconsiderable complete the fort
—Meriwether Lewis[3]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” 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 | Alan H. Hartley, Alan H., Lewis & Clark Lexicon of Discovery (Pullman, WA: WSU Press, 2004), 67. |
| ↑3 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations. |
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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.
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with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
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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).