The captains take a large party to explore Spirit Mound. Instead of finding its rumored devils, they suffer from excessive heat and witness birds eating swarms of flying ants. Lewis collects a specimen of the Rocky Mountain bee plant.
The Spirit Mound
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
Spirit Mound
Photo © 2008 by Arthur Digbee, used with permission.
Setting Out
This morning Capt Lewis & my Self G D. Sjt. Ouderway Shields J. Fields colter Bratten Cane Labeeche corp Wovington Frasure & York Set out to Visit this mountain of evel Spirits,
—William Clark
Seaman Overheats
our Dog [Seaman] was So Heeted & fatigued we was obliged Send him back to the Creek
—William Clark
Great Thirst
at 12 oClock we arrived at the hill Capt Lewis much fatigued from heat the day it being verry hot & he being in a debilitated State from the Precautions he was obliged to take to provent the affects of the Cobalt, & Minl. Substance which had like to have poisoned him two days ago, his want of water, and Several of the men complaining of Great thirst
—William Clark
York Exhausted
my Servent [York] nearly exosted with heat thurst and fatigue, he being fat and un accustomed to walk as fast as I went was the Cause—
—William Clark
Flying Ants
we Saw a great flock of Birds flying about the top of it we ascended the hill found none of the little people ther we Saw Several holes in the ground. Some Stone piss ants &.C.
—John Ordway
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant
Cleome serrulata
Location: Clark’s Lookout, Dillon, Montana. © 12 July 2013 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Rocky Mountain Bee Plant
No. 43. August 25th growth of the open Praries
—Meriwether Lewis[2]Moulton, Herbarium, specimen 49.
Spirit Mound 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 open to the public and maintained by South Dakota Game, Fish and 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 | Moulton, Herbarium, specimen 49. |
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
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- 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).