The men cut down the trees on a point of land at the mouth of the Kansas River so that the captains can take navigational measurements, and Clark measures the width that river. They also build a wall of timber and brush to prevent any attack from the Kaws.
Missouri River from Kaw Point
© 2 August 2015 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Defensive Wall
we determin to delay at this Place three or four Days to make observations & recruit the party Several men out Hunting, nloaded one Perogue, and turned her up to Dry with a view of repairing her after Completeing a Strong redoubt or brest work frome one river to the other, of logs & Bushes Six feet high,
—William Clark
Celestial Observations
On the point formed by the confluence of the Kancez River and the Missouri, made the following observations.—
—Meriwether Lewis
River Widths
Measured The width of the Kansas River by an angle and made it 230 yds ¼ wide, it is wider above the mouth the Missouries at this place is about 500 yards wide
—William Clark
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).