The men prepare the new dugout canoes and the red and white pirogues for their upcoming voyage from Fort Mandan amongst the Knife River Villages in present North Dakota. Lewis sees a large black gnat—the first insect of the season.
Cottonwood Log with Large Check
Location: Below Lower Portage Camp. Photo © 1 July 2013 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
On this day, Clark refers to the long checks, or cracks, in the cottonwood logs that he attributes to the live trees swaying in the wind.
Preparing the Boats
clear and pleasant. we brought all the perogues down to the Fort and went at prepareing them and Gitting everry thing ready to Set out on our voiage.
—John Ordway
had all the Canoes, the Perogus corked pitchd & lined oover the Cotton Wood, which is win Shaken
—William Clark
Weather Diary
State of Ther. at rise
Weather wind at State of Thermt. at 4 OClock Weather at 4 Ock Wind at 4 OClock State of the River 28 fair S E 60 [above 0] fair S W rise 9 in. the first insect I have seen was a large black knat today—the ice drifting in large quantities.—
—Meriwether Lewis[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “Day of Month 1805” column 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 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “Day of Month 1805” column and spelled out some abbreviations. |
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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).