At a Lemhi Shoshone village at the lower end of the Lemhi Valley, Sgt. Gass takes a letter from Clark and delivers it to Lewis who is at another village twelve miles up the valley. He then returns with Lewis’s reply.
Clark trades three fishhooks for salmon roe, and Lewis finds that the price for the horses they need to cross the Bitterroot Mountains is increasing.
Fish Hooks
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.
Declining Flesh
a frost this morning. The Inds. Cought out of their traps Several Sammon and gave us two, I purchased two others which we made last us to day . . . . Those Sammon which I live on at present are pleasent eateing, not with standing they weaken me verry fast and my flesh I find is declineing
—William Clark
Rising Prices
Capt. Lewis began to trade for horses again and offered nearly double as much as yesterday.
—Joseph WhitehouseCapt. Lewis bought 5 or 6 more horses to day. we have now in all 25, but the most of them have Sore backs. three men Set at makeing pack Saddles.
—John Ordway
Trading Fish Hooks for Roe
I purchased Some fish roe of those pore but kind people [Lemhi Shoshones] with whome I am Encamped for which I gave three Small fish hooks, the use of which they readily proseved [perceived]
—William Clark
A Letter From Clark
Sergt. Gass joined us about 2 oC. and informed us that Capt. Clark & the rest of the men were about 12 miles down the River waiting for us
—Joseph Whitehouse
A Reply from Lewis
he [Sgt. Gass] returned after night with a letter from Capt. Lewis informing me of his Situation at the upper Village, and had precured 22 horses for our rout through by land on the plan which I had preposed in which he agreed with me in; and requsted me to ride up and get the horses
—William Clark
Weather Diary
State of the Thermometer at rise
Weather at Wind at State of the Thermometer at 4 P.M. Weather at 4 P.M. Wind at 4 P.M. 35 [above 0] fair S W. 66 [above 0] fair S W. —Meriwether Lewis[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column and spelled out some abbreviations.
Notes
| ↑1 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date 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.
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with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
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- 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).