Day-by-Day / August 28, 1805

August 28, 1805

A letter exchange

Contents

Lemhi River Valley, ID Sgt. Gass delivers a letter from Clark to Lewis and then returns twelve miles to the lower Lemhi village with Lewis’s reply. Lewis finds the prices paid for horses is rising.

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 Whitehouse

Capt. 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 rise Wind at rise 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[+]

Notes
↑1	To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column and spelled out some abbreviations.

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 Heritage Foundation
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).