The barge sail is hoisted in a strong wind and the mast breaks. They pass an old Ponca village and make eight miles before stopping at the Niobrara River to explore, hunt, and look for signs of Pvt. Shannon who has been missing several days. Lewis collects a specimen of silver buffaloberry.
Niobrara and Missouri River Confluence
View north, down the Niobrara, up the Missouri
© 2000 Airphoto—Jim Wark.
The Niobrara River
this [Niobrara] River is 152 yards wide at the mouth & 4 feet Deep Throwing out Sands like the Platt (only Corser) forming bars in its mouth
—William Clark
Fast Sailing, Broken Mast
the wind Shifted to the South & blew verry hard we hoisted Sail ran verry fast a Short time. Broke our mast
—John Ordway
Old Ponca Village
I went up this river 3 miles to the Spot the Panis [Ponca] once had a large Village on the upper Side in a butifull extensive Plain riseing gradially from the river I fel into a Buffalow road joined the boat late at night at the Pania Island.
—William Clark
Looking for Shannon
we looked for tracks of Shannon but could not See whether he had passd or not.
—Joseph Whitehouse
Silver buffaloberry
Shepherdia argentea
© 20 August 2018 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Silver Buffaloberry Specimen
A No. 39. obtained at the mouth of the River Quiccourre from which place upwards it is abundant in the Missouri bottoms it is a pleasant burry to eat—it has much the flavor of the cranbury, and continues on the brush through the winter—this is an evergreen shrub—some plants are sent down by the barge to the care of Capt. Sotddard at St Louis
—Meriwether Lewis[2]Shepherdia argentea, Moulton, ed. Herbarium, specimen 160.
Notes
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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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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).