In the morning, Sgt. Pryor and his three men paddle their two bull boats to Clark‘s camp near present Tobacco Garden Creek, North Dakota. Clark then learns of Pryor’s failed mission and recovery. Pryor is then sent back to retrieve the saddlebags he forgot at the previous night’s camp.
Having failed to catch up to Clark, Lewis and his group stop near present Williston, North Dakota to make clothes, repair boats, and dry meat. He finds the mosquitoes extremely troublesome but unavoidable.[1]For more on the captains’ strategy and various groups after leaving Travelers’ Rest, see Dividing Forces at Travelers’ Rest.
Sergeant Pryor Arrives
by Yellowstone Public Radio[2]Originally aired weekdays by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Bicentennial observance of 2003-2006. Narrated by Hal Hansen. Scripts by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson. Produced by Leni Holliman. © … Continue reading
Bull Boats
Provided by Pompeys Pillar National Monument, U.S. Bureau of Land Management, photo 2017 by Kristopher K. Townsend.
Sergeant Pryor Arrives
Reunion
at 8 A. M. Sergt. N. Pryor Shannon, hall & Windsor Came down the river in two Canoes made of Buffalow Skins [Bull Boats]
—William Clark
Returning for Lost Papers
Sergt. Pryor bing anxious to overtake me Set out Some time before day this morning and forgot his Saddlebags which contains his papers &c. I Sent Bratten back with him in Serch of them . . . . after dark Sergt. Pryor returned with his Saddlebeggs &c. they were much further up than he expected.
—William Clark
Missouri River at Cut Bluff Overlook
© 28 July 2011 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Lewis Stops
Chapter of Accidents
not finding Capt. Clark I knew not what calculation to make with rispect to his halting and therefore determined to proceed as tho’ he was not before me and leave the rest to the chapter of accedents.
—Meriwether Lewis
Making New Clothes
I therefore determined to halt at this place untill the perogue and canoe could be repared and the men dress skins and make themselves the necessary cloathing.
—Meriwether Lewis
Drying Meat
from this place to the little Missouri there is an abundance of game I shall therefore when I leave this place travel at my leasure and avail myself of every opportunity to collect and dry meat untill I provide a sufficient quantity for our voyage not knowing what provision Capt C. has made in this rispect.
—Meriwether Lewis
Mosquito Problems
we found the Musquetoes extreemly troublesome but in this rispect there is but little choise of camps from hence down to St. Louis . . . . the air is cold yet the Musquetoes continue to be troublesome.—
—Meriwether Lewis
Weather Diaries
State of the weather at rise
Wind at State of the weather at 4 P. M. Wind at 4 P. M. fair N. E fair N E wind hard but not so much so as to detain us.—
—Meriwether Lewis
State of the weather at Sun rise State of wind at Sunrise State of the weather at 4 P. M. Wind at 4 P. M. State of river fair N. fair N. W. fall 2 in. air cool. Sergt. pryor arrive in Skin Canoes.
—William Clark[3]To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is omitted, some abbreviations have been spelled out, and the three river columns have been merged.
Notes
| ↑1 | For more on the captains’ strategy and various groups after leaving Travelers’ Rest, see Dividing Forces at Travelers’ Rest. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | Originally aired weekdays by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Bicentennial observance of 2003-2006. Narrated by Hal Hansen. Scripts by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson. Produced by Leni Holliman. © 2003 by Yellowstone Public Radio. |
| ↑3 | To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is omitted, some abbreviations have been spelled out, and the three river columns have been merged. |
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).