With a cold northwest wind blowing, Sgt. Ordway visits a Mandan village, likely the one nearest Fort Mandan—Mitutanka.
On the Ouachita River in present Arkansas, President Jefferson‘s Hunter and Dunbar Expedition turns back.
Mandan Village
Painting created by Split Rock Studios, Sioux City, Iowa. Original in the collection of the Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation and photographed by Kristopher K. Townsend.
Mandan Village Visit
I went up to the village the wind blew cold from N. W.
—John Ordway
Hunter and Dunbar Turn Back
Also on this day, the Hunter and Dunbar Expedition, tasked by President Thomas Jefferson to explore the Ouachita River in the Louisiana Territory, turns back for home:
8th. Tuesday
This day, having put every thing on board the boat, we struck tents & took our departure from Ellis[‘]s Camp on our way back to the Mississipi to the no small joy of all hands, as their provisions, especially of flour & whiskey were for some time past expended . . . .
—George Hunter[1]John F. McDermott, ed., The Western Journals of Dr. George Hunter, 1796–1805 (Philadelphia: American Philosophical Society, 1963).
Weather Diary
Ther. at rise
Weather Wind at Thert. at 4 P.M. Weather Wind at 4 P.M. River 20 below [0] fair N W 10 below [0] fair N W raise 1 in. the snow is now ten inches deep.
—Meriwether Lewis[2]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.
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.
Plan a trip related to January 8, 1805:
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.
