In Louisville, a gala is held with the special entertainment being Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, and the Osage and Mandan delegates.[1]For the delegations traveling with Lewis and Clark on this day, see The Osage Delegations and Sheheke’s Delegation. The event is noted by Clark’s brother Jonathan and likely one of the balls described by Patrick Gass in his biography.
Near present Lakin in southwestern Kansas, Zebulon Pike‘s expedition stops to rest their horses, dry meat, and mend their moccasins.
“Sheheke in Ball Costume”
Colorized from in The Life and Times of Patrick Gass.[2]John G. Jacob, The Life and Times of Patrick Gass, Now Sole Survivor of the Overland Expedition to the Pacific, under Lewis and Clark. . . . (Wellsburg, Virginia: Jacob & Smith, 1859), 108, … Continue reading
Above is a c. 1859 illustration as the artist imagined Sheheke dressed for these balls. A more accurate portrait of Sheheke and his wife Yellow Corn was made by St. Mémin while the couple were in Washington City.
Louisville Gala
Rain at Majr. Croghans with Capt. Lewis & Clark lay
—Jonathan Clark Diary
Grand Fancy Ball
Among the entertainments, here, in their honor, was a grand fancy ball, which they all attended; their Indian companions tricked out in all their savage finery, with necklaces of white bears claws, brilliant brass medals and gorgeous plumage and painting. The curiosity of the whites was excited to the highest pitch, not only to see the members of the party but to inspect the curiosities they carried with them as trophies. Through the whole route they were the objects of marked attention: and as they came into the more settled portions of the states, their progress almost resembled a civic triumph.[3]John G. Jacob, The Life and Times of Patrick Gass . . . (Wellsburg, West Virginia: Jacob & Smith, 1859), 109.
Jerking and Mending
Our horses being very much jaded and our situation very eligible, we halted all day, jerked meat, mended mockinsons &c.
—Zebulon Pike (1:344)
Notes
| ↑1 | For the delegations traveling with Lewis and Clark on this day, see The Osage Delegations and Sheheke’s Delegation. |
|---|---|
| ↑2 | John G. Jacob, The Life and Times of Patrick Gass, Now Sole Survivor of the Overland Expedition to the Pacific, under Lewis and Clark. . . . (Wellsburg, Virginia: Jacob & Smith, 1859), 108, available at archive.org/details/lifetimesofpatri00jaco. |
| ↑3 | John G. Jacob, The Life and Times of Patrick Gass . . . (Wellsburg, West Virginia: Jacob & Smith, 1859), 109. |
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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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