"Nightengale" song
by Joseph A. Mussulman
On Sunday, 3 June 1804, the expedition left its camp at the mouth of the Osage River and proceeded five miles upstream to the mouth of the Moreau River. There, Clark wrote, he and George Drouillard, “Saw much sign of war parties of Inds. having Crossed from the mouth of this Creek.”
Symphoricarpos albus
by Joseph A. Mussulman
13 August 1805 near Lemhi Pass, Lewis wrote that he noticed “a species of honeysuckle much in it’s growth and leaf like the small honeysuckle of the Missouri.” He had discovered a plant that was new to the scientific community—the snowberry.
Erythronium grandiflorum
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Because it appears in the Rockies at the edges of receding snowbanks it has also earned the name glacier lily. Lewis’s specimen, collected 15 June 1806 on the Clearwater River, was the one used by Pursh to describe the species.
The information Loisel gave the captains seemed to take root. Throughout their journey to and from the Knife River Indian Villages, the expedition met and made use of several Loisel partners and employees: Pierre Dorion, Sr., Pierre-Antoine Tabeau, Joseph Gravelines, and Hugh Heney.
A nomenclatural morass
by James L. Reveal
The nomenclatural morass associated with the scientific name of Douglas-fir, Pseudotsuga menziesii, is a long and complex tale and tied closely with the early explorations along the western coast of North America . . . .
Full text with commentary
by James L. Reveal
When he wrote his 1832 paper, Rafinesque did not see actual specimens. He knew about the plants only from the 1814 Biddle publication of Lewis’s descriptions. Provided here is the full text of that paper with commentary.
Called the “First Scientist of the Mississippi Valley,” Saugrain was a chemist and naturalist and the only physician in the frontier community of St. Louis when Lewis and Clark arrived there.
Chapter 8
by William W. Bevis
William Bevis summarizes his eight-part series on the design of the dugout canoes built by the expedition.
Chapter 7
by William W. Bevis
Lewis’s list of tools includes many useful for making canoes.
Chapter 6
by William W. Bevis
We know that the canoes of their day, white and Indian, were not necessarily rough or primitive, and that Clark and Lewis had seen a lot of them. The expedition included enough experienced canoeists to teach everyone how to paddle.
Chapter 1
by William W. Bevis
Most of the “replica” Lewis and Clark dugout canoes used by re-enactors and sitting in parks or museums are roughly carved, crudely shaped, and weigh from 800 to 3,000 pounds. Actual nineteenth century dugouts can be smoothly finished, finely shaped, and weigh under 200 pounds.
Lewisia rediviva
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Flathead Salish, Kutenai, Shoshoni, and Nez Perce people all regard the bitterroot with solemn reverence. No other root may be harvested until the elder women of the tribe have conducted the annual First Roots ceremony.
Shelter on the trail
by Robert R. Hunt
While in Philadelphia in the summer of 1803, Lewis clearly had foreseen the rigors of weather which would be encountered on a planned two year “campaign.” He carefully provided, as any military commander would, for appropriate protection for his soldiers.
An elephant on the trail
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Lewis had assured Clark that their situations would be identical in every respect, beginning with rank. The fact that Clark was actually a lieutenant was a secret kept throughout the expedition.
Spermophilus columbianus
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Labiche brought a specimen into Long Camp on the Clearwater River and four days later, Meriwether Lewis penned one of his longest and most meticulous descriptions of any small mammal.
Alces alces
by Joseph A. Mussulman
“Reubin Field wounded a moos deer this morning near our camp,” Lewis wrote on 7 July 1806, adding, “my dog much worried.”
Early American portraitist
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin (1770–1852) was a portrait artist whose works include Lewis, Clark, Chief Sheheke and his wife Yellow Corn.
Repository of plant specimens
by Catharine P. Fussell, Joseph A. Mussulman, Timothy Preston Long
Lewis sent plant specimens to William Hamilton who cultivated them in his garden at The Woodlands outside of Philadelphia.
Maclura pomifera
by James L. Reveal, Joseph A. Mussulman
Its oak-strong, hickory-tough wood made powerful, reliable hunting bows. Early French explorers and traders translated its Indian name into bois d’arc,–”wood for a bow,” which was easily anglicized into “bodark.”
Pomp's 'bier' was a 'bar'
by Joseph A. Mussulman
Lewis writes: “the bier in which the woman carrys her child and all it’s cloaths wer swept away as they lay at her feet she having time only to grasp her child.” This bier, then, is a bar or net serving to keep mosquitos from one’s personal blood supply.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
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).