Down the Clearwater
Lenore, ID After a busy day, thirty-three expedition members, Lewis’s dog, Seaman, and two Lemhi Shoshone guides start down the Clearwater. In the five new dugout canoes, challenging rapids test the paddlers’ skills.
Canoes nearly finished
Clearwater Canoe Camp, ID The canoe builders, refreshed by yesterday’s horse beef, work with five dugout canoes. Two are nearly finished.
Fresh deer and salmon
Clearwater Canoe Camp, ID Most of the men have bowel and stomach problems. Those who can work on the dugout canoes. George Drouillard and John Colter bring in three deer, and local Nez Perce Indians trade fresh salmon—both a welcome change in diet.
Sinking the iron-framed boat
The iron-framed boat is too leaky, and it is intentionally sunk. The captains plan to build two new dugout canoes, and Lewis collects a specimen of blue flax—new to science and a namesake species.
Sailing on dry land
Severe weather passes over everybody, and a sail is employed as they portage two more dugout canoes around the Great Falls of the Missouri. Below the falls, the last canoe is taken out of the water.
Sacagawea relapses
Below the Great Falls of the Missouri, the men prepare for the portage and Sacagawea relapses. At the White Bear Islands, Clark determines he will find the best route to haul the heavy dugout canoes.
A swamped canoe
After leaving the Knife River Villages, one of the dugout canoes fills with water wetting a wooden keg of gunpowder. Below present Garrison Dam in North Dakota, headwinds force them to stop for the day.
Loading the small boats
The men load the red and white pirogues and six new dugout canoes. Sgt. Patrick Gass recalls the Indian sexual practices experienced during his stay at Fort Mandan amongst the Knife River Villages.
Testing the boats
Because they will soon be leaving Fort Mandan at the Knife River Villages, the men put the two pirogues, six dugout canoes, and the barge into the Missouri River. Boxes for holding specimens are built.
Preparing the boats
The men prepare the new dugout canoes and the red and white pirogues for their upcoming voyage from Fort Mandan in present North Dakota. Lewis sees a large black gnat—the first insect of the season.
Collecting clinker
Fort Mandan, ND On his way from the dugout canoes, Clark collects clinker rock and conducts an experiment with them. Away from the fort, Patrick Gass and two others guard the new dugout canoes.
Moving the dugout canoes
Fort Mandan, ND Clark and six men join a large group at canoe camp and move four dugout canoes to the river’s edge. Lewis also discusses Jerusalem artichokes.
Echinacea specimens
Fort Mandan, ND Work making charcoal, dugout canoes, leather rope, and clothes continues. One French man passes by with letters for trader Pierre-Antoine Tabeau who is with the Arikaras.
All hands employed
Fort Mandan, ND Some make charcoal for the blacksmith forge, others braid tow-line rope for the boats, and away from the fort, a detachment carves dugout canoes from large cottonwood logs.
Arikara and Sioux news
Fort Mandan, ND Traders arrive with news of the Arikaras and Sioux and two plant specimens. About six miles from the fort, several men cut down cottonwood trees to make dugout canoes.
Amelanchier alnifolia
by Kristopher K. Townsend
Everybody liked the abundant serviceberry fruit—the Lemhi Shoshones were living on them, the enlisted men “regaled themselves,” and Lewis was the first to collect a specimen for science.
Retired U.S. Army lieutenant colonel and former chief historian of the National Guard Bureau discusses frontier army life in 1803 and the exemplary military leadership of the co-captains and non-commissioned officers.
Prunus emarginata
by Kristopher K. Townsend
Lewis collected a specimen of bitter cherry, Prunus emarginata, while at Long Camp on 29 May 1806 and described it on 7 June 1806. He wrote that “the natives count it a good fruit”.
From Indian information the previous winter, the captains knew they would encounter a great falls in the Missouri River. What they found was a 14-mile-long series of waterfalls and rapids that drops 473 feet.
The Bitterroot National Forest
by Joseph A. Mussulman
The orator spoke of the promises of “regions yet groaning under unviolated forests.” Lewis responded similarly: “With you I trust, that the discoveries we have made will not long remain unimproved.”
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
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).