July 19, 1806
Beached dugouts
On the Yellowstone, Clark finds trees for making canoes and attends to Pvt. Gibson’s wound. Lewis moves up the Marias River, while at the Great Falls of the Missouri, Sgts. Ordway and Gass beach the dugouts.
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July 15, 1806
Yellowstone arrival
Clark crosses present Bozeman Pass and arrives at the Yellowstone River. Lewis organizes things at camp above the Great Falls of the Missouri, and McNeal fends off a grizzly bear by clubbing it.
June 24, 1806
Back to the mountains
The expedition leaves Weippe Prairie with three Nez Perce guides who intone fair weather by burning trees. Sgt. Gass has moved forward to invite the two Nez Perce men on met 21 Jun 1806 to join them.
May 9, 1806
Horses and saddles found
The corps moves about six miles to Twisted Hair‘s small camp near present Nezperce, Idaho. The horses and saddles left with the Nez Perce last fall are found, and then, it begins to snow.
April 9, 1806
Beautiful waterfalls
The flotilla moves sixteen miles up the Columbia River Gorge marveling at its many beautiful waterfalls. In Washington City, the Secretary of War deals with the unexpected death of Arikara Chief Too Né.
April 7, 1806
Regulating the firearms
The expedition spends another day at the lower end of the Columbia River Gorge to hunt and jerk meat. The men practice shooting and adjust their sights. Lewis describes the mountain quail, new to science.
March 8, 1806
The elk return
Fort Clatsop, OR John Collins kills three elk and reports seeing two herds. The captains write of the sick men’s recovery, and Lewis describes the lesser snow goose.
February 24, 1806
Cooking eulachon
Fort Clatsop, OR Several are sick and Sgt. Ordway writes that he has influenza. Lewis describes sea otters and seals.
February 19, 1806
Columbian black-tailed deer
Fort Clatsop, OR Ordway faces frozen rain and blowing sand as his party hikes towards the salt makers’ camp. Lewis describes the Columbian black-tailed deer and Gass’s detachment brings in several elk. In Washington City, President Jefferson gives Congress a letter from Lewis, a map by Clark, and the Estimate of Eastern Indians.
February 12, 1806
Two Oregon grapes
Fort Clatsop, Astoria, OR Lewis describes two species of Oregon grape, and three Clatsop dogs are brought as payment for elk meat. In Washington City and Madrid, suspicions grow.
January 27, 1806
An elk bonanza
Fort Clatsop, OR Shannon returns to Fort Clatsop with news of ten elk ready to be brought in. Lewis compares how he and the Chinookan Indians treat gonorrhea and syphilis.
January 13, 1806
Running out of candles
Fort Clatsop, Astoria, OR Elk tallow is rendered to make new candles, Lewis finds that the area’s elk do not have enough fat to make a sufficient supply, and President Jefferson writes to Lewis’s mother with news of the expedition’s progress.
January 4, 1806
Jefferson's Indian speech
Fort Clatsop, OR Gass and Shannon travel t to the salt makers’ camp, and Lewis describes Clatsop Indian views on material goods. In Washington City, President Jefferson meets with an Indian delegation organized in part by Lewis and Clark.
December 23, 1805
Clatstop traders
At Fort Clatsop, work on the cabins continues, and the captains move into their unfinished quarters. Clatsop traders sell food, mats, bags, and a panther hide for fishhooks, an old file, and spoiled salmon.
December 22, 1805
Floors and bunks
With four cabins completely covered at the Fort Clatsop construction site, the enlisted men begin working on floors and bunks. In the smoke house, the elk meat begins to spoil.
November 5, 1805
Crowded with Indians
After a night made sleepless by noisy waterfowl, the expedition heads down the Columbia. They pass the large village known today as Cathlapotle and encounter various Chinookan People.
October 22, 1805
Falls of the Columbia
The expedition arrives at the Falls of the Columbia. With the help of some Wishram villagers, they portage their baggage along the northern shore. Others scout the channel that the canoes will navigate.
October 21, 1805
Columbia River rapids
Moving down the Columbia above present John Day Dam, the paddlers navigate several rapids while the non-swimmers walk around them. Pvt. Collins shares his camas-brewed beer, and Mt. Hood is in view.
October 14, 1805
'Ship Rock'
After passing a ‘ship rock’—Monumental Rock on the Snake River in Washington—Sgt. Ordway‘s canoe gets stuck on a rock and fills with water. They stop for the day and begin drying wet items.
October 13, 1805
Fast water
To start the day, the non-swimmers portage rifles and scientific equipment while the boatmen navigate a long Snake River rapid. Late in the day, they run a two-mile rapid which “ran like a mill race.”
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).