August 5, 1806
Nine-foot grizzly
Near present Oswego, Montana, Lewis and his group contend with a powerful storm. Near Williston, North Dakota, Clark and his group battle mosquitoes as they wait for Lewis. Sgt. Pryor is on the Yellowstone.
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August 4, 1806
Willard swept away
During the night, Pvt. Willard is swept down the Missouri. Further downriver, Clark moves his group to escape the mosquitoes. Sgt. Pryor finds that his two bull boats can handle the Yellowstone rapids.
August 3, 1806
Clark reaches the Missouri
Clark reaches the Missouri-Yellowstone confluence and camps there to dry things out. Lewis makes seventy miles down the Missouri nearing present Fort Peck, Montana. Sgt. Pryor is still on the Yellowstone.
August 2, 1806
Grizzly attacks canoe
Near the mouth of the Yellowstone, a grizzly bear attacks Clark’s catamaran-style canoe. About fifteen miles below the Musselshell River, Lewis stops to dry out. In two bull boats, Sgt. Pryor tries to catch up.
August 1, 1806
Waiting for buffalo
On the Yellowstone, Clark waits for a large herd of buffalo to cross. On the Missouri, Lewis passes the Musselshell River while Pryor’s group tries to catch up to Clark. Everybody is slowed by the weather.
July 31, 1806
Land of plenty
Lewis’s group paddles down the Missouri stopping to hunt numerous elk and deer. Clark paddles through the Yellowstone River Badlands while behind him, Sgt. Pryor’s detachment travels in bull boats.
July 30, 1806
Faithful paddlers
Lewis and his group paddle “faithfully” through the Upper Missouri River Breaks. On the Yellowstone, Clark’s group reaches the Powder River. Sgt. Pryor’s small group must paddle hard to catch up.
July 29, 1806
White Cliffs rain
On this rainy day, Lewis paddles through White Cliffs. His hunters bag nine bighorn sheep. Clark, slowed by headwinds, reaches the Tongue River. Now far behind Clark, Sgt. Pryor has failed his mission.
July 28, 1806
Joining forces
Lewis ends his overnight flight by joining the men who are taking the boats and horses to the mouth of the Marias. Clark paddles down a gentle Yellowstone, and Pryor is near Pompeys Pillar making bull boats.
July 27, 1806
Fight with the Blackfeet
Lewis has a fatal fight with the Blackfeet, Ordway paddles down the Missouri, Gass takes horses to the Teton River, Clark paddles through the Yellowstone Badlands, and Pryor is stranded without horses.
July 26, 1806
A Blackfeet interview
On the Two Medicine River, Lewis is joined by several young Blackfeet. All of Pryor’s horses are stolen, and the portage of the Great Falls of the Missouri is completed. Clark explores the Bighorn River.
July 25, 1806
Pompy's Tower (Pompeys Pillar)
Clark names Pompy’s Tower and then carves his name into it. At Camp Disappointment, Lewis waits one more day. At the Great Falls, the portage route is muddy. Sgt. Pryor herds horses south of the Yellowstone.
July 24, 1806
Pryor's mission begins
Clark’s group paddles 70 miles down the Yellowstone while Sgt. Pryor leaves for the Knife River Villages with the horses. Lewis remains at Camp Disappointment and at the Great Falls, the portage continues.
July 23, 1806
Blackfeet and Crow near
At Camp Disappointment, clouds prevent Lewis from making celestial observations. Clark’s group is ready to paddle down the Yellowstone, and another detachment portages around the Falls of the Missouri.
July 22, 1806
Lewis's great disappointment
Detachments at the Yellowstone River Canoe Camp and Great Falls of the Missouri search for missing horses. Lewis sees that Cut Bank Creek does not go north and stops to hunt and make celestial observations.
July 21, 1806
A spate of missing horses
On the Yellowstone, half of Clark’s horses appear to be stolen by Crow Indians. Above the Falls of the Missouri, missing horses delay the portage. On the Marias, Lewis turns up Cut Bank Creek.
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.
July 18, 1806
Smoke signals
On the Yellowstone, Clark sees smoke and suspects that the Crows have discovered them. To the north, Lewis arrives at the Marias River, Gass visits Lower Portage Camp, and Ordway nears the Falls of the Missouri.
July 17, 1806
Signs of danger
Between the Falls of the Missouri and the Marias River, Lewis sees signs of Indian hunters. On the Yellowstone, Clark passes an “Indian Fort”. Sgt. Ordway runs Pine Tree Rapids and Sgt. Gass waits above the falls.
July 16, 1806
Off to the Marias
Lewis heads to the Marias River while Gass prepares wagon trucks above the Great Falls. Clark moves down the Yellowstone River by horse and Ordway paddles through the Gates of the Mountains.
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).