Antelope, Antilocapra americana
by Joseph A. Mussulman
The men of the Corps of Discovery must have been electrified by their first sighting of the pronghorn antelope at the northeast corner of today’s state of Nebraska. Naturalists were eager to find the answers to some basic questions about them.
White Salmon and Smock-shops
by Kristopher K. Townsend
Wind Mountain was at the western extent of a series of Upper Chinookan villages called by Lewis and Clark the “Chilluckkittequaw nation.” Apparently, when asked for a tribal name, the captains were given the word for ‘he pointed at me’. Chilluckittequaw was adopted as their name a century later by early ethnographer Frederick Hodge. Between Wind Mountain and Hood River, nine villages have been identified, some overlapping with Klickitats
The bald and golden eagles
by Joseph A. Mussulman
En route to the Pacific Ocean, Lewis and Clark saw both species of eagles that are native to North America: the black-and-white one called the bald eagle, and the brown-and-gold one commonly known as the golden eagle, but which the explorers knew as the grey eagle.
Sacagawea deteriorates
Below the Great Falls of the Missouri, Sacagawea‘s health deteriorates, and Charbonneau asks her to return home. Several miles ahead, Lewis fishes and describes a prairie rattlesnake in minute detail.
Judith River oasis
They tow the boats twenty miles reaching the fertile Judith River Basin. Lewis finds the change reviving. In St. Louis, military commander James Bruff proposes a mission for the expedition’s barge.
Finding Simon Girty
Lewis sends Thomas Jefferson Osage orange cuttings from Pierre Chouteau’s garden and in one of the Indian camps near the mouth of the Missouri, Clark meets Simon Girty, an infamous American traitor.
Orders for Sgt. Floyd
Wood River Camp, IL The day begins with sub-zero temperatures, and trouble brews when some of the enlisted men disobey Sgt. Ordway’s orders. In Washington City, Henry Dearborn orders Major Bruff to replace Amos Stoddard as military commander of Upper Louisiana.
Big Bone Lick
Big Bone Lick, KY Lewis likely spent the day examining fossil bones. Thomas Rodney what he found there just five days later. The War Department asks the Army to prepare to fight with Spain over possession of Louisiana.
Traveling to Big Bone Lick
Big Bone Lick, KY On or near this date, Lewis leaves Cincinnati for the fossil diggings. There, he expects to collect specimens to send to Thomas Jefferson. Unfortunately, the owner of the site has ordered the removal of fossils stopped. Tensions rise between Spain and the United States over the Louisiana Purchase.
Leaky boats
Newell, WV The pirogue and canoe used to lighten the barge both spring leaks. They stop to repair the leaks and dry wet cargo.
Ohio River flatboats
As he waits in Pittsburgh for the military barge to be completed, Lewis leaves little record of his day-to-day activities. The role of flatboats in Ohio River commerce was described by other travelers.
New Orleans smugglers
From Natchez, William Claiborne, Governor of the Mississippi Territory, answers President Jefferson‘s Louisiana questions and describes smuggling at New Orleans—an activity experienced by William Clark.
Forts Duquesne and Pitt
Meriwether Lewis is in Pittsburgh having a military barge built prior to departure down the Ohio River—perhaps at Fort Fayette. Remnants of two earlier forts—Pitt and Duquesne—can still be seen.
Orders for Kaskaskia
Lewis is in Pittsburgh having a military barge built prior to departure down the Ohio River. From Washington City, orders are issued to lease land in Kaskaskia to build an American Army post.
Stoddard's new orders
Amos Stoddard given orders to establish an Army fort in preparation for the transfer of Louisiana and Jefferson’s Western expeditions. Meriwether Lewis is in Pittsburgh having the barge built.
Tackle and Indian gifts
In Philadelphia, Israel Whelan buys Indian gifts and fishing tackle. Spain announces the retrocession of Louisiana and Washington City learns that the port of New Orleans has reopened to American trade.
Louisiana Treaty signed
The French-language version of the Louisiana Purchase Treaty and Convention is signed in Paris, France, and Robert Livingston writes to President Thomas Jefferson to tell him the news.
Monroe's presentation
James Monroe is presented to Napoleon and wordsmithing of the Louisiana Convention continues. Secretary of State James Madison writes a letter telling of imminent war between Britain and France.
The price for Louisiana
In Paris, France, the Louisiana Purchase negotiators settle on a price—80 million francs plus payment of French debts worth about 20 million francs.
Philadelphia mentors
Jefferson tells Lewis of the mentors waiting for him in Philadelphia and informs the public that the expedition is headed to the Mississippi. In Paris, the price for Louisiana’s purchase is negotiated.
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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).