From the Ohio to the Pacific, fish played an important role not only for the Lewis and Clark Expedition, but the peoples they met on their journey.
Meriwether Lewis and William Clark observed and described four fish belonging to the Salmonid family that were previously unknown to scientists, and that were basic foods for thousands upon thousands of Indians west of the Rockies.
August 15, 1804
Dragging for fish
At Fish Camp near present Homer, Nebraska, Clark has a fishing net made to drag through a beaver pond, and they catch over 300 fish. When smoke appears, fur trader Pierre Dorion looks for Indians.
Westslope Cutthroat
Salmo clarkii
When Private Silas Goodrich caught half a dozen at the Falls of the Missouri, Lewis observed that these fish: “precisely resemble our mountain or speckled trout…but the specks on these are of a deep black instead of the red or goald colour of those common to the U.’ States.”
September 23, 1803
Dangerous riffles
On or near this date, Lewis travels between present Portsmouth, Ohio and Maysville, Kentucky. Fellow traveler Thomas Rodney describes the rapids, high hills, and river carpsuckers in this area.
Salmon said, “When we come up the river we will die, so the human beings will have to catch us before that happens. I’ll come up only on certain times of the year and that’s when they’ll have to catch me.”
August 16, 1804
Hundreds of 'fine fish'
Lewis tries his hand at dragging the fish net and catches nearly 800 fish besting Clark’s previous catch by nearly 500. They remain near present Homer, Nebraska waiting for the return of two deserters.
On 24 February 1806, Meriwether Lewis recorded that the Clatsop Indian chief, Coboway, came to the fort to sell some hats, some sturgeon, and “a species of small fish which now begin to run, and are taken in great quantities.”
Eulachon have always played a critical role in the survival and commerce of First Nations, who give them important cultural status. The eulachon literally saved lives, earning them the name “salvation fish.”
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.
Discover More
- The Lewis and Clark Expedition: Day by Day by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2018). The story in prose, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals: An American Epic of Discovery (abridged) by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 2003). Selected journal excerpts, 14 May 1804–23 September 1806.
- The Lewis and Clark Journals. by Gary E. Moulton (University of Nebraska Press, 1983–2001). The complete story in 13 volumes.
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).