Day-by-Day / March 11, 1804

March 11, 1804

38 degrees Fahrenheit

Winter Camp at Wood River, IL The temperature rises well above the freezing point for the first time of the season. Nothing else is written about the day, but we can easily imagine that the sugar makers are busy and that Lewis and Clark are with the new American government leaders in Upper Louisiana.

Questions about Indian Religion

Inquiries relitive to the Indians of Louisiania.

. . . .

3rd. Relative to Religion

. . . .

Do they ever petition the good Spirit to interfere with his power to avert or relieve them from the evils which the bad Spirit meditates or is practicing against them.
Do they sacrifice to, or petition the bad Spirit
How do they dispose of their dead?
And with what ceremonies do they inter them?
Do they ever use human sacrifices in any case.
Do they Mourn for their disceased friends and what [is] their ceremony on such occasions.
William Clark[1]Undated and unsigned list written in Clark’s hand. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, … Continue reading

 

Weather Diary

Therm at sun symbol rise weather wind Therm at 4 Oclk weather wind River
20 above 0 fair E 38 above 0 fo [fair?] S W fall 2 ½ in.

Meriwether Lewis and William Clark[2]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

Notes

Notes
1 Undated and unsigned list written in Clark’s hand. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed. Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 158–159.
2 To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

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.