Day-by-Day / February 12, 1804

February 12, 1804

Ducks and geese return

Winter Camp at Wood River, IL The captains note that various migratory birds have returned to the Wood River area. Physicians from the United States want them to find out how the Indians treat diseases.

Narrow-leaved Purple Coneflower

Echinacea angustifolia

flower garden of purple-petaled plants with large cones

© 2 August 2011 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

During the Fort Mandan Winter, the captains recorded the use of echinacea to cure bites from rabid dogs and snakes.

Questions for the Louisiana Indians

Inquiries relitive to the Indians of Louisiania.

1st. Physical History and Medicine

. . . .

What is their mode of treating the Small pox particularly?
Have they any other disease amongst them, and what are they?
What are their remidies for their different diseases?
Are artificial discharges of blood used among them?
In what manner do they generally induce evacuation?
Do they ever use Voluntary fasting?
What is the nature of their baths, and at what time of the day to they generally use them?
At what age do their women begin and cease to menstruate?
—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

Related: Questions for Indians | Estimate of the Eastern Indians | Native Nations | 18th Century Medicine

 

Weather Diary

Therm at sun symbol rise weather wind Therm at 4 Oclk weather wind River
15 above 0 fair SSE 25 above 0 fair S.W. fall 1 ft. 2 in.

Pigeons, ducks of varis kinds, and gese have returned
—Meriwether Lewis[2]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of month 1804” column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

Related: Birds of the Expedition | Thermometers and Temperatures | Weather Observations

 
logo: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail logo: National Park Service

Winter Camp at Wood River (Camp Dubois) is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site, near Hartford, Illinois, is managed as Lewis and Clark State Historic Site and is open to the public.

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.
↑2 To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of month 1804” 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.

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
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with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:

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).