Day-by-Day / February 13, 1804

February 13, 1804

The blue herons appear

Winter Camp at Wood River, IL The blue heron makes its first appearance of the season, and the sugar maple sap continues to rise.

Great Blue Heron

Ardea herodias

Large gray bird with long neck, legs, and beak

© 30 March 2012, at Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Questions for the Louisiana Indians

Inquiries relitive to the Indians of Louisiania.

. . . .

2nd. Relative to Morrals

What are the Vices most common among the Indians?
Do they ever resort to Suicide under the influence of their passions, particularly love?
Is murder common among them, and do their Laws punish it by Death?
Are the lives of the wife and Children subject to the Capprice of the husband, and father, and in case of the murder by him of either do their Laws punish it by Death?
—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

Lewis and Clark would address these questions on at least one occasion when a Mandan or husband attempted to kill his wife for sleeping with John Ordway. See November 22, 1804.

Related: Estimate of the Eastern Indians | Questions for Indians | Native Nations

 

Weather Diary

Therm at sun symbol rise weather wind Therm at 4 Oclk weather wind River
12 above 0 fair NW 20 above 0 fair W. rise 1 ft. 1 in.

the fist appearance of the blue crain [great blue heron], sugar trees run
—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 | Sugaring at River Dubois | 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
Logo: Lewis & Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
Lewis and Clark Trail Heritage Foundation
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).