Day-by-Day / March 16, 1804

March 16, 1804

Questions about Indian fishing and hunting

Winter Camp at Wood River, IL The day warms to nearly 50 degrees but other than weather data, nothing is recorded in the journals on this day. During this period, Clark records questions about fishing and hunting to ask the Indians they will soon meet.

Indian Hunting and Fishing

Inquiries relitive to the Indians of Louisiania.

. . . .

6th. Fishing & Hunting

Do those furnish their principal employment?
Do their [women?] participate in the fatigues of either?
How do they persue, and how take their game?
What are the employments used for those purposes—how prepare & in what manner do they use them?
How do they preserve, and how prepare the Skins & furs of their games when taken for raiment or for Market.
—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
6 above 0 fair E 48 above 0 fair SSW rise 11 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), 159–160.
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.