Day-by-Day / January 18, 1804

January 18, 1804

Cold and snow

Winter Camp, Wood River, Illinois
Sub-zero weather and clouds make for a snowy afternoon. Lewis continues working in Cahokia and St. Louis.

Camp River Dubois Sunrise

Early morning sky over a log fort on the snowy prairie

Photo provided by Lewis & Clark State Historic Site, Hartford, Illinois. Used by permission.

Cold and Snow

a Cloudy morning with moderate breaze from the N W. b[y] W The river run with Ice . . . . at 11 oClock rose to 4° above 0, and beg[an] to Snow
—William Clark

Related: Thermometers and Temperatures | Weather Observations

 

Weather Diary

Therm. at sun symbol rise weather wind Therm. at 4 oClock weather wind River
1 below 0 cloudy N W W 1 above 0 snow & fair N N W fall

river falls & full of Ice 5½ In. thick
—Meriwether Lewis and William Clark[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

 
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 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.

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).