Day-by-Day / September 18, 1805

September 18, 1805

Seeking the low plains

Hungery Creek and Dry Camp, Lolo Trail, ID Clark and five hunters leave the main group to reach the “leavel” country in hopes to find game. He sees the low plains and descends 3,000 feet in elevation to Hungery Creek. Lewis and the main party travel along high ridges with little water and make a dry camp.

Clark: Low Plains in View

Hungery Creek

made 32 miles and Encamped on a bold running Creek passing to the left which I call Hungery Creek as at that place we had nothing to eate.
—William Clark

Scouting Ahead

Cap Clark set out this morning to go a head with six hunters. there being no game in these mountains we concluded it would be better for one of us to take the hunters and hurry on to the leavel country a head and there hunt and provide some provision
Meriwether Lewis

The Low Plains

from the top of a high part of the mountain at 20 miles I had a view of an emence Plain and leavel Countrey to the S W. & West at a great distance
William Clark

Lewis: Grazing on Bald Mountain

Grazing on Bald Mountain

we Set out and proceeded on the Mountains rough and rockey up and Steep places Some logs and bushes &C. about 3 oClock P. M. we halted on a ridge to let our horses graze a little and melt a little Snow and made a little portable Soup.
John Ordway

Poor Provisions

we dined & suped on a skant proportion of portable soupe, a few canesters of which, a little bears oil and about 20 lbs. of candles form our stock of provision, the only resources being our guns & packhorses. the first is but a poor dependance in our present situation where there is nothing upon earth exept ourselves and a few small pheasants . . . .
—Meriwether Lewis

A Dry Camp

the Mountains continue as fer as our eyes could extend. they extend much further than we expeted. we proceeded on untill dark before we found any water then Camped on the Side of a Mountain. had come 14 miles this day. took our horses down a Steep gulley to a run to water them. we Supped on a little portable Soup and Slept on this Sidling Mountain.—
—John Ordway

 

Weather Diary

Weather at sun symbol rise Wind at sun symbol rise Weather at 4 P.M. Wind at 4 P.M.
fair S W fair S W.

Capt Clark goes on a head with the hunters. hard black frost this morning
—Meriwether Lewis[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column and spelled out some abbreviations.

Notes

Notes
1 To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column 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.