Day-by-Day / December 27, 1804

December 27, 1804

Smithing iron

Fort Mandan, ND Visiting Indians enjoy watching the blacksmiths forge iron objects while the rest of the men lay a floor in the interpreters‘ room.

Blacksmith Bellows

Two large boards funnel air into a small tube

Taken with cooperation from the Fort Mandan Visitors’ Center. Photo © 2013 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

Christmas Expedition Style[1]Originally aired weekdays by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Bicentennial observance of 2003-2006. Narrated by Hal Hansen. Scripts by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson. Produced by Leni Holliman. © … Continue reading

The Interpreters’ Room

cloudy Some Snow we went about laying a flower [floor] in the Intrepeters room & finishing the blacksmiths Shop &.C.
—John Ordway

The interpreters were Toussaint Charbonneau and René Jusseaume. Both had families, including Sacagawea who became an interpreter herself later in the expedition.

Smithing Iron

Several Indians here to Day, much Surprised at the Bellos & method of makeing Sundery articles of Iron
—William Clark

The blacksmiths were John Shields, Alexander Willard, and William Bratton.

Related: The Mandans

 

Weather Diary

Ther. at sun symbol rise Weather Wind at sun symbol rise Thert. at 4 P.M. Weather Wind at 4 P.M. River
4 below cloudy N W 14 cloudy N W  

The trees all this day with the white frost which attached itself to their boughs
—Meriwether Lewis[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.

Related: Thermometers and Temperatures | Weather Observations

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

Fort Mandan is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The North Dakota Department of Parks and Recreation manages a modern reconstruction and the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center located at US Hwy 83 and ND Hwy 200A.

Knife River Indian Villages National Historic Site is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. A unit of the National Park System, the site is located at 564 County Road 37, one-half mile north of Stanton, North Dakota. It has exhibits, trails, and a visitor center.

Notes

Notes
↑1 Originally aired weekdays by Yellowstone Public Radio during the Bicentennial observance of 2003-2006. Narrated by Hal Hansen. Scripts by Whit Hansen and Ed Jacobson. Produced by Leni Holliman. © 2003 by Yellowstone Public Radio.
↑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.

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).