Day-by-Day / June 3, 1803

June 3, 1803

Tobacco purchase

On behalf of Meriwether Lewis, U.S. Army purchasing agent Israel Whelan buys sixty-three pounds of pig tail tobacco from Philadelphia tobacconist Thomas Leiper, Jr. Tobacco will be an essential ration for the expedition soldiers and a critical part of diplomatic entreaties with the Native Nations they encounter.

Pig Tail Tobacco

a twist of tobacco

Historical interpretation by John W. Fisher. Photo © 2010 by Kristopher K. Townsend. Permission to use granted under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.

A “pig tail” or “hog tail” weighed between a few ounces to a pound.[1]James A. Hanson, “Welcome to My Indian Weed! Tobacco and the Fur Trade,” The Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal, 2021, 15:29.

Mr. Israel Whelan Philada. June 3d 1803
Bot of Thomas Leiper 130 Rolls pigtail Tobacco viz.  
63 lbs. @ 1/8 5 5 0   
Keg 1 10 ½
  5 6 10 ½
Exd. B. M. $14 25/100[2]“Supplies from Private Vendors,” in Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., ed. Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), … Continue reading

Thomas Leiper, Jr. had a tobacconist shop on 274 Market Street in Philadelphia.

Related: Tobacco Use | Outfitting the Expedition | Lewis in Philadelphia

 

Notes

Notes
↑1 James A. Hanson, “Welcome to My Indian Weed! Tobacco and the Fur Trade,” The Rocky Mountain Fur Trade Journal, 2021, 15:29.
↑2 “Supplies from Private Vendors,” in Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., ed. Donald Jackson (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 85.

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.

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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).