Day-by-Day / June 30, 1806

June 30, 1806

Arriving at Travelers' Rest

The expedition travels thirty-one miles to return to their old camp, Travelers’ Rest. Along the way, Lewis’s horse falls, and the hunters bag six deer. Lewis describes mountain lady’s slipper, and Clark is relieved to have the Bitterroot Mountains behind them.

Downhill Difficulties

by Yellowstone Public Radio[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

Good Hunting

just as we had prepared to set out at an early hour a deer came in to lick at these springs and one of our hunters killed it; this secured us our dinners . . . . after dinner we resumed our march. soon after seting out Sheilds [John Shields] killed another deer and in the course of the evening we picked up three others which Drewyer had killed along the road making a total of 6 today.
Meriwether Lewis

Lewis’s Horse Slips

in descending the creek this morning on the steep side of a high hill my horse sliped and both his hinder feet out of the road and fell, I also fell off backwards and slid near 40 feet down the hill before I could stop myself such was the steepness of the declivity; the horse was near falling on me in the first instance but fortunately recovers and we both escaped unhirt.
—Meriwether Lewis

Mountain Lady’s Slipper

I also met with the plant in blume which is sometimes called the lady’s slipper or mockerson flower. it is in shape and appearance like ours only that the corolla is white, marked with small veigns of pale red longitudinally on the inner side.
—Meriwether Lewis

Return to Travelers’ Rest

a little before sunset we arrived at our old encampment on the south side of the creek a little above it’s entrance into Clark’s river. here we encamped with a view to remain two days in order to rest ourselves and horses & make our final arrangements for seperation.

our horses have stood the journey supprisingly well, most of them are yet in fine order, and only want a few days rest to restore them perfectly.—
—Meriwether Lewis

Clark’s Relief

Descended the mountain to travellers rest leaveing those tremendious mountanes behind us—in passing of which we have experiensed Cold and hunger of which I shall ever remember.
William Clark

 

Weather Diary

State of the weather at sun symbol rise Wind at sun symbol rise State of the weather at 4 P.M. Wind at 4 P.M.
fair S E fair N W

We are here Situated on Clarks river in a Vally between two high mountains of Snow.
—Meriwether Lewis and William Clark[2]To assist the reader of this web page, the date column is not presented and some abbreviations have been spelled out.

 

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 of this web page, the date column is not presented and some abbreviations have been spelled out.

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.