Bill Speiden's Weekly Articles
Lewis and Clark This Week | April 4, 2005 | Back
By Bill Speiden, Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center
Article 18 of the series
After a relatively peaceful and busy winter living near the Mandan Indians in what is now North Dakota on the Missouri River and making contacts with surrounding tribes, the Corps is ready to continue with its journey up the Missouri River.
One more day’s delay:
On word that some of the Arikara Indians are coming to see them, the captains delayed their departure from Fort Mandan a day in hopes of persuading some of the Arikara chiefs to go see the "great white father" in Washington. None wanted to go at this time.
Captain Meriwether Lewis writes to President Thomas Jefferson – Fort Mandan, April 7, 1805:
"Dear Sir, Herewith inclosed you will receive an invoice of certain articles…from this place…Cage Containing four living Magpies…Cage Containing a living burrowing squrel of the praries…Cage Containing one living hen of the Prairie, Box Skins of the Male and female Antelope, with their skeletons…A Mandan bow with quiver of arrows…seed of the Mandan tobacco…In a Large Trunk Skin of a Male and female Braro or burrowing Dog of the Praires, with the skeleton of the female… In a large trunk 1 Minetarre Buffalow robe, containing some articles of Indian dress…a specimen of a plant, and parsel of its roots, highly prized by the natives as an efficatious remedy in the cure of the bite of the rattle or mad dog…"
From the Corps of Discovery journals this week April 4, 1805:
April 5, 1805: "we have our 2 perogues & Six Canoes loaded with our Stores & provisions, principally provisions. The wind verry high from the N.W. a number of Mandan’s visit us today" Captain Clark
April 6: "…Our officers had concluded to start…this morning…when a Messinger arrived…from the Mandan Villages…informed…that the Rick-a-Ree [Arikara] nation of Indians, was then on their way to make Peace, with their Nation.- Captain Lewis concluded to stay…in order to know if the Messenger told the truth..10 Indians came to our Fort…-" Private Whitehouse
April 7: "Having on this day at 4 P.M. completed every arrangement necessary for our departure, we dismissed the barge [keelboat] and crew with orders to return to st. Louis… At same moment …our party proceeded up the river…Our vessels consisted of six small canoes, and two large pirogues…" Captain Lewis
April 8: ...wind blew hard against us from the N.W….I walked on shore, and visited the black Cat, took leave of him after smoking a pipe…one of the small canoes…had filled with water and all her loading wet…lost half a bag of bisquit…thirty pounds of powder…" Captain Lewis
April 9: ...Musquetoes began to Suck our blood this afternoon, we camped at the upper end of a bottom on the N.S. [north side] after working our crafts 22 miles to day.-" Sergeant Ordway
April 10: "…Capt. Clark walked on shore today…seen a gang of Antelopes…some geese…some swan…" Captain Lewis
Next: The Corps of Discovery continues up the Missouri River, with adventures around every bend.
Note: The Lewis and Clark Exploratory Center in Charlottesville has a full-scale keelboat in the Rivanna River; and has embarked on a fundraising campaign to create a hands-on Center for children of all ages to explore what Lewis and Clark discovered.