Day-by-Day / July 13, 1805

July 13, 1805

Leaving the Great Falls

Lewis and the last of the crew leave the White Bear Islands above the Great Falls of the Missouri. Traveling by land, Lewis, Pvt. Lepage, and Sacagawea see a Blackfeet Sundance lodge and are tormented by mosquitoes. At the canoe camp near present Ulm, Clark has “an emensity of meat” dried to make pemmican.

Captain Lewis Prepares to Move On

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

Leaving the White Bear Islands

I now bid a cheerfull adue to my camp and passed over to the opposite shore. Baptiest La Page [Jean-Baptiste Lepage] one of the men whom I had reserved to man the canoes being sick I sent Charbono [Charbonneau] in his stead by water and the sick man and Indian woman [Sacagawea] accompanyed me by land.
Meriwether Lewis

Delayed by Wind

we loaded the canoes eairly and Set out with all the remainder of our baggage for the upper Camp. the wind rose so high that 2 of the canoes took water. it oblidged us to halt and dry our baggage. the wind continued untill towards evening. then abated a little and we proceeded on about 7 miles and Camped.
John Ordway

Blackfeet Sundance Lodge

in my way I passed a very extraordinary Indian lodge, or at least the fraim of one . . . . it was most probably designed for some great feast, or a council house on some great national concern.
—Meriwether Lewis

An immensity of Meat

we eat an emensity of meat; it requires 4 deer, an Elk and a deer, or one buffaloe, to supply us plentifully 24 hours. meat now forms our food prinsipally as we reserve our flour parched meal and corn as much as possible for the rocky mountains which we are shortly to enter, and where from the indian account game is not very abundant.
—Meriwether Lewis

Making Pemmican

The Hunters killed 3 Buffalow the most of all the meat I had dried for to make Pemitigon.
William Clark

Mosquito Netting Required

I sent a man to the canoes for my musquetoe bier which I had neglected to bring with me, as it is impossible to sleep a moment without being defended against the attacks of these most tormenting of all insects; the man returned with it a little after dark.—
—Meriwether Lewis

 

Weather Diary

State of the thermometer at sun symbol rise Weather at sun symbol rise Wind at sun symbol rise State of the Thermometer at 4 P.M. Weather at 4 P.M. Wind at 4 P.M. State of the river
42 [above 0] fair S W. 76 [above 0] fair S. W. fallen ¼ in.

Wind violent in the latter part of the day
—Meriwether Lewis[2]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the date column, merged the “State of the river” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

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 “State of the river” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

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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.