Day-by-Day / November 17, 1803

November 17, 1803

Stormy day

The day is stormy at the mouth of the Ohio. Strong winds swamp the smaller boats, which fortunately had been emptied of their cargo. The captains compare the sizes of the Mississippi and Ohio riverbanks.

Stormy Day on the Mississippi

View north from Fort Jefferson Memorial Park

Mississippi River on a stormy fall day viewed from Fort Jefferson

© 2022 by Robert Heacock. Used by permission.

Stormy Day

the [wind] blew very heard last night from N. and continued without intermission throughout the day it became could about twelve oclock— the canoes were driven by the violence of the waves against the shore and filled with water I therefore thought myself fortunate in having had them unladen on my arrival,—
—Meriwether Lewis

Related: The Pirogues

 

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The Lewis and Clark Trail Experience—our sister site at lewisandclark.travel—connects the world to people and places on the Lewis and Clark Trail.

Plan a trip related to November 17, 1803:

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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.

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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).