At the Fort Clatsop construction site, the morning brings rain, snow, and hail. Several men bring in planks taken from an old Chinookan fishing camp across Youngs Bay, and Lewis describes the gray jay, new to science. In an undated note, he compares it with the steller’s jay.
Too Cold and Wet
rained and Snowd alternetly all the last night, and Spurts of Snow and Hail Continued untill 12 oClock, which has chilled the air which is Cool and disagreeable, the wind hard & unsettled— The men being thinly Dressed and mockersons without Soks is the reason that but little can be done at the Houses to day—
—William Clark
‘Borrowing’ Some Indian Planks
some of our party were sent across the River or bay with Canoes, to bring plank. They returned towards evening with the Canoes loaded with plank, which they had got at an Old Indian fishery.
—Joseph Whitehouse
Gray Jay
Perisoreus canadensis
© 2022 by Jimmy Dee. Licensing: Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license.
Gray Jay, New to Science
This day one of the men shot a bird of the Corvus genus, which was feeding on some fragments of meat near the camp. this bird is about the size of the kingbird or bee martin, and not unlike that bird in form.
—Meriwether Lewis
Steller’s Jay
the size & the whole Contour of this bird resembles very much the blue jay or jaybird as they are called in the U’ States. like them also they seldom rest in one place long but are in constant motion hoping from spra to spray.
—Meriwether Lewis, undated note
Weather Diary
Day of the Month Winds State of the Weather 18th S E Cloudy after rain snow hail rained Snowed and hailed at intervales all the last night and to day untill meridian.
—Meriwether Lewis[1]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has spelled out some abbreviations.
Fort Clatsop is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site is managed by the Lewis and Clark National and State Historic Parks.
Notes
| ↑1 | To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has spelled out some abbreviations. |
|---|
Experience the Lewis and Clark Trail
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.
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.
This page was funded in part by the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail, U.S. National Park Service.
This site is provided as a public service by the
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:
- Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail
- Montana Committee for the Humanities
- Idaho Governor's Lewis and Clark Trail Committee
- The Capital Gallery (Lewis and Clark Fort Mandan Foundation)
- Yellowstone Public Radio
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).