Day-by-Day / February 18, 1804

February 18, 1804

An Osage delegation

From Wood River, Lewis works with St. Louis fur trader Pierre Chouteau to send a delegation of Osage to Washington City. In a letter, Lewis encourages Chouteau to take the group himself.

Pierre Chouteau, Sr. (1758–1849)

Clarence Hoblitzelle (1897)

Black and white lithograph of an early 19th-century gentleman

Courtesy Missouri History Museum, N22207.

The Osage Delegation

Camp at River Dubois.
Feby. 18th 1804.

My Dear Friend,

. . . .

My complyments to Mr. C. Chouteau [Pierre Chouteau] and inform him if you please that nothing has given me more pleasure than the proposition he has made to you on the subject of the Osages—that as he wishes, every circumstance in relation to this affair shall be kept a profound secret. I wish him not only to bring in some of those Chiefs (the number hereafter to be agreed on) but wish him to attend them to the seat of the government of the U’States provided he can make it convenient to do so . . . .

. . . .

M. LEWIS. Capt. &c.[1]Lewis to Clark. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 168.

Related: The Osage Delegations | The Fur Trade | Trail Diplomacy

 

Weather Diary

Therm at sun symbol rise weather wind Therm at 4 Oclk weather wind River
10 above 0 fair N.W. rise 1 ft. 7 ½ in.

—Meriwether Lewis[2]To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of month 1804” column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

Related: Thermometers and Temperatures | Weather Observations

 

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.

Plan a trip related to February 18, 1804:

Logo: Lewis and Clark.travel
logo: Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail logo: National Park Service

Winter Camp at Wood River (Camp Dubois) is a High Potential Historic Site along the Lewis and Clark National Historic Trail managed by the U.S. National Park Service. The site, near Hartford, Illinois, is managed as Lewis and Clark State Historic Site and is open to the public.

 

Notes

Notes
↑1 Lewis to Clark. Donald Jackson, ed. Letters of the Lewis and Clark Expedition with Related Documents: 1783-1854, 2nd ed., (Urbana: University of Illinois Press, 1978), 168.
↑2 To assist the reader, the editor of this web page has omitted the “day of month 1804” column, merged the “River” columns, and spelled out some abbreviations.

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
Logo: Lewis & Clark Trail Alliance
Lewis and Clark Trail Alliance
with cooperation and funding from the following organizations:

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).