People / Charles McKenzie

Charles McKenzie

Charles McKenzie was a clerk for the North West Company assigned to the Knife River Villages in the winter of 1804–05. His journal provides useful information about the Missouri tribes as well as the expedition’s stay at Fort Mandan. Several excerpts are included on this site.

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    November 8, 1804

    Riving cottonwood logs

    Sgt. Ordway is hopeful that their cottonwood logs will rive well—split into boards. He reports that they will have to give up on that plan. Traders from Canada arrive at the Hidatsa villages.

    November 27, 1804

    Mandan deceptions

    Lewis returns to Fort Mandan with two Hidatsa chiefs, and the captains learn that the Mandans have been telling lies to the Hidatsas. Seven Canada-based traders arrive at the Knife River Villages.

    January 3, 1805

    A safe refuge

    A Hidatsa man comes for his wife who is seeking refuge at Fort Mandan, and hunters return with a white-tailed jackrabbit. Charbonneau and one enlisted man arrive late at one of the Hidatsa villages.

    January 18, 1805

    The "Brarow" (badger)

    At Fort Mandan, two traders staying at a nearby Hidatsa village visit the captains. Hunters bring in four wolf skins and a badger, the latter identified by the visitors as a “brarow”—a badger.

    January 19, 1805

    Fort Mandan departures

    At Fort Mandan below the Knife River Villages, one of the interpreter’s wives leaves after a jealous spat. Two North West Company traders leave, and Clark offers to care for and protect their horses.

    February 9, 1805

    Climbing the back wall

    Pvt. Howard climbs the wall and for his offense is placed under military guard. Clark turns his hunting party around and camps about 40 miles south of the Knife River Villages.

    February 10, 1805

    Howard's court-martial

    Fort Mandan, ND Joseph Field, a member of Clark’s hunting party, suffers frostbite. At Fort Mandan, Howard’s sentence of 50 lashes—given for climbing the back wall—is forgiven.

    February 17, 1805

    Hunting deer and elk

    Fort Mandan, ND Lewis’s group finds elk and deer as they work their way back to the fort. At the fort, The Coal and Charles McKenzie—owner of a horse recently stolen by Sioux Indians—visit.

    February 18, 1805

    Making maps

    Fort Mandan, ND Lewis’s group works to butcher and haul the elk and deer meat and secure it in a meat pen. At the fort, Clark works on his list of tributaries of the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers.

    March 9, 1805

    Grand Hidatsa Chief Le Borgne

    Fort Mandan, ND The Grand Chief of the Hidatsas pays his first visit to Fort Mandan. He is given gifts and Lewis demonstrates the air gun. York is the first black man ever seen by the chief.

    March 13, 1805

    Busy blacksmiths

    Fort Mandan, ND The Indians living around Fort Mandan are anxious for the blacksmiths to make war axes before the expedition leaves for the western sea.

    March 14, 1805

    Charbonneau moves out

    Fort Mandan, ND According to Sgt. Ordway, Toussaint Charbonneau moves outside the fort and is replaced as expedition interpreter by Joseph Gravelines. The men shell corn. In Washington City, Thomas Jefferson suggests a new expedition in the Southwest.

    March 22, 1805

    Little Wolf visits

    Fort Mandan, ND The second chief of the Big Hidatsa Village pays his first visit and is given the standard diplomatic treatment: a peace medal, gifts, and a speech.

    March 23, 1805

    A Hidatsa vocabulary

    Fur trade clerks Charles McKenzie and François-Antoine Larocque end their visit at Fort Mandan in present North Dakota. A Hidatsa man helps the captains record a vocabulary of his language.

    April 4, 1805

    McKenzie's recollections

    At Fort Mandan, the barge is loaded and made ready for its return to St. Louis. Interactions with Canadian traders François-Antoine Larocque and Charles McKenzie are recalled by McKenzie several years later.

    August 11, 1806

    Cruzatte shoots Lewis

    Lewis is shot through the buttock. An Indian attack is suspected, but likely Pvt. Cruzatte mistook him for an elk. Clark meets fur traders who share news of the barge, the fur trade, and Indian wars.

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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.