Journals of the
Lewis & Clark Expedition

Search
Advanced Search
Previous
June 4, 1804
24.82% Complete
Aug 30, 1803 Sep 30, 1806
Next

June 4, 1804

[Clark] [1]

 

June 4th 1804 Monday, a fair Day    Sent out 3 hunters, our mast broke by the boat running under a tree    Passed an Islands on Stbd Side on which grow Seede[r] [2] a Creek at [blank] miles on the Starbd Sd. Course N. 30° W 4 ms. to pt. on St. Side below 2d Isd.    passed a Creek on Lbd Side 15 yd. wide, I call Nightingale Creek.    this Bird Sang all last night and is the first of the kind I ever herd, [3] below this Creek and the last    Passed a Small Isd on the Stbd. N. 25 W. 3 ms. to a pt. on St. Sd.    passed a Sm. Isd. on St. Sd. and Seeder Creek [4] on the Same Side 20 yds wide    passed a Creek on Lbd Sd. 20 yd wide, I call Mast Creek, [5] this is a Short Creek, fine land above & below the mouth. Jentle rise of about 50 foot, Delightfull Timber of Oake ash walnut hickory &c. &c.    wind from N W. by W. N. 58° W. 7 ½ ms. passed a Creek Called Zoncar [6] on the Lbd Side, N 75 W 3 me. to a pt. S. Sd. called Batue a De charm, [7] a plain on the hill opposit. I got out & walked on the L Sd. thro a Charming Bottom of rich Land about one mile    then I assended a hill of about 170 foot on the top of which is a Moun [8] and about 100 acres of Land of Dead timber on this hill    one of the party says he has found Lead ore [9] a verry extensive Cave under this hill next the river, the Land on the top is fine, This is a very bad part of the river    Seven Deer Killed to day by our hunters—    one of the horses is Snaged, the other lost his Shous to day    the Bottom on the St. Side to day is covered with rushes, not verry good [one word illegible]    the high land Comes to the bank on the Labd Side and good 2d rate land.

[Clark]

June 4th Monday 1804
 

a fair day    three men out on the right flank    passed a large Island on the St. Side Called Seeder Island, this Isd. has a great Deel of Ceedar on it, passed a Small Creek at 1 ms. [NB: 1 mile] 15 yd. Wide which we named Nightingale Creek from a Bird of that discription which Sang for us all last night, and is the first of the Kind I ever heard.    passed the mouth of Seeder Creek at 7 ms. on the S. S. abt. 20 yds. Wide above Some Small Isds.    passed a Creek on the L. S. abt. 15 yds. wide. Mast [NB: Mast] Creek, here the Sergt. at the helm run under a bending Tree & broke the mast, Some delightfull Land, with a jentle assent about the Creek, well timbered, Oake, Ash, walnut &c. &c. passed, wind N W. by W.    passed a Small Creek Called Zan Cau C on the L. S: at this last point I got out and walked on the L. Sd. thro a rush [NB: rush] bottom for 1 Miles & a Short Distance thro: Nettles [10] as high as my brest    assended a hill of about 170 foot to a place where the french report that Lead ore has been found, I saw no mineral of that description, Capt Lewis Camped imediately under this hill, [11] to wate which gave me Some time to examine the hill, on the top is a moun of about 6 foot high and about 100 Acres of land which the large timber is Dead    in Decending about 50 foot a projecting lime Stone rock under which is a Cave    at one place in this projecting rocks I went on one which Spured up and hung over the Water    from the top of this rock I had a prospect of the river for 20 or 30 ms. up, from the Cave which incumposed [encompassed] the hill I decended by a Steep decent to the foot, a verry bad part of the river opposit this hill, the river Continu to fall Slowly, our hunters killed 7 Deer to day    The land our hunters passed thro: to day on the S. S. was Verry fine the latter part of to day.    the highland on the S. S: is about 2d rate

Course & Distance 4th June
N. 30° W.   4 ms. a pt. on S. Sd.    psd. a C. & 2 Isd.
N. 25° W.   3 ms. to a pt. on S. Sd.    psd. Seeder C.
N. 58° W.   7 ½ ms. to pt. on L. S. a Creek on L. S.
N. 75 W.   3 Ms. to a pt. on S. Sd. opsd. Mine Hill
  17 ½  

[Ordway]

 

Monday June 4th 1804.    a fair day    3 hunters went out.    our mast broke by my Stearing the Boat 〈alon〉 near the Shore    the Rope or Stay to the mast got fast in a limb of a Secamore tree & it broke verry Easy.    passed a Creek on the South Side about 15 yds wide which we name nightingale Creek, this Bird Sung all last night & is the first we heard below on the River    we passed Seeder Creek on S Side    line fine land above & below the Creek. Rising land, Delightfull Timber of oak ash, Black walnut hickery &C &C— [12]    passed a Creek called on car [13] on the S Side    〈3 miles to〉    we encamped on S Side of the River at the Lead mines    our hunters killed 8 Deers    it was Jerked this evening &C

[Floyd]

 

monday June 4th    Set out    the Clear morning    2 miles Byouer Sters man [14] Let the Boat Run under a lim and Broke our mast off    3 miles past a Creek on the South Side Called mast creek 〈on the S Side    no name for it but I cal it Rich Land Creek at〉    a Butifull a peas of Land as ever I saw    walnut shoger tree ash and mulber trees [15]    Level land on both sides.    this Creek is Clear watter about 30 yardes wide    one mile past a River on the N. Side called Sidder River    the Land is Level and good    4 miles past Creek Called Zon Cer on the S. Sid at the loer pint of Isld. on the same    3 miles to a pint on the N Sd Called Batue De charr [16]    a prarie on the S Sid high    Cliftes on the South Side    ouer hunters Kild & Deer    Strong water    came 10 miles    encamt on the South Side under the Cliftes    〈Set out〉

[Gass]

 

Monday 4th.    Three hunters went out this morning. We continued our voyage, and during the day broke our mast by steering too close to the shore. In the evening we encamped on the south side, near lead mines; when our hunters came in with seven deer.

[Whitehouse]

 

Monday 4th June 1804.    a fair morning.    we branded Several trees &c. [17]    in the afternoon we Set out and proceeded about 4 miles and Camped at the [mouth] of a creek on S. Side.

Monday June 4th    We started early this morning; Fair weather, Captains Lewis & Clark had several Trees branded, with their Names and proceeded on about 4 Miles, & encamped at the Mouth of a Creek laying on the South side of the River, The Name of this Creek was unknown to any of our party.—

1. Under the lowest portion of this entry on this sheet of the Field Notes (reverse of document 17) is a sketch map of the area between the Osage River and Little Tavern Creek (see fig. 10). In some instances it is difficult to distinguish between map and text. See Wood. (back)
2. The island retained the name Cedar Island; it lay nearly opposite Jefferson City at present Cedar City. The "seeder" is eastern red cedar. Steyermark, 45; MRC map 6. (back)
3. Either Wears Creek or Coon Creek, both at Jefferson City. MRC map 7; MRM map 17. Coon Creek is no more; Wears Creek and Coon Creek are now one and the same, called Wears Creek, at Jefferson City. Clark's " Nightingale Creek " may be an unnamed stream one mile west of Moreau River, between that stream and Boggs Creek. There is no true nightingale (Luscinia megarhynchos) in America. The cardinal, Cardinalis cardinalis [AOU, 593], was sometimes called the Virginia nightingale, but this bird would have been familiar to the captains. The same objection applies to the mockingbird, Mimus polyglottos [AOU, 703], which has also been suggested. Paul Johnsgard (personal communication) suggests that it might be the whip-poor-will, Caprimulgus vociferus [AOU, 417]. But in the weather remarks on June 11, the "whiperwill" is named. Perhaps Lewis recognized the bird and made the weather observation, while Clark was unfamiliar with the species and used the term nightingale; or perhaps nightingale was a common name at the time for the whip-poor-will. One final possibility is the hermit thrush, Catharus guttatus [AOU, 759]. Coues (HLC), 1:14 n. 27; Cutright (LCPN), 55 n. 13; Holmgren, 32. For a discussion of the creeks in question and the possible identification of Clark's "nightingale," see James Wallace, "The Mystery of Clark's Nightingale," We Proceeded On 26 (May 2000): 18–25. (back)
4. Cedar Creek does not flow into Turkey Creek; they are separate streams. Turkey Creek reaches the Missouri at Cedar City, Callaway County, Missouri. See fig. 14. MRC map 7; MRM map 17. (back)
5. Evidently later Grays Creek, in Cole County. See fig. 14. MRC map 7. (back)
6. Perhaps later Workman Creek, in Cole County, Missouri. MRC map 7. (back)
7. A bature is a sandy beach built up inside a curve in a river. There may be some connection with Jean Marie Ducharme of Cahokia, who traded with the Little Osages and Missouris in 1772–73. On the other hand, charme was a French word for the hornbeam or yoke elm, Carpinus caroliniana Walt. Osgood (FN), 50 n. 4; McDermott (WCS), 148; McDermott (GMVF), 21; Steyermark, 524–26. (back)
8. Probably the same group of mounds noted on June 2. (back)
9. This area is within the central Missouri lead-zinc region, and galena (lead ore) has been reported not only from the Jefferson City (Ordovician) limestone and all lower formations, but even from some of the coal beds of the area. Hinds, 158–59. (back)
10. Urtica dioica. L. var. procera (Muhl.) Wedd., tall nettle. Steyermark, 567. (back)
11. In northwestern Cole County, in the vicinity of Sugar Loaf Rock, which is Clark's "Mine Hill" of the second entry's course and distance table and between modern Workman Creek and Meadows Creek. Coues (HLC), 1:14 and n. 30; MRC map 7. (back)
12. Only Ordway notes that the walnut is black walnut, Juglans nigra L., otherwise the trees cannot be identified specifically, oak is Quercus sp., ash, Fraxinus sp., and hickory, Carya sp. (back)
14. Perhaps Cruzatte or Labiche, probably the former, although Clark calls the man a sergeant. (back)
15. Floyd's list of trees varies somewhat from the tree lists of Clark and Ordway. His trees are probably black walnut, the sugar tree may be either sugar maple, Acer saccharum Marsh., or silver maple, A. saccaharinum L., an unknown ash, and probably red mulberry. (back)
16. See the rather complicated discussion of this term at Clark's entry for the day. (back)
17. The only one who mentions this act, Whitehouse gives no reason for the branding. It may have been done with Lewis's branding iron; see Lewis's entry for June 10, 1805. (back)
Previous
Next

Created by the Center for Digital Research in the Humanities
in partnership with the University of Nebraska Press
and funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.