June 12, 1804
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Aug 30, 1803 Sep 30, 1806

June 12, 1804

 

Sir,
I have purchased from Mr Louiselle's Pattroon three hundred pounds of voyager's grease for which I am to pay by my A [account?]

 

12th of June, Tuesday    We Set out early, passed thro: a verry bad bend N. 25° W. 3½ to a pt. L. S.    N. 70° W. 2½ ms to a pt. on S. S.    passed a Sand bar—N 60° W 3 1/ ms. to a pt. on S. S.    passed Plumb. C [2] at ½ a me. on L. S. and halted to Dine, and 2 Caussease [cajeux] Came Down from the Soux nation, we found in the party an old man who had been with the Soux 20 years & had great influence [hole] with them, we provld. [prevailed] on this old man Mr. [hole] Duriaur [3] to return with us, with a view to get Some of the Soux Chiefs to go to the U. S.    purchased 300 lb of Voyagers Grece @ 5$ [pr?] Hd. [4]    made Some exchanges & purchuses of Mockersons & found it Late & concluded to incamp. [5]

Those people inform that no Indians are on the river, The Countrey on each Side of the river is good

 

Set out early    passed Some bad Placies, and a Small Creek on the L. S. Called plumb Creek at abt. 1 me.    at 1 oClock we brought too two Chaussies one Loaded with furs & Pelteries, the other with Greece buffalow grease & tallow    We purchased 300 lb. of Greese, and finding that old Mr. Durioun was of the party we questioned him untill it was too late to Go further and Concluded to Camp for the night, those people inform nothing of much information

Colcluded to take old Durion [X: (who went accg)] back as fur as the Soux nation with a view to get some of their Chiefs to Visit the Presdt. of the United S.    (This man being a verry Confidential friend of those people, he having resided with the nation 20 odd years) and to accompany them on [6]

Course & Distance June 12th
N. 25° W. 3 ½ ms. to L. S. passed Plumb C
N 70 W. 2 ½ ms. to pt. on S. S.
N. 60° W. 3 ms. to pt. on S. S.
  9  
 

Tuesday June 12th 1804.    we Set out eairley this morning.    a fair 〈day〉 morning.    we passed plumb Creek on South Side of the River.    the plumbs [7] are plenty up sd. Creek.    near below Sd. Creek the land is high well Timbered & well Situated for a plantation. The Timber Soil &C. is verry excelent, we Camped on N. Side of the River. Several Frenchmen Stayed with us all night comming down the River in Several pearogues Loaded with peltry Bound to St. Louis.    came from the Shew nation. [8]    they passed the last winter their & had an amence Side of Bufloe Green Skins &C    we Got an old Frenchman [9] to go with us which could Speak Sevral languages, among the indians for a long distance.—

 

Tuesday June 12 1804    we Set out at the Usial ouer    the day Clear wind from the west    Came 4 miles    past a Creek on the S. Side Called Plumb Creek about 20 yads wide    the timber in this Bottoms is Cotten wood    2 miles when we met 〈two〉 5 Cannoes from the 〈Shoue SueSoux nations Loaded with peltry and Greece    thay have been 13 mounthes up the missorea River    Delayed ½ day with the French, Bought Some tallow of them    ouer hunters Did not Rettern Last night    one French man hiard to go with us up the missorea who can Speak the Difernt [languages?]    encamped on the N. Side    the Land Good Bottom

 

Tuesday 12th. [10] We set out early, and proceeded until five o'clock in the afternoon, when we met five periogues loaded with fur and peltry from the Sioux nation of Indians. We remained with the people to whom these periogues belonged all night [11] and got from them an old Frenchman, [12] who could speak the language of the different nations of Indians up the Missouri, and who agreed to go with us as an interpreter.

 

Tusday 12    Left the Charrottoe Perarie and Saild. for the Grand River.    Met with 7 peirogues.    Loaded with peltry for Captn Chatto [13] in St Louis    Our men of Each Craft Exchangd. Blankets for Buffalow Robes & Mockisons    Sent One of Our Men Belonging to the white pierouge back that Belongd. to Captn Stodders Company of Artilery [14]    Incampd within 〈thr〉 two miles of the three point Island [15]    Roed 7 Miles that day—

Tuesday June 12th    This Morning early we set off from the Charotto Priari, with a fair wind and fine weather, all hands being well and in high spirits; we found the current of the River still running strong, but are in hopes of soon getting to the Grand River.    At 10 oClock A. M. met 7 Pettiaugers, loaded with Peltry, belonging to Captain Choteau of Saint Louis.    our Men exchanged with those belonging to the Pettiaugers, some blankets for Buffalo Robes, & Mockasins; we put on board the Pettiaugers, one Man that we had with us, belonging to Captain Stoddards company of Artillery, who is going to Saint Louis, in the Evening we encamped two Miles from an Island called the three point Island; the distance we came this day, being 7 Miles

1. This passage in Lewis's hand, under the entries for June 25 and 26, 1804, is in the Field Notes (document 23). (back)
2. Possibly later Bear Creek, Saline County, Missouri. MRM map 26. (back)
3. Pierre Dorion, Sr., was born before 1750, probably in Quebec, and was in Cahokia, Illinois, in 1780. Clark perhaps had heard of Dorion before, for the trader had at least corresponded with George Rogers Clark in 1780. Within a few years of that date he had gone up the Missouri to the Yankton Sioux, where he married and settled down as a trader. He was employed by Régis Loisel as an interpreter at Loisel's post at Ile aux Cedres. He took a delegation of Yankton chiefs to St. Louis for the captains and was later involved in various negotiations with Indians, serving for a time as a government subagent under Clark. He died sometime after 1811. Munnick (PD); Speck, 150–86; Irving (Astor), 117–20; Osgood (FN), 55 n. 1. (back)
4. In the Codex A entry of this date Clark or someone else has interlined "buffalow grease & tallow" over "Greece." Perhaps this was a base material for making pemmican. Nute, 54. (back)
5. Clark is not entirely clear which side of the river the camp was on, but Ordway says they camped on the north side. This would place them in south-central Chariton County, Missouri, in the vicinity of where Missouri Highway J ends. MRC map 10. (back)
6. On this day, according to Whitehouse, a man belonging to Captain Amos Stoddard's artillery company was sent back down the river, presumably with Dorion's boat. No other journalist mentions the event. This man may have been John Robertson, or Robinson, who was with the party at River Dubois but appears in no record or roll of the expedition proper. See Appendix A. (back)
7. Any number of possibilities of Prunus sp.; see Clark's entry for June 10. (back)
8. Meaning the Sioux Indians, probably the Yankton Sioux . (back)
10. Gass has no entry for June 11; the party remained in their camp of June 10. (back)
11. In south-central Chariton County, Missouri. (back)
13. René Auguste Chouteau or Jean Pierre Chouteau; no one else mentions that these men were Chouteau employees. (back)
14. No other journal keeper mentions this event. The man was a member of Captain Stoddard's artillery company, from which several men were assigned to the expedition. He may have been John Robertson, or Robinson. See Clark's entries for this day, and Appendix A. (back)
15. Not mentioned by any other journal keeper. A nameless triangular island appears on later maps in the right location on the Saline County, Missouri, side of the river. They camped in south-central Chariton County, Missouri. (back)