October 3, 1804
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Aug 30, 1803 Sep 30, 1806

October 3, 1804

 

3rd of October Wednesday 1804    The N W. wind blew verry hard all night with Some rain, we Set out early, at 12 examoned our Stores & goods, Several bags Cut by the mice [1] and Corn Scattered, Some of our Cloth also cut by them also papers &c. &c.    at 1 oclock an Indian Came to the Bank S. S, with a turkey on his back    4 other soon joined him    Some rain, Saw Brant & white guls flying Southerly

Course & Distance
N. 50° E. 2 ½ m. to a wood L. S.
N. 54° E 2 m. to a tree in a bend S. S.
N. 2 m to a point of high lands on the L. S.
N. 22° W. 1 ½ m. on the L. [S] under a Bluff (Sand bars So Common,
impossible to Describe them)—
 

wind blew hard all night from the N W.    Some rain and verry Cold.    we Set out at 7 oClock & proceeded on

N. 50° E   2 ½ mes. to a pt. of wood on the L. S.
N. 54 E.   2 miles to a tree in a bend S. S.
North   2 miles to a pt. High Land on L. S    wind hard a head    Came
too & Dined
N. 22° W.   4 ½ miles to the head of Good hope Island    2 Indians Came
to the mouth of a Creek on the S. S.    Shields [2]
  11  
 

The N. W. wind blew verry hard all night with Some rain    a Cold morning, we Set out at 7 oClock and proceeded on    at 12 oClock landed on a Bare L. S.    examined the Perogus & factle [3] of the [NB: boat] to see if the mice had done any damage, Several bags Cut by them Corn Scattered &.    Some of our Clothes also Spoiled by them, and papers &c. &.    at 1 oClock an Indian Came to the bank S. S. with a turkey on his back, four others Soon joined him, we attempted Several Chanels and Could not find water to assend, landed on a Sand bar & Concluded to Stay all night, & Send out and hunt a Chanell, Some rain this after noon— Saw Brant & white gulls flying Southerly in large flocks—

3rd
Course Distance & reffurences
N. 50° E. 2 ½ miles to a point of wood on the Larboard Side—
N. 54° E 2 miles to a tree in the bend to the Larboard Side—
North 2 miles to a point of high Land on the Larboard Side—
N. 22° W. 1 ½ miles on the L. Side under a Bluff
  8 miles
 

Wednesday 3rd Oct. 1804.    the wind raised at 1 oClock last night & blew hard from N. W. & continues to blow this morning. So that it detained us untill ½ past 7 oClock. Cloudy. Some Thunder last night.    a little rain this morning.    we Set out ½ past [seven] proceeded on 7 miles.    the wind So hard a head that we halted about noon at a black Bluff S. S.    delayed about 3 hours & proceeded on 3 miles    found we had the rong channel.    the water Shallow, we Camped [4] at high Bluffs on S. S.    we Saw Several Indians opposite on the N. S.

 

Wednesday 3rd.    The morning was cloudy, and some rain fell. The land is high on both sides of the river. About 12 o'clock the wind began to blow so hard down the stream, that we were unable to proceed, and we halted under some high bluffs, where drift wood was plenty. At 3 we continued our voyage; passed a long range of dark colored bluffs on the south side and bottom, with some timber, on the north. We encamped on the south side.

 

Wednesday 3rd Oct. 1804    a cloudy morning, and Some rain    We Set off at ½ past 7 oClock, proceeded on    at 12 oClock the wind blew So hard down the river that we Delayed untill 3 oC. then proceeded on    passed a long range of dark Couloured bluffs on S. S. bottom & Some timber on the N. S.    Camped on the South Side.—

Wednesday October 3d    This morning it was cloudy, attended with some Rain, We sett of at half past 7 oClock and proceeded on, the Wind blowing hard down the River from the West; We came too at 9 oClock A. M, and lay by 'till 3 o'Clock P. M.    We then proceeded on, and passed a long range of dark colour'd bluffs, lying on the South side and bottoms covered with heavy Timber lying on the North side of the River.    In the Evening, we encamped on the South side of the River.

1. Perhaps Peromyscus sp. (back)
2. In the Field Notes and in Codex C this last distance is 1½ miles, giving a total mile-age of 8. Good Hope Island—a name taken from Evans's map 4 (Atlas map 10)—is probably Pascal Island of later times. Clark usually refers to the upstream end of an island as the "head," but Atlas map 24 shows the campsite for this day below the downstream end of the island. Clark's and Ordway's entries for the next day indicate that they had failed to find the correct channel on October 3, and that they fell back three miles on October 4, then continued upriver past Good Hope Island. This still does not make it clear if they reached the head of the island on the third, then fell back to the sandbar where they camped that night; however, this would explain the mileage and other discrepancies for that day. If Clark's ambiguous entry means that they camped near the mouth of a creek which he intended to name for John Shields, it does not appear on the existing version of his map (Atlas map 24). Artichoke Creek may be "Shields." It enters the Missouri from the east in present Potter County, South Dakota, at about the proper distance below the island, and at that point is a bluff corresponding to that under which Ordway indicates they camped. The campsite was on a sandbar near the line of present Potter and Sully counties, South Dakota. The area is now inundated by the Oahe Reservoir. MRC map 43. (back)
3. Biddle tried to improve Clark's spelling by adding letters in red to yield "forecastle" or something approaching that. (back)
4. Probably near the Potter-Sully county line, South Dakota, and near Pascal Island of later times; see Clark's entry for a more detailed discussion of determining the day's campsite. (back)