Journals of the
Lewis & Clark Expedition

The following items represent another collection of miscellaneous documents comparable to the miscellany gathered at Fort Mandan and at Fort Clatsop . Many of the items may have been started at Fort Clatsop or at Camp Chopunnish, but there is no way to positively date them. Certainly, some of them were completed near the end of or at the close of the expedition after reaching St. Louis. The fact that Clark's Estimated Distances include his trip on the Yellowstone River testifies to the late completion of that document. The documents in Part 2 particularly show the haste to finish up some summary-type lists and broad overviews of the new lands through which the party had passed. After reaching St. Louis in September 1806 the time for developing such tables, lists, and compilations would be scarce.