Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition Online January 1, 1804

January 1, 1804

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[Clark]

January 1st 1804 Snow about an inch deep Cloudy to day, a woman Come forward wishing to wash and doe Such things as may be necessary for the Detachmt Several men Come from the Countrey to See us & Shoot with the men, they bring Sugare &c. to trade, I purchase Sugar 6 lb at One-sixth symbol per pound, I put up a Dollar to be Shot for, the two best Shots to win Gibson best the Countrey people won ther dollar— (R [Reed?] & Ws. [Wiser, Windsor?] Drunk) a Perogue Passed Loaded with Salt & Dry goods. Jos: Vaun [1] offers to let the Contrator have Beef at 4$ pd. [pound or produce?] or 3$ 50 Cents in money, Pokers hake, the Nut is Sheshake, a plant growing in the ponds with a large broad leaf, stem in the middle of the leaf in french Volies [2] Three men Mr. Lisbet [3] Blacksmith &c, one Man offers to sell pork at [blank] apply to Hannerberry, [4] the blacksmith has traveled far to the north, & Visited the Mandols [Mandans] on Missouris, a quiet people 6 Day fr[om] [Ossini?] [5] or Red river & that the M: [Missouri River] is about 150 yds. over at this nation

1. Perhaps Joseph, Joshua or Josiah Vaughn, who all lived near the camp. Madison, 72, 82–83. (Return to text.)

2. Nelumbo lutea (Willd.) Pers. American lotus, yellow nelumbo, yellow lotus, water chinquapin, pond-nuts, is an aquatic plant that Lewis describes more elaborately in an undated entry. "Pokers hake" may be Clark's attempt at the Kickapoo name, which Lewis wrote as Po-kish'-a-co-mah. "Volies" is the French term for the plant, graine de volaille. It is commonly found in oxbow lakes along the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. Fernald, 641; Steyermark, 668. Its importance to Indians is described by Gilmore, 27, in terms very similar to Lewis's. (Return to text.)

3. The lack of punctuation makes it uncertain whether "Lisbet" was the blacksmith. The word itself is unclear. He might be the "Thos. Lisbet Blacksmith" on document 2 of the Field Notes (placed under November 26, 1803, entry). Nothing is known of this person. Osgood read it as "Leebice" (which it may well be) and related that to Fran C with cedilla lowercase symbol ois Labiche, a member of the party. Osgood (FN), 11 n. 3. (Return to text.)

4. Probably Patrick Heneberry, an early settler in this part of Illinois, and at the time an employee of William Morrison. Jackson (LLC), 1:144–45 n. 4. (Return to text.)

5. If this word is read as "Ossini" or something similar, it may be a reference to the Assiniboine River of Saskatchewan and Manitoba, a tributary of the Red River of the North. There were British fur-trading posts on both rivers, from which traders sometimes traveled to the Mandan villages. (Return to text.)

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