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Lewis & Clark Expedition

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April 30, 1804
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April 30, 1804

[Lewis and Clark]

[Weather, April 1804] [1]
 
Day of
the
month		 Ther-
mometr.
at ☉
rise		 Weather Wind at
Sunrise		 Ther-
momtr.
at
4 oClock		 Weather Wind at
4 oClock		 [rise]
&fall		 River
feet		 Inchs.
April 1   f N E   f N E. r   2 ½
2 16 a 0 f     f N E r   3 ½
3 50 a 0 f N E   r N E r   3 ½
4 52 a 0 c.a.r. N W       r   11
5 32 a 0 c.a.r. N E   tr   r   2
6 26 a 0 c.r. N W   s a r   f   4 ½
7 18 a 0 f a c N W   c   f   2
8 [2] 18 a 0 c N E   c r   f   2 ½
9 26 a 0 f a c N E   c   f   2
10 18 a 0 f N W   f   f   6 ½
11 18 a 0 f N E   f   f   7 ½
12 24 a 0 c N W   f a c   f   7
13 34 a 0 c N E   c   f   6 ½
14 30 a 0 f S W   f   f   5
15 30 a 0 f N W       f   6 ½
16 44 a 0 c N W   f.a.c.   f   5 ½
17 34 a 0 f a c N W   f   f   5
18 [3] 26 a 0 f a c N W W   c   f   3
19 42 a 0 r S S E       f   4
20 [4] 42 a 0 〈C〉 r S. E 45 a 0 r S E f   3 ½
21 39 a 0 r S. W. 50 a 0 far W. r 1 2
22 36 a 0 〈c〉 N. W. 42 a 0 C N.W. r 1 6
23 30 a f. N. W. 72 a f W f   1
24 44 a f. N. W. 52 a f N W. r   8
25 34 a f. N W. 46 a c N W r   2 ½
26 24 a f. N W. 66 a f. N. W f   6
27 [5] 36 a t L. r W. 70 a f S W. f   8
28 38 a f. N. W 72 a f N. W. f   7
29 40 a f N W 60 a f S. E. f   7
30 26 a f S E 64 a f N. E. f   6
[Remarks] [6]
April 1st The Spicewood is in full bloe, the dogs tooth violet, and may
apple [7] appeared above ground, a northern light appeared at
10 o C P. M. verry red.
  2d Capt Lewis went to St Louis. Mr Hay[s] arrive [8]
  3d Mr. Garrous Boat loaded with provisions pass up for Prarie
de chien, to trade    a cloudy day [9]
  5th the buds of the peaches, apples & Cheerys appear—    wind
high [10]
  6th a large flock of Pellicans [11] appear.
  7th the leaves of Some of the Apple trees have burst their coverts
and put foth, the lieves of the green wood bushes have put
foth—.    maney of the wild plants have Sprung up and ap-
pear above ground.    cold air [12]
  9 windey [13]
  10th no appearance of the buds of the Osage Apple, the Osage
Plumb has put forth their leaves and flower buds.    tho it is
not completely in bloe. [14]
  13th The peach trees are partly in blume    the brant, Geese, Duck,
Swan, Crain and other aquatic birds have disappeared verry
much, within a few days and have gorn further North I pro-
sume. the Summer duck raise their young in this neighbor-
hood and are now here in great numbers [15]
  17th wind verry high every day Since the 3rd instant    Some frost
to day [16]    Peach trees in full Bloome, the Weaping Willow has
put forth its leaves and are ⅕ of their Sise, the Violet the doves
foot, & cowslip are in bloe, [17] the dogs tooth violet is not yet in
blume. The trees of the forest particularly the Cotton wood
begin to obtain from their Size of their buds a Greenish Cast
at a distance—    the Gooseberry which is also in this countrey
and lilak have put forth their leaves— [18] frost
  18 Windey Day    at St Louis [19]
  26th The white frost Killed much froot near Kahokia, while that at
St Louis escaped with little injurey—
  30th white frost, Slight did but little injurey—.
1. The table is from Lewis's Weather Diary, kept by Clark until April 20, when Lewis took up the observations and remarks. The temperature readings in Codex C are generally eight degrees below those in the Weather Diary, as in March, but some discrepancies are noted within the table. (back)
2. In Codex C, the sunrise temperature on April 8 is 10° above zero. (back)
3. In Codex C, the sunrise temperature on April 18 is 16° above zero; the sunrise wind direction is north-northwest. (back)
4. In Codex C, under the sunrise weather for April 20, the "C" has not been crossed out. (back)
5. In Codex C, under the sunrise weather for April 27, the middle letter between "t" and "r" is illegible but does not appear to be "L." (back)
6. These remarks are from Codex C, by Clark. There are only a few brief remarks in the Weather Diary for April, and significant variations are noted below. (back)
7. The white dog's-tooth violet, Erythronium albidum Nutt., and the mayapple, Podophyllum peltatum L., are among the earliest forest floor wildflowers to begin spring growth. Fernald, 436, 673. (back)
8. Codex C says "Hay" and the Weather Diary, "Hays." The entry for this date in the Field Notes confirms the latter. (back)
9. The note about the cloudy day appears only in the Weather Diary. (back)
10. The peaches, apples, and cherries are Prunus persica (L.) Patsch, Pyrus malus L., and Prunus avium L., respectiveley, and are introduced species that are apparently cultivated in the St. Louis area at the time and viewed there by the captains. In addition to the sweet cherry (Prunus avium), P. mahaleb L., mahaleb cherry, and P. cerasus L., sour cherry, may also have been cultivated. Gleason & Cronquist, 385–87. The note about the wind appears only in the Weather Diary. (back)
11. The American white pelican, Pelecanus erythrorhynchos [AOU, 125]. See Lewis's detailed description of this bird on August 8, 1804. (back)
12. The note about cold air appears only in the Weather Diary. (back)
13. This note appears only in the Weather Diary and is repeated or indicated by "do" (ditto) through April 16. (back)
14. The "Osage Apple" (more commonly Osage orange) is Maclura pomifera (Raf.) Schneid., bois d'arc, bodark, bowwood, hedge apple, and is thought to be native to Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. The wood is hard, strong, and durable and was valued by Indians for bows and apparently arrows. It was extensively cultivated by early settlers for fencerows and windbreaks. Fernald, 555; Stephens, 152; Gilmore, 24; Steyermark, 563. The "Osage Plumb" is Prunus angustifolia Marsh., Chickasaw plum, sandhill plum. Stephens, 282. In March 1804, Lewis sent some cuttings from these plants to Jefferson and described them in some detail after discussions with Jean Pierre Chouteau. It was Chouteau who first introduced the Osage orange to St. Louis. Lewis's excellent descriptions allowed accurate identification of these plants. Lewis to Jefferson, March 26, 1804, Jackson (LLC), 1:170–72. It is believed that a row of Osage oranges in the cemetery of St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia (formerly the garden of Bernard McMahon), originated with these cuttings or seeds brought back by Lewis after the expedition. Importantly, these may be the first items Jefferson received that were later combined with other specimens from the expedition and eventually deposited in the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia. This edition will include a separate volume in which the academy's collection will be discussed and the specimens photographed and identified as closely as possible. Thwaites (LC), 6:153; Cutright (LCPN), 61, 373–74. (back)
15. The "Summer duck" is the wood duck. (back)
16. In Codex C, Clark wrote remarks for April 17 and 18 immediately after those for April 3, then crossed them out and wrote a fuller entry for the seventeenth in the proper place. The first part of the entry here (as far as this note) is the first one, the remainder is the second. (back)
17. The weeping willow, Salix babylonica L., was apparently cultivated in the St. Louis area as a landscape tree. The violet cannot be identified. The dove's foot is probably Geranium carolinianum L., cranesbill. Cowslip is probably Mertensia virginica (L.) Pers., Virginia cowslip, taking into consideration its early flowering, the rich soil, and bottomland habitat, as well as its more common eastern distribution. Dodecatheon meadia L., American cowslip, is known to the St. Louis area but is much more limited in its eastern distribution and different in habitat requirements. Fernald, 506, 1139; Steyermark, 1254, 1165, 962–63. (back)
18. The cultivated gooseberry is Ribes grossularia L. and the lilac is Syringa vulgaris L. Since Clark noted them together, they were probably being cultivated in the St. Louis area. The native gooseberry, Ribes missouriense Nutt., Missouri gooseberry, however, is also commonly found in the thickets and woodland borders of the area. Fernald, 750, 1150, 749. Steyermark, 785–86. (back)
19. Clark wrote this entry for April 18 after the one for the third (see above, n. 16) and then crossed it out, writing no other in Codex C. The Weather Diary entry says only "windey." On April 18, Clark was not in St. Louis, but at River Dubois, according to his Field Notes. Nor can "at St Louis" being to the entry for April 5 directly under the words, for Clark was also at River Dubois that day. (back)
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