September 13, 1806
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Aug 30, 1803 Sep 30, 1806

September 13, 1806

 

rose early    Mr. McClellen [NB: an old acquaintance in the army] gave each man a Dram [1] and a little after Sunrise we Set out    the wind hard a head from the S E    at 8 A M we landed at the camp of the 5 hunters 〈which〉 whome we had Sent a head, they had killed nothing, the wind being too high for us to proceed in Safty through the emecity of Snags which was imediately below we concluded to lye by and Sent on the Small Canoes a Short distance to hunt and kill Some meat, we Sent out 2 men in the bottom they Soon returned with one turky and informed that the rushes was so high and thick that it was impossible to kill any deer. I felt my Self very unwell and derected a little Chocolate which Mr. McClellen gave us, prepared of which I drank about a pint and found great relief at 11 A. M. we proceeded on about 1 mile and come up with the hunters who had killed 4 deer, here we delayed untill 5 P. M when the hunters all joined us and we again proceded on down a fiew miles and encamped on the N E Side of the Missouri haveing decended 18 Miles only to day. [2] the day disagreeably worm.    one man George Shannon left his horn and pouch with his powder ball and knife and did not think of it untill night. I walked in the bottom in the thick rushes and the Growth of timber Common to the Illinois Such as cotton wood, Sycamore, ash [3] mulberry, [4] Elm of different Species, [5] walnut, hickory, horn beem, [6] pappaw arrow wood [7] willow, [8] prickly ash, [9] &c and Grape vines, [10] pees of 3 species [11] &c &c. Birds most Common the buzzard Crow the hotting owl [12] and hawks, &c. &c.—

 

Saturday 13th Sept. 1806.    a fair morning. Mr. McLanen Gave our party as much whiskey [13] as they would drink and gave our officers three bottles of wine and we took our leave of them and Soon after Sunrise we Set out and procd. on    Soon overtook the hunters who killd. nothing    the wind being high and as we were out of meat we detained along at different places to hunt and killed five deer, and Camped having made but a Short distance this day.—

 

Saturday 13th.    We had a pleasant morning after some rain that fell yesterday, and again proceeded on early with unfavourable wind. At 10, we halted to hunt, staid about three hours and killed four deer. We then continued our voyage to sun set and encamped. We had a few musketoes, but they were not so bad as we had found them higher up the river.

1. In conversations with Biddle in 1810 Clark commented under this date that some of the men had been weaned from liquor, others had not. But the former eventually "relapsed into their old habits." Biddle Notes [ca. April 1810], Jackson (LLC), 2:544. (back)
2. This camp would be in Buchanan County, Missouri, or Doniphan County, Kansas, in the vicinity of the "yellow oaker" creek of July 5, 1804 (perhaps Brush Creek in Doniphan County), and the camp of that day. MRC map 17. (back)
3. At this point on the Missouri, the ash could be either white ash or green ash. (back)
4. Red mulberry, Morus rubra L. Little (CIH), 139-E. (back)
5. Probably slippery elm and the more common American elm described from higher on the river. The rarer rock elm, Ulmus thomasi Sarg., is also known from the area. Barkley, 34. (back)
6. American hornbeam, Carpinus caroliniana Walt. Little (CIH), 109-E. (back)
7. Black haw, Viburnum prunifolium L. The term arrowwood is often used to refer to the whole genus Viburnum. Barkley, 330; Fernald, 1338–42. (back)
8. Black willow, Salix nigra Marsh. Barkley, 104; Little (CIH), 190-E. (back)
9. Prickly ash, Zanthoxylum americanum Mill. Barkley, 225. (back)
10. Probably river-bank grape, but it could be any of several species of Vitis in the area. Barkley, 219–20. (back)
11. Probably hog peanut, wild bean, Strophostyles helvola (L.) Ell., and possibly ground nut, Apios americana Medic. All are pea-like, are known from the area, and show pea-like fruits at this time of year. Barkley, 158, 183, 159. (back)
12. Great horned owl, Bubo virginianus [AOU, 375]. Holmgren, 32. (back)
13. Clark says that each man received a dram. (back)