February 9, 1804
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February 9, 1804

 

Thursday 9th    a fine morning    river Still rise & Ice pass down the greater part out of the Missouries

[Ed: There are no further dated entries in the Field Notes until March 21, when Clark resumes immediately below the February 9 entry on this same sheet (document 9). The remarks from the weather data provide some knowledge of events for this period. Both captains left Camp Dubois for St. Louis on February 10, and Clark apparently remained there for some time. Lewis had returned to camp by February 13 but kept no known journal. Clark was back at the camp by February 29 but did no known writing, and he apparently left within a few days. The captains probably witnessed the ceremony in St. Louis by which France transferred Upper Louisiana to the United States on March 10, 1804. Thereafter both were occupied in St. Louis and on a journey up the Missouri to stop a Kickapoo war party from attacking the Osages. During the captains' absence Sergeant John Ordway was in charge of the camp and apparently had some problems with the restless enlisted men. See below, March 3 and April 13, 1804. Osgood (FN), 27 n. 5; Lewis to Clark, February 18, 1804, Jackson (LLC), 1:167-68.]