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Lewis & Clark Expedition

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March 31, 1804
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March 31, 1804

[Lewis and Clark]

[Weather, March 1804] [1]
 
Day of
month
1804		 Therm
at ☉
rise		 weather wind Therm
at 4
Oclk		 weather wind r. & f. River
feet		 inchs
March 1st 12 b 0 f N W 4 a 0   N W f   9
2 11 b 0 f N W 22 a 0   E f   3
3 10 a 0 f E 18 a 0   S W f   6 ½
4 4 a 0 f N E 20 a 0   E f   5
5 10 a 0 f N W 20 a 0   N W f   3
6 4 a 0 f N W 10 a 0   N W f   3
7 8 b 0 c&s N W 18 a 0 s N W      
8 [2] 6 a 0 c&s N W 20 a 0 s N W f   ½
9 [3] 18 a 0 c N W 28 a 0 c N W R   2
10 14 a 0 c&f. N W 32 a 0 f N W r   2 ½
11 [4] 20 a 0 f E 38 a 0 fo S W f   2 ½
12 22 a 0 f N E 24 a 0 f N E R   1 ½
13 16 a 0 f N W 20 a 0 f N W f   1 ½
14 12 a 0 f N E 18 a 0 f N E f   4 ½
15 2 a 0 c&s N W 48 a 0 r.a.s. N E r   5
16 6 a 0 f E 48 a 0 f SSW r   11
17 20 a 0 f N E 46 a 0 f N E r   7
18 10 a 0 f E 52 a 0 f N E f   3
19 10 a 0 f N E 60 a 0 f SSW f   2 ½
20 12 a 0 f E 68 a 0 f SSW f   1 ½
21 [5] 34 a 0 f SSW 54 a 0 f N W f   2
22 30 a 0 f N W 48 a 0 f N W f   2
23 22 a 0 f N E 52 a 0 f N E r   4
24 14 a 0 f E 60 a 0 f SSW r 1 5 ½
25 24 a 0 f SSW 54 a 0 f E r 2  
26 [6] 36 a 0 f E 52 a 0 f E r   10
27 42 a 0 r&t E 50 a 0 far N E r   7
28 42 a 0 c N E 52 a 0 c E r   5 ½
29 28 a 0 rat N E 38 a 0 h&r N E r   1
30   car N W   f N W r   2
31 [7]   f N W   f NWW r   2
[Remarks] [8]
March 7th Saw the first Brant return. [9]
  8th Rain Suceeded by Snow & hail
  9th Cloudy in the morning
  19th The weather has been generally fair but verry Cold, the ice
run for Several days in Such quantities that it was impos-
sible to pass the River [Mississippi]    Visited St. Charles [10]
Saw the 1st Snake which was the kind usially termed the
Garter Snake, Saw also a Beatle of black Colour with two
red Stripes on his back passing each other Crosswise, from
the but of the wing towards the extremity of the Same. [11]
  20th Heard the 1st frogs on my return from St Charles after
haveing arrested the progress of a Kickapoo war party [12]
  21st I arrived at River Dubois from St Charles
  25th Saw the 1st White Crain return [13]
  26th the weather worm and fair
  27th The buds of the Spicewood [14] appeared, and the tausels
of the mail Cotton wood were larger than a large Mulberry,
and which the Shape and Colour of that froot, Some of
them had fallen from the trees.    the grass begins to Spring.
The weather has been warm, and no falling weather untill
this time tho the atmispere has been verry Smokey and
thick, a heavy fall of rain commenced which continued un-
till 12 at night, attended with thunder, and lightning—
Saw large insects which resembled Musquitors, but doubt
whether they are really those insects or the fly which
produces them, they attempted to bite my horse, but I
could not observe that they made any impression with
their Beaks. [15]
  28th Capt. Lewis returned to Camp [16]
  29th Tried Several men for missconduct
  31st Windey
1. This table follows Lewis's Weather Diary, kept by Clark this month; its temperature readings are eight degrees higher than those in Codex C, with exceptions noted within the table. In Codex C, Clark indicated that the thermometer registered eight degrees too low (see above, Weather Diary, January 1804, n. 5); Lewis gave the error as eleven degrees, but in April and May Lewis applies the eight-degree correction. Since Clark compensated for the error for March in the Weather Diary but not in Codex C, he apparently did not keep the two tables simultaneously. In the Weather Diary over the March 1, 2, and 3 entries in the first column of temperature readings are plus signs, perhaps an indication that the eight-degree correction had been added. (back)
2. In Codex C the river fall for March 8 is 1½ inches. (back)
3. In Codex C the 4 p.m. temperature for March 9 is 10° above zero. (back)
4. In Codex C the 4 p.m. temperature for March 11 is 20° above zero. (back)
5. In Codex C the 4 p.m. temperature for March 21 is 36° above zero. (back)
6. In Codex C there is a blot in the "feet" column for the river rise for March 26, which may be an illegible number or a dash to indicate a blank. (back)
7. In Codex C the 4 p.m. wind direction for March 31 is N W. (back)
8. The remarks follow those in Clark's Codex C. There are almost no remarks in Lewis's Weather Diary, which Clark kept for March. Remarks similar to Clark's appear in Lewis's hand for March on the flyleaf of Codex P; differences are noted below. The gaps in the remarks presumably reflect Clark's absence from River Dubois for much of the month. Possibly he made some of the observations at St. Louis or elsewhere. (back)
9. The captains' references to "brant" are often obscure, especially here where color is not noted. The snow goose, Chen caerulescens [AOU, 169], they later called the "white brant," but apparently they were not familiar with the species before seeing it on April 9, 1805. This might be the Canada goose, Branta canadensis [AOu, 172], since brant is often a common name for dark geese. Kortright, 82. (back)
10. Lewis's note in Codex P ends "this day visited St. Charles.—" The material about the snake and the beetle he placed under his March 21 remarks. (back)
11. The common garter snake, Thamnophis sirtalis. Benson, 90. The "Beatle" may be a box-elder bug. (back)
12. Substantially this same entry is in Lewis's Codex P remarks for March 21. The frog is probably the striped chorus frog, Pseudacris triseriata. Ibid., 88. (back)
13. Apparently the now rare and endangered whooping crane, Grus americana [AOU, 204], which could be found in Illinois in the 1800s. Burroughs, 184–85. But perhaps the great egret, Casmerodius albus [AOU, 196], described by Lewis on August 2, 1804. Holmgren (back)
14. Lindera benzoin (L.) Blume, spice bush. Fernald, 678. (back)
15. Perhaps crane flies (Tipulidae) or midges (Chironomidae). (back)
16. Lewis's Codex P remarks for March 28 read, "day cloudy & warm, left Cahokia to which I had passed over from St. Louis last evening, for my camp." (back)
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