February 13, 1805
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February 13, 1805

 

The morning cloudy    thermometer 2° below naught    wind from S. E.    visited by the Black-Cat    gave him a battle ax with which he appeared much gratifyed.—

 

I returned last night from a hunting party much fatigued, haveing walked 30 miles on the ice and through of wood land Points in which the Snow was nearly Knee Deep

The 1st day [EC?: Feb. 4] I left the fort    proceeded on the ice to new Mandan Island, [2] 22 miles & Camped    Killed nothing, & nothing to eat,

The 2d day    the morning verry Cold & Windey, I broke thro the ice and got my feet and legs wet, Sent out 4 hunters thro' a point to Kill a Deer & Cook it by the time the party Should get up, those hunters killed a Deer & 2 Buffalow Bulls    the Buffalow too Meagur to eate, we eate the Deer & proceeded on to an old Indian Lodge, [3] Sent out the hunters & they brought in three lean Deer, which we made use of for food,—    walking on uneaven ice has blistered the bottom of my feat, and walking is painfull to me—

3rd day    Cold morning the after party of the Day worm, Camped on a Sand point near the mouth of a Creek on the S W. Side we Call hunting Creek, [4] I turned out with the hunters, I Killed 2 Deer the hunters killed an Elk, Buffalow Bull & 5 Deer.    all Meager

4th Day    hunted the two bottoms near the Camp    Killed 9 Elk, 18 Deer, brought to camp all the meat fit to eate & had the bones taken out.    every man ingaged either in hunting or Collecting & packing the meat to Camp

5th Day    Dispatched one of the party our Interpeter & 2 french men with the 3 horses loaded with the best of the meat to the fort 44 miles Distant, the remaining meat I had packed on the 2 Slays & drawn down to the next point about 3 miles below, at this place I had all the meat Collected which was killed yesterday & had escaped the wolves, Raven [5] & Magpie, (which are verry noumerous about this Place) and put into a close pen made of logs to secure it from the wolves & birds & proceeded on to a large bottom nearly opposit the Chisscheter (heart) River, [6] in this bottom we found but little game, Great No. of wolves, on the hills Saw Several parsels of Buffalow.—    Camped. I killed a Buck

6th Day    The Buffalow Seen last night provd to be Bulls.    lean & unfit for to make uce of as food, the Distance from Camp being nearly 60 miles, and the packing of meat that distance attended with much difficuity deturmined me to return and hunt the points above, we Set out on our return and halted at an old Indian lodge 40 miles below Fort Mandan [7]    Killed 3 Elk & 2 Deer—.

7th Day    a cold Day    wind blew hard from the N. W.    J Fields got one of his ears frosed    deturmined to lay by and hunt to day    Killed an Elk & 6 deer,* this meat I had Boned & put onto a Close pen made of logs—*    all that was fit for use—

8th day    air keen    halted at the old Camp we Stayed in on the 2d night after we left the Fort, [8] expecting to meat the horses at this Place, killed 3 Deer, Several men being nearly out of Mockersons & the horses not returning deturmind me to return to 〈Camp〉 the Fort on tomorrow

9th day.    Set out early, Saw great numbers of Grouse feeding on the young willows, on the Sand bars    one man [9] I sent in persute of a gangue of Elk killed three near the old Ricara Village and joined at the fort, Sent him back to Secure the meat one man with him—    The ice on the parts of the River which was verry rough, as I went down, was Smothe on my return, this is owing to the rise and fall of the water, which takes place every day or two, and Caused by partial thaws, and obstructions in the passage of the water thro the Ice, which frequently attaches itself to the bottom.—    the water when riseing forses its way thro the cracks & air holes above the old ice, & in one night becoms a Smothe Surface of ice 4 to 6 Inchs thick,—    the river falls & the ice Sink in places with the water and attaches itself to the bottom, and when it again rises to its former hite, frequently leavs a valley of Several feet to Supply with water to bring it on a leavel Surfice.

The water of the Missouri at this time is Clear with little Tinges.

I saw Several old Villages near the Chisscheta River    on enquirey found they were Mandan Villages destroyed by the Sous & Small Pox, they noumerous and lived in [NB: 9] 6 [10]    Villages near that place.

 

Wednesday 13th Feby. 1805.    2 men sent 18 mls. down the River to butcher an Elk which the hunters killed yesterday and to hunt, Snow the later part of the day.    the 2 men returned    had dressed the elk but killed nothing.—

 

Wednesday February 13th    This day clear & pleasant weather.—    The blacksmith [11] was employed shoeing the horses, in Order to go and fetch to the Fort, the meat that was killed by Captain Clark and his party.—

1. Having returned from his hunting trip, Clark resumed keeping Codex C. He gives a brief summary of the trip, detailed enough to suggest his keeping some brief notes while traveling, notes that are unknown today. (back)
2. Shown on Atlas map 29 as Mandan Island, in McLean County, North Dakota, four to five miles below Washburn and a little above Sanger. The camp might have been on the island, on the starboard side, or on the larboard side, in Oliver County, since the Missouri could be crossed on the ice, as the hunting party clearly did on subsequent days. MRC map 51. (back)
3. Probably an earth lodge in one of the abandoned villages shown on Atlas maps 28 and 29, downriver from Mandan Island. (back)
4. Shown on Atlas map 28, evidently Square Butte Creek in Oliver County, North Dakota, its mouth a little below the Morton County line. The party had passed it the previous October 22, but Clark probably bestowed the name during this hunting trip. MRC map 50. (back)
5. The common raven, Corvus corax [AOU, 486], evidently, with which the captains were familiar. Burroughs, 248. The meat cache was apparently near Mandan, Morton County. MRC map 50. (back)
6. Opposite the mouth of Heart River they would be in or near present Bismarck, Burleigh County, North Dakota. Atlas Map 28; MRC map 50. (back)
7. Again he may mean an earth lodge in one of the abandoned villages in the area between Heart River and Fort Mandan. Atlas maps 28, 29. (back)
8. Presumably below Mandan Island, where they stayed the first night out (see n. 2, above), but Atlas maps 28 and 29 show no hunting camps in the area. Probably Clark refers to another abandoned village, since he indicates that they stayed at "an old Indian lodge" on the second night out (see above). MRC maps 50, 51. (back)
9. Probably Drouillard; see Lewis's entry for February 12, above. (back)
10. Eight old Mandan villages and an old hunting camp can be counted in the Heart River area on Atlas map 28. (back)
11. Shields. (back)