 |
 |
Peek Inside...Entries For July 4:
1804:
Captain Clark (current)
1805:
1806:
Captain Clark:
July 4, 1804
| << Previous Entry (6/17/1804) | (7/7/1804) Next Entry >> |
Ushered in the day by a discharge of one shot from our bow piece, proceeded on, passed the mouth of a bayou leading from a large lake on the S.S., which has the appearance of being once the bend of the river, and reaches parallel for several miles. We came to on the L.S. to refresh ourselves [the abbreviation "S.S." stands for "starboard," or the right-hand side when one is facing forward on a ship. "L.S." means "larboard," or left-hand side]. Joseph Fields got bitten by a snake, and was quickly doctored with bark by Captain Lewis.
We passed a creek twelve yards wide, on the L.S., coming out of an extensive prairie reaching within two hundred yards of the river. As this creek has no name, and this being the Fourth of July, the day of the Independence of the United States, we called it "Fourth of-07-1804 Creek." We dined on corn. Captain Lewis walked on shore above this creek and discovered a high mound from the top of which he had an extensive view. Three paths came together at the mound. We saw great numbers of goslings today which
were nearly grown. The lake is clear and contains great quantities of fish and geese and goslings. This induced me to call it Gosling Lake. A small creek and several springs run into the lake on the east side from the hills. The land on that side is very good.
Reprinted by permission of the American Studies Programs at the University of Virginia.
The complete text can also be downloaded for printing from their website.
