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Winter on the Missouri River near Fort Mandan

Near the site of the 1804–05 winter headquarters of Lewis and Clark, the Missouri River flows through remnants of a wide alluvial valley carved by the ancestral Knife River.  Before the area’s last glaciation period, the ancestral Knife River, which was much larger than the present–day Knife, flowed from west to east across central North Dakota and then north to Canada.  The Knife River Valley provided an ideal setting for winter encampment for Lewis and Clark and their Mandan and Hidatsa neighbors.

 Captain Clark

Friday, November 2, 1804, on the Missouri River

This Morning at Daylight I went down the river with 4 men to look for a proper place to winter   proceeded down the river three miles & found a place well Supld. with wood, & returned. . . .

Saturday, November 3, 1804, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

a fine morning wind hard from the West we commence building our Cavins, . . . .

Tuesday, November 6, 1804, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

last night late we wer awoke by the Sergeant of the Guard to See a Nothern light, which was light, (but) not red, and appeared to Darken and Some times nearly obscured, and open, (divided about 20 degrees above horizon &*8211; various shapes – considerable space) many times appeared in light Streeks, and at other times a great Space light & containing floating collomns which appeared to approach each other & retreat leaveing the lighter space   at no time of the Same appearance. . . .

Aurora Borealis (northern light) Collection of Dr. Herbert Kroehl, National Geophysical Data Center

This Morning I rose a Day light  the Clouds to the North appeared black  at 8 oClock the began to blow hard from the N. W. and Cold, and Continued all Day. . . . Continue to build the huts, out of Cotton Timber, &c. this being the only timber we have,

Sunday, November 11, 1804, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

continued at work at the Fort. . . The large Ducks pass to the South. . . . The Mandans out hunting the Buffalow

Tuesday, November 13, 1804, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

The Ice began to run in the river 1/2 past 10 oClock P.M. we rose early & onloaded the boat before brackfast except, the Cabin, & stored away in a Store house. . . .  Snow’d all day, the Ice ran thick and air Cold.

Click on the thumbnail above to view a satellite image of North Dakota snow cover on November 14, 2000.	Click on the image above to view a satellite image of North Dakota snow cover on November 19, 1998.

Tuesday, November 20, 1804, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

Cap Lewis & my Self move into our hut, a verry hard wind from the W. all the after part of the day a temperate day. . . .

Tuesday, November 27, 1804, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

a cloudy morning after a verry cold night, the River crouded with floating ice  Wind from the NW. . . .The river fall 2 Inches  verry Cold and began to Snow at 8 oClock PM and continued all night. . . .

Wednesday, November 28, 1804, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

a cold morning wind from the N. W. river full of floating ice, began to Snow at 7 oClock a m and continued all day. . . . a verry disagreeable day no work done to day  river fall 1 Inch to day

Thursday, November 29, 1804, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

A verry cold windey day  wind from the N. W. by W.  Some snow last night the detph of the Snow is various in the wood about 13 inches, The river Closed at the Village above and fell last night two feet. . . . 

. . . . a cold afternoon wind as useal N W. river begin to rise a little.

Wednesday, December 12, 1804, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

a Clear Cold morning  Wind from the north  the Thermometer at Sun rise Stood at 38° below 0., moderated untill 6 oClock at which time it began to get Colder. . . . a Indian of the Shoe (Maharha or Mocassin) Nation Came with the half of a Cabra ko ka or Antilope which he killed near the Fort.  Great numbers of those animals are near our fort (so that they do not all return to rock mountain Goat) but the weather is So Cold that we do not think it prudent to turn out to hunt in Such Cold weather, or at least until our Consts. are prepared to under go this Climate.  I measure the river from bank to bank on the ice and make it 500 yards. . . 

Monday, December 17, 1804, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

a verry Cold morning the Thmt. Stood a 45° below 0. . . . about 8 oClock P M. the thermometer fell to 74° below the freesing pointe. . . .

Sunday, January 27, 1805, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

a fine day, attempt to Cut our Boat and Canoos out of the Ice, a deficuelt Task I fear as we find water between the Ice. . . .

 Captain Lewis

Sunday, February 3, 1805, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

. . . . the situation of our boat and perogues is now allarming, they are firmly inclosed in the Ice and almost covered with snow – the ice which incloses them lyes in several stratas of unequal thicknesses which are seperated by streams of water.  this peculiarly unfortunate because so soon as we cut through the first strata of ice the water rushes up and rises as high as the upper surface of the ice and thus creates such a depth of water as renders it impracticable to cut away the lower strata which appears firmly attached to, and confining the bottom of the vessels.  the instruments we have hitherto used has been the ax only, with which, we have made several attempts that proved unsuccessfull from the cause above mentioned.  we then determined to attempt freeing them from the ice by means of boiling water which we purposed heating in the vessels by means of hot stones, but this expedient proved also fruitless, as every species of stone which we could procure in the neighbourhood partook so much of the calcarious genus that they burst into small particles on being exposed to the heat of the fire.  we now determined as the dernier resort to prepare a parsel of Iron spikes and attatch them to the end of small poles of convenient length and endeavour by means of them to free the vessels from the ice.  we have already prepared a large rope of Elk–skin and a windless by means of which we have no doubt of being able to draw the boat on the bank provided we can free from the ice.

 More from Captain Clark

Saturday, February 23, 1805, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

All hands employed in Cutting the Perogues Loose from the ice, which was nearly even with their top; we found great dificuelty in effecting this work owing to the Different devisions of Ice & water.  after Cutting as much as we Could with axes, we had all the Iron we Could get, & some axes put on long poles and picked through the ice, under the first water, which was not more the 6 or 8 inches Deepe, we disengaged one Perogue, and nearly disengaged the 2nd in Course of this day which has been worm & pleasent. . . .

Tuesday, February 26, 1805, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

a fine Day   Commenced verry early in makeing preparations for drawing up the Boat on the bank, at Sunset by Repeated exertions the whole day, we accomplished this troublesom task, just as we were fixed for hauling the Boat, the ice gave way near us for about 100 yds in length.  a number of Indians here to day to See the Boat rise on the Bank.

Wednesday, February 27, 1805, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

. . . . I commence a Map of the Countrey on the Missouries & its water &c. &c. &#8211

Wednesday, March 6, 1805, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

a cloudy morning & Smokey all Day from the burning of the plains, which was set on fire by the Minetarries for an early crop of Grass, as an enducement for the Buffalow to feed on, . . . . the river rise a little to day.

Sunday, March 17, 1805, Fort Mandan on the Missouri River

. . . . the river riseing a little and Severall places open.

Replica of Fort Mandan located 2 miles west of the Lewis & Clark Interpretive Center, Washburn, North Dakota.
Courtesy North Dakota Tourism Department.

 References

DeVoto, Bernard, ed., 1953, The Journals of Lewis and Clark: New York, Mariner Books Houghton Mifflin Company, 504 p.

Kamide, Dr. Yohsuke, 1977, Aurora borealis in vicinity of Anchorage,  [wea01022, Historic NWS Collection].  Historic National Weather Service Collection from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: accessed July 16, 2001, at URL http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/historic/nws/wea01022.htm (no longer available at this site).

North Dakota Tourism Department, n.d., Replica of Fort Mandan [photograph].

Reid, Russell, ed., 1947–48, Lewis and Clark in North Dakota: Reprinted from North Dakota History, published by the State Historical Society of North Dakota, vol. 14–15, 359 p.

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