-592 IE STORY OF LEWIS AND CLARK'S JOURNALS. .T54 Copy 1 REUBEN GOLD THWAITES, LL. D., SECRETAKY ANI> SUPERINTENDENT OF WISCONSIN HISTORICAL SOCIETY. Reprinted from the Annual Report of the American Historical Association for the year 1903, Vol. I, pages 105-129. WASHINGTON: GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE. 1904. Qass. Book. I'^^ K y 1 'SH- v.— THE STORY (IF LEWIS AND CLARK'S JOURNALS. By REUBEN GOLD THWAITES, LL. D., Secrtlanj and SiijiDintriulcnt nf Wisconsin HiMorical Sucklj/. 105 . 7 FEB 16 1905 D.ofD, THE STORY OF LEWIS AND CLARK'S JOURNALS. By Reubex (ioiJ) Thwaites, LL. D. The story of the records of the transcontinental exploration of Meriwether Lewis and William Clark (1803-1806) is almost as romantic as that of the great discovery itself. In his detailed instructions to Lewis, dated June 20, 1803 '^, President Jefferson displayed particular concern for the journals of the proposed expedition to the Pacific, which, with all possible scientific data, were to l)e prepared " with great pains & accuracy, to be entered distinctly & intellig-il)ly for others as well as yourself." The notes of the two captains were to be guarded against loss by making copies of them — '' one of these copies [to] be written on the paper of the birch, as less liable to injury from damp than common paper." ^ Not only were Lewis and Clark to keep such journals, but their men were encouraged to do likewise. The two leaders faithfully performed their duty in this regard, and the four sergeants — Charles Floyd, Patrick Gass, John Ordwa}', and Nathaniel Pr3^or — also wrote journals. Tradition has it that at least three of the twenty -three pri- vates were, as well, diarists upon the expedition, but the oidy private's notebook now known to us is that of Joseph Whitehouse.'' It was the daily custom of the captains to make rough notes, with rude outline maps, plans, and miscellaneous sketches, in field books which they doubtless carried in their pockets. When encamped for a protracted period, these were aState Department (Washington, D. C), Bureau of Rolls, Jefferson Papers, series 1, vol. 9, doc 269. &This suggestion was not adopted in practice. <^ In the camp orders issued by Lewis and Clark, May 2G, 1804, occurs this sentence: "The serg's. in addition to those [other] duties are directed to keep a seperate journal from day to day of all pafsing occurrences, and such other observat-ons on the country &(•., as shall appear to them worthy of notice." 107 108 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. developed into more forniul records. In this development each often borrowed freely from the other's notes — Lewis, the better scholar of the two, generally rtnvritino- in his own manner the material obtained from Clark; but the latter not infrequently copied Lewis practically verbatim, but with his own phonetic spelling. I'pon reaching St. I^ouis, on the return (September 2;^, 18(H)), these individual journals wer(> for the most part trans- cribed by their authors into neat blank books — bound in red morocco, and gilt-edged — with the thought of prejjaring them for early publication. After this process, the original held books must have been cast aside and in large measure des- troA'ed; for ])ut one of these" is now known to exist — a l)ulky duodecimo, containing about 20,000 words, wrapped in an irregular piece of soft elkskin. rudely stitched to the back. There have come down to us, however, several notebooks which apparently were written up in the camps. Altogether, these journals of the captains cover each and every day the expedition was out; largely a douljle record, although occasionally there are periods when we have the journal of l)ut one of them.^ The manuscripts well exem- plify the habits and characteristics of the two men — Clark, (he more exi)erienced frontiersman of the two, expressing him- self sententiously with Doric simplicity and vigor of phrase, and often anuisingly eccentric orthography; Lewis, in more correct diction, inclined to expat iat(^ on details, especially with regard to Indians and natural history, and frcMjuently reveal- ing a poetic temperament and a considerable fund of humor. In February, LS0(), when the expedition was u})on the Pacitic coast. President flett'erson sent to Cono-ress a message, a By Clark, dated September 13-December 31, 1805, and described po.^^ f'We have much more of Clark in these Journals, than of Lewis. The lacunae in the Lewis maiuisoripts, as compared with the dates covered by Clark, arc as follows: 1S04— May 11, lG-19, 21-September 15; September 18-I)ecembc^]31=2'2Sdays. ],SOr>— January 1-Fcbruary 2; February 14-April 0; August 27-September f*; September 11-17, 23-Noveniber 28; December 1-31 ^ 168 days. IKOG — Atigust 13-Septeniber 2()=45 days. But during much of this period Lewis was di.sabled from a wound, and therefore unable to write. The only gap in the Clark journals is the brief period from February 3 to 12 (inclu- sive), 1805=10 day.s. Whether the missing Lewis entries (441 days, as comi)arcd with Clark; but we may eliminate 41 for the i)eriod when he was disabled, thus leaving 4U0) are still in existence or not, is unknown to. the i»resenl writer. There api)cars to be no doubt that he regu- larly kept his diary. It is possible that the missing notes, in whole or in i)art, were with him when he met his death in Tennesst'c, ami wrw citlur accidentally or purposely des- troyed by others. LEWIS AND Clark's journals. lOi) inclosino-, anions- other matters, a letter from Lewis dated at Fort ^NlandaM (near the present Bismarck, N. Dak.) in the previous April, just as the explorers were leaving- for the upper country. At that ]ioint the party had passed their tirst winter. The comnumication, descrihino- the experiences of the expedition as far as Fort Mandan, was accompanied by brief reports of explorations t)n the Ked and AVashita rivers b}' Doctor Sibley, Doctor Hunter, and ^^'illjam C Dunbar, together ^\ ith statistics of the Western tribes and other data of the kind: the ill-assorted whole l)eing- promptly pu])lished as a public document." Based upon this fragmentary pul)lica- tion, there soon sprung up, both in England and America, a long list of popular compilations, telling the story of the Lewis and Clark expediticni during its tirst year, expanded with miscellaneous information about the ^^'esten^ Indians, picked up here and there — some of it singuhirly inaccurate. A year later (early in 1S<»T), only a few months after the return of the party, there was })u])lished at Philadelphia the tirst detailed i-eport of the entire tour — l»eing the journal of Sergt. Patrick Gass, an observant man, whose rough but generally accurate notes had been carefully written up by an Irish schoolmaster, named David McKeehan, of Wellsburg. W. Va. This littl(> volume of about 83.(>()0 words,^Mvitli its curiously crude illustrations, was reprinted in London in 1S08, while new American editions appeared at Philadelphia in 1810, ISll, and 1812. and a French translation at Pai'is in Islo. It is now, in any form, a rare book. It had been the intention of Lewis and Clark to publish their own journals; they had presented no official detailed report to the Government, it being left with them by Jeft'er- son, as we shall see. to make such literary use of their material as the}' saw fit. Unfortunately for this purpose, both men a Message from the President of the United States, communicating discoveries made in exploring the Missouri, Red River, and Washita, Ijy Captains Lewis and Clark, Doctor Sibley, and Mr. Dunbar; with a statistical account of the countries adjacent (Washing- ton, 1800). '' A Journal of the Voyages and Travels of a Corps of Discovery, under tlie Command of Captain Lewis and Captain Clarke, of the Army of the United States: from the Mouth of the River Missouri, through the Interior Parts of North America, to the Pacific Ocean: during the Years 1804, 1805, & ISOii. Containing An Autlientic Relation of the most interesting Transactions during the Expedition: A Description of the Country: And an Account of its Inliabitauts, Soil, Climate, Curiosities, and Vegetable and Animal Produc- tions. By Pntrick Gass. One of the Persons employed in the Expedition. With (ieo- graphical and Exi)lanatory Notes by the Publisher. Pittsburgh: David M'Keehau. I.SO" 110 AMEBIC AlSr HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. had soon after their return received, together with commis- sions as generals, important government appointments: Lewis being made governor of Louisiana Territory, and Clark its Indian agent and brigadier-general of militia." The onerous duties appertaining to these offices, in the new and vast terri- tory through which they had explored, were necessarily absorbing; and neither being a literary man, the task of pub- lication was under such circumstances easily deferred. Urged by Jefferson, however — who had from the first been keenly desirous to have the records of the exploration made, as soon as possible, the common propert}- of the world — it was in 1809 agreed that General Lewis should at once under- take the editorship of the journals. Arrangements were made with C. & A. Conrad & Co., of Philadelphia, for the publica- tion of the work, and a prospectus was circulated with a view of obtaining advance subscriptions. Lewis was traveling on horseback through Tennessee, on his way to Washington, intending thereafter to go to Phihidelphia to enter upon this editorial task, when he lost his life during the night of October 11. A guest, at the time, of a wavside settler some 60 miles southwest of Nashville, it was reported that he had committed suicide, a theory which Jefferson, probably his closest friend, accepted without question; but it was, and still is, believed hy many that he was murdered for the small sum of money upon his person at the time. Clark, now the sole surviving head of the expedition, promptly sought the assistance of an editor in bringing out the proposed pu))lication. It appears that, prol)a))l3^ earlj^ in 1810, overtures were made to him from some literary person in Richmond, Va. ;''' but these he rejected, and earnestly solicited tlie aid of Nicholas Biddle, of Philadelphia. Riddle, who had descended from one of the oldest Philadelphia fami lies, had graduated from Princeton in his sixteenth 3'ear (1801). He had been secretary to fJolm Armstrong, our minister to France (1804), and while in Paris had superintended the pav- « Upon the expedition, Lewis held a captaincy in the First regiment of infantry; Clark had been commissioned as second lieutenant of artillery. On their return they l>oth resigned from the army — Clark on February 27, ISO", and Lewis on March 2 following. March 3, Jefferson .signed Lewis's commission as governor of Louisiana Territory: nine days later he signed Clark's commission as brigadier-general of its militia, an office com- bined with that of Indian agent. '' See Biddle-Clark correspondence in Cones, Lewis and Clark, 1, jip. Ixxxii et seq. LEWTS AND CLARK's JOURNALS. IH inent of Americiin claims growing out of the Louisiana pur- chase, in this capacity greatly surprising the French officials both by his l)rilliancy and his youth. After traveling exten- sively in Europe, he became secretary to Mr. Monroe while the latter was minister to Great Britain, ]>ut in 1807 returned to ])ractice law in Philadelphia. At the time of Clark's invitation Biddle was only 24: years of age. He had, nevertheless, already attained considerable reputation as a financier, lawyer, and man of letters in the last-named lield, being editor of the Port-folio— and socially was considered ])y many both the handsomest and the most charming man in Philadelphia, as he certainly was one of the most cultivated. It is small won- der that Clark chose him as the writer of the narrative. In his second letter to Biddle, dated February 20, ISlO, from the home of his fatlier-in-law, Col. George Hancock, near Fincastle, Va., then being visited by the General, he invites his young friend to come to him at that place, "where I have my books and memorandoms and stay with me a week or two; read over & make yourself thereby acquainted with everything which may not l)e explained in the Journals. ^ * "• Such parts as may not be full, I can explain, and add such additional matter as I may recollect. I brought the Books with me to Copy such parts as are intended for the Botanical work which 1 shall send to Docf. Barton, and will deliver the Books to you if you will engage to write the naritive &c." On ^larch 8 Biddle replied to Clark, regretting ^'that it will be out of my power to imdertake what you had the polite- ness to otter,"' explaining that "My occupations necessarily confine me to Phil", and 1 have neither health nor leisure to do sufficient justice to the fruits of your enterprize and inge- nuity. You cannot l)e long however without making a more fortunate selection.'" Two weeks later, however (March 17). h(> again addressed (^^lark_who was still at Fincastle and reports having seen some of the lattor's friends in I'hiladelphia, the result of the conference being that he ^^ will therefore very readily agree to do all that is in my power for the advancement of the work; and I thiidv. 1 can promise with some confidence that it shall be ready as soon as the pu])lisher is prepared to print it. Having made up my mind today. I am desirous that no delay shall occur on my part."" He therefore will soon visit the 112 AMEKICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. General at Fincastle. The latter replied (March 25) with "most sincere acknowledoments for the friendly sentiments," and urged an immediate visit, "as my business calls me to Louisiana; and nothing- detains me but the business I wish with you." J^iddle made the trip to Fincastle, noted Clark's oral state- ments, and carried back with him to Philadelphia the jour- nals and maps of the expedition, from which he at once began to write his narrative. Ia May Clark sent to the editor a young man named George Shannon," who as a mere boy of 16 years, had creditably served as one of the privates in the expe- dition. Then 23 years old, and studying for the law, Shannon appears to have remained in Philadelphia throughout most of the time spent in drafting the narrative, and materially assisted Biddle, both in interpreting the notebooks and giving per- sonal recollections of the tour. Not only did Clark tender the services of Shannon, but he himself was in frequent cor- respondence with the editor, and purchased and forwarded to him the journal of Sergeant Ordway.^ We have seen that the journal of Sergeant Gass had already been published in ISO". The talented young editor at once surrendered himself almost completely to the ditficult ta^k before him. He had promised Clark that the narrative should be ready for the press within twelve months. B}' the Tth of July he appears to have finished the story of the exploration up to July 7, 1805, above the Falls of the Missouri; for in a note to his distinguished correspond- ent, chiefi}' concerning the maps for the })ul)lication.'*he play- fully says: "To-day 1 have sent you and ten men up into a bottom to look for wood to make canoes after the ludiappy failure of your iron boat." A year later (July 8, ISll) he wrote to Clark, informing him that he had "completed the work, agreeable to our engagement," and was "ready to put it to the press whenever Mr. Conrad chose." a Shannon was born in Pennsylvania, of a good family, in 1787. After the return of the expedition he lost a leg as a result of a wound at the hands of Indians, the amputa- tion having taken place at St. Charles, Mo. Soon afterserving Biddle, .he was admitted to the bar at Louisville, Ky.; beeoming a circuit judge in Kentucky, a State senator in Missouri, and United States district attorney for Missouri, fie died suddenly in court in 1S3G, aged 49 years. ''Coues assumes, in his Lewis and Clark, that Biddle had also tlie use of tlu' journnl vcr. exhausted in the mechanical execution of the two small volumes. During this time th(^ publishing firm of Bradford t't Inskeep, which under- took the work, in their turn became insolvent, and at the actual time of publication (February 20. 1S14)" wen^ in tlu^ bankruptcy court. Just before going to press Biddle was elected to the legis- lature, in which he soon won an enviable reputation for states- manlike (jualities. Being thus i)revented from paving that attention to the b(K)k which he thought it deserved, he engaged Paul Allen, a Philadelphia newspaper writer, to supervise the issue. In a letter to Clark (March 28), reviewing some of the circumstances of the pul)lication, Biddle says: "The gentle- man who received and prepared it for the press, Mr. Allen, is a very capaV)le person, and as I did not put the finishing hand to tht> volumes I did not think it right to take from him the credit of his own exei'tion and care by aiuiouncing per- sonally the part which I had in the compilation. I am content that my trouble in the business should be n^cognized only by the pleasure which attended it and also by the satisfaction of making your acciuaintance, which I shall always value. 1 could ha\e wished that your time had permitted you to revise the whole of the work, as no doubt some errors and inadvert- ences have from the nature of the volumes and the circum- stances attending the publication crept into them. I hope, however, that 3'ou will not Hnd them very numerous or impor- "Thf drtte of the first siilo of volumes. See Coues's Lewis and Clark. I, pp. xci, xcii, for detailed statement of the financial outcome of the enterprise. The full title of the work was: History of the Expedition under the Command of Cap- t4iins Lewis and Clark, to the Sources of tlie Missouri, thence across the Kocky Moun- tains and down the Kivcr Columbia to the racilic Ocean. I'erformed durinjj the Years 1S04-.V6. By order of the (iovcrnment of the Cnilcd Slati's. Prepared for the Press hy Paul Allen, Esquire. I'hiladelphia: Bra, at nariative wiiich has lony' Ixm'ii n^ii'arded a classic in Amer- ican histoi'v, it is ((uitc apparent that Allen's connection with the entei'pi'ise was but that of reviser for the press. Il(^ him- self modestly states in the preface that he does not wish "to ai'rouate anythinj^" fi'om the ex(>rtions of others;" that '"he found but little to change, and that his labor has been princi- })ally coniined to revising- the mamiscript, comparing- it with the <)ripears to hav(^ been intentionally deferred by the writei- [Mr. Biddle] till ihe ])eriod of a more mature revisal." Allen se- cured from President JetiVu-son an admirable memoir of Lewis: possil)ly he also l)locked out the cha})ters; and the mechanical foiiu may in a measurt^ be due to him. His la])ors were doubt- less important from the typ<)iirai)hical and clerical side; but of course th(> credit for the enterprise should chiefly rest with Biddl(\ That the latter had finished the work, readj^ for the final touches of a pi'actical reviser for the press, is evident from his own lettei's to Clai'k. as well as the confirmatory statement which has come down to us fi'om Conrad. In his admirable edition of the 'J'ravels (New York, 181^3, 4 vols.) Dr. Llliott Coues spends nuu-h s])ace and energy in per- sistently hea])ino- \itu[)ei'ati()n on Allen for fathering a work mainly ])ei-formed by another. P)iddle had the undoubted right to withdraw his Jianie frc^n public conncH'tion with the narra- tive. \\g may consider his reasons Quixotic, but he was entitled to be guided by them, and they certairdy bespeak a nature more generous than we are accustomed to meet. As for Allen, it is (|uit(> e\ident that he did Iiis part with becoming modesty; and no doubt he wcdl earned the fee of $500 — partly taken out in trade with which he was rewarded by the pub- lishers. Press i-evision and proof r(>ading are no light tasks; although we might wish that, while he was at it, he had also ifiven us an index. 116 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. The size of the edition Ava.s appureiitly ^,0(io copies/' Of these it would seem that 583 were either lost in some manner — "supposed to be destroyed in binder's or printer's hands" — or were defective from lacking- plates. This would leave for sale only 1,417 perfect copies, which explains why the book is now rare. The net prohts on the enterprise were computed at $151.10, of which neither Clark nor I^iddle appears to have received a penny. The copper plates of the entTra\ cd maps became the property of the latter, and are now owned l)y his son, Hon. Craig- Biddle, of Philadelphia. To Clark was left the copyright. As for the heirs of Lewis, we lind them '' as late as 1816-17 making appli<-ation to Clark for their share of the earnings, ''persuaded that protit arising from that work has been received." and l)eing informed by the kind-hearted governor of the dismal result of the enteiprise. Over two and a half years after the pu])lication a letter from Clark to Jefierson (October lO, 1816)'' reveals the fact that the explorer had himself ''not been so fortunate as to procure a single volume as yet" — thus showing that Brad- ford, in the midst of his financial trou])les, had not carried out his agreement with Biddle, mentioned above, to transmit a cop3' of the work to th<> man diic^Hy concerned in its np- pearance. The service of Biddle in editing the journals of the Lewis and (lark expedition was a far more ditlicult literary under- taking than is conunoidy supposed. The entli'e mass of notes wiiich he had befoi'e him may l)e thus roughly com})uted: Words. Lewis and Clark journals (Aiiier. Phil<>f^oi)luc:il Society codices). 900,000 Gass journal (as printed) 88, 000 Ordway journal — unknown, but ]>()ssil»ly 100, 000 1,083,000 To this we should add al)()ut 150,000 words in the Chirk- Voorhis collection, later to ])e desoribed, and inidoul)tedly at one time in Biddle's hands, and whatever additional notes \\c ma}' have made during conversations with Clark and Shannon, "In this I follow Coues." '>Coucs. I, pj). xpiii, xciv. <■ Original Ms. in po.ssession of Anicricaii i'liilosoipliicnl Scx'icly. LEWIS AND OLATJk's .TOTTRNALS. 1.17 or a.s the result of correspondence with the former — and they must have been copious. A large proportion of the scientific matter of the Lewis and CMark notebooks, however — which may have aggreg-ated possibly a fourth of the journals as a whole — had been eliminated by Clark and Biddle. This material, carefully copied out, was sent to Dr. Benjamin Smith Barton, an eminent naturalist in Philadelphia." . Doctor Barton agreed to prepare a special \olume, "which was to have been (hy contract) prepannl in six months from the time" of the appearance of the narrati\ e of the journey. Owing to Barton's illness and consequent death this "cientific part"* was not written. Thus, while the J^iddle narrative gives a popidar account of some of the principal discoveries, the scientific data so laljoriously kept by Lewis and Clark — chiefiy the foi-mer — has thus far not been given to the world. It was Biddle's task to weave this great mass of heterogene- ous data into a readable narrative which should have unity and a simple and forcefid literary stjde. Adopting so far as possil)k^ the language of the original journals, where essential he amplities and explains them from his additional data, it being plain to see, on comparison with the originals, wherein Clark and Shannon and th(» Ordway and Gass journals had assisted him to a n)ore complete understanding. The nearly 1,200, 000 words of the originals he condensed into 870,000 words. The first person plural is used, save where the captains are individually mentioned, and then we have the third person singular. So skillfully is the work done that probal)ly few readers liave realized that thev had not be- fore them the veritable journals of the explorers themselves, written upon the spot. The result will always remain one of the best digested and most interesting books of Ameri- can travel, comparable in many respects with Astoria and Bonneville's Adventures — of course lacking Ir\ ing's charm of style, but possessing what Irving's two Western classics do not, the ring of truth, which never fails to appeal to those who love a tale of noble adventure in the cause of civilization. "A professor of medicine in the rniversity of T'eiinsylvania anri a vice-jiresident i)f the American Philosophical Society. ''Clark's letter to Jefferson, dated St. Lmiis, OctolnT 10, Isic, in archives of American Philosophical Society. 118 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. We have seen that Jefferson, who set on foot the expedi- tion," had from the first expressed much concern in its records, both in the makinc^ and the publication. lie had urged their earl}' printing, and on Lewis's death si)urred Clark to action, with what result has been related. The dilatoriness of that perfornmnce — for which Clark, however, was oidy partly responsible — fretted the great man. Decem- ber (), 1813, he wrote to Baron von Humboldt. ''You will find it inconceivable that Lewis's journey to the Pacitic should not yet have appeared; nor is it in my power to tell you the reason. The measures taken by his surviving companion, Clark, for the publication, have not answered our wishes in point of dispatch. I think, however, from what I have heard, that the mere journal will be out within a few weeks in two volumes, 8vo. These I will take care to send you with the tol)acco seed you desired, if it he possible for them to escape the thousand ships of our enemies spread over the ocean. The botanical and zoological discoveries of Lewis will prob- ably experience greater delav- and become known to the world through other channels before that volume will ])e ready. The Atlas, I believe, waits on the leisure of the engraver."* Nearly a hundred yps^rs have elapsed, and we still await its publication. Three years later (ISIO) we find Jefferson instituting a search for the manuscript journals of the explorers, with a view of placing them in the archives of the American Philo- so])hical Society. He writes (April 20) '' to Prof. Joseph F. Correa da Serra, a botanist then holding membership in the society, asking him, in the cause or science, to interest him- alii 1783 he suggested to Gen. George Rogers Clark, oldest brother of William, an expe- dition "for exploring the country from the Missisipi to California," but nothing came of it. The original MS. of this letter is in the Draper MSS., Wisconsin Historical Society, press mark 52 .1 93. In 178(), while American minister at Paris, he proposed to .John Led yard, of Connecticut, apian for penetratingthrough Russia and Siberia to Kamchatka, "and procuring a passage thence in some of the Russian vessels to Nootka Sound, whence he might make his way across the continent to America [the United States]." But Lcdyard was turned back l)y order of Empress Catherine II, when within a fi'w days of Kamchatka, and this project failed. (See JelYerson's " .\utobiography " in Ford's edition of his writings, I, pp. 9-1-96.) In 1793 he arranged with the French botanist Aiidre Michaux to make a transcontinental tour up the Missouri and down the Colinubia; but Michaux became involved in the Genet intrigue and got no farther west than Kentucky. Ten years hiter his fourth attempt succeeded under tlie direction of Lewis and Clark. ('F'ord, IX, p. 433. oThe original MS. of this letter is in the possession of the society. LEWIS AND Clark's journals. 119 self in the matter, and describing- in some detail the character of the documents — with which he was himself familiar, for he had handled them at Monticello. These papers, he informs Da Serra, "are the property of the government, the fruits of the expedition undertaken at such expence of money and risk of valuable lives. They contain exactly the whole of the information which it was our object to obtain for the bene- fit of our own country and of the world, but we were willing to give to Lewas and Clarke Avhatever pecuniary benefits might be derived from the pul)lication, and therefore left the papers in their hands, taking for granted that their interests would produce a speedy publication, which would be better if done under their direction, but the death of Cap' Lewis, the distance and occupations of General Clarke, and the bank- ruptcy of their bookseller, have retarded the pul)lication, and rendered necessary that the government should attend to the reclamation & security of the papers, their recovery is now become an imperious duty, their safest deposit as fast as they can be collected, will be the Philosophical society, who no doubt will be so kind as to recieve and pre- serve them, su])ject to the order of government. '■' * * As to any claims of individuals to these papers, it is to be observed that, as being the property of the public, we are cer- tain neither Lewis nor Chirke would undertake to conve}^ away the right to them, and that they could not convey them, had they been capable of intending it. * * " my inter- ference will, 1 trust, be excused, not oidy from tlie portion which every citizen has in whatever is public, but from the peculiar part I have had in the design and execution of this expedition." It appears that Biddle, who still held the majority of the notebooks, was disinclined to surrender them to Jetferson save on order of Clark. September S Jetl'erson wrote to the General soliciting such an order, to '•))e given in favor either of the War office or myself. * * * 1 should receive them only in trust for the War office, to which they belong, and take their orders relating to them." He wishes to deposit with the Philosophical Society " for safe-keeping the travelling pocket journals as originals to be recurred to on all interest- ing questions arising out of the published journal,'* his desire 120 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. being to secure '"to the world all the benelicial results we were entitled to expect from it [the expedition] and which would so fully justif 3' the expences of the expedition incurred by the United States in that expectation." October 10, Clark responds to Jefferson" by inclosino' "an Order on m^^ friend M'". Biddle for the papers in his posses- sion;" Biddle being- at the same time instructed as his agent, "to collect all the Books, papers, specimens, &c.,'' in the hands of Doctor Barton's heirs or others. Clark expresses interest in fJefferson's desire to collect the papers, and adds: "From the mortification of not haveing succeeded in giving to the world all the results of that expedition, I feel Relief & greatitude for the interest which you are willing to take, in effecting what has not been in my power to accomplish." Curiously enough, as we shall soon see, Clark appears to have had at the time in his possession at St. Louis hve of his own original journals, nearl}^ all the maps of the expedition, and many miscellaneous documents concerning it; these he did not surrender. June 28, 1817, Jefferson writes to Dr. John Vaughan, of the society, saying that although ]Mr. Da Serra had o})tained several notebooks from Mr. Biddle and Mrs. Barton, there was still experienced considerable difficulty in collecting all of the documents. Evidentl}^ much annoyed, he proposes to bring pressure to bear through the Secretar}' of War, "that office having some rights to these papers." The further sug- gestion is made that the societ}-^ publish "in their Transac- tions or otherwise," a digest of the "zoological, vegetable c^ mineralogical papers & subjects." On the Sth of Api'il, 1818, we learn from the manuscript minutes of the society that " Mr. Nicholas Biddle deposited the original journals of Lewis and Clark, with an account of them and of those journals and documents which he was not possessed of." The following receipt therefor was ordered to be given ))y the secretary: Rec'.' April 8. 1818 of Nicholas Biddle 14 Volumes of the Pocket .IouiikiI of Mefs Lewis & Clarke: a Volume of astronomical observations ct otlier Matter by Capt Lewis: a fmall Copy Book containing fome Notes by Capt. Lewis-^; A Rough draft of his letter to tlie President from St. Louis "Original MS. in possession of Amcriran Philosophical Society. LEWIS AND Clark's journals. 121 announcing his return — Two Statistical Tables of the Indian Tribes Wei^t of the IVlii'sifsipi river made by Governor Clarke: All which are Deposited with the Hist Com'"' in compliance with the recjuest of Gov'' Clark in his Letter to Nicholas Biddle dated 10 Oct 1816 & forwarded to the Hist. Com'^<= by Mr. Jefferson. It is understood & agreed on the part of the Histo. Com'''' in recieving these books & papers, that Gov. W'" Clark his heirs or afsigns shall at all times have the full use of them for any future edition of his Travels. By order of the Hist. Com''''. Jn Vaughan recording Sec. of the Hist. & Lit Class of the Am. Ph. Soc. The deposit was accompanied 1)}- this letter from Mr. Bid- die, g'ivino- interesting particiilar.s, which in the present con- nection are worthy of preservation:" PiiiLAO'^ April (J, ISIS Dear Sir: I have the pleasure of depositing with the Historical Com- mittee the papers & books which accompany this letter, in compliance with the re(ine8t of Governor Clark in his letter to me of the 10th of Octo- ber 1816 transmitted by Mr Jefferson. It may ])erhaps be useful to add such notices of other objects connected with them, as may enable the Committee to extend its researches. It was in the Spring of 1810 that I received from (Tovernor Clark in \\r- ginia, t^- l)rought to Philadelphia the papers & documents deemed necef- sary for the publication of the Travels. They consisted of, 1. A large majiof the country between the Misfifsipi <*c the Pacific illus- trating the course of the journey. 2. A map for M'' Hafsler who was in the state of New Yoi'k and engagearty 5. The pocket-Journals of the expedition, of these (1) The map after the draft was made from it for the engraver was delivered by the draftsman, M'' Lewis, to Governor Clark when last in Phili' about the year 1813. (2) The other maj) was forwarded by M'" Vaughan to M' Hafsler, who in his letterdated Aug. 12. ISlOat Schenectady mentioned the receipt of it. (3) The documents for D'" Barton, were delivered to him immediately after my arrival in Phil". Not having received any list of them from Gov'' ('lark I of course took none from D'' Barton, and as I was merely the Ijearer of them, my recollection is not as accurate as it would have been had they fallen more innnediately under my examination. My imprefsion however is that the packet for D'' Barton consisted of small manuscript books & some papers. The Ijooks were chiefly extracts relative to objects of natural history taken from the original Journal now deposited with the Committee. The papers were Indian vocabularies, collected during the journey. They formed, I think, a bundle of loose sheets each sheet con- taining a i>rinted vocabidary in English with the corresponding Indian « Original MS. in possession of tlie society. 122 AMERICAN HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. name in manuscrii)t. There was also another collection of Indian vocabu- laries, which, if I am not mistaken, was in the handwriting of "SV Jefferson. « I have turned to my letter to CJovernor Clark dated July 7. 1810, the first to him after my arrival at Phil", in hopes of finding some further particulars, but the letter merely states in general terms " I need not say that I arrived safe at this place — that the map was immediately forwarded to M'' Hafsler, and that D"' Barton received all his papers." In the preface to the printed travels which, being published in Phil-' whilst D"^ Barton was there, must be j^resumed to have been correct — it is stated that "those parts of the work which relate to the various objects of natural history observed or collected during the journey, as well as the alphabets of the Indian languages are in the hands of Profefsor Barton, and will it is under- stood, shortly appear." This was in 1814. I have mentioned these particulars fo minutely because the description may perhaj)S enable some of the Committee to recognize the vocal)ularies, which I incline to think were the only things delivered by me to D'' Barton not included in the volumes now deposited. (4) The journal of Serjeant Ord way was I believe a private purchase from that person. Governor Clark in his letter to me of the 24 Jany. 1818 desires me to send it to him. (5) The Journals of MelV** Lewis & Clark from the beginning to the end of the journey are contained in the 14 volumes, all of which are now deposited. There is besides one volume of astronomical observations & other matter by Captain Lewis, a small copy book containing some notes by Captain Lewis — the rough draft of his letter to the President from S' Louis announcing his return — and two statistical tables of the various tribes of Indians west of the i\Iifsifsij)i made by (lovernor Clark. The.'^e are all the observations which occur to me as promising to ))e use- ful to the Committee. Very respectfully yrs Nicholas Biddlic Honble William Tilghman, Chuirtnati of the Historical Voimnittee of tlw Pltilosl Society. Here the records of Jefferson's search suddenly stop. Neither the FediMal Government nor the American Pliilo- sophical Society having- decided to publish them, these price- less manuscripts slumbered untouched for nearly seventy-five yeai's in the library v'ault of the society, practically unknown to historical scholars. The two-volume Hidtlle narrative — an al)l)r(>\ iated paraphrase, but commonly accepted by the world as the actual journals of Lewis and Clark — had, after the first period of neglect, been reprinted over and over again in a Several copies of the Indian vocabulary blank prepared by Jefferson are in the po.sses- .sion of the Aniericiui Philosophical Society, hiiviiiK been presented by him in October, 1820. It consists of a slicet 7j by ID] inches, iirinlt-d on botli sides— uUIkuikIi tliere are .some whieli were printed on but one side of a slieet twice this widtli, the two pa{ There are in this collection eighteen noteboolis in all, and twelve parcelsof loose sheets. Of these, thirteen are small books, bound in red morocco covers, 8^ by 5| inches in dimen- sion, each containing ir>2 pages — seven of these books are by Lewis and six by Clark; they are collectively called "the red books," and are Codices D-P of Coues's arrangement. There is one volume by Clark of .similar size, bound in brown leather and containing '.i74 pages, which is lettered as Codex C. Then come four bound in boards, marble paper sides, containing about 184 pages each, two being by Clark and two by both explorers, known as Codices A, B, Q, and R. The loose sheets, consisting of leaves torn from the other books, are labeled Codices Aa, Ba, Fa, Kb, Fc, Fd, Fe, la. La, Lb, S, and T. It is diffi- cult to say which of these, if any, were actually carried in the field. In his letter to Da Serra of April 26, 1816, already cited, Jeffer.son assumes that the red morocco books were carried in the field by Lewis, " in which, in his own handwriting, he had journalized all occurrences, day by day, as he travelled;" indeed, we have already seen that Jeffer.son called therii " travelling pocket journals." Cones thinks, however, that probably n.)ne of the codices, except possibly Codex C, was a field book, but was written up afterwards. It is not necessary here to cite the evidence in detail, but I am also inclined to this view, save that as Codex C differs radically in appearance from the known Clark field book in the po.ssession of the Voorhis family (to be described later), I am disposed to consider C as a copy, po.s.sibly made at Fort Mandan or Fort Clatsop. 124 AMERICAlSr HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION. commendable, but certain other liberties which he took with these precious manuscripts merit our condenniation, for in many codices he freely interlined the text with his own verbal changes and comments, and in general appeared to treat the material as though mere copy for the printer, which might be revised b}^ him with impunity. Apparently the codices were unopened by the custodians after their return, for it was not until the summer of 1903 that the societ}' authorities were made aware, by one who was examining them in detail, of the astonishing- treatment to which they had been subjected l)}- Coues. The next chapter in the story opened in the spring' of 1901, when the society's historical committee determined — in view of the forthcoming Louisiana Purchase Centennial — at last to carry out Mr. Jefferson's suggestion, and secure the pul)lica- tion of the Lewis and Clark journals direct from the original manuscripts in their custod}". The}' succeeded in interesting in this project the firm of Dodd, Mead & Co., of New York, who in turn engaged the present writer as editor of the Avork. In the course of the consequent investigation into the sources there came to view in the society's library a few other Lewis and Clark items, besides the codices handled and labek^l ))y Coues. These were chiefl}- statistical tables regarding the Western Indians, a meteorological record, and a list of the explorers' specimens sent from Fort Mandan to the society" — matters of considerable, although notconmumding, importance. In Coues's report on the codices, as published in the Soci- ety's Proceedings,^ occurs this note: "One of Clark's joui- nals is now in the possession of his son, Mr. Jefferson K. Clark, of St. Louis. 1 am not informed of the date covered b}" this volume, nor of the nature of its contents." Upon assuming charge of the proposed publication, the writer at once approached the widow of Mr. Clark — the latter had died in New York soon after the appearance of the Coues edition and requested an opportunity of examining this notebook, imder the supposition that it was the Ordway journal, which had been returned to General Clark as })eing his private property, purchased by him. For a long time this request a Many of these are still preserved by the Aeadcmy of Sciences of Philadelphia. ('Page 22 of publication previously cited. LEWIS AND Clark's journals. 125 iuul many successive appeals through friends of the family were unanswered. Later it appeared that the })resent owners of the papers of William Clark were his granddauohter, Mrs. Julia Clark Voorhis, and her daughter. jVIiss Eleanor (llasgow Voorhis, both of New York City. The father of Mrs. Voor his was the late (xeorge Eogers Hancock Clark, young(»r son of Wiiliiim, and the executor of the hitter's estat(^ In this manner the family manuscripts relating- to the expedition had descended to these two ladies. In October, 1903, the writer was invited to visit the Voorhis home and examine material which had been uncovered during- the search instituted ])v the ladies for the Ordway journal. The store of manuscripts which was shown to him upon his arrival was of surprising- richness, consisting- of the following- items: Clark jdiinhih. Red luorocro iiotelxiok No. 1.— Diary, April 7-July :!, ISO.t; ;1S,(K)() words, witii three ni:ii>s (if the Fails of the Missouri. Kifld Ixiok, hiiund in a rude piece of elkskin, secured by a thong and liutton, and undoiditediy carried in Clark's pocket upon the expedition — Diary, Septendn'r lo-Deceniber .SI, 1805; 20,000 words, with over a dozen full-page sketch maps of the trail over the mountains, interwoven with the badly-blurred text. \\i.'i\ morocco notebook No. 2. — Diary, January oO-Ajtril :S, ISOti; -11.000 words, with numerous pen sketches of canoes, birds, dwellings, tools, etc., by the same hand (Clark's) asthose contained in Lewis's codicesof similar dates in the American IMiilosopliical Socit'ty's collection. Red morocco notelxiok No. M. — Diary, Ajiril 4-June (i, lart made l)y Clark, while on the trip. Collectively, these illus- trate the greater part of the journey both going and returning, indicate camping places, and contain many interesting comments on the country and the Indians. These charts vary in size from 8 inches square to several feet long. In addition to the above materials bearing directly on the expedition, there are in this collection a considerable store of manuscripts concerning the career of William Clark during- the period prior and anterior to the expedition, some of tliem being of much importance in connection with the early history of the territories of Louisiana and Missouri; there are also numerous luanuscripts l)earino- upon the life of George Rogers Clark, William's elder l)rother. These, and several oil paint- ings of the Clarks — chiefly George Rogers and William — together with numerous valuable relics of these men, make of the home of Mrs. Voorhis a museum of great interest to stu- dents of Western history. Two interesting queries arise in this connection: (1) How did General Clark obtain possession of this wealth of maiui- .scripts, when all the records of the expedition were suppos(>d to be in the hands of Biddle and Barton, as editors, and by the latter were delivered on Clark's order, and at Jefl'erson's re- quest, to the JMiilosophical Society ? (2) Why did not the Gen- eral surrender them either to the Philosophical Society oi- to Jefl'erson, when the latter was eagerly searching for all the documents in the case, claiming tluMu as the undoubted pro])- ert}'^ of the Government, and all the while Clark was ostensi- bly assisting him to that end? To the first (juery the })robal)le answer is that Biddle found these particular notebooks of no service to him, for all of the facts contained in them are either in Lewis's journals of sinii lar dates or in other drafts bv Clark — as a rule, fuller and in LEWIS AND Clark's journals. 127 better form. He therefore proV)at)ly returned the books to Clark in the earl}' stages of the work, keeping- only those which later were placed in the society's archives and which sufficiently l)resent the entire story of the expedition. It is probable, also, that the engTaver having conn)leted the necessary maps for the publication, all of the charts made upon the expedi- tion were returned to Clark. As for the elkskin-])ound field book, already transcribed into another volume, this probably did not go to Biddle at all. The orderly book, the various fragments, the Lewis-Clark correspondence, and the letter of credit were doubtless also kept at St. Louis as being deemed for Riddle's purpose of a popular narrative unusable material. As for the Ordway journal, it is on record that this was returned to Clark, although thus far it has not been discovered among his papers. That these documents were not surrendered by Clark to Jefferson during the latter\s search was possibly occasioned })y the fact that Clark — an exceptionally busy man, yet in this affair apparently quite lacking in business habits — had either lorgotten their existence or, like Biddle, considered them as of slight historical value. His seemingly careless treatment of them would appear to bear out the last conclusion. Clark (who died in 1838) lived at a fine country homestead, "Minoma,'" in the outskirts of St. Louis, and kept all his private papers pigeonholed in an old secretary. This piece of furniture came into the possession of his third son, George Rogers Hancock Clark, who in later years roughly arranged his father's papers into bundles and lal)elled them. His daughter, Mrs. Voorhis, sonje half dozen years ago, first examined these in a general way, and at once recognized their value as literar}^ material; she was indeed, she states, engaged in preparing some of the documents for publication when the present writer came upon the scene. His search for the Ord- way journal stimulated Mrs. and Miss Voorhis into a closer scrutiny of their family treasures, and in due course negotia- tions were entered into with them, resulting in the inclusion of all their Lewis and Clark material in the projected publica- tion of the original journals of the expedition. It has often been asserted that Sergeant Pryor wrote a jour- nal of the expedition, and some have assumed that Biddle used it in preparing the nai'rative of LSll; but evidence to 128 AMERICMnT historical ASSOCIATION". this effect .seems to be waiitino- — in any event, no one now seems to know the whercal)0\its of this nianuscrij^t. The journal (12,500 words, covering the dates March 13-August 18, 1804:) of Sergeant Floyd, the only man of the party to meet death during the trip," was, in the spring of 1805, sent from Fort Mandan to his parents in Kentucky, and eventu- ally became the property of the Wisconsin Historical Society. It was published in 181>4 in the Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society, with an introduction l)v James Davie Butler. Soon after the return of the expedition, Kobert Fraser, one of thepiivates, solicited subscriptions in Vermont for a publication of his journal, to be "contained in about 4:i)() pages octavo;" l)ut it did not appear, and the present writer has no knowledge of the manuscript. The existence of a journal (67,000 words, covering the dates lS/Ln.y 14, 1804- November 6, 1805) by Private Joseph Whitehouse was un- known until recently. It was purchased in San Francisco by Dodd, Mead & Co., to l)e published in connection with the original journals of Lewis and Clark. After having been edited for the press the manuscript was acquired from the publish- ers by Edward E. Ayer, the well-known Chicago collector. Thus, seventy-five years after Jefferson's quest, and within a few weeks of a hundred years after the arrival of the Lewis and Clark expedition at their preliminary camp on Iliver Du])()is, there have at last been located presumal)ly all of the literary records now extant of that notable enterprise in the cause of civilization. When published, as they bid fair to ])e witliin a twehe- month, their original journals will create a new intei'est in the deeds of Lewis and Clark. Not only are they much more extensive than the Biddle narrative, and the voluminous scien- tific data — in botany, zoology, meteorology, geology, astron- omy, and ethnologj'^ — an almost entirely new contribution ; l)ut V e obtain fi'om th(> men's notebooks, as written from day to day, a far more vivid picture of the explorers and their life than can he seen through the alembic of I^iddle's inqxTsonal condensation. o Floyd, aged about 20 years (possibly 23), died near the site of the present Sioux City, Iowa, May U, 1804, and was buried on the top of a neighboring bluiT. The site is now marked by a stately stone monument dedieatcd (May 30, 1901) to his memory by the Floyd Memorial Association. See reports of tlie association — First, 1897; second, 1901. LEWIS AND Clark's jouknals. 129 The paces of the iournals are aglow with human interest. The quiet%ven temper of the camp; the loving consideration that each of the two leaders felt for the other; the mag- nanimity of Lewis, officially the leader, in equally dividing every honor with his friend, and making no move without the lutteVs consent; the poetic temperament of Lewis, who loved ilowers and animals, and in his notes discoursed like a philos- opher who enjoyed the exercise of writing; the rugged char- acter of (nark, who wrote in brief, pointed phrase, and, less educated of the two, spelled phonetically, capitalized chaot- icallv, and occasionally slipped in liis grammar-all these, and more, are evident on every page, causing the reader deeply to admire the men and to follow them in their often thrilling adventures with the keenest sympathy and anticipation. W e shall hereafter know Lewis and Clark as we never knew them before. The Biddle narrative will no doubt continue to live as the brief popular account of an exploration fraught with o-reat consequence to American expansion; but at least the student of historv will feel that the original records, as the men wrote them on the spot, are by far the more satisfy- ing of the two. H. Doc. 745, 58-2— vol 1 9 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS Ur ^ M**?*****^ ~%,^ii!^^^