September 29, 1804

Our team "met" the Teton Sioux Indians by giving them one of our boats, a medal, a military coat, and a cocked hat. The current President, Thomas Jefferson, had hoped we would be peaceful with the Indians, and that they would, in return, be peaceful with us; that plan pretty-much back-fired. When the Indians got quite nasty, it became force versus force; Clark had a sword which he used with skill, and Lewis aimed the boat's gun at the Indians; both sides, our Corps and the Teton Sioux, surrendered before any shots were fired.
Along with that wonderful encounter, we noticed a small, purple flower called the Aromatic Aster, which we found on September 21, near Big Bend, somewhere up the Missouri River. We also wrote down information on the Desert Cottontail, which we came across near the mouth of the White River, in South Dakota, on September 15. As we were walking along the other day, a large bird swooped down over us, and it had the most handsome looking feathers I had ever seen on a bird such as it. They were black and white, with the white on the underside of the bird. It's called a Black-Billed Magpie, and we took note of it on September 16, near a place in South Dakota. [Present Day Chamberlain, South Dakota].

Entries will continue when time allows; the boss' like that people in the Corps are keeping a record of the expedition.
Keep Well,
George Gibson


http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/record_species_158_3.html
The Black-billed Magpie; an interesting bird I spotted.