August 27, 1804

This month of August has been quite busy and interesting. We first came in contact with the Yankton Sioux; a more peaceable group of natives than their neighbors' the Teton Sioux, who inhabit farther up the Missouri River. Before I forget to mention this, one of our men, Sergeant Charles Floyd became the first U.S. soldier to die west of the Mississippi River because of appendicitis on August 20. It was a very sad event to have to witness... Earlier this week, Lewis and Clark and the rest of the Corps reached the eastern edge of the Great Plains, which is brimming with an abundance of elk, deer, buffalo, and beaver. We should be eating good for the next few weeks.
We discovered some more species of plants and animals on this leg of our journey. One that I found as my personal favorite, though I'm not too sure why exactly, is the Large-Flowered Clammyweed. We noted it on August 25, near Vermillion, South Dakota. We also noted a very odd looking flower called a Curlycup Gumweed, which we found and recorded on August 17, in Dakota County, Nebraska. On August 5, along the Missouri River, with Nebraska bordering on the west of us, and Iowa bordering on the east, we found a flock of Least Tern, which is a type of duck who's voice makes a sort of 'killick' or 'kip-kip-kip-kiddeeck' depending on its terrritory. I find this animal to be particularly amusing.

I'll continue on later during our expedition,
Keep Well,
George Gibson




http://www.nationalgeographic.com/lewisandclark/record_species_302_2_3.html
A photo of my favorite flower; the Large-Flowered Clammyweed.