"Thus in the winter stands the lonely tree, / Nor knows what birds have vanished one by one"

Quote of the day:

"[W]orthe of remark that Snakes are not plenty in this part of the Missourie"

—William Clark, journal entry of 8 August 1804

This was written somewhere in the vicinity of Little Sioux, Iowa/Tekamah, Nebraska -- according to Clark, Lewis's sighting that day was [9]6° 9' 00" W, 41° 42' 34" N, which Google Maps puts a couple miles west of the current Missouri River channel. Why snakes in particular are suddenly, in the middle of a quotidian entry about the logistics of travel, worthy of remark is anyone's guess, especially given Lewis's entry for the same day is all about the unexpected pelican he shot.

---L.