Lewis and Clark Journal Summary 6: Dates June 2, 1805 - June 15, 1805
The following is a summary of the journal entries made by Lewis and Clark. Dates: June 2, 1805 - June 15, 1805
 

A Fork in the River and the Expedition’s First Cache

June 2, 1805
Lewis & Clark camped overnight at a fork in the river. The following day, unsure of which fork was the main route that they should follow, Lewis and Clark sent a few men up each branch of the river.

June 4, 1805
This initial investigation was inconclusive, so Lewis took a team of men along the branch heading North, while Clark too a team along the branch heading south. Both teams were convinced that their routes weren’t the main route and returned to the camp at the fork. Clark arrived back on the 6th June.

June 8, 1805
Lewis Returned and Clark plotted the courses that both teams had taken along the rivers. Following a re-examination of their information, Lewis and Clark decided that Lewis would lead a small team on foot to determine whether the route south would end at the mountains, as most of the expedition members believed it would, or he would find the Great Falls that the Indians at Fort Mandan had told them were on the Missouri.

June 10, 1805
Lewis and Clark decided to leave one of the pirogues and much of the heavier equipment at this point. The pirogue was tied up to some trees on a small island at the entrance to the north fork. They branded some nearby trees and covered the pirogue with brush to prevent sun damage. They chose to cache the heavy equipment adopting the method used by the Sioux Indians to prevent their goods from being stolen.

The equipment was cached as follows: It was completely dried before being placed on a layer of dried sticks 3 or 4 inches deep in a hole that was dug to the size required to hide the equipment. Sticks were placed around the sides to prevent the equipment coming into contact with the walls. Animal skins were then placed over the goods before earth was used to fill the hole. The earth was pummeled to a height where it would be level once the turf had been replaced. The remaining earth was carried to the river where it could be washed away, leaving no clue to the location of the cache.

June 11, 1805
Lewis set off by foot leaving Clark to finish the cache and to follow on with the boats and remaining equipment.

June 13, 1805
Lewis arrived at the falls, proving that this was the correct route.

June 15, 1805
Clark arrived at the falls via the river.

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