Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 printed from the original manuscripts in the library of the American Philosophical Society and by direction of its committee on historical documents |
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![]() | Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 | ![]() |
![Click to Enlarge Page 408](https://iiif.lib.virginia.edu/iiif/uva-lib:2212/full/!200,200/0/default.jpg)
LXXXVI. LXXXVI
NICHOLAS BIDDLE TO WILLIAM TILGHMAN[1]
LXXXVI. [Qriginal MS. in possession of American Philosophical Society. We follow a transcript furnished
by Secretary Hays.]
Dear Sir: I have the pleasure of depositing with the Historical
Committee the papers & books which accompany this letter, in compliance
with the request of Governor Clark in his letter to me of the
10th of October 1816 transmitted by Mr. Jefferson.
It may perhaps 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 Governor Clark in
Virginia, & brought to Philadelphia the papers & documents deemed
necessary for the publication of the Travels. They consisted of,
A large map of the country between the Mississipi & the Pacific
illustrating the course of the journeyA map for Mr Hassler who was in the state of New York and
engaged in some astronomical calculations for the work.Some documents for Dr Barton
The manuscript journal of Serjeant Ordway, one of the party
The pocket Journals of the expedition
Of these,
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
The map after the draft was made from it for the engraver was
delivered by the draftsman, Mr Lewis, to Governor Clark when last in
Phila. about the year 1813.The other map was forwarded by Mr Vaughan to Mr Hassler, who
in his letter dated Augt. 12. 1810 at Schenectady mentions the receipt
of it
VOCABULARY
Fire a man monax tooth water a woman beaver tongue earth belly raccoon ear air back opossum neck wind side to-day arm sky bubby to-morrow wrist sun nipple a day hand moon thigh a month finger star leg a year moose light foot spring bear darkness toe summer wolf day skin autumn panther night nails winter wild-cat heat bone a man pole-cat cold blood a woman fox smoak life a boy monax cloud death a girl beaver fog food a child raccoon rain meat father opossum snow fat mother hare hail lean brother squirrel ice bread sister flying-squirrel frost Indian-corn husband ground-squirrel dew milk wife mole rain-bow egg son a bird thunder a house daughter an eagle lightning the mammoth the body hawk yesterday buffalo the head owl to-day elk the hair turkey to-morrow deer the beard swan a day moose the face wild-goose a month bear an eye duck a year wolf the nose turkey-buzzard spring panther the cheek raven summer wild-cat chin crow autumn pole-cat lip black-bird winter fox mouth crane pigeon ninety to jump three dove a hundred to fall four pheasant two hundred to break nine hundred partridge three hundred to bend a thousand mocking-bird four hundred yes white red-bird five hundred no black snake six hundred gold green lizzard seven hundred silver blue butterfly eight hundred copper yellow fly ugly a stone red fish sick wood good frog brave gum bad mulberry cowardly a mountain large a vine wise hill small tobacco foolish valley high joy I sea low sorrow you lake broad one he pond narrow two she river old three they creek young four this a spring new five that grass hard six to eat a tree soft seven to drink pine sweet eight to sleep cedar sour nine to laugh sycamore bitter ten to cry poplar hot eleven to sing ash cold twelve to whistle elm dry thirteen to smell beech wet fourteen to hear birch strong fifteen to see maple weak sixteen to speak oak pretty seventeen to walk chesnut ugly eighteen to run hiccory sick nineteen to stand walnut brave twenty to sit locust cowardly twenty-one to lie down mulberry wise thirty to smoke a pipe a vine foolish forty to love tobacco I fifty to hate joy you sixty to strike sorrow he seventy to kill one eighty to dance two The documents for Dr Barton, were delivered to him immediately
after my arrival in Phila. Not having received any list of them from
Govr Clark I of course took none from Dr Barton, and as I was merely
the bearer of them, my recollection is not as accurate as it would have
been had they fallen more immediately under my examination. My
impression however is that the packet for Dr Barton consisted of small
manuscript books & some papers. The books 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 containing a printed vocabulary in English with the
corresponding Indian name in manuscript. There was also another
collection of Indian vocabularies, which, if I am not mistaken, was in
the handwriting of Mr Jefferson.[2]I have turned to my letter to Governor Clark dated July 7. 1810,
the first to him after my arrival at Phila, 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 Mr Hassler, and that Dr Barton received all his
papers "In the preface to the printed travels which, being published
in Phila whilst Dr Barton was there, must be presumed 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 Professor Barton, and will it is understood, shortly appear." This
was in 1814.I have mentioned these particulars so minutely because the description
may perhaps enable some of the Committe to recognize the vocabularies,
which I incline to think were the only things delivered by me to
Dr Barton not included in the volumes now deposited.The journal of Serjeant Ordway 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.The Journals of Mefsrs' 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 St Louis announcing his return / and two statistical
tables of the various tribes of Indians west of the Mississipi made by
Governor Clark.These are all the observations which occur to me as promising to be
useful to the Committee,
1.
2.
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3.
4.
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5.
Philosl Society.
William Tilghman, born in Marylnd, 1756, was a distinguished jurist; judge
of U. S. Circuit court, 1801–02; chief justice of Supreme court of Pennsylvania after
1806. In 1824 he was elected president of the American Philosophical Society, of
which he had long been an active member.—Ed.
Several copies of the Indian vocabulary blank, apparently prepared by Jefferson,
are in the possession of the American Philosophical Society, having been presented
by him in October, 1820. It consists of a sheet 7 ¾ × 19 ¼″, printed on both
sides—although there are some which were printed on but one side of a sheet twice
this width, the two pages standing side by side. Those filled out, represent, among
others, the Miami, Micmac, Shawnee, Chippewa, and Lenâpe languages; while
several are still blank. In the collection are none which emanated from the Lewis
and Clark expedition. We present herewith a facsimile of one of the unfilled
blanks.—Ed.
![]() | Original journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition, 1804-1806 | ![]() |